WORKS AND GOD'S TWO SYSTEMS

         The delusion that one can be saved by doing something, performing certain rituals, doing good deeds, even working in a church or ministering to someone, is possibly the most pervasive delusion of the enemy which is at work today.  It has invaded every religious group and creed.  In this chapter we will discover when and how this delusion got started and how to avoid being part of it.

ORIGIN OF SAVED BY WORKS:

         A Perversion: The concept of man being saved by his works began as a perversion of the God-ordained way of introducing man to the plan of salvation.  From the time Adam and Eve first sinned, God used graphic symbols and representations of His plan to save man from the penalty of death. By performing the rites and ceremonies of sacrifices and offerings to Him, the sinner and confessor was pointed to the central theme and figure of the plan of salvationJesus Christ, the Lamb of God, the Saviour of the world.

TWO DISPENSATIONS

         God's plan from its inception was divided into two separate dispensations spanning the whole of this earth's history.

THE FIRST DISPENSATION -- CHRIST WILL COME:

         The first dispensation began outside the gate of the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve were first instructed by God to offer a lamb as a sacrifice.  They were pointed toward the Lamb of God who would one day come and give His life as an offering to save mankind from the penalty of eternal death as demanded by the law of God of anyone who had committed a sin.  Thus the first dispensation was a dispensation of sacrifices and offerings for sins committed.

        What one experiences (sees, hears, and feels) through the senses, is crucial to any learning experience.  Right after the fall of Adam and Eve, God introduced them to the plan of salvation through the rites of offerings and sacrifices, to illustrate to them that "the wages of sin is death." He told them that doing these things (works) would point them to the time when He would send His blessed Son to earth, to be born as a human being and become the Lamb of God by giving His life to save mankind from the death penalty of sin.   Thus through these blood offerings, the people had ever before them a most graphic illustration that death is the penalty for sinning, and that the shed blood of Jesus was necessary for cleansing from sin.  Disobedience to God's laws always invokes the death penalty, which can be avoided only by being washed by the blood of Jesus our Redeemer.  Only in this way can the sinner (all have sinned) ever hope to be given back the eternal life forfeited by Adam and Eve when they sinned.

THE SECOND DISPENSATION -- CHRIST HAS COME:

         This dispensation of the kingdom of love, began at the cross of Jesus and has been operational for almost 2,000 years.  THE GOSPEL TO ALL THE WORLD, which is that we are saved by the shed blood of Jesus, through Baptism and symbolically partaking of His blood and body by partaking of the bread and grapejuice at the ordinance of humility.  These are redemptions memorials replacing the sacrifical system.

         A New System Introduced: "When the fullness of time was come, God sent His Son into the world that the world through Him might be saved." (Gal 4:4) Thus the coming of Jesus, His life and death, began the second phase (dispensation) of God's plan to save mankind.  Salvation by works, by performing the rituals and ceremonies connected with the sacrifical system was no longer necessary.  Jesus showed a new, a better way, that replaced the old system. Now a man could come to Him directly and ask for forgiveness for his sins, claiming Jesus' shed blood.

         After His resurrection, Jesus went back to heaven and became our High Priest, replacing the earthly priestly ministry of the sanctuary service.  "Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God let us hold fast our profession.  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Heb 4:14-16) Every sincere petition is heard.  No truly repentent sinner is ever denied forgiveness, for his forgiven sin is covered or justified (made just) by the blood of Jesus as his case is pleaded before the Heavenly Father.  Thus it happened that salvation by man's works (rites and ceremonies that pointed to the cross), originally ordained by God as a means of salvation was done away with.  This has great implications today relative to the delusion that we can be saved by work performed or some ritual observed.

SALVATION BY WORKS A GOD-ORDAINED PLAN:

         God originally ordained ceremony and ritual to point mankind to the coming of His Son, when type would meet antitype.  This is easily traced through the historical biblical record.  From Adam and Eve, to Abel, Seth, Enoch and Noah before the flood, to Noah, Abraham, and the children of Israel after the flood.  The system of sacrifices and offerings was carried out in accordance with God's plan for 4,000 years, until the time of Christ.

LESSONS FROM HISTORY

         The growth of Christianity, and for that matter all pagan and non-christian groups, shows that man has a remarkable affinity to the idea that salvation or a spiritual goal can be reached through some works performed, some doctrine believed in, some ritual and ceremony followed, such as going to church, offering penance, prayers for the dead, mortifying the body, performing good works, etc.

         Before Christ's time, when God introduced His graphic plan of salvation by works as seen in the sacrificial system, what started out as pure, innocent worship and praise to Him through offerings and sacrifice, eventually degenerated into salvation by works because the focus changed, centering upon the act or work performed as an end in itself.  Ancient Israel's experience is a prime example of works in action.

THE PLAN REINFORCED AT SINAI TO ISRAEL:

         The children of Israel spent 430 years as captives in Babylon.  When they were brought out by God and entered the wilderness, the first thing He did was reintroduce them to this sacrifical system of salvation by works. After spending all those years in captivity, right in the heart of Satan's occult world center in Egypt, almost every vestige of their relationship with God was erased.  They had forgotten about how to worship God and serve Him.  The Egyptian custom of sun worship, worship of the dead, and an immediate afterlife, had at worst replaced worship to the God of heaven, and at least contaminated their relationship with heaven.

         Because of this, God reintroduced the Israelites to the sacrificial system the night before they left Egypt by having them place blood over the doorposts of their homes to ward off the angel of death from killing their firstborn children.  Later after they left Egypt, God reinstituted His sacrificial plan which pointed to Jesus the Lamb of God who was to come and save people from their sins.  In order to teach them His requirements, God gathered them together at the foot of Mt. Sinai.

         God told Moses to build Him a sanctuary that He might dwell among them.  He gave them the ten commandments which were written by His own finger in tables of stone, and also the laws and ordinances which were written by Moses on parchment.  Once again the system of types and symbols of the love of God was reintroduced; once again the attention of God's people was focused upon reestablishing a lost relationship with the Father.

         Unfortunately THE SYMBOLS BECAME MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE LOVE THEY SYYMBOLIZED, and few entered into a real saving relationship with God.  Failure on the part of the people produced a totally works-oriented dispensation.  They believed salvation was accomplished by what they did or did not do. This was truly the epitome of salvation by works.

         By the time Christ came, Israel had been slaying and sacrificing animals for thousands of years.  They had long ago substituted these acts for true repentance.  They performed the ceremony ritualistically but denied the power of God to save them.  They forgot who and what these sacrifices and offerings symbolized and pointed to, to the extent that when the True Lamb was born among them, He was rejected and crucified by His very own people.

         Because of continual rebellion toward God, He finally had to withdraw His Holy Spirit from the Jews as a nation. When the true Lamb of God came, they did not even recognize Him, and ended up murdering the only source of their salvation.  Ironically, the Jews had been offering sacrifices and spilling the blood of animals to have their sins forgiven for thousands of years.  Yet by the act of slaying their Lord and Saviour, they made it utterly impossible for His blood to cleanse them from their henious sins. Unrepentant and hateful towards Jesus, they followed the dictates their leader Satan.

         How could this have happened? Because they accepted the Satanic delusion that by their works they could be saved. For thousands of years, works as a means of salvation had been a pattern.  From the time God gave them the ten commandment law, they chanted "All the Lord says, we will do."

         From that time forward, history has faithfully recorded how many times they failed in this committment. They failed because they tried in their own strength to obey God.  They looked at their works, ritual, the performance of religious acts to save them, but there was no true repentance of the heart.

         Almost innumerable times they returned to Satan's counterfeit forms of worship, putting up groves to Baal, worshipping the golden calf or other idols.  They even went so far as to sacrifice their children up to the god Molech by placing them on his red hot outstretched hands and arms.  Time and again God would try to bring them back to Him by allowing their enemies to take them captive.  When they repented and reformed, He delivered them. Eventually they worshipped the ritual and the church organization rather than God.

         By the time Christ came the Jewish leaders had swung to the other extreme of adding human interpretation to the 10 commandment law of God.  Over 400 exactions and interpretations made the law of God odious and constituted the pinnacle of salvation by works.  God's law which was the STANDARD OF SALVATION, had become to them the METHOD OF SALVATION

         This, misunderstanding of course, was reflected in their feasts and festivals.  Great emphasis and display of the symbols and offering of the sacrifices also became the method of their salvation.  Thus was Jesus the Lamb of God rejected in type before He ever came to earth.

         After their Babylonian captivity, the ark of the covenant, which was hidden away in a cave, was never brought back out and placed in the rebuilt temple.  A stone or boulder stood in its place.  The holy presence of God which rested on the mercy seat of the ark never returned to the temple.  Thus, long before Jesus died on the cross, His Spirit had withdrawn from this service, leaving it an empty ceremony without salvation, for works had replaced true worship toward God.  Nowhere is God's great patience better displayed in dealing with erring man than in His dealings with the Israelites.  He loved them and refused to give up on them as a nation. Only when they finally crucified His beloved Son did He withdraw from them as a nation, for in crucifying the Son of God, they forever sealed their fate as a nation.

         Today It Is The Same The parallel of their experience is clearly seen today in the lives of people.  They, like the Jews, go through the motions of trying to attain salvation by their own strength, but while going through the motions, they deny and refuse the power of God to transform their character, and thereby crucify afresh the Son of God.  Soon the results for them will be the same as it was for the Jews of old. Probation for the world is closing, and as in Noah's time, the vast majority of the earth's inhabitants will be forever lost and destroyed.

SATAN'S COUNTERFEIT PLAN FROM BEGINNING:

         History bears testimony that every time God's Holy Spirit moved to draw mankind to Himself and reinstruct man about His plan of salvation, the enemy began to work through men, and gradually what started out as pure worship to God degenerated into ritual and form as man willingly but most of the time unknowningly cooperated with Satan. Each time, the emphasis became one of salvation by works.  The Holy Spirit cannot live in an environment where man chooses to try and work out his own salvation, based upon something he does or does not do.

AFTER ADAM AND EVE SINNED:

         Satan has used the saved-by-works delusion for millennia.  His strategy in getting man to accept this counterfeit of God's true plan has been the same from the time he first caused Adam and Eve to partake of the forbidden fruit.  When God introduced Adam and Eve to the plan of salvation along with the form of worship He expected.  Satan for the first time knew God's plan to redeem, save, and rescue man.  He then knew what he had to do.  He would duplicate and pervert the same forms and ceremonies of worship instituted by God, including offering sacrifices. But there would be one big difference - he would inspire them to worship false gods and idols (satanic deities) made of wood and stone instead of the God of heaven.  Thus by performing satanically inspired rituals, offering of sacrifices to other gods, observing forms of worship, using occult incantations, symbols, ritual prayers, and practices, he convinced his subjects of the merit of doing these things to receive salvation.

PLAN INITIATED THROUGH CAIN:

         As prince of this world, Satan was determined to do everything in his power to turn man away from his only hope of salvation, the Heavenly Father, and to institute a counterfeit form of worship which would satisfy man's desire to worship and seek salvation. Beginning with Cain, the firstborn of Adam and Eve, the offering of a sacrifice, ordained by God to point man to the source of his salvation in Jesus, the Lamb of God, began to degenerate. Even Cain's offering of fruit eptomized works (the work of his hands

         It did not take long under the inspiration of Satan before man forgot the true meaning of the sacrificial system and ceremonies represented.  It became a ritual and work-oriented activity, into which the enemy gradually introduced occult doctrines, symbols, incantations, and practices which no longer pointed to the source of man's salvation, but rather gave obeisance and homage to Satan the usurper of God's glory.  Those who believed Satan's lies (nearly the whole world) were deceived into believing these forms of worship would appease the gods and protect them from their wrath.

         For six thousand years of earth's history Satan has been inspiring people to use this tactic to destroy man's relationship with God.  With this delusion Satan has been eminently successful.  Countless billions have died who are lost for eternity.  Many hundreds of years after the fall of Adam and Eve, the world's people degenerated into wickedness so terrible that God regreted that HE had ever created man.

         By Noah's time things had gotten so bad that man's thoughts were evil continually.  God could no longer forebear the wickedness of man. After 120 years of warnings, He finally destroyed this preflood generation of long lived giants. How many perished in the flood is not known, but it must have exceeded the world's population today, for their powers of procreation and long lives would have far exceeded those of present day man.  It is most sobering to realize that out of billions, only 8 people were saved from the preflood world.  But sadly, implanted in the heart of one or more of those eight, were the seeds of rebellion, and the whole cycle of sin and distorted worship began shortly after Noah and his family came out of the ark.  Again Satan had infiltrated and deceived those who had originally loved and worshipped God.  In every generation since that time it has been the same.

AFTER PENTECOST:

       As Satan had done before and after the flood and in the time of Israel, so right after Jesus returned to heaven and sent His Spirit at Pentecost, the enemy began again to infiltrate the ranks of God's people.  The apostle Paul made the statement that the "mystery of iniquity" was already at work in the church of his day.  (2 Thess 2:7) Starting with the pure Gospel message and the Spirit-filled church, the enemy introduced subtle satanic errors into the church through the Gnostics and others, who mixed pagan beliefs and practices with christianity.  Pagan ideas and philosophy began to emerge and corrupt the early church.

         With this pagan influence came works as a means of salvation, ritual, ceremonies and exactions.  History was again repeating itself.  Before long, about 300 years after Pentecost, human laws and forms of worship replaced God's ordained ways, and Satan again had the church firmly in his grasp.  Thus it can be seen that for almost six thousand years of this earth's history, the battle between Christ and Satan for control of man's mind has been going on.

         The forms and ceremonies of worship first instituted by God to point to the cross, became an end in and of themselves as a means of salvation.  Thus by performing certain acts and observing certain rituals, man once again believed that he could be saved by his own works.

         Today the story is the same, except that the enemy, knowing his time is short, has been more active than perhaps at any other time in history.  As in the past, this delusion of saved by works has been very successful in convincing Christians and other religious persuasions that they will be saved by their works.  Sadly, they do not see through this delusion, that there is no merit in performing any kind ritual, doing penance, paying tithes, going to church, even doing good works, etc.  They are doing these things for the wrong reasons.  Practicing "do's" and "dont's" as a means of salvation has never saved anyone and never will.  Salvation only comes by faith in Jesus the Lamb of God.

AFTER THE REFORMATION:

         Martin Luther, the giant of the Reformation, learned about this deception as he was climbing up stairs on his knees to earn favor with God.  He heard a voice say, "The just shall live by faith." Thus it was that the Lord used Martin to begin a reformation that for some time countered salvation by works as practiced by the Catholic church.  But the enemy did not give up and continued his attack on the newly formed Protestant church.

         While the Catholic church continued with its traditions, rituals, liturgy, and dogmas, practicing salvation by works, the Protestants rediscovered the true meaning of worship and salvation by faith in Jesus.  The Protestant was again seeking a relationship with God.  He accepted the blood of Jesus alone to cover his forgiven sins and recognized its power to save him, not by works but through Jesus. But this was to change as the enemy relentlessly pursued God's people.

         By the mid-1800's the Protestant churches lost their fire and zeal and went to the opposite extreme. Rebelling against salvation by works, which they perceived as obedience to the law of God, they began to proclaim that the law had been done away with at the cross, and they were no longer bound to obey it.  This was not hard for them to do, since they were already breaking the fourth commandment every Sunday as they worshipped.  The enemy once again was in control of the situation.

         This turn of events attacking the law of God, however, created a backlash by some Christians who leaned toward a do-it-yourself, works-oriented religion.  They countered, as had happened so often in the past, by trying to do the works of the law and keep it in their own strength.  They rigidly disciplined themselves, their lifestyle and their behavior.  Like the Jews of old, following the letter and the works of the law became their obsession and supposed salvation.  Nothing could have been farther from the truth.  Works alone cannot save, only the blood of Jesus.

         The Bible says that, "Without faith it is impossible to please God." Faith in what, your works? Ah, no! Only the atoning blood of Jesus can save, nothing else.  But the Bible says "faith without works is dead." What does the Bible mean?

         Because of the enemy's delusion the answer has not been to find.  IT IS NOT ANY WORKS THAT WE DO, BUT RATHER THE WORK WE ALLOW JESUS THROUGH HIS HOLY SPIRIT TO DO IN OUR LIVES.  If this is true, then how do we keep the law of God in our lives?  To answer this question we need to understand the nature of the conflict we are in.  The last and most fearsome battle the Christian has to deal with is a death to "self," the outcome of which will decide each person's eternal destiny of life unto life, or death unto death.  Those who try to save themselves by their works, will never die to self and sin, they will never be clothed in the Lord's righteousness which only comes by having faith in Jesus to save.

WHAT ABOUT RULES?

         Rules Given To Enunciate Principles: An important principle was demonstrated by God at Sinai when He gave the rules of conduct as contained in the health, civil, and ceremonial ordinances and laws, and the moral law of God, known as the 10 commandments.  ALL THESE RULES ARE GIVEN TO ENUNCIATE PRINCIPLES OF GOD'S CHARACTER, AND ARE NOT THE MEANS OF SALVATION.

WHEN THE RULES ARE NECESSARY:

         Rules are always needed when someone is immature.  A child learns by first following rules.  These are the guidlines to learning and obedience. Following the rules of life lays a solid foundation for later behavior.  Obedience to rules, without the ability to understand the underlying principles, is necessary for the child's future well being as he grows up.  He follows the rules because his parent's (God) tells him to.  The parents demands upon the child for obedience come from their loving concern for the child, knowing what is in his best interest.   So it is with our relationship with our heavenly Father.

         In the Christian's life, following the rules (doing the works of the law), is making a conscious effort to put away sin in the life, such as stealing, committing adultery, bearing false witness, etc.  Obedience is the responsibility of all who want to establish and maintain a relationship with the Lord.  This is that first step in reaching out to God, and signals the believer's intention to follow Jesus.

DIVINE HELP NEEDED:

         From that point on, divine help is given as needed in overcoming.  When the Christian looks to Jesus for power to obey, rather than relying on his own will-power or won't-power, the Lord makes up for his weak will by supplying His own super-natural assistance.

         The difference between this type of relationship and a strict works endeavor, is that the Lord through His Holy Spirit is in control of the life, leading, guiding, and giving the strength to overcome, whereas those who attempt to change on their own, without faith or divine help, do not have the strength to overcome sin in their life.

ONLY DONE BY HOLY SPIRIT:

         It is the Holy Spirit dwelling within that makes overcoming sin possible. No amount of self work or self-improvement can change the heart.  Only an intimate personal relationship with God can do that.  The Christian who stops at this first stage and goes no farther than keeping the law in his own strength will never grow up into Christ, never receive His righteousness, never be like Him in mind, character, or body.

         At first, works are necessary, but they must be accompanied with seeking the Lord with all the heart, seeking and knocking at Christ's door.  This takes faith, belief and trust in God.

MUST GROW INTO A RELATIONSHIP:

         As one begins to grow spiritually, he grows into a relationship with Jesus and the Holy Spirit, operating from principles enunciated in God's universal 10 commandment law, this growth comes ONLY THROUGH THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.  This then is never the work of man to save himself, but rather the WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT EFFECTING THE CHANGES NECESSARY TO MAKE US LIKE JESUS.

         These fruits of the Spirit come naturally, and are not something the person must work at.  When the HOLY SPIRIT is at work in the life, obedience to God's laws (works) are merely the natural outgrowth of the Spirit's influence in the life.  Good works come just as naturally as a flower turns towards the sun.  A Personal Relationship

THE KEY TO OVERCOMING SIN:

         The focus of attention should not be upon what has to be overcome, but rather upon establishing a sweet personal relationship with Jesus.  The Bible says: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matt 6:33) This includes the power to overcome.  When the will is given over to God, the person gradually receives the desires and tastes of the Lord.  Jesus' desires and actions are implanted in the heart of the believer.

         Likewise, victory over sin, as Jesus was victorious, will be imparted to the believer.  The believer whose will has been given over to the Lord will no longer desire to sin, for being one with Christ, he receives His will, desires, likes, dislikes and character traits.  This does not mean that he will no longer be tempted and tried (which are necessary tests for spiritual growth), but that He will by faith overcome all these tests through the strength of Holy Spirit dwelling within His heart.

         This work in the life is called the work of sanctification, and it is the work of a lifetime.  The Lord gradually imparts to the believer His character attributes, as he grows up into spiritual adulthood.  This is entirely the work of God, and nothing man can do himself.  Works Oriented Person Not Submitted To God: The underlying cause of an emphasis on works and rigid standards lies in the fact that individuals are not united with Christ.

         In works-oriented people, self is not submitted to God, but rather is in full control.  Salvation is sought by self-discovered means for selfish reasons.  Heaven is not sought out of a love for the Lord and a desire to have sweet communion with Him for eternity.

         For many the only motive appears to be to gain some advantage for self, such as to escape eternal death. But in their defense, there are those in this group who know no other path to Heaven.  They do what they do out of ignorance.  Our Lord accepts their works oriented, legalistic worship on the basis of their understanding and spiritual privilege.

         Some will be laid to rest as the end comes, because our God of infinite mercy is not willing that any should perish.  Since they have not received the latter rain of love for whatever reason, the Lord does the next best thing: He lays them to rest.  Only Jesus is capable of knowing and judging who is to be among the 144,000, who will be translated, who will be laid to rest but raised up with the great multitude, and who will die eternally.

MUST UNDERSTAND THE RELATIONSHIP:

        To understand the relationship between faith and works, it is necessary to explore the relationship between works and the law, which will be considered in the next chapter of this book.  Much truth has not been recognized.  Blindness about this truth has spawned and propagated salvation by works, with which we are all so familiar, and has constituted a large part of our worship in the past and still does in all apostate churches. Without question all who have sought a religious experience have been influenced by doing some sort of work to attain their spiritual goal, whatever that might be.

         "Unless the Holy Spirit works upon the human heart, at every step we shall stumble and fall.  man's efforts alone are nothing but worthlessness, but cooperation with Christ means a victory.  Of ourselves we have no power to repent of sin.  Unless we accept divine aid we cannot take the first step toward the Saviour.  He says, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end." (Rev 21:6) Selected Messages, E.G.  White.

SELF WORKS DENY ATONEMENT OF GOD:

         Trying to work out our own salvation denies the atonement of Jesus and His power to save us.  By practicing works without loving Him and dying to self, we deny our Lord's sacrifice.  A love relationship with Jesus is absolutely essential in order to overcome. Jesus said that there were two great laws - love for God and love for your fellowman.  He went on to say that upon these two laws hang all the laws and prophets. The 10 commandment law is a law of love, the transcript of God's character, for God is love.  The first four invite love to God, the last six, love for others.  If we love God and our fellowman, we will not break God's law.  We would out of love not want to hurt the Lord by disobeying His first four commandments, or hurt our fellowman by breaking any of the last six.

NOT POSSIBLE FOR CARNAL EARTHLY MIND:

         This kind of love is not possible for the carnal, earthly mind to grasp, for human love is based upon self and self-interest, which can include love for family and friends.  Any true love a person has, like mother love, is a gift from God.  It is only as God's agape (heavenly) love is implanted in the heart by His Holy Spirit that we can love as He loves. Behold The Lamb Of God: How does one learn to love our Lord and love as He loves? Love for Jesus, is an outgrowth of and appreciation for what He has done for us.

         "By beholding, we become changed." TO BEHOLD JESUS IS TO LOVE HIM.  It is meditating on Him constantly, reading His Word, conforming to His wishes, receiving His Spirit.  In 1988 a godly woman in France by the name of Jeanine Sautron, who is mentioned elsewhere in this book, had a vision about Jesus and what He did for you and me.  Behold Him yourself, as you read what He has suffered for you.  Recognize that if you were the only one in the world, He would have gone through this horrible experience just for you.

         "Ah! If your eyes could be opened, you would see how the love of God has given us Jesus, His own Son, His only Son, to save you from eternal death.  After He was flogged and judged, He was condemned, and I saw the soldiers place a crown of thorns on His Head.  But the thing that angered them was that Jesus remained calm and gentle.  His look of compassion enraged them, causing them to hurt Him the more, because they could not bear this gentle and humble regard.  And Jesus was placed among the criminals and humiliated because of our sins."

CROSS LAID UPON JESUS' SHOULDER:

         "A heavy cross was laid upon Him condemning Him to death, as with the two thieves who also had to carry their cross and die with Him.  Jesus bore His cross on his back; behind Him, a howling, frenzied mob, animated by evil thoughts, shouted insults.  But the Savior said nothing, making His way along with the cross on His back and a crown of thorns staining His forehead with blood.

CROWD INSULTED JESUS:

         "That crowd which was insulting Him, without pity, had soon forgotten that when He was among them, He had healed their sick, handicapped, paralytic invalids; He had performed miracles, raised the dead, healed the blind.  Yet, pushed by Satan, those people no longer remembered their benefactor. It seemed to me that Jesus had something divine in His face.  And despite the insults of the crowd which followed, cursing Him, He gave no reply.  He made His way towards a place called "Skull".  Exhausted by the weight of His cross, Jesus fainted and fell down. No one made a gesture to help Him. Thus He fell a second and a third time, but the crowd continued to accuse and hurl epithets at Him.

MAN CARRIES CROSS FOR JESUS:

         "Then I saw a man emerging from the fields who stopped, surprised at hearing the malicious remarks.  And on seeing Jesus, his heart filled with pity, and he said, 'But it is Jesus! This man has done nothing wrong!' And immediately, without hesitating, he came close to Jesus to take the cross from Him. That cross was very heavy to carry. But his compassion for Jesus gained for him a blessing.  He had no fear of that crowd because of the wealth of love in his kind gesture.   "Arriving at the place of the crucifixion, the two malefactors were led by the soldiers to be crucified with Jesus.  But they fought and struggled, crying out that they did not want to die.  Finally, the soldiers succeeded in nailing them to the 10 cross, and then came the turn of Jesus.  He was calm, saying nothing.

JESUS NAILED TO THE CROSS:

       "He stretched Himself upon the cross.  His garments were taken off, leaving Him the minimum.  The soldiers then drove big nails into his hands and feet. Each time the hammer hit the nails, Jesus turned His head away, groaning with pain.  The blood flowed from His wounds.  The executioners' work finished, the soldiers roughly lifted the cross and let it fall back into the hole prepared for the purpose so as to fix it in the earth.  The two thieves were on either side of Him.  The crowd looked at this agonizing spectacle.  There were the priests, the sacrificers and all those who had wanted to put Him to death.  Women were crying, but the thing that hurt me the most was to see the lovely Savior's face, full of love and compassion.  He said to His Father, 'Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.'
 

JESUS LOOKS FOR SYMPATHY:

         "Jesus looked at that angry crowd. I felt that He was hoping to hear one word of sympathy, of consolation, that somebody would come towards Him to comfort Him, but nobody approached Him, [not] even His disciple[s] with whom He had lived so long.  At the foot of the cross, His mother Mary, was weeping, her heart broken, recalling the childhood of this dear Son Who, by His love for men, was now nailed to the cross like a vulgar malefactor.  I heard the leaders of the people saying, "He saved others, let Him come down from the cross and save Himself!" Jesus could have done it, but His love for humanity attached Him to that cross.  I saw that He was suffering atrociously, not only because of His wounds, but mainly because of the weight of sin which rested squarely upon Him.

JESUS FELT SEPARATED FROM HIS FATHER:

         "He felt the definite separation with His Father to such an extent that He cried, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" And I saw Satan and his angels standing in front of His cross, waiting and hoping that the Savior would be conquered by the discouragement. I saw clearly that Jesus suffered the most ignominious death that exists.  I shuddered in my spirit when seeing again that scene of the crucifixion.

GRIEF AND SUFFERINGS OF MARY:

         "I was deeply touched when seeing the grief and suffering of Mary, His mother, overcome at the foot of the cross. She, who had put all her hopes on this gentle Son, so tender, had to see Him die in that fashion -- she who had hoped, like so many others, that her Son would re-establish the kingdom of Israel. But Jesus again looked at the angry crowd.  The blood was flowing from His wounds; the thorns in His crown were digging more and more deeply into His flesh at the least movement He made.

JESUS TALKS TO THE THIEVES:

         "Then I saw that Jesus was talking with the two thieves.  The one on His left shouted like the crowd, 'Save Yourself and save us!' Jesus did not reply to him.  But the one on His right said to Him, 'Is it not You, Jesus, of Whom we have spoken so much? Surely it is You, Who have been healing the sick.  But You have done nothing wrong, yet they have condemned You without reason, whereas I am a thief...' And, as if feeling his approaching death, he added, 'You are Jesus, the Savior of the world. Remember me when You come into Your kingdom.' Jesus replied immediately, 'Today I tell it to you, you will be with Me in My kingdom.' I saw that Jesus' eyes searched the sky ceaselessly. Thirsty, He called for water. A soldier took a sponge steeped in vinegar and held it up to Him on a stick, but Jesus refused it.

         "Over and above this scene of bloodshed were heavy, black clouds approaching, and a dense night covered the cross of the Savior.  I heard the roar of thunder in the distance, and lightning flashed through the skies.  I saw that Jesus was suffering terribly, 11 crushed under all the sins of the world.  The angels were covering their faces so as not to see their Master in that state. Jesus was waiting to be rescued by His Father, but He accepted the sacrifice of His life.  Pilate had a board prepared on which was written, 'Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.' A Jewish rabbi approached him, saying, 'Not that inscription, because He himself said He was King of the Jews.'  But Pilate merely replied, 'What I have written, I have written.' Then it was that the Jews understood that they had executed their own King for their greatest humiliation.  During this time, the flashes of lightning lit up the cross of Calvary.

JESUS' FACE RADIANT WITH GLORY:

         "All at once, I saw the face of Jesus radiant with glory, and men were saying, 'We have crucified the Son of God.' The night grew darker and still blacker.  I saw a woman crying, accompanied by one of Jesus' disciples. It was John.  And Jesus said to him, 'Henceforth, this will be your mother; I leave her with you.' And John promised to take care of her. Jesus, feeling that He was on the point of dying, cried in a loud voice, 'It is finished!' Then, bending His head, He died.  Then followed claps of thunder, earthquakes, with flashes of lightning illuminating the scene, and stones flying helter-skelter everywhere.

          "Then were my eyes dazzled by lightning which flashed on Jesus' cross, and I saw that it was a dazzling glory. It was then that fear gripped the crowd and everyone sought their way homewards, the majority of the people falling down on their way.  The Rabbis, the sacrificers, and the Pharisees, as well as the crowd of people, recognized that Jesus was truly the Son of God.  God has shown that it was His Son, Who, by love for humanity, He had sacrificed to be crucified.

JESUS TO BEAR SCARS OF CROSS FOR ETERNITY:

         "Jesus will bear always through eternity the scars of the cross, so that the entire universe may understand the immense sacrifice of His love for human beings.  He said to me, 'I am the Living One, I am the Eternal, your God.'  Oh, my brothers and sisters, I saw the Calvary of Jesus, His sufferings. When you criticize and speak badly of your brothers and sisters, it is as if you were again driving in the nails into His flesh, and that you cause Him to suffer again.  When we sin willfully, we are crucifying Him again. Do not turn away your heart from Jesus.

         "By His death He has proved His love for us; do not doubt it.  Do you not hear this appeal of grace, 'Today, if you hear His voice, harden not your hearts.' We no longer pay attention to this, and our conscience is no longer awake to the sacrifice of the Savior on the cross.

IF YOU SAW JESUS DEATH YOU WOULD RETURN TO HIM:

         "If your eyes were opened, you would return to Jesus, entirely yielding your heart to Him.  Jesus said to me, 'By My death you have eternal life today.' But we do not attach much importance to this eternal life which was offered to us at the price of the cross.  'I was dead,' said Jesus, 'But I am resurrected and I live forever.  I do not wish the sinners to die, but that they arrive at repentance.' Jesus presents on the altar of the mercy seat His blood shed on the cross.  But His work of grace is coming to an end, and we seem to be unconscious of the short time that remains to us.  The work of grace is on the point of ending.

         "Jesus showed me that in the very [most] holy place.  I saw that the work of redemption of Christ by His death on the cross will be again called to mind throughout the whole universe during the judgment. I saw that Jesus holds out His pierced hands before the angels, the saints, the living beings and the twenty-four ancients.

DEATH OF JESUS TO BE SUBJECT OF STUDY IN HEAVEN:

        "The death of Jesus on the cross will be a subject of study for us in the heavens.  If a sinner is lost, it is because he has not wished to be saved. I saw that Jesus will tell all of those who are lost, 'How many times have I called you to come to Me! I loved you.  I shed My blood for you.  I gave My life for you.  And you, what have you done for Me?' And Jesus will present His blood before the whole universe.  Let us understand well the great sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for us.

         "Soon will finish the appeal to salvation.  Do not live in sin.  Come back to Jesus.  Listen to His appeals and counsels.  If you persist in your sins, the blood of Jesus will no longer cover you, and you will be judged and lost.  But if you accept His sacrifice, you will not be passed by the judgment; you will be saved by the grace of His sacrifice.

SHOULD MEDITATE ON SAVIOR'S DEATH:

         "It was shown to me that we must meditate on the Savior's death at Calvary because, today, we have practically lost the sense of His sacrifice.  Let us also reflect upon His mediation for us in the sanctuary. This is very important. ....  We should each day, pore more closely over the Word of God; meditate upon the life of the Savior, His death, His resurrection, and preach Christ crucified, Christ resurrected.  If we meditate more on His death on the cross, we will understand how God is love.  And we would draw on that Love in order to perfect our relations between brothers and sisters.  Jesus told us, "Love one another as I have loved you." Let us live this love of the Lord in our hearts, and let our lives be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ's character of beauty, love.  Quite often, when we suffer, we forget how much Jesus also has suffered in our place.  We tend to overlook or forget the great sacrifices He accepted in order to redeem us."

          In concluding this monograph, we leave you with one final thought to ponder.  WE ARE SAVED BY WORKS IN ITS TRUEST SENSE, but not our works; rather THE WORK OF JESUS, HIS FATHER AND THEIR HOLY SPIRIT, which brought salvation to man, snatching him from the enemy's prison.  Jesus' coming to earth and living and dying for us was the greatest WORK of love ever witnessed in the universe.  He did this WORK for us, because there was no WORK we could do save ourselves.  When He went back to heaven, He then sent His Holy Spirit TO WORK ON EARTH ON OUR BEHALF, while He continued His WORK OF INTERCESSION, in heaven, so the WORK of salvation could be completed.  Yes, WE ARE SAVED BY WORKS! A HEAVENLY WORK IN OUR LIVES. The only thing we can do to help is cooperate and seek Him with all our heart.