“But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings. . .”   Malachi 4:2  Jesus Christ the Sun of Righteousness, is soon to finish His work, and cut it short in righteousness.  Are we ready for the Time of Trouble that is soon to come, in fact is already coming upon this world..  Why are we still here?  What is slowing down the process?  What must we do to get ready—to develop the character of Christ. How do we learn to love as Jesus loved.  These are a few of the questions that will be addressed in this little paper.

        Jesus is the Faithful and True witness who comes to judge the world in righteousness, and to make war on evil, we are all players in this war, we freely choose which side we will be on.  Jesus on the White Horse is the message of Righteousness by Faith.  It was the message of the Two Witnesses Jones and Waggoner in 1888, and it is the message for today—the message of how we become like Jesus.  We are judged by the Ten Commandments—the law of love (action/principal).  Jesus is personally involved in all the end time events. The work of judgment (which includes the judgment of the living) is finished before the Second Coming, and at that time His reward is with Him.

        Formalism has been found in the ranks of Laodicea. Formalism is the missing of the true salvation by faith, and is the ultimate works-pride-trip.  The question is, how do we really become like Christ and not fall into the trap of formalism?  It is impossible for us to ever work our way to heaven.  It is a free gift that we must receive by faith.  How do we receive this faith?  How is this done?  What is the process that we must go through to allow the healing of our soul and be ready for the Time of Trouble.  We must not fall into the works trap, or sit in judgment or criticize others.

         The following is a collection of quotes and comments which will enlighten on the subjects of Righteousness by Faith, and formalism and legalism:

        "As one becomes acquainted with the history of the Redeemer, he discovers in himself serious defects; his unlikeness to Christ is so great that he sees the necessity for radical changes in his life. Still he studies with a desire to become like his great Exemplar. He catches the looks, the spirit, of his beloved Master. By beholding by "looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith," he becomes changed into the same image. It is not by looking away from him that we imitate the life of Jesus, but by talking of him, by dwelling upon his perfections, by seeking to refine the taste and elevate the character, by trying, through faith and love, and by earnest, persevering effort, to approach the perfect Pattern. By having a knowledge of Christ,—his words, his habits, and his lessons of instruction,—we borrow the virtues of the character we have so closely studied, and become imbued with the spirit we have so much admired. Jesus becomes to us 'the chiefest among ten thousand,' the One 'altogether lovely.'"   Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, March 15, 1887.

        One can see by this beautiful statement that it is “by beholding” that we become changed.  This means that we are to study the life of Christ, and how he treated people.  Jesus said in John 8:11  “...And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”  Did Jesus condemn people.  The only people he spoke directly to in judgment, were the Pharisees and Hypocrites, which he denounced in the strongest language.

        “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” Matthew 7:1 .

        "The effort to earn salvation by one's own works inevitably leads men to pile up human exactions as a barrier against sin. For, seeing that they fail to keep the law, they will devise rules and regulations of their own to force themselves to obey. All this turns the mind away from God to self. His love dies out of the heart, and with it perishes love for his fellow men. A system of human invention, with its multitudinous exactions, will lead its advocates to judge all who come short of the prescribed human standard. The atmosphere of selfish and narrow criticism stifles the noble and generous emotions, and causes men to become self-centered judges and petty spies.

        The Pharisees were of this class. They came forth from their religious services, not humbled with a sense of their own weakness, not grateful for the great privileges that God had given them. They came forth filled with spiritual pride, and their theme was, 'Myself, my feelings, my knowledge, my ways."  Their own attainments became the standard by which they judged others. Putting on the robes of self-dignity, they mounted the judgment seat to criticize and condemn.

        The people partook largely of the same spirit, intruding upon the province of conscience and judging one another in matters that lay between the soul and God. It was in reference to this spirit and practice that Jesus said, 'Judge not, that ye be not judged.' That is, do not set yourself up as a standard. Do not make your opinions, your views of duty, your interpretations of Scripture, a criterion for others and in your heart condemn them if they do not come up to your ideal. Do not criticize others, conjecturing as to their motives and passing judgment upon them.

        'Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts.' 1 Corinthians 4:5. We cannot read the heart. Ourselves faulty, we are not qualified to sit in judgment upon others. Finite men can judge only from outward appearance. To Him alone who knows the secret springs of action, and who deals tenderly and  compassionately, is it given to decide the case of every soul." Thoughts from the  Mount of Blessing, page 123-124.

        "Satan is now working with all his insinuating, deceiving power, to lead men away from the work of the third angel's message, which is to be proclaimed with mighty power. When the enemy sees that the Lord is blessing His people, and preparing them to discern his delusions, he will work with his masterly power to bring in fanaticism on one hand and cold formalism on the other, that he may gather in a harvest of souls. Now is the time to watch unceasingly. Watch for the first step of advance that Satan may make among us."-- Review and Herald, Jan. 24, 1893.

        "Formality, worldly wisdom, worldly caution, worldly policy, will appear to many to be the very power of God, but when accepted, it stands as an obstacle to prevent God's light in warnings, reproof, and counsel from coming to the world." Selected Messages Book 2, page 19.

        "Bible religion is not made up of theological systems, creeds, theories, and tradition, for then it would not remain a mystery. The worldly would understand it through their own natural abilities. But religion, Bible religion, has a practical, saving energy, elements proceeding wholly from God—a personal experience of God's power transforming the entire man." Manuscript Releases Volume Sixteen, page 236.

        "There is much to do in order to fit us for the courts of the Lord. The  roughness of spirit, the coarseness of speech, the cheapness of character, must be put away, or we can never wear the garment woven in the heavenly loom,—the righteousness of Christ. . ."  Sons and Daughters of God, page 315.

        "The disciples and apostles of Christ had a deep sense of their own inefficiency, and with humiliation and prayer they joined their weakness to his strength, their ignorance to his wisdom, their unworthiness to his righteousness, their poverty to his inexhaustible wealth. Thus strengthened and equipped they hesitated not in the service of their Master." Redemption: or the Ministry of Peter and the Conversion of Saul, page 11.

        God's promise is, "Ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13.

        "The whole heart must be yielded to God, or the change can never be wrought in us by which we are to be restored to His likeness. By nature we are alienated from God. The Holy Spirit describes our condition in such words as these: 'Dead in trespasses and sins;" "the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint;' 'no soundness in it.'  We are held fast in the snare of Satan, 'taken captive by him at his will.' Ephesians 2:1; Isaiah 1:5, 6; 2 Timothy 2:26. God desires to heal us, to set us free. But since this requires an entire transformation, a renewing of our whole nature, we must yield ourselves wholly to Him.

        The government of God is not, as Satan would make it appear, founded upon a blind submission, an unreasoning control. It appeals to the intellect and the conscience. 'Come now, and let us reason together' is the Creator's invitation to the beings He has made. Isaiah 1:18. God does not force the will of His creatures. He cannot accept an homage that is not willingly and intelligently given. A mere forced submission would prevent all real development of mind or character; it would make man a mere automaton.  Such is not the purpose of the Creator. He desires that man, the crowning work of His creative power, shall reach the highest possible development. He sets before us the height of blessing to which He desires to bring us through His grace. He invites us to give ourselves to Him, that He may work His will in us. It remains for us to choose whether we will be set free from the bondage of sin, to share the glorious liberty of the sons of God.

        There are those who profess to serve God, while they rely upon their own efforts (formalism) to obey His law, to form a right character, and secure salvation. Their hearts are not moved by any deep sense of the love of Christ, but they seek to perform the duties of the Christian life as that which God requires of them in order to gain heaven. Such religion is worth nothing. When Christ dwells in the heart, the soul will be so filled with His love, with the joy of communion with Him, that it will cleave to Him; and in the contemplation of Him, self will be forgotten. Love to Christ will be the spring of action. Those who feel the constraining love of God, do not ask how little may be given to meet the requirements of God; they do not ask for the lowest standard, but aim at perfect conformity to the will of their Redeemer. With earnest desire they yield all and manifest an interest proportionate to the value of the object which they seek. A profession of Christ without this deep love is mere talk, dry formality, and heavy drudgery."  Steps to Christ, p. 43-45.

        We can see that the truth that sets us free is the truth of Jesus Christ, when we get to know him it is a law that we become like what we desire.  “. . .But when they came to Baal Peor, they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol and became as vile as the thing they loved.” Hosea 9:10 NIV.   This law in reverse spoken of by Hosea, tells that you become like your idol if that is what you admire and desire, or you become like Christ if that is the desire and love of your heart.

        "I also saw that many do not realize what they must be in order to live in the sight of the Lord without a high priest in the sanctuary through the time of trouble. Those who receive the seal of the living God and are protected in the time of trouble must reflect the image of Jesus fully." Early Writings, p. 71.

        "In order for us to obtain the Seal of God, Everyone must now search the Bible for himself upon his knees before God, with the humble, teachable heart of a child, if he would know what the Lord requires of him." 5 Testimonies, 214.  "What we need is to know God and the power of His love, as revealed in Christ, by an experimental knowledge." ibid. 743.

        "Just as soon as the people of God are sealed in their foreheads,—it is not any seal or mark that can be seen, but a settling into the truth, both intellectually and spiritually, so they cannot be moved,—just as soon as God's people are sealed and prepared for the shaking, it will come. Indeed, it has begun already; the judgments of God are now upon the land, to give us warning, that we may know what is coming."  1 Manuscript Release 250-1.

        "What is the seal of the living GOD, which is placed in the foreheads of his people.  It is a mark which angels, but not human eyes, can read; for the destroying angel must see this mark of redemption.  The intelligent mind has seen the sign of the cross of Calvary in the LORD’s adopted sons and daughters.  The sin of the transgression of the law of GOD is taken away.  They have on the wedding garmet, and are obedient and faithful to all GOD’s commands." (Letter 126, 1898) 7 SDA Bible Commentary, p. 968.

        "But while the followers of CHRIST have sinned, they have not given themselves to the control of evil.  They have put away their sins, and have sought the LORD in humility and contrition, and the divine Advocate pleads in their behalf.  He who has been most abused by their ingratitude, who knows their sin, and also their repentance, declares: ‘The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan.’ I gave my life for these souls.  They are graven upon the palms of my hands."  5 Testimonies, page 474.

        "GOD calls for men whose hearts are as true as steel and who will stand steadfast in integrity, undaunted by circumstances.  He calls for men who will remain separate from the enemies of the truth.  He calls for men who will not dare to resort to the arm of flesh by entering into partnership with worldlings in order to secure means for advancing his work--even for the building of institutions."  5 Review & Herald 211.

        "The light of the Sun of Righteousness is to shine forth in good works—in words of truth and deeds of holiness."  Christ's Object Lessons, page 416.

        "We must remember the Eleventh Hour Workers that will soon come to join us, this is a promise for these workers.  “And souls that have been degraded into instruments of Satan are still through the power of Christ transformed into messengers of righteousness, and sent forth by the Son of God to tell what 'great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.'"  The Desire of Ages, page 341.

        "And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us." Deuteronomy 6:25

        In the trials and tests of these last days, the Devil is tempting us to doubt the truth in Jesus.  He is also causing some to falsely accuse others and to judge.  We must be very careful to follow the Bible standard.  We must go to or write to the person directly; then the church must go to or write to the person about the problem.  Only after the person has rejected the counsel and rejected the Spirit of Prophecy of Ellen White, or has a hostile spirit, or is living in open sin, is the person to be cast out or cut off.  Most of the time these people will go back to their Babylonian church on their own, but if there is a self-deceived one in the midst, that person must first be worked with in the above stated manner.  Everything possible must be tried to get them to see and repent.  It is best to err on the side of leaving a person alone, and in good time they will manifest what manner of spirit they are of.

        "Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye?" Matthew 7:3 .

        "Even the sentence, 'Thou that judgest doest the same things,' does not reach the magnitude of his sin who presumes to criticize and condemn his brother. Jesus said, "Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye.

        His words describe one who is swift to discern a defect in others. When he thinks he has detected a flaw in the character or the life he is exceedingly zealous in trying to point it out; but Jesus declares that the very trait of character developed in doing this un-Christlike work, is, in comparison with the fault criticized, as a beam in proportion to a mote. It is one's own lack of the spirit of forbearance and love that leads him to make a world of an atom. Those who have never experienced the contrition of an entire surrender to Christ do not in their life make manifest the softening influence of the Saviour's love. They misrepresent the gentle, courteous spirit of the gospel and wound precious souls, for whom Christ died. According to the figure that our Saviour uses, he who indulges a censorious spirit is guilty of greater sin than is the one he accuses, for he not only commits the same sin, but adds to it conceit and censoriousness.

        Christ is the only true standard of character, and he who sets himself up as a standard for others is putting himself in the place of Christ. And since the Father 'hath committed all judgment unto the Son' (John 5:22), whoever presumes to judge the motives of others is again usurping the prerogative of the Son of God. These would-be judges and critics are placing themselves on the side of antichrist, 'who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.' 2 Thessalonians 2:4.

        The sin that leads to the most unhappy results is the cold, critical, unforgiving spirit that characterizes Pharisaism. When the religious experience is devoid of love, Jesus is not there; the sunshine of His presence is not there. No busy activity or Christless zeal can supply the lack. There may be a wonderful keenness of perception to discover the defects of others; but to everyone who indulges this spirit, Jesus says, 'Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.' He who is guilty of wrong is the first to suspect wrong. By condemning another he is trying to conceal or excuse the evil of his own heart. It was through sin that men gained the knowledge of evil; no sooner had the first pair sinned than they began to accuse each other; and this is what human nature will inevitably do when uncontrolled by the grace of Christ.

        When men indulge this accusing spirit, they are not satisfied with pointing out what they suppose to be a defect in their brother. If milder means fail of making him do what they think ought to be done, they will resort to compulsion. Just as far as lies in their power they will force men to comply with their ideas of what is right. This is what the Jews did in the days of Christ and what the church has done ever since whenever she has lost the grace of Christ. Finding herself destitute of the power of love, she has reached out for the strong arm of the state to enforce her dogmas and execute her decrees. Here is the secret of all religious laws that have ever been enacted, and the secret of all persecution from the days of Abel to our own time.

        Christ does not drive but draws men unto Him. The only compulsion which He employs is the constraint of love. When the church begins to seek for the support of secular power, it is evident that she is devoid of the power of Christ—the constraint of divine love.

        But the difficulty lies with the individual members of the church, and it is here that the cure must be wrought. Jesus bids the accuser first cast the beam out of his own eye, renounce his censorious spirit, confess and forsake his own sin, before trying to correct others. For 'a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.' Luke 6:43. This accusing spirit which you indulge is evil fruit, and shows that the tree is evil. It is useless for you to build yourselves up in self-righteousness. What you need is a change of heart. You must have this experience before you are fitted to correct others; for 'out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.'" Matthew 12:34.  Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, pages 125-127.

        We all with fear and trembling must work out our own salvation, we must have a personal experience with Jesus Christ.   A belief in Ellen White  should only lead us to a closer walk with Jesus.  We do not make idols of God's Messenger, she is only a human messenger, to lead us to a correct understanding of the Bible.  It is the Bible that we must know forward and backward, and we must be able to prove all from the Bible.   We can use the Bible in the Courts based on the law passed in October 4, 1983, Public Law 97-280, 1983 was the Year of the Bible. The Fourth Commandment is our jurisdiction, and this is why the Sabbath is so important.  It points to our Creator, who has the ultimate jurisdiction over this world. This is the issue we will soon have to defend (United Nations World Court). Without the Righteousness of Christ living in our soul, we will not be able to stand.

        "Enoch 'walked with God' but how did he gain this sweet intimacy? It was by having thoughts of God continually before him. As he went out and as he came in, his meditations were upon the goodness, the perfection, and the loveliness of the divine character. And as he was thus engaged, he became changed into the glorious image of his Lord; for it is by beholding that we become changed."  The Signs of the Times, August 18, 1887.

        "I may speak in tongues of men or of angels, but if I am without love, I am a sounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  I may have the gift of prophecy, and knowevery hidden truth; I may have faith strong enough to move mountains; but if I have no love, I am nothing.  I may dole out all I possess, or even give my body to be burnt, but if I have no love, I am none the better.

        Love is patient; love is kind and envies no one.  Love is never boastful, nor conceited, nor rude; never selfish, not quick to take offence.  Love keeps no score of wrongs; does not gloat over other men’s sins, but delights in the truth.  There is nothing love cannot face; there is no limit to its faith, its hope, and its endurance.
1 Corinthians 13:1-7.  NEB.

        Thus we must walk with God.  We must be prepared like Enoch, in order to have God’s protection through the Time of Trouble that is already bursting upon this world.

        "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."  Matthew 6:33.

        "And to he was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the RIGHTEOUSNESS of saints." Revelation  9:8.

        And JESUS CHRIST - SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, rides on the WHITE HORSE, to judge in righteousness, and to make war on Babylon.  Will you choose the Righteousness of Christ?  Will you make spiritual war on Babylon, the Beast, the 666 power, and ride the white horse in this end time spiritual warfare?