Will You Deny Christ’s Ownership?
By R. A. Underwood
“Ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” Eph. 1: 13, 14. “Ye are bought with a price.” Reader, will you deny the ownership of the loving Saviour who gave his life to purchase you and your lost home? See 1 Peter 1: 18, 19; Luke 19: 10; Micah 4: 8. Satan disputes the right and title of Christ to this world. Just before the coronation of the Son of God, after the wicked dead are raised, true to his text, Satan’s last effort to deceive is upon the same question of the rightful ownership of this world. I read in “Great Controversy,” page 663:— “Yet, true to his early cunning, he does not acknowledge himself to be Satan. He claims to be the prince who is the rightful owner of the world, and whose inheritance has been unlawfully wrested from him. He represents himself to his deluded subjects as a redeemer, assuring them that his power has brought them forth from their graves, and that he is about to rescue them from the most cruel tyranny.” On which side of this controversy do you stand, my brother and sister? What is your confession of faith and practise upon this vital question? Christ says, “Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” What is the confession of the loyal servants of Christ upon this great question? Listen to the answer given by Moses before the wicked Pharaoh: “Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the Lord; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the Lord’s.” Ex. 9: 29. David proclaims, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” Ps. 24: 1. Paul reiterates the same truth: “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.” 1 Cor. 10: 26. Notice the positive statements of the Lord: “For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.” Ps. 50: 10-12. “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts.” Haggai 2: 8. “For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: he doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.” Deut. 10: 17, 18. Of a fallen church, the Lord says: “For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal. Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, . . . and will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness.” Hosea 2: 8, 9. My brethren, those broad acres of corn, rye, and wheat are the Lord’s. That vineyard of grapes, that field of flax and cotton, are the Lord’s. Yes, your multiplied merchandise, silver, and gold, those fine herds of horses, cattle, and sheep are all the Lord’s. The beautiful birds, the flowers, the golden grain, the luscious fruits, and our raiment, yea, all are the Lord’s. In David’s prayer of thanksgiving, he says: “Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee. . . . I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee.” 1 Chron. 29: 11-17.