The Test of Character by Stephen N. Haskell

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Nov 18, 1909

The Test of Character

By Stephen N. Haskell

S. N. HASKELL

(Reading for Monday, December 13)

At the close of probation there will be the greatest uncovering of soul nakedness that has ever been since the fall of man. Many will find that they have been deceived. “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matt. 7: 21-23.

These are some of the most solemn words found in the Bible. They point forward to the day of Judgment—“Many will say to me in that day.” These words are not spoken to the sinner who never professed to love God, but they are addressed to those who professed to be Christians, who believed in the religion of the Bible and expected

to be saved. They had built their hopes on their supposed Christian experience. “Have we not prophesied in thy name? . . . and in thy name done many wonderful works?” say they.

There are three ways in which men who are not prophets, or even Christians, may prophesy: First, they may teach the prophecies, as did Caiaphas (see John 11: 49-51); second, they may sing songs of praise and play on musical instruments in worship (1 Chron. 25: 1-3); third, they may bear testimony in social meeting (1 Cor. 14: 22-26).

These people who are here referred to by Jesus Christ were not simply professors of the Christian religion, but were active in teaching the prophecies. They had sung the songs of Zion, they had cast out devils, and done many wonderful works. They were self-deceived, for their lives were not in harmony with their profession.

“That day” does not refer to the time when Christ is seen coming in the clouds of heaven; there is no pleading with God then, as mentioned in these scriptures; for at that time the righteous are taken, and the wicked are destroyed. But this refers to the time when there is no intercession. Isa. 59: 16. It is when the word comes from the heavenly courts: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Rev. 22: 11, 12.

The end of human probation will come as suddenly and unexpectedly as a thief in the night. In the morning the evidence that the thief has been in the house is seen in the absence of the goods. So it will be with those who have expected to be saved, but whose Christian experience has not been in harmony with the written Word. They had what they thought was evidence of their acceptance with God; they had taught the prophecies with energy and zeal; they had prayed for the sick, and they were healed; they had done many wonderful works, but in the final crisis they find they have no oil in their vessels. Because of their zeal and their energy they had felt sure of salvation; but no religious experience, unless it is in harmony with the Word of God, is to be relied upon.

Amid the falling of the seven last plagues these terror-stricken souls behold the protection over the children of God,—how, though a thousand fall at the side of the saints, and ten thousand at their right hand, no harm comes to them, and no plague comes nigh their dwelling. Psalm 91. Then it is that these deceived souls find that they have built their house upon the sand; and so when the floods come, and the winds blow, it falls; and great is the fall of it. Matt. 7: 24-27.

The law of God is hung out in the heavens, and, as they behold the righteousness of God as manifested in that law, they see where and how and when they first departed from integrity and righteousness. See Ps. 97: 6; 98: 2. They find, when it is too late, that they had not placed a proper estimate upon the testimony God had sent them. “Too late! too late!” is the doleful cry. They had rejected the warning, and trusted in an emotional religion. One ounce of Christianity founded upon trust and obedience to the Word of God is worth a lifetime of emotion and spiritual ecstasy without faith in the testimony of God’s inspired volume. “The word of the Lord endureth forever.”

Men may give their goods to feed the poor, but that will not save them without the love of God in their hearts. Men may make great sacrifices; but that will not save them. The prophet says: “Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” Micah 6: 6, 7. Then he adds, “He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” Verse 8. It is to do something, or, as the margin reads, “to humble thyself to walk with thy God.”

Saul was very zealous for the Lord, and God tested him by giving him great success in battle. When he went forth to battle, the prophet Samuel said to him: “Now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the Lord. . . . Smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.”

Saul went forth to the battle, but he thought he could improve upon what God had said, so, while he utterly destroyed all the people, he spared the best of the sheep and cattle to be used as offerings. He would not destroy them, but he did utterly destroy everything that was vile and refuse. So confident was he that this was the wise thing to do, that when he met Samuel, he said, “Blessed be thou of the Lord: I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” But Samuel said, “What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” Saul then explained to him that he had spared the best of the sheep and oxen to offer as sacrifices to the Lord. He began to reason with Samuel why he had done this thing, and even laid the blame of it upon the people. Then Samuel said unto Saul: “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.” 1 Sam. 15: 22, 23.

To obey is better than great sacrifices. There is nothing that can take the place of obedience; to obey without reasoning, to submit without questioning, is a test of character; or, in other words, it is to say Yes when God speaks.

Said the prophet Micah, “Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” The greatest sacrifice that man can make, the greatest show of outward acts, will save no one, unless the heart obeys God. “To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” There is no test so great as that which comes through obedience to God’s word. There is no condition of mind that is acceptable with God except that of submission.

We are living in the most solemn period of this earth’s history. God is preparing his people for heaven. We are looking for, expecting, and, in some cases, receiving, showers of the latter rain; and no person can receive the latter rain whose heart is not right with God. No heart is right with God unless it is in a condition to say, “Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth.”

God speaks to his people in his Word and through the spirit of prophecy. The Testimonies come to God’s people, and he who will by faith make a personal application of what God says, will realize that he is being weighed in the heavenly balances. This is the only safe position for the people of God to be in at the present time; for one unconfessed sin is sufficient to shut the soul out of the kingdom. One evil trait of character that is not overcome, will be a barrier between a pure and holy God and the soul.

Many duties are required of God’s people at the present time that were not so forcibly enjoined in years past:

but they come to us with a double force because we are in the time when God has said, “Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more.” Amos 7: 8. We are in the latter days, and Satan has come down with great wrath because he knows that he has but a short time. And the people who are now living upon the earth, and who profess to be the people of God, ought to examine their hearts as they never have examined them before. It becomes us to compare our lives with the law of God. No experience based on feeling or emotion will save the soul. It is only the most thorough heart searching and deep repentance before God that will be acceptable in his sight. Yet God is good, and his promises are most precious. He becomes light and life to the soul. He asks us to come to him, “The Spirit and the bride say, Come. . . . And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.” Rev. 22: 17; Isa. 55: 1; Rev. 21: 6.

His hand is extended down from the battlements of heaven to grasp the hands of all who will reach up, saying in their hearts, I am helpless, help thou me; and strength will be imparted to every uplifted soul. Let none fail to see the importance of just now connecting with heaven by co-operating with Christ in doing all in their power to extend a knowledge of his truth in the earth. With hearts full of submission and contrition, let us gather from the highways and the hedges sheaves for the heavenly garner, that when he comes, it may be said to us, “Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”