WHY-ARE WE STUDYING THE MESSAGE?
By Mrs. L. Flora Plummer
At first thought it would seem unnecessary for a whole denomination to be called upon to unite in a study of the principles of the faith its members profess. Especially would it seem so when the faith professed is so unpopular as is that held by Seventh-day Adventists; for why would any one profess it who did not understand and believe it? Nevertheless, the people who are proclaiming the gospel in all the completeness of the third angel’s message have the most urgent need for a constant study of the principles of their faith. On page 213, “Testimony for the Church,” No. 32, these statements are made: “The people who claim to obey the truth are asleep. They could not be at ease as they are if they were awake. The love of the truth is dying out of their hearts.” With the double hope of reviving the love of the truth in the hearts that have lost it, and keeping other hearts from losing it, this study is urged upon all. More than this: We have a direct statement in “Testimony for the Church,” No. 33, page 235, concerning such study: “The Lord calls upon all who believe his word to awake out of sleep. Precious light has come, appropriate for this time. . . . This light should lead us to a diligent study of the Scriptures, and a most critical examination of the positions which we hold. God would have all the bearings and positions of truth thoroughly and perseveringly searched, with prayer and fasting. Believers are not to rest in suppositions and ill-defined ideas of what constitutes truth. . . . As a people, we are called individually to be students of prophecy.” And still more than this: It is not sufficient that we store our minds with a general knowledge of the points of our faith, but we must study the details so carefully and faithfully that we can put what we know into words, and thus bring it to the knowledge of other people. Just this instruction is given in “Gospel Workers,” page 170: “The minds of all should be stored with a knowledge of the truths of God’s word; that they may be prepared, at any moment when required, to present from the storehouse things new and old. Minds have been crippled and dwarfed for want of zeal, and of earnest, severe taxation. The time has come when God says, ‘Go forward, and cultivate the abilities I have given you.’” But especially applicable to our present study is the following, from one of the Special Testimonies: “The books ‘Daniel and the Revelation’ and ‘Great Controversy’ are the books which above all others should be in circulation now.” Another word from the same source is: “God has a special message of warning for this last generation, and he gave wisdom to his servants who studied the prophecies, and especially to Elder Smith, to write ‘Thoughts on Daniel and Revelation.’” It was the message for the time. Another extract, referring to the books mentioned above, says: “Of all the books that have come forth from the press, those mentioned are of the greatest consequence . . . at the present time.” Then, too, we have a suggestion for the present plan of the Reading Circle work, in the following from “Gospel Workers,” page 242: “When the harvest is gathered, and the sowing is over, it is a favorable season for religious work. During the long evenings the lessons of the Scriptures should be carefully studied. Precious opportunities may be improved in conversing and praying together, in relating experiences, in making diligent search of the Bible; by such Christian association we may build up one another in the most holy faith.” Surely no one who reads these extracts will now ask, “Why are we studying the message?”