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Getting (Or Being) Ready?
Kevin D. Paulson
Originally Published on Great Controversy.org on March 2, 2005.
Recent articles in a prominent church publication offer a revealing glimpse of the moral vacillation and eschewed responsibility which troubles so much of contemporary Adventism.
Being Ready
One of these articles, titled “Being Ready” (1), claims it is not our responsibility as Christians to “get ready” for the return of Christ, but rather, to “be ready.” In the author’s own words:
One of the most frequently used expressions in Adventist circles is the statement, ‘We must get ready.’ ‘The Lord is coming; we must get ready.’ I’ve heard it. I’ve thought it. I’ve used it. But where in the Bible does it say we must get ready? I’m afraid ‘get ready’ smacks too much of human works. It implies that there is something or a series of somethings one must do to get ready (2).
After listing a number of things held to be essential preparations for Jesus’ coming—including victory over sin, witnessing, stewardship, etc.—the author goes on to say:
These are all important elements of a Christian life, but not the most important. Jesus said in Matthew 24:24, ‘Be ye also ready [it doesn’t say, ‘Get ready’]; for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh’ (3).
Finally, in closing the article, he writes:
I don’t want to get ready. I want to be ready. In fact, I am ready. Are you? (4).
Sadly, this person’s theology offers a textbook case of drawing conclusions from Scripture without considering all the relevant evidence—either from Scripture or the writings of the Spirit of Prophecy.
He asks, “Where in the Bible does it say we must get ready?” (5). Perhaps he should have considered the following:
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burned up.
Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?…
Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless (2 Peter 3:10, 12, 14).
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure (1 John 3:2, 3).
Notice how, according to these passages, those waiting for the coming of Christ are to “be diligent” that they be found “without spot and blameless” (2 Peter 3:14). They are to purify themselves, “even as He is pure” (1 John 3:3). That sounds like getting ready to me!
We noted in 2 Peter 3:12 that those awaiting Jesus’ coming are to be “looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God.” Here, and elsewhere (Revelation 7:1-3), we find the Biblical foundation for Ellen White’s renowned statement that the reproduction of Jesus’ character in His people will hasten His coming:
Christ is waiting with longing desire for the manifestation of Himself in His church. When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own.
It is the privilege of every Christian not only to look for but to hasten the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (6).
The author of the article in question seems to forget that the oft-repeated Adventist admonition to “get ready” for Jesus’ coming was not invented by some legalistic taskmaster. It came from no less than an angel from heaven, and was written for our instruction by God’s last-day prophet, Ellen G. White:
Then my eyes were taken from the glory, and I was pointed to the remnant on the earth. The angel said to them, ‘Will ye shun the seven last plagues? Will ye go to glory and enjoy all that God has prepared for those who love Him and are willing to suffer for His sake? If so, ye must die that ye may live. Get ready, get ready, get ready. Ye must have a greater preparation than ye now have, for the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate and to destroy the sinners thereof out of it. Sacrifice all to God. Lay all upon the altar—self, property, and all, a living sacrifice. It will take all to enter glory’ (7).
Notice how, in this angel’s message, the words “get ready” are repeated three times. But as we have seen, this command is found in Scripture itself, which is equally clear that lifestyle diligence and self-purification are needed to prepare us to meet our Lord in peace (2 Peter 3:14; 1 John 3:2, 3).
In another statement Ellen White again clarifies the preparation needed for the final crisis, and whose responsibility this preparation is:
Not one of us will ever receive the seal of God while our characters have one spot or stain upon them. It is left with us to remedy the defects in our characters, to cleanse the soul temple of every defilement. Then the latter rain will fall upon us, as the early rain fell upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost (8).
Of course, we can’t remind ourselves often enough that only heaven’s imparted strength makes such diligence and purification possible (Matthew 19:26; John 15:5; Philippians 4:13). But Scripture never depicts such power as a substitute for human effort and striving. Jesus Himself declared, “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:24). Paul declared, “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1). “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). “Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin” (Hebrews 12:4).
When the author in question objects to the idea of “getting ready” because—in his words—it “smacks too much of human works” (9), he is badly misconstruing the Biblical teaching that we are not saved by works (see Romans 3:20, 28; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8, 9). These passages warn not about what Christians accomplish through the Spirit’s regenerating power (see Galatians 2:20), but what they might seek to do in their own unaided strength (see Romans 2:17-23; Ephesians 2:8). Paul draws a sharp contrast between “works of righteousness which we have done” (which can save no one) and the “washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (which is in fact the means of our salvation) (Titus 3:5).
At one point in the article, the author writes:
I do aspire to be like Him (Jesus).
I choose it because it’s His will for me.
I choose it because of the peace it brings me and the glory it sheds on Him.
I do it for the hour is late, and the crisis is upon us (10).
But as we have seen already in our review of Scripture, aspiring and choosing are not enough. Diligence, striving, and self-purification through heaven’s power are also needed. Repeatedly, in Hebrews chapter 11, “by faith” is shown to mean active, aggressive obedience to God’s commands, not some “let go and let God” passivity. For the author in question to claim that to “get ready…smacks too much of human works” (11), betrays a serious misunderstanding of Biblical teachings regarding faith, works, and which works are acceptable—and which unacceptable—in God’s sight.
One is frankly amazed at the story with which this author starts his article. He recalls a recent snowstorm in Atlanta which caught the city off guard, paralyzed transportation, and left people shivering for lack of heat and power (12). Yet he goes on to draw this strange contrast between “getting” and “being” ready for the coming of Christ (13). But in order to “be ready,” mustn’t one also “get ready”? Had the people in Atlanta and its environs gotten ready when they were warned of the coming storm—stocking up on needed supplies, etc.—they would indeed have “been ready” when the storm struck. But instead, as the author notes, they ignored the warnings and were caught unprepared (14). Then he goes on to tell us we just need to “be ready” and not “get ready” for the final crisis. As people often say, “Go figure!”
What is more, the author never quite explains exactly what it means to “be ready.” Unfortunately, we gather an idea of his meaning from the following statement in his article, which again betrays a tragically-abbreviated understanding of God’s salvation:
Our mistakes, our past failures, can all be wiped away in a moment—gone, forgotten. Remember the thief on the cross? ‘Christ, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom?’ Did Christ say, ‘Oh, but you weren’t faithful in church attendance’ or ‘You didn’t pay all your tithe’? ‘You didn’t study your lesson every day’? No, He said, ‘I tell you today, thou shalt be with Me in Paradise.’
That experience can be our experience. One simple prayer, and every one of us is equal in His sight (15).
None will deny that through God’s forgiveness, every one of us is equal in His sight. Praise God for the forgiving grace of our Lord Jesus! But is the author here implying that all we need to “be ready” for Jesus’ coming is forgiveness? The thief on the cross certainly wasn’t “just forgiven”! Scripture records how he rebuked his fellow thief for railing on Jesus, and acknowledged the innocence of the Saviour (Luke 23:40, 41). Ellen White, describing in depth details from this man’s life that Scripture omits, makes it clear his heart was surrendered and changed at that moment (16). According to the clear testimony of Inspiration, the thief on the cross was not merely forgiven, he was transformed and victorious also.
Remembering Lot’s Wife
Another article, in the same issue of the same magazine, touched on a Bible story Jesus recalled in His end-time warnings (17). Here again we find a dangerously incomplete perception of a key Biblical narrative, combined with a subtle non-abhorrence of evil.
In describing Lot’s wife, the author of this piece cites Edith Deen’s book All of the Women of the Bible, which observes that “Lot’s wife was a worldly, selfish woman, one who spent lavishly and entertained elaborately” (18). The author of the article in question then writes, “These assumptions may indeed be true” (19).
But there’s no need to assume anything here. A source far more authoritative than Edith Deen informs us:
The wife of Lot was a selfish, irreligious woman, and her influence was exerted to separate her husband from Abraham. But for her, Lot would not have remained in Sodom, deprived of the counsel of the wise, God-fearing patriarch. The influence of his wife and the associations of that wicked city would have led him to apostatize from God had it not been for the faithful instruction he had early received from Abraham. The marriage of Lot and his choice of Sodom for a home were the first links in a chain of events fraught with evil to the world for many generations (20).
Yet despite what Inspiration notes of the magnitude of this woman’s rebellion against God, the author of the article in question writes: “Yet I cannot find it in my heart to entirely condemn you, Madam Lot, for looking back. You see, I might look back too” (21). She then claims she has no longing for material luxuries, and observes that today’s materialist culture is fittingly rebuked by Mrs. Lot’s punishment if indeed this was why she looked back (22). But then, most disturbingly of all, comes the following observation:
But perhaps you were looking back for a final glimpse of a house full of memories, a home where you lovingly and conscientiously raised the daughters so ruthlessly offered by your husband to divert the marauders unspeakably seeking sex with angels. Likely you had left behind sons, already married, with homes of their own to be consumed by the brimstone of destruction. Scripture doesn’t say. Were there grandchildren you were doting on as you babysat them? What about the wedding plans you and the girls had such a good time making, and their fiance’s to whom you had become attached? Perhaps you were envisioning the double wedding festivities as you saw your daughters tear themselves, unbelieving, from the arms of their beloved (23).
The careful Bible student will react with no mild indignation to these comments, and for more than one reason. For starters, considering the Biblical sequel to the Sodom story involving Lot and his daughters (Gen. 19:30-38), we sense that the portrayal in this article of Mrs. Lot as a careful mother to her girls is overly charitable. And considering Ellen White’s inspired observation as to the character of Lot’s wife, noted earlier (24), such an assumption on the author’s part grows even more suspect.
Even more seriously, whatever pain Lot’s wife felt at the destruction of her children, their spouses, and grandchildren if there were any, was entirely self-inflicted. We have seen from Inspiration how her influence was the decisive factor in causing Lot to move to Sodom, placing her children in a setting where self-indulgent worldlings were their likely suitors. If indeed her unmarried daughters were planning marriage, it was likely to other, equally worldly men, to whom they had no business attaching themselves.
While the author’s emotive farewell to Lot’s wife, “For you could be me” (25), is appropriate—for indeed, all of us will suffer her fate if at last we prove unfaithful—one gathers no sense of the exceeding sinfulness of sin in this author’s words. Not only does she ignore the details of this story given us by Inspiration, but you couldn’t possibly glean from this article the reality that a chain of bad choices—by both Lot and his wife—had led to the heart-wrenching moments of parting and ultimate doom that Lot’s wife suffered. Reading this article, one almost gets the impression that God was too hard on Lot’s wife—that only a cruel, judgmental Deity—not unlike those much-reviled “legalists” in the contemporary church—could possibly inflict such a harsh sentence on this quite-normal lover of home and family.
The author of this article professes ignorance as to which love—that of material possessions or of her lost family—caused Lot’s wife to look back (26). Ellen White, under divine inspiration, says it was both:
While her body was upon the plain, her heart clung to Sodom, and she perished with it. She rebelled against God because His judgments involved her possessions and her children in the ruin. Although so greatly favored in being called out from the wicked city, she felt that she was severely dealt with, because the wealth that it had taken years to accumulate must be left to destruction. Instead of thankfully accepting deliverance, she presumptuously looked back to desire the life of those who had rejected the divine warning. Her sin showed her to be unworthy of life, for the preservation of which she felt so little gratitude (27).
Yes, Lot’s wife could be me too. Any of us. Which is why, by the grace of God, the placing of our all on heaven’s altar—the “getting ready” commanded by God’s angel (28) and disparaged in the recent article (29)—must become the passion of all our lives.
Conclusion
Inspiration does not draw the distinction between “getting” and “being” ready that the author does. To be ready, we must—through heaven’s imparted power—get ready. To do otherwise will be to find ourselves as unprepared as the residents of Atlanta in the snowstorm—and as doomed as that saline memorial to worldliness on the blasted plain before Sodom. GCO
Endnotes
- Don Weatherall, “Being Ready,” Adventist Review, February 24, 2005, pp. 24-27.
- Ibid., p. 25.
- Ibid., p. 26.
- Ibid., p. 27.
- Ibid., p. 25.
- Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 69.
- ________, Early Writings, pp. 66, 67 (emphasis supplied).
- ________, Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 214.
- Weatherall, “Being Ready,” p. 25.
- Ibid., p. 26.
- Ibid., p. 25.
- Ibid., pp. 24, 25.
- Ibid., p. 25.
- Ibid., pp. 24, 25.
- Ibid., pp. 26, 27.
- White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 749, 750.
- Jeanne Jordan, “The Tragedy of Looking Back,” Adventist Review, February 24, 2005, p. 31.
- Edith Deen, All of the Women of the Bible (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1983), pp. 17, 18.
- Jordan, “The Tragedy of Looking Back,” p. 31.
- White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 174.
- Jordan, “The Tragedy of Looking Back,” p. 31.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 174.
- Jordan, “The Tragedy of Looking Back,” p. 31.
- Ibid.
- White, Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 161, 162.
- ________, Early Writings, pp. 66, 67.
- Weatherall, “Being Ready,” pp. 25-27.
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