Missionarial

The second directive of the Galilee Protocol is that it must be missionarial. This is a staffing plan that is deliberately non-commercial in nature, and specifically patterned after Christ's instructions given when the twelve and seventy were sent out.

Keep in mind that Christ left His comfortable home and position in Heaven “to seek and save that which was lost.”¹ And while on earth, “the Savior, though possessing 'all power.' never used this power for self-aggrandizement. No dream of earthly conquest, of worldly greatness, marred the perfection of His service for mankind. 'Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests,' He said, 'but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head.' Matthew 8:20. Those who, in response to the call of the hour, have entered the service of the Master Worker, may well study His methods.”²

“We are nearing the end of this earth’s history, and the different lines of God’s work are to be carried forward with much more self-sacrifice than is at present manifest. The work for these last days is in a special sense a missionary work. The presentation of present truth, from the first letter of its alphabet to the last, means missionary effort. The work to be done calls for sacrifice at every advance step. From this unselfish service the workers will come forth purified and refined as gold tried in the fire.”³

“The forces of the enemy of all righteousness are strongly entrenched; only by the power of God can the victory be gained. The conflict before us calls for the exercise of a spirit of self-denial, for distrust of self and for dependence on God alone, for the wise use of every opportunity for the saving of souls. The Lord’sblessing will attend His church as they advance unitedly, revealing to a world lying in the darkness of error the beauty of holiness as manifested in a Christlike spirit of self-sacrifice, in an exaltation of the divine rather than the human, and in loving and untiring service for those so much in need of the blessings of the gospel.”⁴

“When the Lord sees His people restricting their imaginary wants and practicing self-denial, not in a mournful, regretful spirit... but joyfully, for Christ's sake, and because it is the right thing to do, the work will go forward with power.”⁵ “Let every church member practice self denial... The presence of the Lord is ever seen where every energy of the church is aroused to meet the spiritual responsibilities.”⁶

“The purest unselfishness is to be shown by our workers as, with knowledge and experience gained by practical work, they go out to give treatments to the sick. As they go from house to house they will find access to many hearts. Many will be reached who otherwise would never have heard the gospel message.”⁷ “Many have lost the sense of eternal realities, lost the similitude of God, and they hardly know whether they have souls to be saved or not. They have neither faith in God nor confidence in man. As they see one with no inducement of earthly praise or compensation come into their wretched homes, ministering to the sick, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and tenderly pointing all to Him whose love and pity the human worker is but the messenger—as hey see this, their hearts are touched. Gratitude springs up. Faith is kindled. They see that God cares for them, and they are prepared to listen as His Word is opened.”⁸

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¹Luke 19:10. ²Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, pp. 71, 72. ³White, Counsels on Health, p. 216. ⁴White, Prophets and Kings, pp. 74. ⁵White, Testimonies, Vol. 8, p. 53. ⁶White, Notebook Leaflets, Vol. 1, p. 99. ⁷White, Welfare Ministry, p. 125. ⁸White, Evangelism, p. 517.

Advocative

Most of the parables of Jesus have a judgment theme. He often said, “And there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” Given the urgency and the situation such startling warnings were necessary. They also brought credibility to His work. Consequences are an integral part of the natural world. Though many try to deceive themselves, people instinctively sense that there will be a day of reckoning. Our guilty natures only add to our sense of foreboding.

Our message to the world is also a startling warning. The three angel's messages contain the “the most fearful threatening ever addressed to mortals.”¹ But like Christ's, our message must be that of an advocate. He came to show the world how much He loved them. Our fallen human natures do not easily sense this part of the God equation. Our guilt fills us with fear and condemnation. While it has to be done in a context of justice and even judgment, the real challenge is to present the love of Christ in an authentic, convincing manner.

“It is the darkness of misapprehension of God that is enshroud-ing the world. Men are losing their knowledge of His character. It has been misunderstood and misinterpreted. At this time the message from God is to be proclaimed, a message illuminating in its influence and saving in its power. His character is to be made known. Into the darkness of the world is to be shed the light of His glory, the light of His goodness, mercy and truth.”²

This was something that Jesus excelled at. “Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Savior mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, 'Follow Me.'”³ Around Him there “were whole villages where there was not a moan of sickness in any house; for He had passed through them, and healed all their sick.”⁴

It is important to present an accurate picture of the relationship between justice and mercy as it pertains to the character of God and the process of atonement. To illustrate this, consider the vital distinction between Lucifer and Adam. “Lucifer in heaven had sinned in the light of God's glory. To him as to no other created being was given a revelation of God's love. Understanding the character of God, knowing His goodness, Satan chose to follow his own selfish will. This choice was final. There was nothing else that God could do to save him. But man was deceived; his mind was darkened by Satan's sophistry. The height and depth of the love of God he did not know. For him there was hope in a knowledge of God's love. By beholding His character he might be drawn back to God.”⁵

While justice allows forgiveness in cases of deception, it does not for fully informed, willful and persistent rebellion. “The wrath of God is not declared against unrepentant sinners merely because of the sins they have committed, but because, when called to repent, they choose to continue in resistance, repeating the sins of the past in defiance to the light given them.”⁶ “Through Jesus, God's mercy was manifested to men; but mercy does not set aside justice. The law reveals the attributes of God's character, and not one jot or tittle of it could be changed to meet man in his fallen condition.”⁷

But justice does allow for a limited period of safety from the law's retributive judgment—a sanctuary—in which the guilty are given time and means to reconnect with their loving Creator. “Infinite wisdom devised a plan of redemption, which places the race on a second probation by giving them another trial.”⁸ It is this period of safety that poses one of the greatest difficulties in the plan of salvation. It appears to set aside the strict demands of the law—potentially weakening its authority. After Calvary, “Satan declared that mercy destroyed justice, that the death of Christ abrogated the Father's law.”⁹ So provision had to be built into the atonement process in order to preserve the law's integrity.

“The transgression of God's law in a single instance, in the smallest particular, is sin. And the non-execution of the penalty of that sin would be a crime in the divine administration. God is a judge, the Avenger of justice… He cannot dispense with His law; He cannot do away with its smallest item in order to meet and pardon sin. The rectitude, justice, and moral excellence of the law must be main-tained before the heavenly universe and the worlds unfallen.”¹⁰

Christ's atoning life and death contained all the necessary provisions to preserve the law while also offering a second chance to sinners. Since “the law of God [is] the transcript of the divine character,”¹¹ and since “the life of Christ on earth was a perfect expression of God's law,”¹² it follows that Christ and the law are equal. So, “Christ alone could… make an offering equal to the demand of the law.”¹³ “Christ has made a sacrifice to satisfy the demands of justice… [the] holy law could not be maintained by any smaller price... [Instead] of the law being abolished to meet sinful man in his fallen condition, it has been maintained in all it's sacred dignity.”¹⁴

“Man's substitute and surety must have man's nature, a connection with the human family whom He was to represent, and, as God's ambassador, He must partake of the divine nature, have a connection with the Infinite, in order to manifest God to the world, and be a mediator between God and man. These qualifications were found alone in Christ. Clothing His divinity with humanity, He came to earth to be called the Son of man and the Son of God. He was the surety for man, the ambassador for God—the surety for man to satisfy by His righteousness in man's behalf the demands of the law, and the representative of God to make manifest His character to a fallen race.”¹⁵

Because of Christ's sacrifice, “the church is justified through Him, its representative and head... [The] Father ratifies the contract with His Son, that He will be reconciled to repentant and obedient men, and take them into divine favor through the merits of Christ. Christ guarantees that He will make man 'more precious than fine gold, even a man, than the golden wedge of Ophir.'”¹⁶

repentance and obedience to that law, and through obedience to acceptance with God. He would impute His righteousness to man and so raise him in moral value with God that his efforts to keep the divine law would be acceptable. Christ’s work was to reconcile man to God through His human nature, and God to man through His divine nature.”¹⁷

Christ's mission was to become a mediator between God and man. The apostle John calls Him our “advocate with the Father.”¹⁸ In the blend of His human and divine natures, He has been able to present the divine character in such a way as to draw humanity back. As disciples, we are also God's ambassadors. “The world has keenness of perception, and will take knowledge to some purpose of those who sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. The character of God’s human agencies must be a transcript of the character of their Saviour.”¹⁹

Judgment is a looming reality and should strengthen our passion to advocate for those who know not the truth. This Galilee Protocol Directive is vitally important to the cause. We must be Advocative. “There is need of coming close to the people by personal effort. If less time were given to sermonizing, and more time were spent in personal ministry, greater results would be seen. The poor are to be relieved, the sick cared for, the sorrowing and the bereaved comforted, the ignorant instructed, the inexperienced counseled. We are to weep with those that weep, and rejoice with those that rejoice. Accompanied by the power of persuasion, the power of prayer, the power of the love of God, this work will not, cannot, be without fruit.²⁰

“The love of a holy God is an amazing principle… But after the season of our probation, if we are found transgressors of God's law, the God of love will be found a minister of vengeance. God makes no compromise with sin. The disobedient will be punished. The wrath of God fell upon His beloved Son as Christ hung upon the cross of Calvary in the transgressors place. The love of God now reaches out to embrace the lowest, vilest sinner that will come to Christ with contrition. It reaches out to transform the sinner into an obedient, faithful child of God; but not a soul can be saved if he continues in sin.”²¹

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¹Ellen White, Great Controversy, p. 449. ²White, Christ's Object Lessons, p. 415. ³White, Ministry of Healing, p. 143. ⁴White, Desire of Ages, p. 241. ⁵White, Desire of Ages, p. 761-762. ⁶White, Acts of the Apostles, p. 62. ⁷White, Desire of Ages, p. 762. ⁸White, Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 484. ⁹White, Desire of Ages, p. 762. ¹⁰White, Manuscript 145, December 30, 1897, note of work. ¹¹White, Ministry to the Cities, p. 30. ¹²White, Christ's Object Lessons, p. 315. ¹³White, Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 2, pp. 11-12. ¹⁴White, Manuscript Releases, vol. 21, p. 194. ¹⁵White, Selected Messages vol. 1, p. 257. ¹⁶White, Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 3, p. 203. ¹⁷White, Selected Messages, vol. 1, p. 272. ¹⁸1 John 2:1. ¹⁹White, Medical Ministry, p. 46. ²⁰White, Ministry of Healing, p. 143. ²¹White, Selected Messages, vol. 1, p. 313.

Provocative

The third and fourth directives speak to the distinctive nature of the Galilee Protocol's missionary work to the cities. The power of the gospel message is in its ability to show God's character to fallen humanity in such a way as to draw them away from sin and into a redeeming relationship with God. The difficulty lies in the sinner's tendency to fragment the divine attributes into two apparently incompatible parts—justice and mercy. Either the sinner sees God as an exacting judge or as an indulging enabler. Both views short circuit the gospel. It was this that Christ came to remedy. He came to repair the sinner's misconception of God. He came to show us the Father.¹ He came to bear witness to the truth.² Of Christ the palmist declares, “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.”³ The apostle John confirms this, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”⁴

In Scripture truth, righteousness and justice are synonymous terms.⁵ Says the psalmist about God: “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne.”⁶ In fact, according to the KJV dictionary, that is what righteousness means: “just, accordant to the divine law.”⁷ Truth means exactness; conformity to rule; real fact of just principle.⁸ So we see that Christ came to present the glory of the Father—His character—as the perfect blending of justice and mercy.

The third directive brings out the justice side of God's character. The three angels' messages are earth's final warnings and they certainly and boldly assert this side of God. It is the hour of His judgment;⁹ and the warning is provocative. The third angel sternly warns those who fail to comprehend His uncompromising commitment to law and justice: that they “shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God... poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and [they] shall be tormented with fire and brim-stone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.”¹⁰ But those who “keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus”¹¹ will be rewarded glorious life eternal.

The three angels' messages are provocative. They would be worded very differently if the intent was otherwise. While we usually consider provocative to be a negative thing, the KJV dictionary does give some more constructive connotations: to call into action; to arouse; to excite; to challenge; to move; to stir up; to induce by motives; to appeal.¹² Given the urgency of the hour and the high stakes involved—especially as Christ's Spirit is being withdrawn from the world—mercy's tenderest appeal comes in the form of a provocative alarm to wake up those who are running headlong toward eternal annihilation. It is our work to draw the world's attention to this urgent alarm.

“In a special sense Seventh-day Adventists have been set in the world as watchmen and light-bearers. To them has been entrusted the last warning for a perishing world. On them is shining wonderful light from the Word of God. They have been given a work of the most solemn import,—the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels’ messages. There is no other work of so great importance. They are to allow nothing else to absorb their attention.

“The most solemn truths ever entrusted to mortals have been given us to proclaim to the world. The proclamation of these truths is to be our work. The world is to be warned, and God’s people are to be true to the trust committed to them…

“Shall we wait until God’s judgments fall upon the transgressor before we tell him how to avoid them? Where is our faith in the Word of God? Must we see things foretold come to pass before we will believe what He has said? In clear, distinct rays light has come to us, showing us that the great day of the Lord is near at hand,'even at the door.'”¹³

“We are living in the close of this earth's history… Prophecy is fulfilling. Soon Christ will come with power and great glory. We have no time to lose. Let the message sound forth in earnest words of warning… We must persuade men everywhere to repent and flee from the wrath to come. They have souls to save or to lose. Let there be no indifference in this matter. The Lord calls for workers who are filled with an earnest, decided purpose.”¹⁴

“Most startling messages will be borne by men of God's appointment, messages of a character to warn the people, to arouse them. And while some will be provoked by the warning, and led to resist the light and evidence, we are to see from this that we are giving the testing message for this time… We must also have, in our cities, consecrated evangelists through whom a message is to be borne so decidedly as to startle the hearers.”¹⁵

“Agitate, agitate, agitate the public mind. There must be no spiritual stupor now. Bring out important points of truth bearing directly upon genuine conversion.”¹⁶

“Let those who present the truth enter into no controversy. They are to preach the gospel with such faith and earnestness that an interest will be awakened. By the words they speak, the prayers they offer, the influence they exert, they are to sow seeds that will bear fruit to the glory of God. There is to be no wavering. The trumpet is to give a certain sound. The attention of the people is to be called to the third angel's message. Let not God's servants act like men walking in their sleep, but like men preparing for the coming of Christ.”¹⁷

“We are under obligation to declare faithfully the whole counsel of God. We are not to make less prominent the special truths that have separated us from the world, and made us what we are; for they are fraught with eternal interests. God has given us light in regard to the things that are now taking place in the last remnant of time, and with pen and voice we are to proclaim the truth to the world, not in a tame, spiritless way, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power of God.”¹⁸

In the year 1900, Sister White called for a more direct approach to presenting the final message. She said, “I am more and more decided we must make one more final effort to get the truth in clearness before the people. They must have another opportunity to hear the reasons of our faith, straight and clear from the living oracles. But I know we have made a mistake in not presenting the strongest points of our faith—the Sabbath question as the first subject and then bring in the subjects that are not a life and death question.¹⁹

“The power which stirred the people so mightily in the 1844 movement will again be revealed. The third angel’s message will go forth, not in whispered tones, but with a loud voice.”²⁰

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¹John 14:9. ²John 18:37. ³Psalms 85:1. ⁴John 1:14. ⁵Isaiah 59:14. ⁶Psalms 89:14. ⁷http://av1611.com/kjbp/kjv-dictionary/righteous.html ⁸http://av1611.com/kjbp/kjv-dictionary/truth.html. ⁹Revelation 14:7. ¹⁰Revelation 14:10. ¹¹Revelation 14:12. ¹²http://av1611.com/kjbp/kjv-dictionary/provoke.html ¹³Ellen G. White, Evangelism, pp. 119, 120. ¹⁴Ibid, p. 217. ¹⁵Ibid, p. 168. ¹⁶White, Letter 34, October 12, 1875. ¹⁷White, Evangelism, p. 119. ¹⁸Ibid, p. 121. ¹⁹White, Letter 179, 1900. ²⁰White, Evangelism, p. 693.

Representative

A vital part of correcting the sin problem lies in correcting a sinner's misconception about the character of God.

On the one hand, many echo Satan's original claim. He said that “God was not just in imposing laws… that in requiring submission and obedience from His creatures, He was seeking merely the exhalation of Himself.”¹ Furthermore they claim that “God's law could not be obeyed, that justice was inconsistent with mercy, and that, should the law be broken, it would be impossible for the sinner to be pardoned.”²

“By His life and His death, Christ proved that God's justice did not destroy His mercy, but that sin could be forgiven, and that the law is righteous, and can be perfectly obeyed. Satan's charges were refuted. God had given man unmistakable evidence of His love.”³

On the other hand, many echo a new claim Satan made after Calvary: “that mercy destroyed justice, that the death of Christ [abolished] the Father's law.”⁴ In this view, God is seen as now being soft on the sin problem—a permissive parent who prefers that His children do good, but forever forgiving them regardless of what they do.

As we have already seen, God's true character (His glory) is the perfect balance of both justice and mercy. This is what He proclaimed when His glory passed before Moses.⁵ Calvary demonstrated both attributes of God.⁶ In giving His Son as a ransom for sin, God demonstrated His great mercy. But if the law could have been abolished, He would not have had to die in the first place. In requiring the life of His Son, He showed that the demands of the law could not be laid aside even in the case of overwhelming affection.

But it was not only in His death that Christ demonstrated this balance in God's character. His ministry demonstrated both attributes. He preached judgment while showing mercy to the poor, the lame, and those possessed by devils. Consider the parables of Christ—how so many of them dealt with themes of judgment; but consider them as told by a Savior—the sinners best friend and only hope! Presenting this two-sided picture of God's character is what the Galilee Protocol is all about.

The fifth directive emphasizes our responsibility to accurately portray Christ. This we must do “according as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”⁷

Peter continues the above greeting to the saints by promising not to be negligent as long as he is “in this tabernacle” (alive in his body of flesh), but rather to stir them up and establish them in the present truth. How does he do this? By challenging them to add to their “faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.”⁸

This is vital to the work under the Galilee Protocol. We must be living representative of Christ—and as such we must be like Him.

It was true of Christ—that “all the strength of passion of humanity clamored for expression,” just as it is with us. It must also be true of us like it was of Him—“never did He yield to temptation to do one single act that was not pure and elevating and ennobling.¹⁹ “Our loyalty or disloyalty will decide our destiny. Since the fall of Adam, men in every age have excused themselves for sinning, charging God with their sin, saying they could not keep His commandments. This is the insinuation Satan cast at God in heaven. But the plea, 'I cannot keep the commandments,' need never be presented to God; for before Him stands the Savior, the marks of the Crucifixion upon His body, a living witness that the law can be kept. It is not that man cannot keep the law, but that they will not.”²⁰

“In His human nature Christ rendered perfect obedience to the law of God, thus proving to all that this law can be kept. He endured the death penalty Himself, not to abrogate the law, not to immortalize sin, but to take away sin. It is because He has born the punishment that man can have a second probation. He may, if he will, return to his loyalty. But if he refuses to obey the commands of God, if he rejects the warnings and messages God sends, choosing rather to echo the word of the deceiver, he is willingly ignorant, and the condemnation of God is upon him. He chooses disobedience because obedience means lifting the cross, practicing self-denial.”²¹

As for the fifth directive—those who engage the Galilee Protocol must be fit representatives of Christ. We can only represent Him if His image is restored in us as a result of our becoming partakers of the divine nature through obedience, Bible study, and prayer for the indwelling Holy Spirit; and we must let our light shine in active witness to others. “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”²⁴

These four things: obedience, Bible study, prayer, and witnessing, are essential daily behaviors that actually bring about changes that are made manifest in our lives through the fruit of the Spirit. Christ said “make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad. For the tree is known by the fruit.²⁵ The Christian must show visible evidence of His connection to God.

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¹Ellen White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 42. ²White, Desire of Ages, p. 761, ³Ibid, p. 762. ⁴Ibid. ⁵Exodus 34:5-7. ⁶See chapters 78 and 79 in Desire of Ages. ⁷2 Peter 1:3-4. ⁸2 Peter 1:12-13, 5-7. ¹⁹White, Desire of Ages, p. 391. ²⁰White, Gospel Workers, p. 254. ²¹Hebrews 10:22, 19-21. ²⁴2 Corinthians 10:3-5 ²⁵Matthew 12:33.