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Every Seventh-day Adventist needs to have a clear idea in their minds what constitutes the Straight Testimony. Without this understanding, spiritual preparation for what is ahead will be lacking.

The Shaking

Read the chapter "The Shaking" in Testimonies to the Church, Volume 1.

The Laodicean Message

Read the chapter "The Laodicean Message" in Testimonies to the Church, Volume 1

Reaping the Whirlwind

A powerful message by Joe Crews. Taken from the book "Reaping the Whirlwind," these excerpts make it clear why the church remains in a Laodicean condition.

Return of the True Remnant

Chapter 9 from the book "Enemy at the Gate" by Joe Crews talks about the little compromises we make with the world, and our need to raise the standard.

A Loving Message from Jesus - The Straight Testimony

As well as understanding what the Straight Testimony is, it's important to realize how much love accompanies the message from the True Witness. Only as we come to appreciate the love God has for us will we be receptive to His counsel.

Purpose of the Testimonies

God has been speaking to us through His Word, through His testimonies, pointing out our errors and showing us the right way. 10MR 289.1}

The Last Deception

The very last deception of Satan will be to make of none effect the testimony of the Spirit of God. {2SM 78.2}

Specific Sins

God has given you great light and many privileges. After this light has been given, after your dangers have been specified and plainly presented before you, the responsibility becomes yours. The manner in which you treat the light God gives you will turn the scale for happiness or woe. You are shaping your destinies for yourselves. {PH013 3.2}

Righteousness by Faith

Several have written to me, inquiring if the message of justification by faith is the third angel's message, and I have answered, "It is the third angel's message in verity."-- Review and Herald, April 1, 1890. {Ev 190.3}

Grace

He who is trying to reach heaven by his own works in keeping the law is attempting an impossibility. Man cannot be saved without obedience, but his works should not be of himself; Christ should work in him to will and to do of His good pleasure. If a man could save himself by his own works, he might have something in himself in which to rejoice. The effort that man makes in his own strength to obtain salvation is represented by the offering of Cain. All that man can do without Christ is polluted with selfishness and sin; but that which is wrought through faith is acceptable to God. When we seek to gain heaven through the merits of Christ, the soul makes progress. "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith," we may go on from strength to strength, from victory to victory; for through Christ the grace of God has worked out our complete salvation. {FW 94.1}

Conversion

Every living Christian will advance daily in the divine life. As he advances toward perfection, he experiences a conversion to God every day; and this conversion is not completed until he attains to perfection of Christian character, a full preparation for the finishing touch of immortality. {2T 505.1}

Faith

A union with Christ by living faith is enduring; every other union must perish. Christ first chose us, paying an infinite price for our redemption; and the true believer chooses Christ as first and last, and best in everything. But this union costs us something. It is a relation of utter dependence, to be entered into by a proud being. All who form this union must feel their need of the atoning blood of Christ. They must have a change of heart. They must submit their own will to the will of God. There will be a struggle with outward and internal obstacles. There must be a painful work of detachment, as well as a work of attachment. Pride, selfishness, vanity, worldliness--sin in all its forms--must be overcome, if we would enter into a union with Christ. The reason why many find the Christian life so deplorably hard, why they are so fickle, so variable, is, they try to attach themselves to Christ without first detaching themselves from these cherished idols. {RH, December 13, 1887 par. 11}

Faith in Christ always leads to willing, cheerful obedience. {BTS, February 1, 1905 par. 3}

Prayer

I would not dishonor my Master so much as to admit that a careless, trifling, prayerless person is a Christian. No; a Christian has victory over his besetments, over his passions. There is a remedy for the sin-sick soul. That remedy is in Jesus. Precious Saviour! His grace is sufficient for the weakest; and the strongest must also have His grace or perish. {AG 318.2}

The earnest, persevering prayer of the righteous avails much. It is our duty to ask God for the very facilities that we need to lift the standard of truth in all parts of the world. It is not by might, nor by power but by my Spirit, saith the Lord, that the light of the knowledge of the truth for this time shall shine forth as a lamp that burneth. Prayerless zeal will not enable us to make the right kind of headway. The sincere, humble prayer of the true worshiper ascends to heaven, and Jesus mingles with our lowly petitions the holy incense of his own merit. Through his righteousness we are accepted. Christ makes our prayers wholly efficacious through the savor of his righteousness. {SSW, February 1, 1896 par. 1}

Do not neglect secret prayer, for it is the soul of religion. With earnest, fervent prayer, plead for purity of soul. Plead as earnestly, as eagerly, as you would for your mortal life, were it at stake. Remain before God until unutterable longings are begotten within you for salvation, and the sweet evidence is obtained of pardoned sin. {MYP 268.2}

Bible Study

Salvation depends upon our knowledge of God's will as contained in His Word. Never cease asking and searching for truth. It is God's will that you shall know what He has said to you. But you must exercise faith. As you search the Scriptures, you must believe that God is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Search, O search the Bible with a heart hungry for spiritual food. Dig into the Word as the miner digs into the earth to find the veins of gold. Do not give up your search till you have ascertained your relation to God and His will concerning you. "Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life." To search means to look diligently for something. Search for the hidden treasures in God's Word. You can not afford to be without them. Study the difficult passages, comparing verse with verse, and you will find that scripture is the key which unlocks scripture. Those who prayerfully study the Bible go from each search wiser than they were before. {ST, September 5, 1906}

Witnessing

The spirit of Christ is a missionary spirit. The very first impulse of the renewed heart is to bring others also to the Saviour.--The Great Controversy, p. 70. {ChS 101.1}

The only way to grow in grace is to be interestedly doing the very work Christ has enjoined upon us to do. --Review and Herald, June 7, 1887. {ChS 101.2}

You are not to wait for great occasions or to expect extraordinary abilities before you go to work for God. --Steps to Christ, p. 83. {ChS 101.3}

Revival

Why do we not hunger and thirst for the gift of the Spirit, since this is the means by which we are to receive power? Why do we not talk of it, pray for it, preach concerning it? The Lord is more willing to give the Holy Spirit to us than parents are to give good gifts to their children. For the baptism of the Spirit every worker should be pleading with God. {8T 22.1}

A revival of true godliness among us is the greatest and most urgent of all our needs. To seek this should be our first work.--Review and Herald, March 22, 1887. {ChS 41.4}

Christians should be preparing for what is soon to break upon the world as an overwhelming surprise, and this preparation they should make by diligently studying the word of God, and striving to conform their lives to its precepts. . . . God calls for a revival and a reformation.--Prophets and Kings, p. 626. {ChS 41.3}

Fruits of the Spirit

When we live by faith on the Son of God, the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives; not one will be missing. {DA 676.4}

Commandments

In keeping the commandments, we have the assurance that there is great reward, and no earthly consideration should induce Christians to refuse to lift the cross in keeping all of God's commandments. Riches, ease, pleasure, ambition, and worldly honors are as dross that will perish in the fires of the last days. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Better far obtain a knowledge of God's will through an understanding of His word than have the praise of men and the honor of the world. {ST, July 19, 1899 par. 8}

Testimonies - Do we believe in and heed the Testimonies?

One thing is certain: Those Seventh-day Adventists who take their stand under Satan's banner will first give up their faith in the warnings and reproofs contained in the Testimonies of God's Spirit.--3SM 84 (1903). {LDE 177.4}

The very last deception of Satan will be to make of none effect the testimony of the Spirit of God. "Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Proverbs 29:18). Satan will work ingeniously, in different ways and through different agencies, to unsettle the confidence of God's remnant people in the true testimony.--1SM 48 (1890). {LDE 177.5}

The enemy has made his masterly efforts to unsettle the faith of our own people in the Testimonies. . . . This is just as Satan designed it should be, and those who have been preparing the way for the people to pay no heed to the warnings and reproofs of the Testimonies of the Spirit of God will see that a tide of errors of all kinds will spring into life.--3SM 83 (1890). {LDE 178.1}

It is Satan's plan to weaken the faith of God's people in the Testimonies. Next follows skepticism in regard to the vital points of our faith, the pillars of our position, then doubt as to the Holy Scriptures, and then the downward march to perdition. When the Testimonies, which were once believed, are doubted and given up, Satan knows the deceived ones will not stop at this; and he redoubles his efforts till he launches them into open rebellion, which becomes incurable and ends in destruction.--4T 211. {LDE 178.2}

Misuse of the Testimonies

By this misusing of the Testimonies, souls are placed in perplexity, because they cannot understand the relation of the Testimonies to such a position as is taken by those in error; for God intended that the Testimonies should always have a setting in the framework of truth. {TM 42.1}

Our Attitudes and Emotions

If we would maintain our fidelity to God, in this time of danger and deception, we must constantly rely upon the power of Christ. We must be often before God in prayer, holding every emotion and every passion in calm subjection to reason and conscience, banishing all unholy imaginings, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. By earnest prayer and living faith we can resist the assaults of Satan, and keep our hearts unspotted from pollution. {ST, October 4, 1883 par. 3}

Our Recreational Pursuits

It is the privilege and duty of Christians to seek to refresh their spirits and invigorate their bodies by innocent recreation, with the purpose of using their physical and mental powers to the glory of God. Our recreations should not be scenes of senseless mirth, taking the form of the nonsensical. We can conduct them in such a manner as will benefit and elevate those with whom we associate, and better qualify us and them to more successfully attend to the duties devolving upon us as Christians. We cannot be excusable in the sight of God if we engage in amusements which have a tendency to unfit us for the faithful performance of the ordinary duties of life, and thus lessen our relish for the contemplation of God and heavenly things. The religion of Christ is cheering and elevating in its influence. It is above everything like foolish jesting and joking, vain and frivolous chit-chat. In all our seasons of recreation we may gather from the Divine Source of strength fresh courage and power, that we may the more successfully elevate our lives to purity, true goodness, and holiness.--RH July 25, 1871. {PaM 248.1}

Time, Talent, Money & Possessions

The precious moments that are now by many worse than wasted should be spent in meditation and prayer. {RH, November 24, 1904 par. 20}

Many profess to be on the Lord's side, but they are not; the weight of all their actions is on Satan's side. By what means shall we determine whose side we are on? Who has the heart? With whom are our thoughts? Upon whom do we love to converse? Who has our warmest affections and our best energies? If we are on the Lord's side, our thoughts are with him, and our sweetest thoughts are of him. We have no friendship with the world; we have consecrated all that we have and are, to him. We long to bear his image, breathe his Spirit, do his will, and please him in all things. {RH, August 16, 1887 par. 1}

Christ gave Himself willingly and cheerfully to the carrying out of the will of God. He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. In view of all that He has done, should we feel it a hardship to deny ourselves? Shall we draw back from being partakers of Christ's sufferings. His death ought to stir every fibre of our beings, making us willing to consecrate to His work all that we have and are. As we think of what He has done for us, our hearts should be filled with gratitude and love, and we should renounce all selfishness and sin. {BTS, February 1, 1905 par. 2}

Family Life

The greatest evidence of the power of Christianity that can be presented to the world is a well-ordered, well-disciplined family. This will recommend the truth as nothing else can, for it is a living witness of its practical power upon the heart. {AH 32.2}

Health Reform

There is need of a better understanding of the principles of health reform. Temperance in eating, drinking, and dressing is essential. The advocates of temperance should place their standard on a broader platform. They would then be laborers together with God. With every iota of their influence they should encourage the spread of reform principles. Let appetite rule instead of principle, and the whole human machinery will be implicated. The violation of physical law is a violation of the law of God. Those who eat too much, and whose food is of an objectionable quality, are easily led into dissipation. In proportion to the darkness of their minds will they give license to their appetites and passions. {20MR 4.4}

Our Dress and Appearance

If the heart is right, your words, your dress, your acts, will all be right. {AG 318.2}

True Christians avoid superfluity and display; but their clothing is modest, and arranged upon the person with order and taste. They are more anxious for their bodies to be in a condition to glorify God, than they are to be clothed according to the latest dictates of fashion. {CTBH 87.1}

Reforms

Many who profess to believe the Testimonies live in neglect of the light given. The dress reform is treated by some with great indifference and by others with contempt, because there is a cross attached to it. For this cross I thank God. It is just what we need to distinguish and separate God's commandment-keeping people from the world. The dress reform answers to us as did the ribbon of blue to ancient Israel. The proud, and those who have no love for sacred truth, which will separate them from the world, will show it by their works. God in His providence has given us the light upon health reform, that we may understand it in all its bearings, follow the light it brings, and by rightly relating ourselves to life have health that we may glorify God and be a blessing to others. {3T 171.1}

Fanatics

This very important topic will help us understand the danagers of fanaticism, and how we can avoid them. The Straight Testimony is designed to guard us against fanaticism.