Repairing
the Breach
// 1
“Perhaps the greatest question Christianity should answer today is not whether or not it is true, but whether or not it is trustworthy. Perhaps the greatest threat to the Church is not the skeptic, but itself. …”
“To quote a conversation I had with Dr. Dale Coulter, ‘what we need are not “apologetic experts” given how much expertise is being questioned, but “family doctors” who live with the people and show their concern through their concrete practices.’ This just may be the best defense for the Christian faith in our postmodern age.”
—Daniel Montañez on the Anxious Bench
“The badge of Christianity is not an outward sign, not the wearing of a cross or a crown, but it is that which reveals the union of man with God. By the power of His grace manifested in the transformation of character the world is to be convinced that God has sent His Son as its Redeemer.
“No other influence that can surround the human soul has such power as the influence of an unselfish life. The strongest argument in favor of the gospel is a loving and lovable Christian.”
—Ellen White (MH 470)
“I spoke to the few assembled upon the Sabbath from (Isaiah 58), showing that the message given by Isaiah was to impress the self-righteous who were trusting in their fasts and their prayers, that there was a work neglected which was mercy and love for God, and love for their fellow men.
—Ellen White (Ms 76, 1893)
“Our reliance in Christ cannot be partial. It cannot be accompanied with large self-confidence and exalting excellences in self. When the human soul lies low at the foot of the cross, then the world’s Redeemer can be seen distinctly by the eye of faith in His matchless love and His glory. Self is humbled in the dust.”
“Read Isaiah 58, ye who claim to be children of the light. Especially do you read it again and again who have felt so reluctant to inconvenience yourselves by favoring the needy. You whose hearts and houses are too narrow to make a home for the homeless, read it; you who can see orphans and widows oppressed
“by the iron hand of poverty and bowed down by hardhearted worldlings, read it. Are you afraid that an influence will be introduced into your family that will cost you more labor, read it. Your fears may be groundless, and a blessing may come, known and realized by you every day.”
—Ellen White (2T 35)
—Isaiah 58:12 (NKJV)
“Those from among you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.”
“Interspersed in the unflattering story of decline, a number of the prophets give a glimpse of how people came to regard the Sabbath, telling the story as though the Sabbath in their eyes is a bellwether issue.”
—Sigve K. Tonstad
“The rest that marks cessation of God’s activity is the pattern according to which human beings will order their lives. Human need may not be apparent at first, but the need is anticipated.
“When the need appears, the seventh day, originally constituted as a day of rest, is ready to meet it.”
—Sigve K. Tonstad
“He declares that if they will return unto the Lord with all the heart, they shall be called repairers of the breach, the restorers of paths to dwell in. Then he distinctly shows them what this breach is. ‘If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath,’—for they had been trampling it under their feet as a thing despised.”
—Ellen White (ST 02.28.1884)
—Isaiah 58:13-14 (NKJV)
“(13) If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, (14) then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.””
—Isaiah 58:6 & 7 (NKJV)
“(6) Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? (7) Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh?”
“(9) If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, (10) if you extend your soul [“pour yourself out” ESV] to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday.”
—Isaiah 58:6 & 7 (NKJV)
“Those who would have the character of Christ must practice his teachings. They must study the Pattern. Then they will reveal a Christ-like character in their association with one another, and their united influence will be exerted in helping to transform the character of others.
“They will drink in the sympathy of Jesus, and exercise the same forbearance, supporting, encouraging, and animating one another in the work, each being a vital member of the organized body, allied to Jesus, growing up into Christ, the living head, unto the full stature of men and women.
“Then they will shine as lights in the world, being of one judgment, moved by the same Spirit. They will be a distinct power in the world. … Dwelling in the light of the Sun of Righteousness, we shall shine as lights in the world.”
—Ellen White (RH 10.06.1891)
—Ellen White (RH 10.13.1891)
“If this same fear, and this love of righteousness, were in our churches now, what a transformation there would be.”