God's Mountain Village

Once upon a time there was a mountain village that they said was owned and governed by God. This place was seen by almost everybody as god-given and blessed, and some even said it was just a step away from heaven. People here seemed to be united and happy with each other. Crime was almost non-existent, and a good night’s sleep could be assured even with the doors and windows unlocked.

Residents of this village loved to worship God, and they did it twice a day on weekdays and three times during weekends. They liked to pray in public by pairs or by groups, hand in hand. The people here liked to sing, and they had many choirs that took turns singing in the church services. They also had groups that hiked or rode to other villages to bring the bible to their neighbors every weekend. “Christ-likeness” was the motto of this village. Such was the devotion to God in this place.

Many outsiders desired to live in this village and some ventured to apply. On applying they would be told that there were certain rules that everyone inside had to abide by. And to be sure that the applicant would obey the rules while living inside, he had to sign a contract that stated that he would accept punishment or be expelled if ever he disobeyed any rule.

To ensure peace and order in this village all activities were controlled by policies and “watchers.” Everybody was expected to be in the worship halls during the scheduled worships and in the prescribed attire and attitude. It did not matter if you were a Muslim, a Buddhist or a Christian; you had to be in your designated seat during worship, because attendance would be checked. If you missed the worships you had to pay a fine or do labor without pay.

Meeting in groups of religions other than that of the village is not permitted, and anyone who disobeyed this policy is charged with “illegal assembly” and is given demerits or expelled. It did not matter if your purpose for meeting was to worship God in the way that you saw fit as long as it was determined that you did not belong to the village church, you were punished.

Once it was found out that a resident there had modified his view of God and the bible from that of the village’s usual manner. This angered the village leaders and they met to discuss this ‘heretic.’ After some time of deliberation it was decided that he should be cut off from the group and expelled from the village. 

This all was done to ensure that the unity and peace be preserved. While doing this they said that the non-conformist was also deleted from the records in heaven, this is what they claimed:

     “‘Verily I say unto you, ‘Christ continued, ‘whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.’ Verse 18

      “This statement holds its force in all ages. On the church has been conferred the power to act in Christ’s stead. It is God’s instrumentality for the preservation of order and discipline among His people. To it the Lord has delegated the power to settle all questions respecting its prosperity, purity and order. Upon it rests the responsibility of excluding from its fellowship those who are unworthy, who by their un-Christlike conduct would bring dishonor on the truth. Whatever the church does that is in accordance with the directions given in God’s word will be ratified in heaven.”—Testimonies, vol. 7, pp. 262, 263. (SDA Church Manual p. 187)

No one dared question this wisdom. The village authorities claimed that they had direct power to act as Jesus Christ on earth – Vicar of Christ, so to speak.

Their action was carried out and the infidel was stripped of his job and church membership, and expelled from the village. With this ugly incident receding in the past, the village regained its composure and resumed its efforts to serve God to the fullest. Never again would they allow a stain or blemish to mar the purity of their haven.