THE DUE PROCESS OF LAW

Seventh-day Adventist

THE DUE PROCESS OF LAW

"The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He."
Deut. 32:4.

The DUE PROCESS OF LAW is defined in Black's Law Dictionary exhaustively. For our short study we will share the following concepts from this dictionary:

PROCEDURAL DUE PROCESS

The central meaning of procedural due process is that parties whose rights are to be affected are entitled to be heard and, in order that they may enjoy that right, they must be notified. . . . Reasonable notice and opportunity to be heard and present any claim or defense are embodied in the term. . . .

SUBSTANTIVE DUE PROCESS

Such may be broadly defined as the constitutional guarantee that no person shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life, liberty or property; the essence of substantive due process is protection from arbitrary and unreasonable action.

DUE PROCESS OF LAW

The essential elements of due process of law are notice and opportunity to be heard and to defend in orderly proceeding adapted to nature of the case, and the guarantee of due process requires that every man have the protection of day in court and benefit of general law. . . . Daniel Webster defined this phrase to mean a law which hears before it condemns, which proceeds on inquiry and renders judgment only after trial. . . .

The foregoing principles of the law pertaining to jurisprudence in the United States of America. What a blessing it is to be a resident of a country in which there is due process of law. But what of our Heavenly citizenship? Do we not expect as much justice; yea, even more, from a compassionate and merciful Heavenly Father?

I would take the latitude here to state that the Bible is our Constitution. The Church is guided by the Holy Spirit through the Word. The standard of judgment for all professed citizens of Heaven is the moral law of Ten Commandments as indicated in James 2:11,12; "Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act, as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty." And further, ". . . for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ," Rom. 14:10. Without a doubt, there is a day of reckoning--a day of judgment. Christ taught this succinctly in Matt. 12:36, "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." If every word will be considered, what about every action? This is answered satisfactorily in Eccl. 12:14, "For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." Christ says, "And, behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be." In Daniel, chapter 7, the scene is described, ". . . the judgment was set, and the books were opened."

The Bible ensures us that YAH, the Creator, is just in all His ways. Does this mean that He observes rules in applying judgment? Does this guarantee that man will be given THE DUE PROCESS OF LAW, even before the tribunal of Almighty God? Yes, precisely! The Father of truth and justice will adhere to His own righteous principles in the judgment. And man has never fully attained to the justice of YAH in the imperfect courts of earth. There will be no errors made in His righteous judgment; you can be assured.

The population is easily convinced today that we are certainly living in the end times, if not the very last generation. The signs of the times are all about us, and there is no reason to articulate those specifics in this article. Many very astute Bible students realize that judgment began for the righteous dead in the fall of 1844. (E-mail us for information on this subject). But there is to be a judgment for the righteous living prior to the second advent of Christ and the end of the world as we know it. Do the righteous living receive THE DUE PROCESS OF LAW? I believe that we can prove such to be the case from our Constitution, the Bible.

Throughout Bible history, there have been messengers of God assigned the task of warning people of their fate. Let us list a few examples here for evidence. Noah comes to mind first. He preached for one-hundred twenty years, appealing to the masses to repent and prepare for the impending deluge. Sadly, only eight righteous living were spared.

Before the time of Sodom's overthrow, two angels visited Abraham and were courteously entertained. As they were passing on their way to Sodom, Abraham accompanied them, and they revealed to the patriarch the errand for which they had come, --to destroy Sodom. They told Abraham that because of the grievous wickedness of the inhabitants, the city was to be destroyed. Abraham knew that Lot was in this place, and although he had been taught of God, he could not believe that the inhabitants of Sodom were so utterly corrupt. He began to plead that the righteous should not perish with the wicked, that if a certain number of the godly were there, the city might be spared. Pleading for the city, he decreased the number of righteous that would be likely to be found in the city, until he reached the number of ten. But although God would have spared the city if ten righteous persons could have been found there, that number could not be made up to redeem the city. As the angels drew nigh unto Sodom, only one man manifested an interest in the strangers. Lot welcomed them in, invited them to his house. He was ignorant in regard to the character of these men and knew not the terrible errand upon which they had come, but the courtesy which he manifested was in harmony with his character, and he was saved from the general ruin. Had he appeared indifferent to these strangers, he would not have secured to himself such help as only the angels could give. Jonah carried a message to Nineveh by the inspiration of YAH. His voice was heard throughout the city, and it made kings and the highest nobility tremble. His words of warning from God had humbled the mightiest in that wicked city and had made them understand that there was a living God who was about to punish them for their iniquity. Consequently, they were rendered THE DUE PROCESS OF LAW. The Ninevites heard the message of mercy as God had purposed, and they humbled their hearts and repented at the preaching of Jonah.

In the Old Testament sanctuary service, the children of Israel heard an announcement of coming judgment on the annual Feast of Trumpets. The people afflicted their souls for nine days, and on the tenth day, the Day of Atonement [judgment] came. This was to be a type of the final judgment of the righteous living for our day.

YAH's denominated people have been warning the world of the coming judgments since 1844. Christians and non-Christians alike have been informed of the righteous standard of judgment--YAH's Ten Commandments of love. The Sabbath has been shown as the point at which all mankind must make a decision to serve God or an apostate power. The faithful messengers have been aware that some day the judgment "will pass to the cases of the living." "The same angel who visited Sodom is sounding the note of warning, 'Escape for thy life.'" And since 1988, the righteous living has been receiving the summons to the bar of the Ancient of Days.

Let us comment further on this judgment of the righteous living. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad," 2 Cor. 5:10. ". . . for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ," Rom. 14:10. These Scriptures apply directly to the righteous living; for how can a dead man appear or stand before Christ? The Bible is clear in its teaching, ". . . the dead know not anything . . ." Eccl. 9:5. Of course, we know Paul thought that he would be judged among the living, because of his statement in 1 Thess. 4:17, referring to the second coming of Christ, "Then WE which are ALIVE and REMAIN shall be caught up together with them [the righteous dead] in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air . . ." [emphases supplied]. But Paul also wrote, "it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" Heb. 9:27. This, of course, refers to the judgment of the righteous dead, and indicates that Paul understood the doctrine too. The righteous dead are not required to have every unknown character defect revealed and cleansed away; consequently, their records could be considered while they are sleeping in the grave. The warnings and entreaties given to them during their lives suffice to fulfill THE DUE PROCESS OF LAW requirement for their mode of judgment.

In the judgment of the living, every character defect must be identified and eradicated. We know that Paul preached this truth also because he writes that we must ". . . [bring] into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ," 2 Cor. 10:5. If a believer was doing this and died before completing the process of sanctification, he would pass the judgment of the dead. However, those living in the final generation, without seeing physical death, will be required to stand before the throne of YAH without any character defects, either known or unknown. And when Christ leaves the Heavenly Sanctuary, these saints will stand without an intercessor.

When you read the 14th chapter of Revelation, the "Remnant Church" of Rev. 12:17 is discussed to an extent. Also, the message which seals them is provided in the "three angels". This Church which is numbered "the 144,000", is a fulfillment of the prophecy in Zeph. 3:13, "The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid." This is the Church which passes the judgment of the living. The individuals making up this company must be given THE DUE PROCESS OF LAW in order to know when their name is before the bar of God. And the first angel gives the notice, "Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters," Rev. 14:7. [Notice how some of this wording resembles that in the fourth commandment of the Ten Commandments recorded in Exodus 20:11.]

Angels are dispatched and messengers sent out to warn the people of their judgment before the Almighty. They are given the summons to appear before the Ancient of Days. The righteous are truly safe because their Advocate is YAHSHUA, their blessed Redeemer. "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son," John 5:22. If they have been "walking in the light as He is in the light", they will pass the judgment. His pure "robe of righteousness" will cover them, for their sins are forgiven and "cast . . . into the depths of the sea" Micah 7:19.

When the righteous are summoned before the throne, they first examine themselves carefully to ensure that all sins have been repented of. If they are guilty of any wrong, they immediately confess and forsake the iniquity. Then they appear "without fault before the throne of God," Rev. 14:5; Jude 1:24. In making this careful preparation, the saints become "witnesses" for YAH's character as it is written, ". . . ye are My witnesses, saith YAH, that I am God," Isa. 43:12. These faithful ones are sealed with the mark of pure truth [read Eze. 9]. Then they are assigned the task of delivering the summons to others. It is the final warning to the church first and then to the world. "For the time [has] come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begins at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?" 1 Pet. 4:17. Will, you not receive this DUE PROCESS OF LAW and become His witness? Total surrender and abandonment of "self" is your only way to pass THE FINAL JUDGMENT now in progress.