Stephen
Terry, Director
The
Foundation of God's Government
Commentary
for the June 1, 2024, Sabbath School Lesson
"Hearing
that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them,
an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 'Teacher, which is the
greatest commandment in the Law?'"
Matthew 22:34-36
Founded on the heels of the
Great Millerite Disappointment of October 22, 1844, when Jesus failed to appear
as determined by William Miller's failed prophetic calculation for the date of
that return, Seventh-day Adventists sought a confirming identity for their
movement in the very prophecies that had failed Miller. One of those keys to
identity assumed that the End Times were upon us so it would be important to
discover what would identify God's people in those final days. A clear definition
was found in the final verse of Revelation, chapter 12: they were "those who
keep God's commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus." The "testimony
about Jesus" had the potential to be an ambiguous part of the equation. Did it
mean simply believing in Jesus and taking a public stand for that belief
through baptism? Did it mean demonstrating the character of Jesus in our lives?
Eventually someone discovered
Revelation 19:10 where it reads: "it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears
testimony to Jesus." Since Ellen White claimed the prophetic gift and was
endorsed as such by the early Seventh-day Adventist Founders, in their minds that
box was checked, and the denomination had the testimony of Jesus part
fulfilled. This is why Ellen White is often referred to among Adventists as the
Spirit of Prophecy. Since she was the only one that the denomination recognized
as having that gift it was important to sustain the understanding that she
fulfilled and continues to fulfill that position as an identifying mark of
God's chosen, remnant people for the End Times, even to the present after she
has been gone for more than a century. To question her prophetic gift is to
question the denomination's claim to be God's chosen remnant. People who have
given their entire lives to promoting that idea get a might surly whenever they
feel any trembling deep down in undergirding of the denomination. Nonetheless,
there have been those who have questioned that status since the beginning of
Adventism and found themselves persona non grata with the denomination.
For those who are employed by the denomination it can be career ending as it
was with Desmond Ford and others who demonstrated understanding toward what he
was teaching. For those not in denominational employment, it was a guarantee
they never would be. Though we are far removed from those days, the spirit
involved seems to be anything but the Spirit of Prophecy manifesting the
testimony of Jesus.
The other half of the
identifying mark of God's people was keeping God's commands. The most obvious
commands of God are the Decalogue, or Ten Commandments, found in Exodus,
chapter 20 and Deuteronomy, Chapter 5. But how does that differentiate an End
Time people from all others who claim to follow Christ but nonetheless are not
God's chosen remnant? When detailing the commandments, most other denominations
agree with the first three and the last six as continuing to be applicable for
God's people. But the fourth commandment is a line in the sand that most
denominations will draw between themselves and Seventh-day Adventists. While
observing nine of the ten commandments, they will assert that the Law has been
done away with for God's people when it comes to the fourth commandment, the
Sabbath commandment. It boggles the mind of Adventists to hear that the
commandments have been done away with, yet all still apply save one, especially
since the Bible says that commandment was a gift from God, a birthday gift to
humanity. Using Jesus in this way to abolish any commandment is to set Jesus
and Moses at odds with one another, and I doubt that would ever be the case.
The experience on the Mount of Transfiguration revealed that Jesus and Moses
were close, and doubtless continue to be. It is hard to believe that God would
say to Moses, "Remember all those things I told you to tell the people to do?
Well, forget about the Sabbath one. I don't care about it anymore." We might respond
to Jesus by pointing out to him that we fellowship with him in other ways now.
But I can see hm asking, "What is wrong with the day I set aside for you?" One
can see how this can be a dividing issue between God's remnant and the rest of
humanity in the End Times. It can be tempting to escalate this division into a
fulfillment of receiving the Mark of the Beast in Revelation, chapter 13. But
such accusations only drive a wedge deeper between God's remnant, and those
honestly seeking a relationship with Jesus. Building walls is not as productive
to that end as opening loving arms.
Although they may not admit it,
even Seventh-day Adventists stumble over the commandments. Let me explain. As
our opening verse reveals, Jesus was asked what is the greatest commandment? Jesus'
response was simple, yet profound. He said, "'Love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first
and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as
yourself.'" (Matthew 22:37-39) Could this be the essence of the identifying
mark of God's remnant people regarding his commands? Some have said that
keeping the first four of the Ten Commandments is loving God, and keeping the
last six is loving your neighbor. These may be examples, but like all examples,
they fall short of the whole. If I feel that keeping the first four
commandments is loving God with all my heart, soul, and mind then I don't understand what is meant by "love." Too many strive to
keep the letter of the law and love has nothing to do with it. They fear what
might happen if they don't. That betrays them and shows that love has nothing
to do with their obedience. Love and fear cannot coexist. Love drives out fear.[i]
Love seeks the best for others,
whether God or our fellow human beings. We do this even for our enemies as God has
demonstrated that he does and asks us to do the same, to be perfectly in love
even as the Father is.[ii] It
is this love that sets us free from the law, not as our Sunday keeping friends
imply by abolishing the law. Our love causes us to return God's love and treat
him with respect and dignity as our Creator and Redeemer. When every aspect of
our relationship with God is founded in love and trust, there is no law to
regulate that, nor is one required. By example, our love and respect for God
leads us to appreciate all he has done for us including the gift of the
Sabbath, and we would no more see a reason to cast that aside than we would to
cast God aside. Lovers simply do not kick one another to the curb nor toss the
gifts they have received into the rubbish bin. To do so is to deny the other
the opportunity to love us. The only reason one would do that would be fear of
what might happen if they were to accept that gift with an open heart. But fear
is evidence that love must still be nurtured in that heart to set it free from
fear. We may deny the fullness of a love affair with God for fear of what
others might say or do, people we look up to. If so, we have the privilege of
approaching God with prayer just as Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane, and
as the Father sustained Jesus, he will also sustain us, growing us to be all
that we were intended to be with a life of purpose and direction steered by
love and sustained by the closeness of that loving relationship with God. It is
only through that growth that we can learn even to love our enemies. It is when
we love, not because of who they are, but because of who we are.
Those who struggle under the law
have yet to grow to freedom from that struggle. While some think that observing
Sunday instead of the Sabbath somehow proves they are free of the law that is
foolishness, for they are bound to their man-made law even more securely than
are those who keep the commandments out of fear of what God might do. But
Adventists are not better off, for they have not found the love in the Sabbath
gift but rather keep it as a burden for fear of the price of disobedience. I
pray that all find a love relationship with God and with that joy and purpose for
their lives. The prophet Isaiah has God saying, "Come now! Let us reason
together!" But in Jesus answer regarding the commandments, I hear God saying,
"Come now! Let us love one another!"