Preserving
Relationships
By
Stephen Terry
Commentary
for the July 14, 2012 Sabbath School Lesson
“But
in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to
everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do
this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who
speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their
slander.” 1 Peter 3:15-16, NIV
Approximately two decades ago, billboards like the one
in the picture began appearing along Interstate 5 in the state of Oregon. These
were the result of anti-Catholicism fomented by disaffected, ultra-conservative
Seventh-day Adventist church members who felt God was calling them to attack
the Catholic Church on several fronts. One of the key representatives of this
view point was and is, Les Balsiger, a former used car salesman and self-styled
reformationist preacher. Through his “Printed Page Ministries,” which publishes
a magazine, “The Protestant” as well as several other publications, he has
continued to excoriate the Catholic Church and those within the Seventh-day
Adventist Church who do not agree with his acidic style of evangelism.
While he and the church he belonged to were removed from
fellowship with the Seventh-day Adventist Church, he continues to use the name
of the church to attack and vilify Catholicism. Several sources on the internet
continue to this day to identify the phone number and address of his “Printed
Page Ministries” as that of the Troy, Montana Seventh-day Adventist Church. To
those who call themselves “Historic Seventh-day Adventists,” he is seen as a
faithful and persecuted martyr. To others who are members of the Seventh-day
Adventist Church, he is seen as doing more harm than good by needlessly
solidifying opposition to the Seventh-day Adventist Church and thereby creating
obstacles to evangelism.
So who is right? Is an in-your-face style of evangelism
the way to go? Or does the Bible advance a more gentle approach to introducing
people to Jesus? A struggle continues within the Seventh-day Adventist Church
among those who unlike Mr. Balsiger have remained in good standing with their
memberships yet continue to advocate his views, and those members who are
opposed to those views. Some of that conflict has touched the General
Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which as the administrative
body for the world church, is promoting the distribution of a flood of copies of
a book, “The Great Controversy.” In
apparent recognition of the vitriolic potential of some of the anti-Catholic
rhetoric in the book, the distribution copy has been abridged to remove those
chapters. However, the distribution copy provides information on how to obtain
an unabridged copy of the book if the reader chooses. Some feel very
uncomfortable with this form of evangelism and have expressed reservations,
while some others feel it is God’s plan to finish the work.
“The Great Controversy,” written by Ellen G White, a
founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, is an attempt to portray the flow
of history as a great struggle between good and evil that began in the Garden
of Eden and culminates with the second coming of Christ. Many Christians, even
Catholics, have no problem with the concept of an ongoing struggle between good
and evil. However, the book appears to be heavily influenced by the prevailing
anti-Catholicism of Ellen White’s day.
This anti-Catholicism did not have its beginning with
her, however. Its genesis can be found in the writings of the great Protestant
reformers. Even Martin Luther’s ninety-five theses were rabidly anti-Pope. Any
book which traces a pure line of Christianity through history and identifies
Protestantism as that pure line as “The Great Controversy” surely does will be
bound to pick up some of that flavoring in the process. It certainly would have
been possible to portray individuals both within and without Catholicism as
seeking to preserve a pure faith, individuals like Saint Francis of Assisi, but
that was not done.
Instead the focus became the excesses of the Jesuit
inspired Inquisition and the political motivations of the Church of Rome, political
motivations that continue to be a part of the Protestant tradition, also. For
example, the willingness of the Evangelical Church to use political power to
legislate morality on such issues as abortion and marital rights are issues
that are not only advanced by the Protestant Evangelical movement but are
positions that are shared in common with the Catholic Church. These are also
issues that some within the Seventh-day Adventist Church would have no problem
with supporting. So why would these Adventists continue to support a negative
approach to Catholicism?
Perhaps the continued thrust in that direction is
because the Seventh-day Adventist Church venerates Ellen White as a prophetess.
What does that mean? Perhaps the closest example in actual practice would be
the veneration of saints by the Catholic Church with the exception that Adventists do not pray to Ellen White. The writings of both are seen
as spiritual guides for their respective denominations in the present even though both have long
since died, and the churches have changed in the interim. Is it wrong to study the
writings of such individuals? Perhaps not if we are able to separate
the spiritual gold from the cultural milieu that to some degree influenced the
writings. Maybe the abridgement of “The Great Controversy” is an attempt to
do that, to remove the outdated cultural encumbrances to allow the deeper worth
to be seen. But is it the best way to evangelize?
Paul, to his credit, did not openly attack the pagan
temple worship that was popular in the Greek and Roman cities he carried the
Gospel to. Instead, he carried a message of peace and hope, not condemnation,
and he carried his message to those who were most likely to be receptive to it.
He carried the message first to the Jewish synagogues of the diaspora and then
to the Greeks who were already favorably disposed to the Jews. Much of his
opposition came not from in-your-face preaching but from jealousy aroused by
the evangelistic blessings he received from God.
The Jews had a difficult time winning converts to
Judaism because of the many onerous requirements to become a convert, not the
least of which was circumcision. Now, Paul shows up in the synagogue with the
message that circumcision is not required and that God will grant salvation to
all. With this wonderful news, those who were drawn by the Holy Spirit but were
put off by the requirements naturally flock to the message of such grace. Paul’s
message was blessed with converts who rejoiced at the freedom of the Gospel.
This would naturally arouse jealousy in those who had spent their lives
advocating that only through the requirements of the law could salvation occur.
As a result, those who could not find freedom for themselves or others hounded
Paul from town to town in opposition to the freedom he was proposing.
As it was then, so it continues to be, today. While the
message of grace and salvation by faith alone in the promises of a merciful God
is a refreshing breeze in a hellacious world, some continue to oppose it because
they are committed to a lifetime of bearing burdens they were never meant to
bear. They place legalistic requirements on themselves, and, even in the face
of their own imperfect obedience, they condemn others for failing to keep the
standards that they themselves struggle to observe. Then out of a frustrated
spiritual experience they build upon that foundation of condemnation an acerbic
edifice of evangelism that condemns even as it seeks to save the lost.
Seeing themselves as modern-day Phinehases, they go
through the camp seeking what sinners they may run through with the spear of
condemnation. This leaves little wonder why the world shies away from the
church as a repository of grace and salvation. Instead church is perceived as a
place of wounding and judgment. But this was not the Gospel that Paul sought
his converts to understand. He saw Jesus as a Savior. As John recorded about
Jesus, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but
to save the world through him.” John 3:17, NIV
Of course the Bible speaks about a judgment, but that
judgment has not been given to us to perform, today. Jesus made that clear in
the parable about the wheat and the tares, or weeds. (See Matthew 13:24-30) Perhaps, He knew that such activities would
only scatter the flock with divisiveness instead of bringing them together in
unity and love.
Considering the sinful natures making it necessary for
us to seek God’s grace, we could certainly find many things to be judgmental
about toward one another. But in judging others we condemn ourselves as well,
for we are no better. All sin pays the same wage: death. The brother or sister
who thinks that he or she can safely point out the flaws in another is guilty of
a greater sin than the one they would condemn. Each of us is a unique creation
of God. When we point out one another’s flaws, we trivialize what God has
created, and in so doing, we trivialize the Creator and make Him subject to our
judgment through His work which we condemn.
The Holy Spirit’s work upon the human heart is not easily
discerned. As Jesus said, “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound,
but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with
everyone born of the Spirit.” John 3:8, NIV How then can we speak with
certainty about the presence of the Holy Spirit and His work in the heart of
another without the possibility of grievous misunderstanding?
We should not presume to judge but rather to build up
one another in the kingdom of grace. When we do, we can take joy in our work as
Paul, who wrote, “For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will
glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed,
you are our glory and joy.” 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20, NIV How wonderful to have a glory like that in the
presence of Jesus when He comes.
This Commentary is a Service of Still
Waters Ministry
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