COM Newsletter - February 2024
HELPING THE TEMPTED
Not because we first loved Him did Christ love us, but “while we were still sinners” He died for us. He does not treat us as we deserve. Although our sins merit condemnation, He does not condemn us. Year after year He has borne with our weakness and ignorance, with our ingratitude and waywardness. Despite our wanderings, our hardness of heart, our neglect of His Holy Word, His hand is stretched out still.
Grace is an attribute of God exercised toward undeserving human beings. We did not seek for it, but it was sent in search of us. God rejoices to extend His grace to us, not because we are worthy but because we are so utterly unworthy. Our only claim to His mercy is our great need.
The Lord God through Jesus Christ holds out His hand all the day long in invitation to the sinful and fallen. He will receive all. He welcomes all. It is His glory to pardon the chief of sinners. He will deliver the captive. He will lower the golden chain of His mercy to the lowest depths of human wretchedness and lift up the debased soul contaminated with sin.
Every human being is the object of loving interest to Him who gave His life that He might bring sinners back to God. Guilty and helpless souls, liable to be destroyed by the arts and snares of Satan, are cared for as a shepherd cares for the sheep of his flock.
The Savior’s example is to be the standard of our service for the tempted and the erring. We are to manifest toward others the same interest, tenderness, and longsuffering that He has manifested toward us. “‘As I have loved you,’” He says, “‘that you also love one another.’” John 13:34. If Christ lives in us, we shall reveal His unselfish love toward all with whom we have to do. As we see men and women in need of sympathy and help, we shall not ask, “Are they worthy?” but, “How can I benefit them?”
Rich and poor, high and low, free and bond are God’s heritage. He who gave His life to redeem sinners sees in every human being a value that exceeds finite computation. By the mystery and glory of the cross we are to discern His estimate of the value of the soul. When we do this, we shall feel that human beings, however degraded, have cost too much to be treated with coldness or contempt. We shall realize the importance of working for lost souls, that they may be saved and exalted to the throne of God.
The lost coin in the Savior’s parable, though lying in the dirt and rubbish, was still a piece of silver. Its owner wanted to find it because it was of value. So every soul, however degraded by sin, is in God’s sight accounted precious. As the coin bore the image and superscription of the reigning power, so human beings at creation bore the image and superscription of God. Though now marred and dim through the influence of sin, the traces of this inscription remain on every soul. God desires to recover that soul and to retrace upon it His own image in righteousness and holiness.
How little do we enter into sympathy with Christ on that which should be the strongest bond of union between us and Him—compassion for depraved, guilty, suffering souls, dead in trespasses and sins! Our inhumanity toward others is our greatest sin. Many think that they are representing the justice of God while they wholly fail to represent His tenderness and His great love. Often the ones whom they treat with sternness and severity are under the stress of temptation. Satan is wrestling with these souls, and harsh, unsympathetic words discourage them and cause them to fall a prey to the tempter’s power.
It is a delicate matter to deal with minds. Only He who reads the heart knows how to bring people to repentance. Only His wisdom can give us success in reaching the lost. You may stand up stiffly, feeling, “I am holier than you,” and it matters not how correct your reasoning or how true your words; they will never touch hearts. The love of Christ, revealed in word and act, will win its way to the soul when reiterating precepts or arguments would accomplish nothing.
We need more Christlike sympathy not merely for those who appear to us to be faultless but for poor, suffering, struggling souls who are often overtaken in fault, sinning and repenting, tempted and discouraged. We are to go to our fellow mortals, touched, like our merciful High Priest, with the feeling of their infirmities.
It was the outcast, the publican and sinner, the despised of the nations, that Christ called and drew to Himself by His lovingkindness. The one class that He would never countenance was those who stood apart in their self-esteem and looked down on others.
“Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in,” Christ urges us, “that My house may be filled.” In obedience to this word we must go to the “heathen” who are near us and to those who are afar off. The “publicans and harlots” must hear the Savior’s invitation. Through the kindness and longsuffering of His messengers, the invitation becomes a compelling power to uplift those who are sunken in the lowest depths of sin.
Christian motives demand that we work with a steady purpose, an undying interest, an ever-increasing earnestness for the souls whom Satan is seeking to destroy. Nothing is to chill our earnest, yearning energy for the salvation of the lost.
Mark how all through the Word of God there is manifest the spirit of urgency, of imploring men and women to come to Christ. To draw people to the Savior we must seize every opportunity, in private and in public, presenting every argument, urging every motive of infinite weight. With all our power we must urge them to look to Jesus and to accept His life of self-denial and sacrifice. We must show that we expect them to give joy to the heart of Christ by using every one of His gifts in honoring His name.
Ellen White
The Ministry of Healing, pp. 161-165
SPECIAL MESSAGE
Q&A
Question: Do you believe that gays can become completely straight?
Reply: Based upon my own personal experience, yes! Based upon the word of God, yes. Notice: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
This beautiful text of Scripture is telling us that the old nature, born of blood and the will of the flesh, cannot inherit the kingdom of God.
“The old ways, the hereditary tendencies, the former habits, must be given up; for grace is not inherited. The new birth consists in having new motives, new tastes, new tendencies. Those who are [born] unto a new life by the Holy Spirit have become partakers of the divine nature, and in all their habits and practices they will give evidence of their relationship to Christ. When men who claim to be Christians retain all their natural defects of character and disposition, in what [way] does their position differ from that of the [non-Christian]? They do not appreciate the truth as a sanctifier, a refiner. They have not been born again …” (Review and Herald, April 12, 1892)
God makes no compromise with sin. A genuine conversion changes hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong…
“Christ’s plan is the only safe one. He declares, “Behold, I make all things new.” “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.” Christ gives man no encouragement to think that He will accept a patchwork character, made up mostly of self, with a little of Christ. … At first there seems to be some of self and some of Christ. But soon it is all of self and none of Christ. … Christ looks with pitying tenderness on all who have combination characters.” (Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary Vol. 6, 1101)
In the article at the end of this book, “A Rainbow of Promises,” you may find many more exceeding great and precious promises giving assurance of victory over sin, of new birth, and new life.
Victor
Q&A text taken from:
Author: “Victor J. Adamson”
(Ron Woolsey)
TESTIMONY
My name is Matthew, and I have recently transitioned away from the LGBTQ+ lifestyle. My journey has been marked by a prolonged struggle with same-sex attraction, originating from instances of sexual assault during my formative years around the age of 9. The persistence of these traumatic experiences became normalized due to the perpetrator’s threats against my family, thereby instilling in me a sense of obligation.
The aftermath of these events left me burdened with profound guilt and shame, as I grappled with questions surrounding my own reactions and the perceived inability to intervene during those assaults. Subsequently, my disclosure of my sexual orientation without a full understanding of the term “gay” subjected me to persistent bullying throughout my childhood. Fearing further persecution and influenced by the negative portrayal of LGBTQ+ issues in both societal and religious contexts, I felt compelled to conceal my sexual orientation, fostering a strained relationship with God.
Upon entering high school, I meticulously maintained an outward appearance of normalcy, concealing my internal struggles from my peers. This facade, however, led to escalating levels of depression and anxiety, with the roots of my emotional distress becoming increasingly elusive. The severity of my struggle manifested in self-harm, a ritualized attempt to find solace from the pervasive depression.
At this juncture, I had distanced myself from God, feeling abandoned and unheard. My frustration and anger towards God stemmed from the perception that He had not answered my prayers for personal transformation. Additionally, I grappled with resentment, believing that God had created me in a way that contradicted Biblical teachings, leading me to endure undeserved suffering. However, a pivotal moment occurred during the middle of my junior year in high school when I chose to give God another chance.
Recognizing that my prayers had been misdirected for years, I shifted my approach. Instead of imploring God to change me, I asked for guidance in surrendering this aspect of myself to His will. This shift in perspective illuminated the constant misplaced attribution of blame towards God. From that point forward, my experience with depression ceased entirely, and my anxiety significantly diminished, leading to a sense of wholeness. During this period, I embarked on a journey to establish a relationship with God, which brought about positive changes in my life. Regrettably, this did not conclude as ideally as one would hope. Persistent thoughts about potential lifelong solitude, resulting from relinquishing a homosexual lifestyle without an inclination towards heterosexuality, became a source of distress. Eventually, I found myself unable to bear the prospect and attempted to reconcile homosexuality with Christianity. In this pursuit, I engaged with distorted interpretations of scripture and manipulated “historical context” to rationalize this lifestyle.
Upon graduating from high school, I fully immersed myself in this exploration, pursuing dates with men and embracing the associated lifestyle. A crucial lesson emerged from this experience: transgressing one of God’s laws led to a cascade of Biblical and moral compromises. Consequently, I sought solace in alcohol and drugs, spiraling into a profoundly miserable existence. This downward trajectory culminated in a tragic incident in April 2023, where I became a victim of a brutal sexual assault after agreeing to go on a date with an individual I met online.
This traumatic event plunged me into the deepest depths of despair, where I felt paralyzed and overwhelmed by guilt and shame reminiscent of my previous childhood experiences. However, a turning point occurred one night when, in my desperate search for mental relief, I encountered an Instagram post by my best friend. She was the only friend I knew that embodied true Christian virtues without endorsing the lifestyle I was leading. The post’s message resonated deeply: “Nothing compares to the joy and freedom you feel after surrendering your life to Him and leaving your all in His hands.”
This post had a profound impact on me, igniting a desire for the joy and fulfillment my friend spoke of, emotions I could no longer recall experiencing. That night, I humbled myself, cried out to God, and made a sincere commitment to abandon the detrimental lifestyle I had been pursuing. I resolved to surrender it all to Him, acknowledging that only through God could I find genuine joy and fulfillment. Presently, I have completely entrusted my life to Him, experiencing true joy and fulfillment for the first time. The fear of potential lifelong solitude has dissipated, replaced by the assurance that God has a remarkable plan for my life, and my reliance is solely on Him.
Matthew Pakula
SPECIAL MESSAGE
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