COM Newsletter - May 2022
YET WITHOUT SIN
(Condensed Version)
Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he (Jesus) also himself likewise took part of the same; …For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren… For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour (give assistance to) them that are tempted.” (Hebrews 2:14-18)
“Christ assumed our fallen nature and was subject to every temptation to which man is subject.” (MS 80, 1903, p12)
“Having taken our fallen nature, he showed what it might become, by accepting the ample provision he has made for it, and by becoming partaker of the divine nature” through the exceeding great and precious promises of God’s word, by which we can escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. (PH080,13; 2 Peter 1:4)
“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15,16)
“Christ's overcoming and obedience is that of a true human being. In our conclusions, we make many mistakes because of our erroneous views of the human nature of our Lord. When we give to His human nature a power that it is not possible for man to have in his conflicts with Satan, we destroy the completeness of His humanity. His imputed grace and power He gives to all who receive Him by faith.” (OHC 48.2)
“The obedience of Christ to His Father was the same obedience that is required of man. Man cannot overcome Satan's temptations without divine power to combine with his instrumentality. So with Jesus Christ; He could lay hold of divine power. He came not to our world to give the obedience of a lesser God to a greater, but as a man to obey God's Holy Law, and in this way He is our example. The Lord Jesus came to our world, not to reveal what a God could do, but what a man could do, through faith in God's power to help in every emergency. Man is, through faith, to be a partaker in the divine nature, and to overcome every temptation wherewith he is beset.” (OHC 48.3)
“The Lord now demands that every son and daughter of Adam, through faith in Jesus Christ, serve Him in human nature which we now have. The Lord Jesus has bridged the gulf that sin has made. He has connected earth with heaven, and finite man with the infinite God. Jesus, the world's Redeemer, could only keep the commandments of God in the same way that humanity can keep them.” (OHC 48.4)
“We are not to serve God as if we were not human, but we are to serve Him in the nature we have, that has been redeemed by the Son of God; through the righteousness of Christ we shall stand before God pardoned, and as though we had never sinned.” (OHC 48.5)
Jesus “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin!”
How is that possible?
“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10) His love for you and me was greater than His love for Himself. The power of Jesus’ love for us far exceeded the power of Satan’s temptations. And, “…greater is he (Jesus) that is in you, than he (Satan) that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4) Jesus’ love for you and for me was so great that He would not be distracted by temptation to sin.
“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)
What was that joy? The joy of being with you and with me and all those He loves for all eternity. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)
God is love; and God is omnipotent. Therefore, His perfect love exceeds the supernatural powers of Satan, temptation, and sin. In other words, the power of love exceeds the power of hate.
So, How am I to overcome sin?
To Laodicea, to us, Jesus promised, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame… Revelation 3:21
So, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:5-8
If/when my love for Jesus exceeds that of love of self and love of sin, then I, too, can be an overcomer. When my focus is no longer on self-first, then temptation loses its power. By beholding Him, I will be changed into His image, with love for God supremely and others ahead of myself. And the same goes for you…
Where I am asked to love God supremely and my neighbor as myself, Jesus loved me more than eternal life for Himself. His love for His Father first, and for me, kept Him from yielding to temptation.
Jesus’ laser-like focus was upon those whom He sought to save and the resulting eternal joy of their intimate relationship. Therefore He would say, “Get thee behind me, Satan!” (Matthew 16:23; Mark 8:33; Luke 4:8) Conversely, My laser-like focus must be upon Jesus my Savior from sin, also focusing on the joy that is set before me, enabling me to endure my daily cross. With that kind of focus, temptation should lose its power. For I am no longer focused upon self but Christ, not upon self-satisfaction but Christ’s favor, not upon self-esteem but Christ’s reputation, not upon self-advancement but Christ’s advancement, not upon self-gratification but Christ’s pleasure, not upon self-glorification but the glory of Christ in and through myself.
The secret to overcoming sin: “We become overcomers by helping others to overcome, by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. (Revelation 12:11) The keeping of the commandments of God will yield in us an obedient spirit, and the service that is the offspring of such a spirit, God can accept.” (Letter 236, 1908)
“If you love me,” Jesus says, “keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)
SPECIAL MESSAGE
Q&A
Question: It has been my experience that most Christians either go overboard with hating the sin (ranting and condemning) or loving the sinner (unquestioningly accepting everything) when dealing with homosexuality. What are some ways that Christians can clearly demonstrate that they both love the sinner and hate the sin? In other words, how can Christians reach out to homosexuals, accepting them without condoning their sin?
Reply: In contemplating an answer to this question, I put myself back in the place I was before choosing to accept Jesus as Savior from my own lifestyle of sin as a homosexual. The kind of unconditional love demonstrated by my own parents toward me and toward my friends made a definite impression upon me, making it easier to respect their opinions and to eventually listen to their counsel. Therefore, I suggest the following:
Be both a loving and a lovable Christian yourself. Practice the method that Jesus Himself used to reach the sinner. He accepted their invitations to visit in their homes, to eat with them, to socialize with them, but without participating in any sinful behavior Himself. In fact, His presence was in itself a deterrent to sin because His life was consistent with His profession and attracted the sinner to its purity and holiness.
If the gay person is in your family, treat him or her as family. Don't exclude him or her from your own family social events.
Be willing to listen with sympathy and empathy. I think most gays carry a tremendous burden of guilt, pain, and shame. You don't have to condone the sin in order to show mercy and sympathy toward the sinner.
Don't preach and lecture—it does no good unless invited. Watch for appropriate times to slip in a word of counsel only when you are sure that it is welcome, or receivable.
When asked about how you feel toward their lifestyle, don't show or express revulsion. Be gentle, stating matter-of-factly that though you care very much for the person, you do not find their alternative lifestyle to be acceptable in accordance with your understanding of God's Word, that you could not recommend it, and so on. Be kind and considerate with the words you choose.
For example, while visiting a high school friend dying of AIDS in an Amsterdam hospital a few years ago, at his prompting I shared my own testimony of victory over the sin of homosexuality. He was amazed at my story, but then somberly asked, “So you are telling me that you believe homosexuality to be sin?”
“Yes,” I replied.
He struggled with my answer for a while. Then we changed the subject and talked about high school and mutual friends and acquaintances before drawing our visit to a friendly close. A few days later, before leaving Holland to come back home to America, I called him, asking if I could come back for a good-bye visit.
“Do you really believe that homosexuality is a sin?” he asked.
“Yes, I do,” I replied. “Otherwise, I would not have studied and prayed and struggled my way out of it.”
“I really don't think you'd better come back,” he said. “I don't want you to force that view on me.”
I then reminded him that I had not brought up the subject. I had merely answered his questions regarding my own experience and beliefs. My purpose in visiting him was simply to renew our acquaintance and to try to encourage him in some way during this crisis in his short life. In the end, we parted cordially on the phone. I did not get back to see him again before he passed away. Nevertheless, as a representative of Christ, I had been there to show love to the sinner, but I could not deny my faith in my Savior and His ability to save me, or him, from sin. The difference between us was that I had come to love truth, the truth that sets one free, while my friend chose to believe a lie and die in sin, rejecting God altogether.
There is no guarantee, friend, that while showing love to the sinner he will respond positively. He retains the power of choice until the day he dies. We can only hope and pray that he chooses the right before it is too late.
Let them know in word and action that you love them and that God loves them, too, no matter how you feel about their choices in life. Romans 5:8 tells us, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
As a Christian, though you may invite them to attend church, it would not be appropriate to invite them into church membership or to vote for their acceptance into church membership. Membership allows for decisive voting on church policy, vocalizing of one's viewpoints in church board and business meetings, and holding offices of leadership. Membership should be reserved for those who have renounced the world, sin, and Satan—those who bring forth fruit meet for repentance, as John the Baptist says. Otherwise the standards of the church might be compromised.
These are just a few tips to help those of you endeavoring to bring healing to the sin-sick soul. Your hatred for sin should work in you to labor the more earnestly in love for the sinner, to save him from that very thing you know to be so destructive in this life as well as to have eternal consequences. The wages of sin is death, eternal death, but the gift of our loving God who hates sin is eternal life to those who will accept Jesus Christ who came to save His people from their sins—even the sin of homosexuality (see Romans 6:23; Matthew 1:21).
Q&A text taken from:
Author: “Victor J. Adamson”
(Ron Woolsey)
TESTIMONY FROM AN INMATE
Greetings, Jesse/Ron, Victor, Pastor Adamson:
This very minute I have finished reading your book, “That Kind Can Never Change! Can They…?” I requested it and received it on 12/10/2018, and it’s taken me over 3 years to open and read it! Our precious Father has used you to be an amazing testimony! Your life “is perfect” in that sense, for if not for your major far-from-perfect old lifestyle portion of your earthly life, you could not have been, and now be the testimony you are. Hallelujah! How perfect!
I hope this letter reaches you and that you would read it, as you must get tons of mail weekly. Please do read this, if you get it.
I am a gifted songwriter of Christian and worldly music, increasingly worldly. Your testimony may change that now. I had ideas to write you primarily about music…, but I’m so moved by your testimony and life story that my interest is expanding more to your testimony. There is quite a bit of homosexuality in the prisons, but I’m still naïve about much in here, even after 40 years.
I don’t know how you could possibly make time, but if it could be possible somehow, I would hope to become friends. You would be an excellent pastor for me. We have many interests and activities in common: hang gliding, airplane pilot, music, biking, motorcycles, running, water skiing, and I absolutely love to dance.
We both fought against court and DA corruption, though you won, and I haven’t yet. I’ve been in prison over 39 years on an 8-year sentence, (being literally criminally kidnapped for over 30 years), for defending my life against a very violent home invasion intruder with my legally owned gun. No other criminal history ever.
But most of all, I relate well to your Christian victory principles, something I need so much more of, to hear, and to apply in my daily life and immense struggles of prison life, wrongly imprisoned.
You are obviously of the SDA denomination. I have studied a lot with SDA people and my brother is an SDA pastor. But he abandoned me totally many years ago, as have all my family who are still alive. …I am a practicing Christian, but I’ve fallen much away from my much stronger Christian practices of previous years. I hope your testimony will continue to pull me more fully into living my Christianity better than I am now. And I hope you will respond.
Thanks for hearing me out…, if you have.
F.L.
“And they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony…” (Revelation 12:11)
SPECIAL MESSAGE
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