Editorial

HOME / PROCLAMATION! MAGAZINE / 2013 / SPRING / EDITORIAL

S P R I N G • 2 0 1 3
VOLUME 14, ISSUE 1

D E P A R T M E N T S

Editor's COMMENTS

The Christian world has just celebrated the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and I am overwhelmed again by what Jesus did. He took a mortal body, and, without losing any shred of His divine attributes, He lived among us and took all our sin into Himself. He died our death on the cross, and He rose from the grave on the third day. He broke Satan’s control over this domain of darkness (Col 1:13) and opened a new, living way for us to approach God directly (Heb. 10:20).

Ever since we began ministering to former and questioning Adventists in 1999, Richard and I have found our greatest joy in seeing people come to understand God’s grace to them because the Lord Jesus died in their place and rose again for their eternal life. Seeing people become born again and spiritually alive is still the biggest joy of our lives. We have a growing concern, however, for many we see who leave Adventism, thrilled about the new covenant, but gradually become enmeshed in more subtle works religions that promise peace, victory, and power through the means of learning special methods of prayer and spiritual disciplines. It has become a deep grief to me to see former Adventists who drift away from the power of the gospel and confuse their love of the new covenant with a search for something more.

Being dissatisfied with the gospel and God’s word as His provision for our power leaves us vulnerable to false teachings—but it also leaves us subtly but powerfully connected to the thing we thought we left: the false gospel of Adventism.

Two things are necessary in order to be free from our Adventist entanglement. The first necessary thing is taking the time to “unpack” our Adventist worldview, which includes the nature of man, the nature of sin and salvation, the nature of Jesus, and the impact of the new covenant. The second thing is learning to trust that God cannot lie, that His word is sufficient and alive, and that He will transform us as we submit our minds to it.

It is hard for us to lose our Adventist “intellectualizing”, but it is necessary if we are going to become mature and confident in our identity in Christ. The power of the Christian life is in allowing God’s word to tell us the truth and then in being willing to submit to it. The minute we try to improve our experience by disciplines and methods enhancing our experience with God, we add our works to the finished work of Jesus.

Moreover, He asks us to believe Him just as Abraham did; He asks us to submit to His word and to stop trying to create the experience or program we think we deserve. He asks us to trust Him in our pain and in the mundane ordinariness of life. He meets us and gives us meaning as we obediently take the next right step—and He is faithful to show us that next step when we trust Him.

We have dedicated this issue of Proclamation! to calling us to accountability. Dale Ratzlaff challenges us to trust God’s word when it conflicts with Adventist doctrine. Terry Mirra challenges us to unpack and completely divorce ourselves from our Adventist worldview, and Martin Carey explores the roots of contemplative prayer and Christian mysticism that are growing in popularity among evangelical churches. Julius Botelho tells how he found his true Savior, and we share a retrospective of the eighth Former Adventist Fellowship conference in Redlands, California. Rick Barker explores the fifth Adventist fundamental belief, and Carolyn Macomber discusses suffering as a Christian. Chris Lee concludes our issue with a reminder that we must celebrate our rights in Christ.

Trusting the risen Jesus for our salvation is the thing that changes our identities. Trusting the Lord Jesus for our growth, our provision, and our lives, however, is the thing that bonds us to Him. When we experience Him providing for us and redeeming our pain—just as He promised to do—we are transformed. His word is alive, and it changes us when we trust it, because we know He cannot lie. He is risen! †

Life Assurance Ministries