HOME / PROCLAMATION! MAGAZINE / 2008 / JANUARY/FEBRUARY / ASK THE PASTOR

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2008
VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1

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D E P A R T M E N T S

Ask the PASTOR

Whom do I believe
Dale Ratzlaff

 

Q. Adventists tell me that Life Assurance Ministries is teaching error and I should not even read Proclamation! because it will only confuse me. Proclamation! says Adventists are wrong and Ellen White was a false prophet. My Adventist pastor seems sincere. Why should I believe you over my pastor? You both say you are teaching the Bible. How can I know who is right?1

 

A. We must separate sincerity and truth. Sincerity is the virtue of speaking truly about one's feelings, thoughts and desires. It has to do with the convictions of the speaker. Truth, however, is based upon facts and has nothing to do with the conviction of the speaker. Truth and sincerity should be together, but sincerity does not guarantee truth. I grew up in a home that sincerely believed tea was harmful. My mother was sincere and thought this belief was the truth because Ellen White said so. Now, however, science has proven that both black and green tea are healthful. Studies suggest drinkers of tea experience a reduced risk of heart attack, less artery disease, less osteoporosis, lower cancer risk, and improved immune function, etc.2 Truth is based on fact. One can believe truth, one can believe truth to be error, one can sincerely believe error to be truth, yet truth remains truth. Therefore, one must diligently search out truth separate from sincerity. Jesus said,

I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me (Jn. 14:6).

The first step in the discovery of truth is to receive the One who is Truth as our Savior and Lord. Then we can claim the promise:

But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come (Jn. 16:13).

Some Adventists say, "I go by the Bible alone. If you read your Bible, you will see that Adventism has the truth."

Understanding the Bible requires that we be committed to knowing Jesus and believing God. We cannot perceive the mind of God revealed in His word if we are not made alive by the Holy Spirit. Even before being loyal to the Bible, we must be committed to Jesus Christ and submitted to all He will teach us in His word. Only when we are alive in Christ will we understand spiritual reality.

We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ (2 Cor 2:12-16).

Truth is found in the Word of God. "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth" (Jn. 17:17). In our search for truth, we are to go to the Bible. Jesus said "Scripture cannot be broken". We are to be "truth seekers" and not "opinion provers". We are to seek truth diligently because truth has nothing to fear from carful investigation. Study both sides for yourself and make a commitment to follow truth; it is the only safe thing to do.

Buy truth, and do not sell it, Get wisdom and instruction and understanding (Pro. 23:23).

Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom (Ps. 51:6).

You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free (Jn. 8:32).

But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions (1 Tim. 1:5–7).

Keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith (1 Tim. 1:19).

In view of this, I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men (Acts 24:16). †

 

Endnotes

1. This question is a combination of several letters we have received asking similar questions.
2. Taking Care, Vol. 22, Issue 11, Nov. 2000, p. 9. Prevention, Nov. 2006, p. 149; Columbia University and Shanghai Cancer Institute with participation of the US National Cancer Institute; Health Secrets, July 2004, PhiSciences.com. For a complete listing of other sources see the soon to be published, More Than a Profit, Less Than a Prophet, by Dirk Anderson.

 

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Dale Ratzlaff