HOME / PROCLAMATION! MAGAZINE / 2014 / SPRING / THE LIFE EXAMINED WITH CAROLYN MACOMBER
D E P A R T M E N T S
The life EXAMINED with Carolyn Macomber
FALSELY ACCUSED
My heart ached with the accusation. It was untrue. I knew what my intentions were. I also knew what I had said. How could things get so twisted? How could I change the minds of those who had falsely accused me or those who had heard the accusation? It hurt deeply, because the truth had become hidden.
Scripture says that the truth of Christ will set us free (Jn. 8:32). In the context of this passage Jesus tells the Pharisees that they will die in their sin unless they believe in Him. They refused to believe that Jesus was fully God and could set them free. They blurted out, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” (Jn. 8:22). In that moment the Jews lied. Their ancestors had been enslaved for many, many, years in Egypt. They did not want to admit the truth about themselves.
A dialogue between Jesus and these Jews continued. It ended with a false accusation of Christ. The Jews claimed that their only father was God, that they were not illegitimate children. Jesus corrected them and told them that because they did not believe in Him, the One who had come from God, they were from the father of lies, Satan. He also shared the good news that if they did believe in Him they would never see death (Jn. 8:51). This truth enraged them, and they blurted out, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?” (Jn. 8:52-53).
Then Jesus declared the truth about Himself. He told them that His father is the God that they claim and that Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing His day (Jn. 8:54-56). Incredulously they responded, “You are not yet 50 years old and you have seen Abraham!”
It is at this point that Jesus speaks volumes, “Before Abraham was, I AM.”
In the midst of false accusations, Jesus continued to speak the truth. Their words accused Him—the One who had cast out demons—of being demon possessed. These Jews could not face the truth of their condition. They could not accept that salvation came through belief in Jesus alone. They believed that because they belonged to the Jewish nation and Abraham was their father, they were already God’s children.
Likewise, when I was a Seventh-day Adventist, I believed that I belonged to the true “remnant church” that kept all of Scripture—especially the fourth commandment of worshiping on the seventh day. I believed my association with the “true church” and the fact that I worshiped on the correct biblical day would grant me the possibility of salvation. Additionally, I believed in Ellen White as a prophet of God. I was like the Pharisees whose father Jesus declared was Satan. I was following the prince of this world and was dead in my trespasses, believing something that was untrue (Eph. 2:1-3). I am thankful for those who shared truth with me. I am now a child of God and a member of His household (Eph. 2:19). I believe in Jesus who was fully God and who paid for my sin (1 Jn. 5:11-13). This gift of mercy is overwhelming to me, and I want others to have it, too.
How does all this relate to being falsely accused? Recently, I was accused of “bashing Seventh-day Adventists” after some acquaintances had watched my testimony on YouTube. That hurt deeply. My heart desires that Adventists who believe as I did would find the true gospel message. My intention was and is not to “bash”, but to declare in love the truth of Christ. That is why I point out the false gospel and errors in the doctrines of the Adventist Church. I am often characterized as having been “wounded” by Adventism and that is why I left. Some think I’m angry. The truth is, I left because Adventist doctrines are unbiblical and untrue. My desire is not to “bash” but to speak truth. I want Adventists to know Truth and be saved. I also want born-again Christians to reach out to Adventists and share the true gospel or study the Bible with them. I want those still caught in Adventism to know the truth so that they can be free, too. I want them to experience the joy of salvation which is found in Christ Jesus. The truth sets one free, and those whom the Lord sets free, are free indeed! †
Copyright 2014 Life Assurance Ministries, Inc., Camp Verde, Arizona, USA. All rights reserved. Revised May 5, 2014. Contact email: proclamation@gmail.com
S P R I N G • 2 0 1 4
VOLUME 15, ISSUE 1
Carolyn Macomber was a doctoral student at Andrews University when she discovered inconsistencies between Adventism and the Bible. She withdrew her membership from the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 2009. She is a member of The Chapel Evangelical Free Church in St. Joseph, Michigan, where she is the leader of a Former Adventist Fellowship. She works helping families prepare their children for school readiness.
