September - 2010
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God's Relation to Death |
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By Ty Gibson |
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Q: Does God kill? A: First of all, we need to be aware that this is a rather simplistic way of asking the question, which poses a theological danger: reduced questions tend to generate reduced answers, which in turn tend to be false answers by virtue of their narrowness. The question is not answered true to Scripture nor to God's character by simply saying, "Yes, God kills. Let us close with prayer." There is no enlightenment in such an answer. In a world that has been taught to view God as cruel and arbitrary, simplistically arguing that God kills isn’t good enough. read more... |
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The short answer is, yes, God has taken life at times, but, no, God is
not the ultimate source of death, nor has He ever taken life inconsistent
with His perfect love. Taking the Bible as it reads, it is evident
that God has ended people's lives throughout the course of history.
Obvious examples are the Flood, Sodom, Ananias and Sapphira.
Someone will respond: "If the Ten Commandments are a transcript of God's character, wouldn't it follow that God never takes life since the seventh commandment says, 'Thou shalt not kill.' If He did kill, wouldn’t He be violating His own Law?"
First, the more accurate translation of the seventh commandment is, "You shall not murder," which forbids the unjust act of taking life for any self–serving motive. While all murder involves killing, all killing is not necessarily murder. For example, the execution of the death penalty by a judicial system is not regarded as murder even by most of those who oppose the death penalty, nor is the man a murderer who kills a criminal in the process of intervening to defend the defenseless. While the Bible clearly states that God has terminated life at times, the word murder never applies to God.
Secondly, it is logically impossible for the Giver of life to be a murderer when He takes life back. The One who created life cannot be regarded as a murderer in the act of taking life for the simple reason that all life belongs to Him in the first place. As the Creator, God occupies a totally unique relation to all life. He is not like any created being in the position He holds over life. He brought us into existence. Therefore, we only possess life on loan from Him. No matter what side of the argument one comes down on, the idea that God would be a murderer if He were to take life is logically inadmissible by virtue of the fact that our life is ultimately His.
But the truth of that matter is deeper still.
At the most fundamental level, all death is the result of sin and is foreign to the will of God. If sin had never been introduced into our world, the horrible reality of death would never have existed. So all death traces back to, and issues forth from, the human will, not from God's will, even in those instances when God has found it necessary to respond to evil by taking life. This is what Paul means when he says, "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23), and what Ellen White means when she says, "God destroys no man. Every man who is destroyed will destroy himself" (Our High Calling, p. 26). Within the context of the situation we have dealt to God, He who is life and light and love finds it necessary at times to intervene in order to regulate the spread of evil. There are times when that intervention requires that He end life for our ultimate and overall good: sometimes by means of giving us over to the destructive master we have chosen, sometimes by allowing our sinful choices to have their effect, and sometimes by Himself being the primary actor in the ending of life. But in every case, He is acting with other–centered interest. The most crucial point to realize on this topic is that God is love, and as such He is perfectly just and merciful in all His actions. In any instance that God has ended the life of a human being, He did so of necessity for some righteous purpose.
Someone will respond: "If the Ten Commandments are a transcript of God's character, wouldn't it follow that God never takes life since the seventh commandment says, 'Thou shalt not kill.' If He did kill, wouldn’t He be violating His own Law?"
First, the more accurate translation of the seventh commandment is, "You shall not murder," which forbids the unjust act of taking life for any self–serving motive. While all murder involves killing, all killing is not necessarily murder. For example, the execution of the death penalty by a judicial system is not regarded as murder even by most of those who oppose the death penalty, nor is the man a murderer who kills a criminal in the process of intervening to defend the defenseless. While the Bible clearly states that God has terminated life at times, the word murder never applies to God.
Secondly, it is logically impossible for the Giver of life to be a murderer when He takes life back. The One who created life cannot be regarded as a murderer in the act of taking life for the simple reason that all life belongs to Him in the first place. As the Creator, God occupies a totally unique relation to all life. He is not like any created being in the position He holds over life. He brought us into existence. Therefore, we only possess life on loan from Him. No matter what side of the argument one comes down on, the idea that God would be a murderer if He were to take life is logically inadmissible by virtue of the fact that our life is ultimately His.
But the truth of that matter is deeper still.
At the most fundamental level, all death is the result of sin and is foreign to the will of God. If sin had never been introduced into our world, the horrible reality of death would never have existed. So all death traces back to, and issues forth from, the human will, not from God's will, even in those instances when God has found it necessary to respond to evil by taking life. This is what Paul means when he says, "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23), and what Ellen White means when she says, "God destroys no man. Every man who is destroyed will destroy himself" (Our High Calling, p. 26). Within the context of the situation we have dealt to God, He who is life and light and love finds it necessary at times to intervene in order to regulate the spread of evil. There are times when that intervention requires that He end life for our ultimate and overall good: sometimes by means of giving us over to the destructive master we have chosen, sometimes by allowing our sinful choices to have their effect, and sometimes by Himself being the primary actor in the ending of life. But in every case, He is acting with other–centered interest. The most crucial point to realize on this topic is that God is love, and as such He is perfectly just and merciful in all His actions. In any instance that God has ended the life of a human being, He did so of necessity for some righteous purpose.
Mission Report Monrovia Liberia |
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By Frank Bannor |
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| Praise GOD for His wonderful salvation in my life. I received a pamphlet called To All the World from my former classmate. Through reading it I encountered the Sabbath and many strange things I had never read before. I saw the phone number and website address on it so one day something told me to try the number, so I called. I heard a nice voice—it was Stephanie Van Koten−Hinger. I asked her about the Sabbath and she explained it to me. read more... | |||
I wanted to know more so I gave her my email address and she
answered some of my questions. Then she introduced Pastor James to me and
he sent me The Great Controversy and The Desire of Ages books. Stephanie also sent
me a Bible and pamphlets including To All the World 2. This book answered
all my questions so I visited an SDA church nearby. After the service, the
pastor called for those who wanted to join the church and I stood. The
entire congregation was happy about my decision, and they promised to
prepare me and the others for baptism. After the church service, I told my
uncle about my new faith and he was angry with me. He called his friends
and my former church members to advise me about my decision. They came and I
began to share with them
about the second coming of Christ and how He wants us to follow the
Ten Commandments, including the Sabbath. They were also convinced
and they told my uncle that nothing would change my mind. Then my
uncle invited one of our Baptist pastors to advise me so I asked him to
explain Revelation 13 and Daniel 7 to me before I changed my decision. But
he couldn’t explain them very well to me. The only thing he said was that
the Sabbath is for only Jews and we are not under law. I asked him what is
wrong with the law and he said Jesus nailed it to the cross. I told him we
must read Romans 7:12. So we read it and it showed us that the law is holy,
righteous and good. I asked him, "Is it fine to deny what is holy, righteous
and good?" He couldn't answer so he left and told my uncle that I was
crazy and that nothing would change me now. So my uncle told me that if
I was baptized I would have to leave his house. I was baptized, and he put
me out. I then went to Monrovia.
The first day I reached Monrovia I inquired about the local SDA church and went there the following Sabbath. I introduced myself and told them all the problems I had been through. They shook my hand and received me, and they talked about evangelism. After church I went for visitation and had a chance to teach after it. They asked me how I knew the Bible so well, just as if I were a long time member of the church. I answered, "GOD first taught me, and then second, LBM [Light Bearers Ministry].From that time I started thinking about innocent souls who were worshiping GOD but who didn’t know all the truths. As I thought about them, I felt guilty, and I asked myself, "What am I doing for these souls?" So I decided to plan a two−week evangelistic program. As it was my first time preaching, two brothers and I fasted and prayed for three days concerning the program. Then we went to a town which has no SDA church. We rented a PA system, generator and other things and started the program. Many people came out that first night, and every night. The number increased during the program. We prayed for those who were sick and God healed them. One was an assistant pastor from another church who came and asked a question about the Sabbath. Through the power of God he discovered the truth and decided to be baptized. We also studied with Muslims about clean and unclean foods, both in the English Quran and the Bible. We discovered the Sabbath in the Quran in Sura chapter 2:65 and 16:124. It says anyone who doesn't worship ALLAH on the Sabbath day were like monkeys [believing evolution]. Four Muslims prepared for baptism. One girl also made the decision, but her Muslim parents told her if she was baptized they would put a curse on her, so we prayed and we finally reached her parents−they agreed for her to be baptized. I am overjoyed for this program, and because of LBM I have become a soul winner today. Thanks goes to GOD who worked through LBM to teach me the truth. I don't want to forget about LBM so we named the new church, LIGHT BEARERS SDA CHURCH. My thanks also for all LBM workers. GOD BLESS LBM!
The first day I reached Monrovia I inquired about the local SDA church and went there the following Sabbath. I introduced myself and told them all the problems I had been through. They shook my hand and received me, and they talked about evangelism. After church I went for visitation and had a chance to teach after it. They asked me how I knew the Bible so well, just as if I were a long time member of the church. I answered, "GOD first taught me, and then second, LBM [Light Bearers Ministry].From that time I started thinking about innocent souls who were worshiping GOD but who didn’t know all the truths. As I thought about them, I felt guilty, and I asked myself, "What am I doing for these souls?" So I decided to plan a two−week evangelistic program. As it was my first time preaching, two brothers and I fasted and prayed for three days concerning the program. Then we went to a town which has no SDA church. We rented a PA system, generator and other things and started the program. Many people came out that first night, and every night. The number increased during the program. We prayed for those who were sick and God healed them. One was an assistant pastor from another church who came and asked a question about the Sabbath. Through the power of God he discovered the truth and decided to be baptized. We also studied with Muslims about clean and unclean foods, both in the English Quran and the Bible. We discovered the Sabbath in the Quran in Sura chapter 2:65 and 16:124. It says anyone who doesn't worship ALLAH on the Sabbath day were like monkeys [believing evolution]. Four Muslims prepared for baptism. One girl also made the decision, but her Muslim parents told her if she was baptized they would put a curse on her, so we prayed and we finally reached her parents−they agreed for her to be baptized. I am overjoyed for this program, and because of LBM I have become a soul winner today. Thanks goes to GOD who worked through LBM to teach me the truth. I don't want to forget about LBM so we named the new church, LIGHT BEARERS SDA CHURCH. My thanks also for all LBM workers. GOD BLESS LBM!
| Consider This ... | Speaking Schedule | |||
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The same destructive power exercised by holy angels
when God commands, will be exercised by evil angels when
He permits.
Ellen G. White,
Ellen G. White,
Ellen G. White,
Ellen G. White,
Ellen G. White, |
September 2–18 Lusaka, Zambia Ty Gibson and James Rafferty • 260–211921–24–15 September 24–25 Montana Men's Summit, Bozeman Ty Gibson • (406) 369–1832 (406) 240-7267 October 8–9 Poplar Bluff SDA Church, MO Ty Gibson • (573) 785–1226 October 8–9 SAGE Convention Walla Walla Valley Academy, WA James Rafferty • (509) 525–1050 October 15–16 East Carolina Conference Camp Meeting Greenville, NC Ty Gibson • (704) 596–3200 October 15–16 Albany SDA Church, OR James Rafferty • (541) 928–9555 October 22–23 East Carolina Conference Camp Meeting Summerville, SC Ty Gibson • (704) 596–3200 October 29–30 Milo Academy, Days Creek, OR Ty Gibson • (541) 825–3200 October 29–30 Redwood City SDA Church, OR James and Risë Rafferty • (650) 369–1979 November 5–7 ASI Southern Union Fall Conference, Fletcher, NC James Rafferty • (404) 299–1832 |
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