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Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Religious Liberty 2022

Mark Howard

Revelation 13 & the Establishment Clause

This morning I want to tell you that the topic is called Revelation 13 and the Establishment Clause and I have to give the disclaimer that I do not consider myself an expert on the subject of religious liberty, but at the same time, every Seventh-day Adventist really ought to have a clear understanding of these principles at stake because of where we are and where we're heading.

I'm gonna go to the slide for most of the presentation.

There is a statement that I did not include in the presentation that came to me this morning that should have been in there, and so I'm going to read that before we dive into our topic.

But before we do anything, I want to pray and ask the Lord to guide our time together.

So I'm gonna invite you to bow your heads with me as I do so.

Father in heaven, we are so thankful for the Holy Sabbath day.

We're thankful for your love and mercy in revealing your truth to us and giving us the courage and the strength to stand on your truth.

I pray Lord this morning and throughout this day your Holy Spirit will guide us as speakers Lord, keep self hidden out of sight, keep back the things that we might say that would confuse issues, and I pray your Holy Spirit would simply take control that the messages would be clear and they would be practical and prepare us for the times we're living in and the times just ahead.

We thank you, Father, for hearing and answering, for we ask and pray these things in the name of Jesus and for his sake, amen.

I want to share with you a statement found in the very beginning of the book, Testimonies for the Church, volume 9.

You have heard at least a portion of this, I'm sure, it's page 11 of Testimonies for the Church, volume 9.

It says, we are living in the time of the end.

The fast fulfilling signs of the times declare that the coming of Christ is near at hand.

The days in which we live are solemn and important.

The Spirit of God is gradually, but surely, being withdrawn from the earth.

And I might elaborate on that by saying, in the book of Revelation, we see that the troubles that are coming on the earth are depicted as being held back by the 4 angels, holding back the 4 winds from blowing on the earth, until the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads.

But the angels are loosening their grip, And we see more and more of those troubles.

The Spirit of God is gradually but surely being withdrawn from the earth.

Plagues and judgments are already falling upon the despisers of the grace of God.

The calamities by land and sea, the unsettled state of society, the alarms of war, sounds like I'm reading out of the headlines, are portentous.

In fact, she clarifies it in the next sentence, they forecast approaching events of the greatest magnitude.

The agencies of evil are combining their forces and consolidating, they are strengthening for the last great crisis.

Great changes are soon to take place in our world, and the final movements will be rapid ones.

And wow, how to the point, on point is that statement with where we are today.

As Seventh-day Adventists, we're aware that this final crisis, we see it unfolded in Revelation chapter 13.

We see the message that meets it, the warning message in Revelation chapter 14.

In Revelation 13, 2 beasts brought into view.

We see the papal power and a two-horned beast which represents Protestant America.

And verse 12 of Revelation 13, looking down toward this final crisis, tells us that this country is going to exercise all the authority of that first beast in his presence and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed.

This nation will reach a point where it causes, it compels worship.

At the heart of this final contest then is liberty of conscience.

And as such, it's essential that we understand what liberty of conscience is and what liberty of conscience is not.

I want you to note this statement from Inspiration, Great Controversy 569, says it is Satan's, what?

Constant effort to misrepresent the character of God, the nature of sin, and notice, the real issues at stake in the great controversy.

And so we are going to be looking at these issues this morning.

Now I want to start because we're dealing with matters of conscience with a crash course on conscience.

I don't know if you've noticed, But conscience seems to be more and more of a common cry in the times that we're living in.

When we find ourselves up against something that we don't want to do, a direction we don't want to do, there's that cry of, hey, my conscience tells me different.

But as I understand it, there are 3 categories of people who invoke conscience.

There are those whose consciences are truly bound by the Word of God, and we will elaborate on this.

There are those who are sincere but confused in regard to what constitutes a matter of conscience.

And then there are those who are seeking to circumvent any authority and maintain their independence by invoking conscience.

Okay, so let's talk about conscience for a minute.

But I want you to understand that the word conscience, interestingly, in the English language and also in the Greek from which it's translated, literally means with knowledge.

You know, we talk about conscience, we say my conscience is bothering me, what is the result of that?

What do we call that when the conscience bothers us?

And when I do a lot of soul winning training and when working with people and sharing truth with people, and 1 thing that we teach is that a person can't be convicted unless they have information.

You can't be convicted about what you don't know, right?

Conscience can't bother you when you don't know anything.

So the word conscience means with knowledge, and we're going to come back to that in a minute.

The Vines Expository Dictionary of the New Testament words defines conscience as that faculty by which we apprehend the will of God.

Now in the writings of Ellen White, I'm gonna share with you a few statements that are going to build on each other.

First of all, Review and Herald June 18, 1889 says, It is the still small voice of the Spirit of God that has the power to convict and convert men's souls.

So the Spirit of God brings that conviction.

It, the Holy Spirit, is the voice of God speaking what?

Now let's put those together with this 1.

The voice of God, it was the Holy Spirit speaking.

So when it says conscience is the voice of God, that tells us the Holy Spirit works through the conscience.

Conscience is the voice of God heard amid the conflict of human passions when it is resisted, what?

The Spirit of God is grieved because the Spirit of God speaks to us through the conscience.

So as I mentioned to you, conscience is something often invoked as an end all to any discussion.

It's like, hey, I hear what you're saying, but my conscience tells me I ought to do thus and so.

If the conscience is the voice of God, if it's the Holy Spirit speaking to you, who can argue with the conscience?

However, have you ever, I'm not gonna ask for a show of hands here, have you ever been fighting against God and you hear a sermon or somebody confronts you on a certain topic and you say, I'm personally not convicted on that right now.

Now folks, if you read something in the divine word of God, and there it is, and you say, yeah, I'm just not convicted that that applies to me.

And what you might be surprised to find is the Bible speaks of different kinds of consciences.

For sake of time, I'm not going to look them up, but I will give you references here.

First Timothy 1, verse 5, and 1 in verse 19 both speak of what the Bible calls a good conscience.

Hebrews 10, 22 speaks of what it calls an evil conscience.

Titus 1, 1.15 talks about a defiled conscience.

1 Corinthians 8.12 talks about a weak conscience.

And 1 of my favorites, 1 Timothy 4.2, speaks of a conscience that has been seared with a hot iron.

Now, if you take a hot iron to flesh, and you sear your flesh, what's the result of that?

But the reality, what's odd about it is, if you sear the flesh, guess what stops?

You have deadened the nerve endings in that, whatever that area of flesh is.

And the Apostle Paul uses this to say, even when it comes to matters of conscience, we can so resist the Spirit of God that our conscience doesn't bother us anymore when it should.

So understand there are different kinds of consciences.

So what this means is that a person may invoke conscience as a reason for doing or not doing something, and yet it may not be a matter of conscience at all.

Let me give you a practical and unsettling example.

This was not in 1 of my churches, but a pastor friend of mine in 1 of his churches had a woman in the congregation who felt compelled, because the Bible says, after all, in the book of James, to confess your faults to 1 another, that when she was up on the platform 1 morning to begin going through and telling the saints and confessing all of her lustful thoughts that she had had for different people in the congregation.

Andy Im

Religious Liberty: The Adventist Angle

1 of the things I want to mention, and that has to do with religious liberty itself.

As you know, there's a lot of discussion involving religious liberty that we've seen in recent months and over the past several years.

How many of you recall the impact of COVID came to our doorsteps and churches started getting shuttered.

We learned a new word and also there was discussion over masks and vaccines, the efficacy of it.

People started to question whether the government had the jurisdiction or even the authority to enact some of the protocols and initiatives.

And I remember, I also served as communication director going to the conference office because, as you remember, essential workers were permitted to go to their offices.

And I remember meeting with the officers and the office would be empty on a weekday.

And we were constantly thinking of ways to get the message out, to share with the members and pastors and churches what is taking place, because none of us knew what was really going on at that time.

And of course, here we are today in the midst of some controversy.

Some of the mandates that we witnessed earlier on have now been lifted and we're entering a new frontier.

But 1 of the things that I want to mention is the importance when it comes to religious liberty in having a thoroughly Adventist perspective and worldview when it concerns religious liberty.

And by the way, what that means is that we can't be obtaining our religious liberty information from sources like the news or our favorite radio personalities and TV personalities because at the end of the day, the Adventist understanding of religious liberty is a unique 1.

And it's informed by really 2 things, and there are others, of course, but it's really informed by our understanding of the Sabbath question that will take place at the end of time.

The controversy over the Sabbath or the Sabbath test informs our understanding of religious liberty and Pastor Mark touched upon some of that this morning.

But secondly, I would say that our eschatology, our understanding of end time events, also informs our understanding of religious liberty.

And Pastor Mark touched upon this today and that is the two-fold union of both a power that incorporates a church and state union or power that will play a major role at the end of time.

And so keep in mind that it's very important in these times to obtain a very thorough understanding of what Adventism teaches as it relates to religious liberty.

And 1 of the things I also want to mention is some of the disunity or some of the challenges that we've been facing as a church community.

But we're seeing a lot of disunity in the church.

And 1 of the things that I want to mention, there's a study that was taken out of the University of Virginia, the Center for Political Identity, and 1 of the things that it mentions that just shows you the increasing polarization in this country.

How many of you are noticing the rampant disunity and the challenges facing our country today?

I mean, the divide is very, very serious.

And so, with that said, in this study, you'll see some of the elements that are very concerning.

As a matter of fact, you're finding more and more Americans are getting comfortable with the idea of succeeding from the union over political differences.

And I want to share here this morning that political affiliation and party loyalty, if we as Adventists are inundated or partake of these alliances, the divide will take place not just out there, but in the midst of our own churches.

And we need to be very cautious and careful to pause and not allow political division to enter our churches.

And I don't think it's rocket science to understand and to be aware of the very fact that when we identify politically as Seventh-day Adventist Christians, We bring that partisanship into the halls and walls of our churches and it leads to further division.

So I want to make an appeal this morning that we are intentional in not allowing for that to happen.

And of course, we see inspiration also clearly understood that politics and our involvement in it will lead to contention and increased disorder.

I want to turn our attention to the church in Corinth.

How many of you have studied the church in Corinth?

And here we find in this church, a church that was suffering from a lot of division.

Of course, the Bible states in the book of 1 Corinthians that there was much jealousy and strife and quarreling that was taking place.

And they also had this challenge because they were following different leaders.

For some it was Paul and for others it was Apollos or Cephas and others were claiming Christ.

And we see some of these types of activities in our churches today.

And I want to turn your attention to a particular challenge that the church was facing at that time.

As many of you know, I love food very much.

And how many of you have gone to a restaurant and you walk in the door and you see a Buddha or some type of idol with some food and some burning incense, right?

And obviously they are dedicating their business, their restaurant to their gods, but I would expect that not many of you would open the door and see that and walk out, right?

Most of us will go ahead and enter the church or the restaurant and partake of the food.

Now this is the type of challenge that was taking place during the time of Paul in the Corinthian church and what we see happening there is something like this.

You have 1 side, 1 side of this question, those who had this, what they call true knowledge, right?

And so they were saying that this food that's dedicated to idols or idolatry, we reject that narrative.

There's no reason why we have to accept this narrative that when we eat this food, that even though this food has been dedicated to idol worship and so on, that that reality and that narrative doesn't have to dictate my personal actions.

But you had 1 side of the church that held to this position.

Then you had another side where they were eating this food that was dedicated to idols.

And in fact, they assumed that it was in fact being eaten on behalf of idol worship and if you read with me in 1st Corinthians chapter 8, if anyone sees you who has this knowledge eating in the idols temple will they not be encouraged Paul says that this conscience is weak to eat food offered to idols, and so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, and brother for whom Christ died.

Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat lest I make my brother stumble." And so, Paul is here clarifying this issue, this tension that's taking place between 2 sides of the church.

1 side that's saying it's not a big deal to eat this food that is dedicated to idols because I reject that narrative and others who didn't have that understanding.

So what Paul is really addressing is the group that was eating this food that was dedicated to idols.

He's particularly addressing those on this side that even though you might have the right or the prerogative to partake of that food and you may even be justified because you have this true understanding of reality as it pertains to these things.

Nevertheless, don't move forward with your actions and that you and I should pause before eating because of the implications it might have in making someone stumble.

The Bible goes on to say, "'Eat whatever is sold in the meat market "'without raising any question, ' "'as he's concluding on the ground of conscience, for the earth is the Lord and the fullness thereof.

If 1 of the believers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience.

But if someone says to you, this has been offered in sacrifice, then do not eat for the sake of the 1 who informed you and the sake of conscience.

Very interesting what the Bible says, that you are not to eat of this food if someone were to inform you that this food was in fact dedicated to idols.

Paul's counsel is don't eat that food, why?

And notice what he says, it's not your conscience, but the other person's conscience.

That we need to consider other people's needs, other people's consciences and their susceptibilities before engaging in any action.

And notice what Paul says, I don't mean your conscience but his, for why should my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience?

I praise the Lord that no 1 else's conscience can become my conscience and the basis for judgment upon myself.

That my conscience ultimately is based on where I stand as it's informed by the Bible, as Mark mentioned this morning, as it's informed by the word of God and my relationship with God is all that matters and we are not to even care what other people may think about us because my liberty is not determined by someone else's conscience.

So whether you eat or drink and by the way this passage that Adventists have traditionally used 1st Corinthians chapter 10 31 needs to be seen within the construct and the narrative of what we're sharing here this morning.

That what we eat and what we drink and in all that we do and whatever we do, to do all to the glory of God.

And not to give offense, to not offend others unnecessarily, the Jews or the Greeks or to the church of God.

And as Paul stated, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many that they may be saved.

To summarize, you and I, before we engage in verbiage or actions, even when we know we're right on the matter, it doesn't necessarily give us the right as Christians to proceed forward because we must always contemplate and consider how my actions and how my words may impact or affect another person's salvation.

And so this is really the point that Paul is making.

It's really the golden rule to do unto others as you would have them to do unto you.

And moving along of course Paul himself refused the right to be upheld by the tithes and offerings of the churches in Corinth because he did not want to be a stumbling block to others.

As you know, there were many factions going on.

Paul, many were disputing the legitimacy of Paul's apostleship.

And so as a result, he didn't want to place any type of stumbling block in the way of him proceeding with the Gospel message.

He wanted to keep the channels or the doors open so that all might be saved in the kingdom of God.

And that is why he wrote, and he says here, all things may be lawful, and this was a scripture reading this morning.

You may have the right, and you may be in the right, but not all things may be profitable.

All things are lawful, but not all things may edify.

Let no 1 seek his own good, but that of his neighbor." And I love these words here.

It's within this vein that Paul states these words.

And by the way, friends, how many of you believe that we need to be winsome as Seventh-day Adventist Christians?

You know, Pastor Doug Batchelor often talks about we're not baptized in pickle juice, amen.

And God can make us happy and courteous Christians, amen.

And this is essentially what Paul is stating here, that to the Jews I became as a Jew, because he wanted to be winsome in order to win the Jews.

To those under the law I became as 1 under the law, that I might win those who are under the law, and to those outside of the law I became as 1 outside the law that I might win those outside the law.

To the weak I became as weak that I might win the weak and I have become all things to all people by all means I might save some.

1 of the things that our conference president shared with us in a worship service or in a staff meeting As the churches began to open their doors again and as some of the people in the conference offices started going out preaching.

Norman McNulty

The Unanswered Prayer of Jesus

And I pray that as we see what is happening in the world around us, that we would unite as a people to proclaim the messages that you have called us to proclaim at this time.

So I just pray that as I speak over the next few minutes that you would give me grace and wisdom to share this topic in a way that will be understandable and helpful.

So I've entitled my presentation today, The Unanswered Prayer of Jesus.

And we're going to look at that as we go through the presentation this afternoon, but I have to ask myself the question, are we answering that prayer of Jesus?

That prayer where he prays that we would be 1 with each other and 1 with him as he is 1 with the Father.

You know, There have been theological disagreements within different wings of the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Interestingly, most notably about women's ordination in recent times, and that's been an interesting thing for me to watch with the pandemic, because we well remember, and this is an argument that is still used, where people who don't agree with the decision of the World Church of the Seventh-day Adventist about women's ordination will say, well, my conscience forces me to go against the decision that the church has decided upon.

And now we're hearing conscience about the current issue in the church.

So there have been various theological disagreements within Adventism, but the division that has arisen among the professed Bible-believing ranks of Adventism regarding COVID-19 over the last 2 years for me has been very alarming, and I think it's probably been alarming for all of us.

And unfortunately, not only has COVID-19 changed the world, it has reshaped the landscape of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

We have to admit that, that we are living in a different landscape right now because of the strongly held viewpoints about COVID.

And much like the secular world, we have seen within the church a hotly contested debate about masks social distancing vaccines and mandates and if we are honest with ourselves.

Would it be fair to ask if our talking points are coming as much from our favorite contemporary media sources that align with our political perspectives as much as they come from the Bible?

And this is a challenge that we have to come to grips with because we do not want the theological platform of Seventh-day Adventism to be knowingly or unknowingly driven by the platform of the modern political parties.

Seventh-day Adventism is distinct and separate from the Democratic Party or the Republican Party or the Libertarian Party or any other party.

And it just frustrates me personally to see people in the church who are very convicted about an issue that they believe is a matter of personal conscience, when my personal belief as a Seventh-day Adventist physician is that the issue in question scripture is largely silent upon.

So we're making something into a huge issue that you can't really give a clear 0.1 way or the other, other than to say, make a decision about this, but let's not make this into an end-time testing truth.

Now, we as Seventh-day Adventists can all agree that COVID-19 is a sign of the second coming of Jesus.

We read in Matthew 24, verses 6 through 8, you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, see that you be not troubled for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet for a nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.

And there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in various places.

So between the pestilence of COVID-19, and that's clearly a general sign that Jesus describes in Matthew 24.

Between the pestilence of COVID-19 and the present war that we're seeing, where Russia has invaded Ukraine, these prophetic utterances by Christ in Matthew 24 are pregnant with meaning.

We can see this pestilence over the last 2 years.

Now we see this war that kind of popped up quickly.

And we're reminded that we are on the right track.

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Series

Religious Liberty 2022

Religious Liberty: The Adventist Angle

Transcript

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

SWYC 2009 Plenary Sessions

An Out-of-Body Experience

56m

Young Adults

Want vs. Will

48m

Do Justly

57m

Preparing For the End Times

Crisis or Commitment

47m

Dan Augsburger - Prevailing Over the Enemy: How to Lead a Victorious Christian Life

The Need for More Abundant Life

53m

Called to Victory

42m

For a Gift From God

43m

The Pre-Advent Judgment

43m

Fresh Manna by Farai Nhiwatiwa

The Power of the Word

33m

God’s Thoughts On Life and Death

49m

Look Up and Live

Justice for God

41m

The Great Controversy

36 The Impending Conflict

5m

Sound Doctrine