Global View
Challenges to Our Identity and Mission Safeguarding Divine Truth
T
he tired, weary-worn, battle-scarred evangelist was concerned—concerned for the fledgling Christian church. He knew they would soon face ridicule, mockery, imprisonment, and persecution. The apostle Paul gathered the elders of the Ephesian church together at Miletus and warned them that “savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock” (Acts 20:29). Difficult times loomed on the horizon. There was trouble ahead. Believers were soon to face fierce persecution in the Roman Empire. Nevertheless, this was not Paul’s only concern. His deeper concern may well have been the challenge from within the Christian church itself. He counseled these church leaders: “Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking
18
October 2021 AdventistWorld.org
perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (verses 30-32). The New Testament church leaders’ concerns about erroneous teachings entering the New Testament church were well founded. Paul warned young Timothy about Hymenaeus and Philetus, who declared that the resurrection had already taken place (2 Tim. 2:17, 18). He wrote to the Galatians about righteousness by faith in Christ alone at a time when some were leading believers back to dependence on the law as a means of salvation. The apostle Peter warned the church that “there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies” (2 Peter 2:1). Writing in Revelation 2, John warns against the Nicolaitans, who did away with the law of God and lived lives of unrestrained indulgence (Rev. 2:14, 15). SAFEGUARDING DIVINE TRUTH
Christian leaders must always be concerned about maintaining the integrity of the biblical, Christ-centered truths of divine revelation. Here is my simple point: church leadership on all levels has the solemn responsibility before God to nurture believers in Christ, safeguard and proclaim biblical truth, and prioritize mission. What does this specifically mean for the Seventh-day Adventist Church today? It should not surprise us that erroneous teachings are sometimes taught in our Sabbath School classes, from our pulpits and in our classrooms. The devil’s
Image: Chris Ensminger
