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Commentary on "Discipleship"
Day 5: Wednesday, June 3, 2009
The lesson for today talks about the rewards of discipleship. The Quarterly correctly points out that, in this life, one generally does not receive rewards for being a disciple. The Quarterly does a fine job pointing out the fact that the peace that a believer has is one that passes all understanding (Phil. 4:7.)
One point the Quarterly does not make is a common misunderstanding, not only with unbelievers, but with many believers as well. That is that many people think that being an unbeliever makes for an easier life.
If this were true, one should find more happiness amongst unbelievers than believers. There have been too many studies done on the fact that as the world has progressed, as people have become wealthier, as medical care and health have increased, the people are no more happier than they were 2,000 years ago.
Within Adventism, a claim is often made that there is a correlation between a healthy lifestyle and a fulfilling life. This is a lie of the enemy of our souls. Health and longevity do not lead to more fulfilling lives. A fulfilling life is not dependent upon ones health or longevity, it is dependent upon ones relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ. Also, we may not know how fulfilling this life has been until we are in the next life. Not only will all that has been done for self be burned up at the reward ceremony for believers, we will learn how our lives have been used by God and a blessing to others in ways we may never know in this life.
Not only in Adventism, but in large segments of Christianity, there is a widespread belief that unbelievers are happier than believers. These Christians do not spend enough time around unbelievers. There is no correlation between unbelief and happiness.
Tradition
There is one incredible statement in the study today that must not be ignored by anyone. The Seventh-day Adventist Church has historically held that anything from tradition must be rejected. Only those things supported by scripture are to be kept and believed. The quarterly makes this incredible statement:
Although we cannot be sure about the details, there is good reason to believe the strong traditions from the early church era which say that all apostles eventually suffered martyrdom.
Although this writer personally agrees with the statement, I have a strong reaction when I see a church that claims to reject tradition in favor of scripture, speak so highly of tradition. The phrase “there is good reason to believe” is very troubling. What are the reasons? If you consider yourself a true Seventh-day Adventist, this statement should be considered highly suspect. What is the “good reason?” Even the doctrine of the Trinity was rejected by most of Adventism for much of its history simply because the leadership believed it was from tradition, not scripture.
Whether SDA or not, the fact that this statement appears in an official SDA Sabbath School Quarterly should be bothersome. Strong Adventists and strong critics of Adventism alike should take note of this unusual statement.
Summary
- The Quarterly correctly points out the fact that the rewards of the Christian life are both now, with a peace that passes understanding, as well as future, with our eternal reward with Christ.
- The Quarterly misses the fact that there is widespread belief, among unbelievers and believers alike, that there is a correlation between unbelief and happiness.
- For some unknown reason, the Quarterly misses the opportunity to show the SDA teaching that health, diet and lifestyle correlate with happiness, a long-standing SDA teaching.
- Tradition, according to historic SDA teaching must be rejected. How did a statement supporting tradition make it into an Adventist quarterly?
*All scripture quotations are from: The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001, Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
Copyright 2009 BibleStudiesForAdventists.com. All rights reserved. Revised June 1, 2009. This website is published by Life Assurance Ministries, Glendale, Arizona, USA, the publisher of Proclamation! Magazine. Contact email: BibleStudiesForAdventists@gmail.com.
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