“Times of Loss”—Lesson 9
By Steve Pitcher
This week’s lesson is on the topic of loss, and the memory text for the week is Philippians 3:8:
Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ” (NKJV).
The context of verse 8 includes verses 3-7:
For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
Paul was not talking about loss in the way the lessons describes loss, but as he experienced loss of everything that was his to boast of as a Pharisee and a Hebrew. He lost of all the rights and privileges that come with being “blameless” under the law. He was talking about “put[ting] no confidence in the flesh”, no confidence in all that he had as a son of the tribe of Benjamin, as a “Hebrew of Hebrews”, as a Pharisee according to the law, and as a persecutor of the church.
In regards to Adam and Eve, the lesson author describes their “first” loss:
The moment Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they experienced their first loss, the loss of innocence.
The author doesn’t even mention until the next day’s (Sunday’s) lesson the loss that God had promised would happen if they were to eat of the forbidden fruit: loss of life. Adam and Eve experienced immediate death, spiritual death, at the time they ate of the fruit. That was their first and most profound loss.
The lesson’s author goes on to state in Sunday’s lesson, titled “Loss of Health”:
In many ways, sickness and suffering will remain a mystery until death is finally defeated at Jesus’ return.
The author doesn’t even mention the fact that death has already been defeated at the death of Christ. As it says in Hebrews 2:14:
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil.
The devil no longer has the power of death. It has been destroyed at the cross when Jesus died. Romans 6:9 tells us regarding the resurrection of Christ:
We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.
In Revelation 1:17b-18 Jesus says:
“Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.”
Upon his resurrection he received the keys of Death and Hades, destroying Satan’s rule over death and the grave.
When Lazarus died, Jesus was speaking to Martha and said in John 11:25-26:
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
The Adventist understanding of man as a single unit (body + breath = living soul) without an immaterial spirit makes these passages very messy to deal with. Scripture states in various places that we are immaterial spirits that inhabit physical bodies.
2 Corinthians 5:2-9 tells us:
For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened–not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.
Paul goes on in Philippians 2:21-24 to tell us:
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.
If we are only bodies with breath, but no immaterial spirit, how could one “depart” to be with Christ which is “far better?”
For the remaining days of this week’s lessons, the author covers “Loss of Health”, “Loss of Trust,” “Loss of Freedom,” and “Loss of Life.”
Few of the scriptures to “Read for This Week’s Study” have much to do with each other or any of the topics discussed, except 1 Cor. 15:26, which specifically mentions death.
Loss of Health
The quarterly author states (p. 73, Standard Quarterly):
Sooner or later, unless we are killed when young by trauma, we all come to the harsh reality of the loss of health.
Although common, not everyone succumbs to a loss of health in old age. There are many who never suffer the loss of health before death. Tens of thousands a year live to a ripe old age, and pass away peacefully in their sleep. Good genetics is one way healthiness is passed on from one generation to the next. Modern medicine has made it possible to extend the length of life while improving the quality of life. Out of 2.6 million deaths in the US each year, several hundred thousand do not die of illness or health problems, but naturally, of old age.
Loss of Trust
The lesson author states:
You could even say that one of the purposes of marriage is to teach us the lesson of how to rebuild trust when it is broken. (Pg. 74, Standard Lesson)
This is not one of the purposes of marriage, to teach us how to rebuild trust. Marriage is one of the sacred relationships where trust should not be an issue. I’m not implying that there are no trust issues in marriage, but those issues should be uncommon; issues such as adultery, pornography, sexual abuse and other abuse-related sins are not the biblical pattern for marriage.
Pornography on the internet, has become a problem in the lives of many believers, and a number of good programs have been developed to help individuals deal with this sexual addiction, with an accountability partner.
The lesson author finishes the issue of trust with the following:
Professional treatment can facilitate change in an abuser’s behavior but only if the person takes responsibility for the behavior and seeks such help. To those who will open themselves to His presence, God is able to do exceedingly abundantly to help abusers stop abusing, to repent of their attitudes and behavior, to make restitution in every way possible, and to embrace the qualities of agape love to heal their own hearts and to love others.
This is good advice for anyone in a marriage or close relationship where there are trust issues. Professional intervention can help make a lasting change in the lives of the both the abuser and abused. There are many Christian counselors and psychologists available so that the healing can be done in a Christian fashion.
I suffered loss of trust when I decided to leave the Adventist church. My wife no longer thought of me as her brother in Christ. I had become a “sun/Satan worshipper” because of my attendance at a “Sunday church.” She no longer trusted me as a father for our children and even had Bible studies with my kids to prove to them that I was following exactly what Satan wanted.
I never regained her trust in spiritual matters and was eventually divorced over the issue of worship on Sunday versus the seventh-day Sabbath, (i.e., irreconcilable differences.)
The words of Jesus became harsh realities for me, as he said in Matt. 10:34-36:
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.”
Loss of Freedom
On the subject of the loss of freedom, the lesson author attempts to put addiction as the sole cause of loss of freedom. While all addiction comes with a loss of freedom, not all freedom is lost due to addictions. Joblessness, homelessness, loss of private transportation, loss of wealth (even middle-class wealth), singleness, anxiety, feelings of worthlessness, and so many other things can be the cause of the loss of freedom. The author goes on to state:
God alone knows how many millions, even billions, of people struggle with some form of addiction. To this day, scientists still don’t understand exactly what causes it, even though in some cases they actually can see the part of our brain in which the cravings and desires are located.
Unfortunately, however, finding the locations of those addictions is not the same thing as freeing us from the addictions. Addiction is hard on everyone, not just the addict. Family members—parents, spouses, children—all suffer greatly when any member of the family is under the grip of a power that they just can’t seem to get free of.
Drugs, alcohol, tobacco, gambling, pornography, sex, even food—what makes these things into addictions is the habitual and progressive nature of their use or abuse. You are unable to stop even when you know that it is harming you. While enjoying your freedom of choice, you become a slave to whatever you are addicted to, and so you actually lose your freedom (Pg. 76, Standard quarterly).
As I stated earlier, while all addiction comes with a loss of freedom, not all freedom is lost due to addictions. The author places too much emphasis on addictions than on the myriad of issues that can cause a loss of freedom.
Loss of Life
The author addresses the reality of death of loved ones as a great loss. The author gives specific lengths of time for the various stages of grief. He does cover himself with a blanket statement that “the grieving process is not the same for everyone, but in general most people go through several stages.” (Pg. 77, Standard quarterly). The various stages he describes have ranges from a few (3) months, to a year.
Giving specific time frames for the various stages could set up one who is grieving for anxiety and/or depression, when their stages are longer or shorter than described in the quarterly.
We shouldn’t give time frames, but allow the griever to go through the process at his or her own pace.
Summary
- The memory text for the week has nothing to do with those types of losses that are discussed in the daily lessons.
- Loss as described by the Apostle Paul cannot be compared to the types of loss the quarterly goes into. They cannot compare with the spiritual losses one incurs when choosing to follow Jesus wherever he leads. We lose the world but gain Christ. Paul tells us in Romans about the fact that we have been slaves of sin, but are now slaves of righteousness. We are free in Christ, but we are no longer free to sin; we are slaves to God.
- Although we lose all the temporal benefits of practicing sin, which leads to death, we gain an eternal weight of glory (2 Cor. 4:17), which brings with it glory beyond all comparison. 2 Cor. 4:18b states, “For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
- We are not just bodies with breath. We are spirits that inhabit bodies. We were born dead and are brought to life by being born again in Christ by the Holy Spirit.
- It is better to lose all things, including health, trust, freedom and life, i.e., the whole world, but gain an eternity with our Savior Jesus Christ.
(All Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version (ESV) unless otherwise indicated.)
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