Rebuilt by the Word of Truth

DEBORAH PRATT | Life Assurance Ministries’ Online Moderator

As I begin this blog entry, I’m thinking of Mary and Martha in the gospels. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived in Bethany (John 11). This is the Mary and Martha who often hosted Jesus in their home, the home of Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead, and the site of the famous conversation between Martha and Jesus in Luke 10 when Martha was busily doing the work of preparing the home and food for guests. 

Martha appeared to resent that Mary was “…seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word”, while Martha did all the work, to the point where she pleaded with Jesus to tell her sister to help her:  

“But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.’” (My emphasis.)

His response? 

“But the Lord answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.’” 

Over the years, as I have come to know people who have left Seventh-day Adventism for true faith in Christ, I am absolutely convicted that there is nothing that will heal the scars of cult indoctrination, or ignorance, like immersing oneself in the word of God intensively, for one’s self, with a commitment to a firm historical, grammatical, literal hermeneutic that will ground one solidly in the fundamentals—the absolutes—of the born-again faith. 

Steer Clear of False Teachers

It is frighteningly easy these days to get distracted by the YouTube/Facebook and other media denominational, gnostic, and atheist position-hawkers and false teachers, and all their “debates,” and miss the point of anchoring oneself in the incontrovertible basics. It takes time and focused study of the Word in context and taking into account the entire Word from the beginning to the end, under the enlightening power of the Holy Spirit in us, to bulldoze that old, rickety shack of a false belief system and establish a sure foundation in the bedrock of the Word of Christ. There has to be a clean break from the old to build a foundation in the new.

Hebrews 4:12-13 (NASB95) tells us, 

“For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”

God doesn’t magically grow our fledgling faith in one fell swoop to full maturity. While our being born again can be a brilliant moment of the Holy Spirit’s work in our hearts (and that may not be true for everyone) growing our understanding of the Word of God requires spending time it with Him. Formers say that, even years later, they come across things in God’s Word and make connections in understanding that reveal just one more pernicious root lingering from years-long deception. Those old cultic roots are like the gardener’s nightmare—a mulberry sapling where the gardener doesn’t want it. There is always a fragment of a root waiting to sprout a new tree. Time and persistence are required to continue trying to eradicate it. (Seems an apt metaphor for sin as well.)

From Confused to Confident

I’ve heard suggestions from former Adventists that former cult members spend about two years in focused Bible study, excluding most social media resources (except FAF!) and non-reference reading to a large extent, and learn how to hide the Word in their hearts. Often, as Formers recommend, copying Galatians, Romans, Hebrews, and Colossians word-for-word into a notebook is a very helpful way to slow down and absorb God’s Word into a deep reservoir of truth. Solid hymns and trustworthy, doctrinally-rich songs help as well. It is quite powerful to have beloved hymns arise in one’s mind at a time when it may be most needed. 

I have seen how those who follow this exhortation, to dwell deeply in God’s Word for a significant period of time, go from scattered to stable, from confused to confident, from anxious to grounded, from ignorant to aware, and more. The change is visible, remarkable, humbling, and inspiring. 

I find it noteworthy that I thought I knew my Bible before I started studying with Formers. I did not know what I did not know. I probably still don’t! But God does not waste anything from our pasts, even ignorance. In Acts 17:30-31, Paul preaches to the Athenians about their unknown god, whom they worshiped in ignorance, but 

“Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” 

And in 1 Timothy 1:12-16, Paul expresses thanksgiving to God and speaks of us born-again believers in verse 16 (!): 

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. 

It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. 

Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. 

We can’t expect to leave false religion and be immediately whole and reconstructed. It take time and perseverance to stay immersed in His word, but Jesus Christ Himself is patient with us. He never stops redeeming our pasts and rebuilding us with the truth and reality of His word.†

—New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995).