DARREL CARSON | Off the grid and loving Jesus
“For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.” Romans 7:15-20
You, like me, may have been taught that what the apostle is talking about here is his life before his conversion on the road to Damascus, but that doesn’t even make sense. Think about it: Saul of Tarsus, deep down inside, really didn’t want to persecute the church but he just couldn’t help himself? The very idea is ridiculous. There is no doubt that he hated the church and was doing exactly what he wanted to do. It wasn’t until after his conversion that he experienced this internal conflict.
The Apostle Paul was a Pharisee, a very legalistic sect of the Jews, and after his conversion, like all newborn Christians, there was much learning to be done when it comes to living the Christian life. Living under the law is absolutely nothing like living under grace. And even for this great apostle there must have been a period of adjustment.
In Galatians, he wrote that the gospel that he taught was given to him by a revelation of Jesus Christ, and even though he was converted and knew the Gospel, he speaks about having a thorn in the flesh, a messenger from Satan (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). So Paul clearly had the internal struggles between good and evil that we all face.
Remember the story of Alice in Wonderland and how Alice followed Mr. Rabbit, who just happened to be carrying an Apple-watch, down a hole where all the laws of reality were distorted and upside down and backwards? Then there’s Ellen G White who had her own “rabbit hole”. She went in and to date she has led millions of people into this very dark place where the reality of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is so distorted that it is no gospel at all, leading her victims to destruction.
Things Are Stranger Than They Seem
For example, if I told you that Satan told the truth in a given situation, you would probably really wonder about my statement. You might even go so far as to call me a liar because Satan is a liar and the father of lies and can’t tell the truth. So here is where this rabbit hole gets interesting. Early on in Ellen White’s Great Controversy narrative, Satan supposedly claimed that mankind couldn’t keep Gods law and this, in and of itself, is a true statement. If the Great Controversy is fact, then Satan told the truth, something the father of lies is not capable of doing.
We were taught that Satan had lied, but what we didn’t know was that the real lie was that the part of the lie that Satan told about us not being able to keep God’s law was actually the truth, and because Satan can’t tell the truth, we believed that the truth was a lie.
In this rabbit hole where all the laws of reality are turned inside out and backwards, we learned that Satan accused God, claiming that His government was unfair and His law was too demanding and could not be kept. We were taught that Satan had lied, but what we didn’t know was that the real lie was that the part of the lie that Satan told about us not being able to keep God’s law was actually the truth, and because Satan can’t tell the truth, we believed that the truth was a lie. Look at this quote from Ellen White, it’s no wonder that we were confused.
In John 15:10 Jesus tells us he kept his Father’s commandments. He did not say, “I am trying to keep” them, but he says, “I have kept” them. So it is not enough that we try to keep the commandments. We must keep them. The character of the saints is not established by their failures to keep the commands of God, but by their success in doing so. Those who simply try to keep the commandments, are moral cripples; they do not walk with God; they simply hobble along after him… —Review and Herald, December 10, 1889.
It’s convoluted confusion, I know, and at some point, there may be a place and time to sort it all out, but when we are new to this life outside Adventism, the better part of judgment would most likely be to climb out of this madness of a rabbit hole and go straight to the Word of God where we can find the truth about who we are and the truth about who God is.
I personally have found that when I try not to sin, I am only involved in a complete exercise in futility. I also believe that this exercise in futility is what the Apostle is referring to in the verses from Romans 7 quoted above. Then, in verse 24, Paul cries out in despair,
“O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Then he immediately answers his cry for help in the next two verses. “I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”—Romans 7:25-8:1
This is where reality outside the rabbit hole starts getting really good.
Why?
The Good News
Because we are not under law but under grace (Romans 6:14), and the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23). We have all sinned; under the law, we all must die. But because of Jesus becoming sin for us and dying in our place, we are now under grace instead of the law, and we receive God’s gift, which is eternal life. Jesus cashed our paycheck. This is the reality in which we can now be grounded.
Being grounded in Jesus—the Way the Truth, and the Life—is of utmost importance. We can know Jesus whom to know is life eternal. We can know that He died and was buried and rose again on the third day. We can know that He who knew no sin became sin for us so that we can become the righteousness of God in Him. We can know that without Him, we are dead in our sin and are by nature children of wrath. We can know that this very same Jesus that died and rose again came to save all of us sinners, who are by nature are dead children of wrath. We can believe, and not just know all these facts. We can trust Him to do all the things that He said He would do, and we can understand that He is the fulfillment of our every need. (See John 14:6, John 17:3, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Ephesians 2:3.)
In the Adventist rabbit hole we learned that after coming to Christ we must keep the law in order to remain in God’s good graces. The very idea is totally backwards. The law says that if you sin you die, and we are dead by nature. Yet the death of our natural self is exactly what happens when we trust Jesus; we are crucified with Christ; therefore, we no longer live, but Jesus Christ now lives in us. And the life we now live in the flesh we live by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us (see Galatians 2:20). The penalty is paid; we died with him; the law no longer has power over us. The law says that if we sin we die, but the Gospel says that if we sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. Sin is still transgressions of the law, but the penalty for transgression has already been imposed on our Savior on the cross of Calvary. Our motivation for righteous living is not fear of death, death is an event of the past that we will never have to face.
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”—Romans 8:1-8
If we keep our focus on the reality of God’s Word instead of the twisted perversion of reality in the rabbit hole, we will be able to see in Romans 8:1-8 that those who are in Christ Jesus and walk in the Spirit instead of flesh are the ones who are not condemned. We will also see that it is where the mind is set that determines the outcome. To be carnally minded is death, but to be Spiritually minded is life and peace. Once again, any decision or effort on my part to be spiritually minded is an exercise in futility.
Focus!
Look once more at verses two through four. Where is our focus? Are we living and walking in Jesus? The law cannot save us; it is weak through our flesh. But God can—and He does—save us by sending His Son as a human with human flesh. He, Jesus, condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us.
Remember the account of Peter walking on the water in Matthew when Jesus came walking on the sea to meet His disciples? Peter said, “Lord if it is you, command me to come to you.” And Jesus said, “Come.” Any attempt on Peter’s part to walk on water was just as much an exercise in futility as my efforts not to sin. Water does not physically have the properties necessary to support human weight. And just as Peter’s attempts to walk on the water were totally dependent on Jesus to keep him from drowning, our attempts to avoid drowning in our own sin are completely dependent on the power of the Holy Spirit as we walk in Him. Jesus escorted Peter back to a place of safety in the boat, and He leads us to a place of safety in the next right thing that He has for us to do.
Just a couple of days ago, I was accused of leaving Adventism so that I could live lustfully. NO! I left because the gospel that exists in the Adventist rabbit hole is utterly distorted and without power; I was sick and tired of living “lustfully” and being helpless to do anything about it.
Just a couple of days ago, I was accused of leaving Adventism so that I could live lustfully. NO! I left because the gospel that exists in the Adventist rabbit hole is utterly distorted and without power; I was sick and tired of living “lustfully” and being helpless to do anything about it.
I am still helpless—but not without help. While walking in the Spirit, we are led by the Spirit of Christ to the next right thing to do. There was absolutely no doubt in Peter’s mind just how helpless he was in the business of water-walking, but Jesus was right there when Peter called out to Him. We also must call on Him when we feel ourselves going under. The law cannot save us; it’s too weak. Yet by grace we are saved, not of works lest anyone should boast. But it is a gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Sabbath Distortion
There is one more distortion of reality in Ellen’s rabbit hole that I want to look at, and that is the Sabbath. Outside of the rabbit hole, in the real world, I love the Sabbath doctrine, but inside the rabbit hole it is, at best, a good excuse to be lazy one day a week. Sabbath is not the seal of God; the Holy Spirit is. Sabbath is not and will not be the final test of a person’s loyalty. People will not receive the mark of the beast for worshiping on Sunday. Ellen G. White did a great job of filling her rabbit hole full of lies on all topics, and the Sabbath is no exception.
Have you ever been in a situation where you found yourself to be spiritually exhausted? Maybe you are having pretty good success in not acting out and “committing” some cherished sin, but yet you still know that you are guilty because your mind keeps wandering into forbidden territory. You find yourself drowning in your inability to set your mind on the things of the spirit as you know you should. I know that I find myself in this situation way too often.
This is why Jesus says,
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”—Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV.
This is what Sabbath is all about: a Person, not a day. Jesus is our Sabbath rest. He finished the work of salvation on the cross and invites us to rest in that finished work with Him. In Colossians 2:16 we read that sabbath days are a shadow, but the substance is Christ. Saturday is just a shadow; Jesus is our Sabbath rest, He is our reality.
I challenge you: ask the Lord Jesus to show you truth, and turn to Him and His word. Allow His truth to pull you out of the Ellen White rabbit hole and to plant you firmly in reality. Jesus is faithful, and He will make His word come alive in you when you trust Him alone. †
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