INCREDIBLE! 6th Gen Adventist Finds True Gospel Freedom!

So Luke you’re a former Adventist tell us about that how did that come about because you’re here at an Adventist University yeah but you’re a former Adventist which was exactly like myself so how did that come about so I am a sixth generation former Adventist that’s the real deal every single family member I’ve ever met is Adventist whoa so like I’ve still very much in that World um so like even come being a for administ like it’s kind of pressuring in a way because you know like I’ve fallen into apostasy quote unquote yeah um I feel like growing up

It was just like all there was was like Sabbath keeping my parents are extremely legalistic so like yeah no part of that made me like be like oh this Christianity thing I really really enjoy it I want to try to build a relationship with God not even the HX I still like see there there’s a little good they’re still pretty good yeah yeah yeah um um the illegalism growing up and yeah legalism and that kind of made me resentful of a lot of church stuff um it’s just like legalism keep the Sabbath the Sunday laws coming like yeah um a lot of end times fervor a lot of end

Times fervor yeah it was just like there was nothing I guess drawing me into it it was just a lot of it’s like the power of God the power of the Gospel all that we didn’t really talk about it was just like all the cold authoritarian side of adventism yeah and then um yeah was there anything more to that question no no it’s just really kind of hearing you’re so you grew up in like a pretty legalistic background which I think is really common for a lot of SD I know a lot of the modern SD maybe the Pacific Northwest style sdas um even students here that come from California

That sort of thing they had a totally different experience because they’re kind of on that other spectrum of the more uh Evangelical sort of facelift version of of adventism what you were raised with is a lot more Akin or closer to the actual traditional you know Adventist the Pioneers the actual Systematic Theology Etc um but you mentioned there being a lot of like cold legalism Etc when you were an Adventist what were you told that the gospel was because I’ve talked with at this point thousands whether in person or online I’ve talked with thousands of sdas and

What I find or the the consistent theme that I found is that very few of them are actually able to easily succinctly clearly articulate the gospel so when you were in adventism what were you told the gospel was it was a lot of like God came and K’s Ministry died for us and all that and he is currently like investing ating our sins since 1844 U we need to exactly follow his Commandments like we need to make sure we keep the Sabbath for drinking coffee or eating meat then um we’re falling away from God yeah you’re not fitted for eternity we’re not fitted for eternity

Um so yeah keeping the Sabbath going to church just like um being extremely picky about all that kind of stuff and just like I don’t think I ever really got told what the gospel was growing up yeah like it was just the story of Jesus coming and then investigative judgment and what we were supposed to do to uh be saved yeah and yeah like it just it kind of caused me to lose a lot of my faith because I didn’t really see a lot of I guess value is the best word I can say in that yeah all these things I have to do just like there’s no peace or Joy yeah which is really like the core and

Heart of the Gospel which is why I typically would initiate conversations out here with that question do you have peace with God because when I was an Adventist I heard virtually nothing about that the idea of having peace with God was if somebody brought that up it may have been like oh yeah there’s this hymn that we sing where that’s mentioned or like yeah covered in the blood or you know whatever may have been but there was no real understanding practically of what that means that every day when I wake up I’m not feeling like I have peace with God because the message that

I’m constantly hearing is do this do this do this and what I realized after coming out of adventism and becoming a Christian is really just a foundational sort of fundamental aspect of the Christian faith that adventism lacks and that’s the law gospel distinction and when I understood that it completely revolutionized my understand understanding of scripture and what having peace with God is uh what being reconciled is ETC and that all of these sorts of things the love of God the goodness of God having peace with God forgiveness all of that stuff is

Distinct under the banner of gospel works and doing and law are under the banner of Law and so the law is used to essentially point a person to Jesus and there are certain moral precepts for example lying stealing we shouldn’t be doing those things we should be seeking to live an upright life because we should be as God’s image bearers in the world seeking to glorify him and living the way that he has stated um but those things are in a category that’s different from the gospel the gospel is all about the good news of the person work of Jesus reconciliation love

Forgiveness and that by being in Christ by trusting in Christ alone I have peace with God not because every day I get up and I try my best I’m I’m doing I’m giving it all that I can because I talk with a lot of sdas and they think well I’m trying my best I’m trying as good as I can because I’ll ask him are you keeping the law perfectly well I try but that’s not the standard the standard of the law is perfection meaning having never broken it once not I confessed all my sins to Jesus yesterday so now I have a clean slight no no no no no or or that

God’s gonna look at the light that I’ve been given and wink at the stuff that I haven’t done right yes because they had also dangerous which is interesting because the Old Testament had an entire category for cleansing rituals that had to be done for unint so it’s noted or not yes yes and so it’s when realizing those sorts of things and realizing the distinction between law and gospel it made sense as to why when I was an Adventist growing up and hearing what you’re saying as well as hundreds of other sdas that there’s this strong uh feeling of inadequacy because

That is the purpose of the law it reveals to you how inadequate you are that’s its Duty because it’s then to point you to the one who is it’s the tutor that’s showing you your homework has gone wrong yeah it wrong on all and here’s the answer yeah here’s the answer and it points you to the answer and it’s our job and focus to keep our eyes on Christ it’s so easy and I think one of the devil’s biggest deceptions in in the modern day or really just in general is to make people look somewhere other than Christ absolutely to get you to cause well are you really in Christ do you do

You really believe oh are you really uh that sort of thing to cause you to sort to sort of Doubt when in reality um Union with Christ is sufficient enough because Christ is sufficient enough and there really needs to be both going on Law and gospel and in adventism it seems that it’s just law law law now that you’ve left adventism how is your relationship with Christ different than when you were an Adventist now you’ve been on the or or engaged with our content on the platform before so you’re aware obviously of our position that um we don’t think the SDA

Church is even teaching the correct Christ by way of the great controversy narrative and all that sort of stuff but that sort of stuff aside being a Christian now how do you feel your relationship with Christ is much different I feel like now uh I’m just like processing what actually the gospel is and the power of God yeah it’s done a lot to really draw me to him yeah God has power to keep the people that are faithful to him in him yeah and it’s like I now have freedom to um because of that I have freedom to grow in Christ like yeah he’s not God the father is not

Some scary judge that I’m gonna have to face because he sees you like he sees Christ as Christ and the father one the relationship we have with Christ draws us closer to the entire Trinity amen and I feel like with that my I never I tried to have a prayer life before but now like actually coming to the faith I have now knowing the work of Christ knowing the gospel all these kinds of things it’s really helped me want to draw closer to God and obviously like I still have a very long way to go but I feel like but you know the basics now and and you it seems

Like you also understand too because you’ve emailed me and it seems like you understand the again something that I feel like is very lacking in uh the the SDA understanding of things is that not every single Doctrine is foundational in adventism everything is almost seen as like a salvational thing like the whole Advent system again we get into this Everlasting gospel and that you need all of that fullness of the Gospel really to be made right with God and it has a lot to do with a bunch of things that have nothing to do with the person and work of Jesus and when a person

Understands the person work of Jesus their need of Christ they’re they’re falling short and essentially their only hope being in Christ that is what then brings about the actual sealing of the Holy Spirit God granting that that person believe sealing them with the Holy Spirit Etc and they can do the things that you describe not in fear not oh I have to do these things to maintain my righteous standing or uh God’s mad at me because yesterday I forgot to read my Bible or one of these you know other plethora of sort of pietistic things that I find with a lot of Adventists

Where they tend to sort of think uh if I read my Bible enough if I go to church enough or if I I don’t do that well now God’s mad at me but he’s not that that that’s part of Union with Christ is the way that the father looks at the son that’s how he looks at those who are in Christ right he’s not mad at the sun the sun fulfilled all the requirements perfectly he’s pleased with the sun he’s so pleased with the Sun that he seated the son on the throne to take dominion and rule over all of the creation so when Paul says things like in Ephesians where uh he’s seated us with Christ in

The heavenlies in Christ Jesus well I’m not physically there yet how can I be seated with Christ well by virtue of being in Christ so uh that’s exciting man that’s cool that um a you’re at an SDA University but you’re not an Adventist kind of like I was I viewed the the process as uh not necessarily being a missionary at the time I was a babe in Christ at the time I just knew that i l Jesus the gospel that I encountered was not what I encountered as an SDA hey I could get my education and try and reach these people that are part of the tradition I grew up

In and so not saying you are or aren’t doing that but uh if you are I definitely can relate to that and I understand it so big UPS to you for uh coming to an SDA University not being an Adventist same more can I add one thing um I thought it was neat hear in your story because you said earlier you know before you came to Christ and experienced freedom in the gospel and God’s grace that there was nothing um and I’m going to kind of put in my own words there was nothing beautiful about the message you were being given that was drawing you to God right but it’s it’s so amazing that now

You even see your prayer life improving because you’re being drawn to God you see the beauty of God and you can say with King David in the Psalms that he longs to be in the courts of the Lord forever that he longs to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord right that’s beautiful and it’s a beautiful hope knowing that right now not only can you pray to the father but that the son right now is interceding on your behalf of his right hand and that the holy spirit is making groans that are too deep for words not Jesus isn’t up there investigating you he’s interceding on

Behalf of you as a perfect high priest that will complete what he started and that is a beautiful message yeah absolutely that’s so interesting because we just talked the other night on the channel about well Hebrews 7 and the fact that it talks all about Christ’s High Priestly work adventism loves to make the claim Christians have forgot about the work of Christ as a high priest right when their fundamental belief about Jesus in heaven has nothing to do with his kingly work he’s a priest king after the order of mechis DEC um but Christians haven’t haven’t fallen

Shy of understanding Christ’s High Priestly work what that really means is they reject the investigative judgment therefore they don’t actually understand the work of Christ as a high priest when no it’s Christ Priestly work is so drastically different than the Levites in the sense that amen he’s seated he seated it’s done he’s seated the Levites never sat down because the work of dealing with sin was never finished it also contrasts that his priesthood will go on forever by virtue of him never dying instead of them dying every year correct he lives forever and that’s why

Because his life will go on forever that’s why he will forever live to intercede on behalf of those who are his and in him not at a certain point stand up take the garments off and assume his kingly garments at that point like Ellen in early writings to then assume the role as a king and he’s going to cease being a mediator and you’ll have to before that period because that’s at the close of probation at before that period you’ll have to get to a point where you can stand without an an intercessor right and on top of that I mean the fact that his blood actually cleanses from

Sin rather than the blood of bulls and goats so the blood is better and cleanses the conscience the blood bulls and goats couldn’t do that exactly so to me it sounds like you have moved from something that didn’t offer life in fact author offered you death and condemnation and bondage you’ve moved from that and you’ve been raised in Christ to a new life where there is Beauty and there is something um attractive to it and that thing that’s attractive is God himself the biblical God yeah and that’s praise God for that glory to God for that one other question

I guess in that vein you mentioned the the blood cleansing did you ever hear anything as an Adventist about the blood of Christ cleansing the con ience you’ll hear them often times quote First John and say to try and support the investigative judgment to say well see it says if we confess our sins he’s faithful and just to forgive us our sins and what they read into that is that that means when we confess a sin it’s transferred to the Heavenly Sanctuary Jesus is standing or functioning like a priest a levitical priest and he’ll then cover that sin so

That way when your name comes up in the investigation it’s been covered that isn’t at all what’s in view there um because if you go to Hebrews and we look systematically across the board in scripture at what all those scripture says about the blood of Christ cleansing we see what’s mentioned in Hebrews and that’s that Christ’s blood unlike the blood of bulls and goats actually cleanses the conscience meaning the person can have peace knowing I’m covered I’m cleansed it’s not this recurring sort of application type thing Etc how did you hear the work of Christ

And the blood of Christ being applied how did you hear that taught to you in adventism um there’s a lot of different different things in the same heard um trying to syze it all like basically as the investigative judgment is going on you have to confess all of your sins and like you can’t make sure you don’t forget to confess anything because a uh then you’ll be responsible for those things so Ellen White said even gonna be judged on sins you would have committed but didn’t for wheel or wo yeah um wow that’s yeah yeah I don’t think you basically

Heard conscience was something we talked about which I think kind of gets to to the fact that adventism has a very and again this is another one of the areas where I’ll get a lot of Adventists that say well you guys do the same thing it’s just different verses they have their favorite sections of scripture their favorite verses let that school bus go by they have their favorite verses proof texts Etc that they love to just always cite and it’s kind of an isolation to other scriptures that are taught and so I remember that was a big one for me because again I was one of these types

Kind of like what you were describing that I remember thinking at the end of every day like God please forgive me for all my sins that I committed today even the ones I’m forgetting because I I may have forgotten one because I would have the thought like what if I die in my sleep I and I’m a kid thinking this like nine 10 years old you know like what if I die in my sleep and there’s a sin I forgot to confess it’s too late at that point um I remember the the Revolutionary again this kind of goes back to law gospel distinction but really understanding Union with Christ

The fullness of the Gospel being Christ is sufficient and Christ is enough and that by being hidden in Christ Colossians 3:3 I’m seen as though I lived the life that Christ did undeservedly I don’t deserve to be to be in in Union with Christ it’s not because I’m smarter than my neighbor that I’m in Union with Christ it’s not because I made better decisions than my neighbor it’s not because I was more spiritual than my neighbor it’s not oh the luck of the draw I just happened to be in a better place at you know one time than this other no it’s literally a felter

Word Grace it’s the grace of God that was actually effectual in bringing about knowing that I’m unworthy despite that God said no I’m going to make you be able to be seen as worthy because you’re mine I’m going to put you in my son and that thus that you can be seen as though you lived the life that he did and the the last question I’ll ask you is because you’ve come to this new realization the charge is often made that those of us that that did this all all of us are former Adventists do you now just have this mentality I can just live however I want

I’m just going to send it up um that’s sort of tends to be the story as like well you left because you didn’t like the high standard of holy living uh you wanted to live in your sin uh those sorts of things or you were angry yeah and you you mentioned earlier a little bit about this about your prayer life flourishing and that sort of thing but um just to to answer that sort of claim or that sort of charge is that the sort of mentality that you have now being a former Adventist not at all like I feel like now that I’ve come to a deeper understanding of

Actual theology as and how it comes to that um it makes me want to live a better life it’s not like oh I have to live a better life because if I don’t then I’m going to hell y like I’m doing what I can to grow my PR life Christ and as I do that like I guess the sanctification process yeah just makes it so that those desires naturally go away well it’s totally different too when you’re approaching the sanctification process from a mentality of God is good I desire the things of God God please continue the work You’ you’ve started within me knowing that I’m not at the finish line

Yet I’m not going to be there until I’m glorified which doesn’t happen in this life that will happen when the body is resurrected Paul tells us First Corinthians 15 what is sown is then raised imperishable what is perishable is swn and then it’s raised imperishable um that has to do with the body being glorified and until that day comes I’m going to continue Waring the war that Paul said of Waring against my sin clean to Christ but in the process of all of that knowing that I’m secure in Christ it’s not dependent upon what I’m doing and how good I measure up Etc um it’s

Wholly dependent upon the person and work of Jesus so amen can I ask one last question too yeah um sweet so uh I just wanted to ask and uh hear you kind of speak to maybe the Adventist out there who um is is kind of on the fence who is wrestling with these things the same way that you wrestle with them who may also be coming from a um multi-generational SDA family and they’re wondering uh what life would look like if they did step out in faith and go against some of this stuff and try to follow what the Bible teaches like what are like words of

Encouragement or wisdom that you would have for somebody like that um I would say that God is in control of his body the church and it did not fall into apostasy and we’re not out here trying to impose a national Sunday law on you guys once if you leave the Adventist Church um you can grow in your relationship with God and there’s so much more to than just following the letter of the commment in terms of your salvation um abiding in Christ yeah and living like Ephesians 2:10 says he has created us to um for good works that he prepared for us and the workmanship of

Christ which gets into New Creation um once you actually understand that the ability to actually walk in those good works it’s going to be something that you growing in your relationship with God will naturally desire to do it’s not like something that maintains your relationship with God yeah you’re not constantly having to worry about um having confessed every single sin and keeping the Sabbath uh perfectly and all of that this uh I would say investigate everything that you’ve been told like um tested against the scriptures right scriptures exactly um yeah like if

You’re growing in your relationship with God you can’t be if you’re in the spirit he’s not going to lead you wrong yeah amen constantly be praying and making sure that um your conscience is leading you in the right direction

Amen