Kerry is ready to answer your questions about his book

[True-believer]

Hello Luke.

Sorry for my delay in responding to this message. It has been a busy last few days.

This is a beautiful understanding of what the New Covenant means. All God's permanent laws are very "scientific" in nature, simply stating cause and effect. Once someone understands that there is a God who loves him and has designed him, it is almost automatic that a person, with the power of the Holy Spirit poured out on the Church, will understand the law that we are to love others as we love ourselves and to love God above everything else. The Holy Spirit was poured out at Pentecost on the Church. This powerful gift of the Spirit fills the heart of the Christian with understanding of the principle of love and fills out heart with love for the blessed Lord Jesus.

If we were under LAW, not a single one of us could be saved. We are all broken to one extent or another. My 86 year old saintly mother is living with my wife and I after the death of my father some years ago. As saintly as she is-- and she is a Seventh-day Adventist Christian still, her faults-- some of them rather notable-- are still present, even after a lifetime of walking with Jesus.

Were it not for the true Gospel, not a single one of us could be saved. We will never be able to fulfill the requirement of the LAW because even our best motives seem to be mixed with a certain degree of selfishness. It is our love for Jesus that causes us to turn away from sin. The LAW is still there-- the natural, permanent laws that are intended for all the peoples of the world-- but we are not "under" it as far as it being considered for our salvation.

All of this might seem like double-talk, Luke, but I witness the fruits of the Spirit with my friends at the Dayton Vineyard where I go to church. Although they believe in what Adventists call the idea of once saved, always saved, not a single one of them uses their belief to live a life of sin. In fact, in our small group we have talked about the concept of once saved, always saved. It seems to go like this. My friends believe that if a person "gets saved" and persists in living in sin, they were never really saved in the first place.

I am so glad to see that you are experiencing the Sabbath Rest spoken of in Hebrews Four in your own heart. In this sense, the Sabbath Rest truly does make every day and every moment a Sabbath's rest, knowing that our salvation can not be taken away from us. That rest comes because although holy living is the fruit of the Spirit and is expected in the lives of Christians, the LAW, which we could never really keep in the true sense of the word, is not going to be used against us in the Day of Judgment.

I do not worry about the salvation of my Adventist friends. They believe that Jesus is the Eternal Son of God. That is the only requirement for salvation. Paul says that we are not to use this freedom to live in sin, and he lists a group of 23 evil practices that will keep a person out of Heaven. My Adventist friends-- that is those who love God-- are not guilty of these horrible sins. They will be saved despite the fact that they do not know for sure that they will be saved. Their worry over their salvation and constant fear that they will never have enough faith or works to be saved is a total waste of time and trouble. Oh, if they could only understand the Gospel and the Sabbath Rest of Hebrews Four. They are badly broken. So am I. So is every human being-- even the best ones.

Your friend,

Kerry

P.S. Please let the Adventist Forum know that I am ready to respond to their objections to my book/paper when they have complied a list of those objections to present to me formally. I will defend the book in the forum if they wish. They can contact me through you if desired, or I can be directly e-mailed with the list so I can prepare for the forum discussion. Thanks!

[True-believer]

BUMP...