In this issue:
Talks on Righteousness by Faith
Freedom in Europe
David Clayton
Germany
I left home on Thursday July 27, 2006, bound for Berlin, Germany, by
way of Heathrow airport in London. I Flew out of Montego Bay at 7:30
P.M. but we stopped in Kingston where we experienced a frustrating delay
and aggravating treatment at the Kingston airport. We finally left
there at some minutes to 11. After a flight of nine and a half hours I
arrived in London on Friday July 28 at 1:20 PM. Here there was another
wait of almost eight hours but finally I left sometime after 9.00 P.M.
and, arrived in Berlin some time after 10.00 o’clock. I was met by
brother Erwin Zoor and brother Martin. It had been a year since I last
saw Erwin and we were overjoyed to meet again, however, I was tired and
slept for most of the four hour journey to home.
The following day was Sabbath, and my duties began immediately. I
worshipped at the home church in the home of brother and sister Gurtner
where I was asked to give the sermon. I spoke on the Righteousness of
Christ with special emphasis on His finished work. About 20 persons were
present. In the afternoon we went home to sleep because both Erwin and I
were still very tired from being up so late the night before.
The next day we left for the first leg of this European trip. This was
to be a campmeeting in a place named Darlingerode about four hours
away. I arrived at this campmeeting with the expectation that I would
speak eleven (11) times. However when I arrived I discovered that one of
the scheduled speakers was absent because of illness and I was asked to
take two extra slots!!
On Monday, I spoke twice. The topics of the messages were, “Human and
divine spirit,” and “The nature of righteousness.” My aim was to present
Righteousness by faith in a systematic way, building on each idea step
by step so that the people would be able to understand firstly, the
connection between this message and the truth of the godhead, and
secondly that they could be able to understand the implications of what
it means that Christ alone is our Righteousness, to be received only by
faith. Many of these people had been introduced to these ideas, mainly
through the work of brother Erwin Zoor, but their ideas were still not
very clear and they had many questions. They listened to the messages
with great interest. On this first day there were about twenty-seven
adults present. On Tuesday, I spoke three times and the numbers present
grew to more than thirty (30). I spoke on “The nature of sin,” “In
Christ” and “The Fight of Faith.” These messages were again
well-received. Erwin also spoke showing a parallel between Israel in the
wilderness and righteousness in Christ.
These meetings continued for six (6) days, and each day the interest
of the people was more intense. Some had come with doubts, a few were
openly opposed to the message of Righteousness by faith as they
understood us to be teaching it, others had many questions. But we
rejoiced to see that by the end of the six days, as far as we could
tell, every trace of opposition had been erased and there was nothing
but grateful rejoicing for the wonderful gift of free salvation fully
bestowed in Christ, by grace, through faith alone.
One man gave a testimony that he had come to the campmeeting after
having received Erwin’s newsletter which contained my first article on
“You can be truly free.” He had just recently come to understand
righteousness by faith at the time when he received this newsletter. He
believed in it but could not prove it from the Bible. However he had
accepted it after discussions with a man who had explained to him that
the law could not save him, but only Christ. He had felt a load lifted
from his shoulders when he accepted this, after ten years of seeking
righteousness in the law. When he read the article in Erwin’s newsletter
he had been thrilled and determined that he had to attend the
campmeeting. When he came to the meetings he was overjoyed and drank in
everything with fixed attention. He told us that at the end of the
meetings he and his wife would be traveling to the north of Germany
where they would be sharing this message as best as God would use them.
By the last meeting on Sabbath I had preached 13 times! The topics of the sermons were as follows:
1. Human and Divine Spirit
2. The Nature of Righteousness
3. The Nature of Sin
4. In Christ
5. The Fight of Faith
6. Surrender
7. Why Did Jesus Have to Die?
8. The Promise versus the Law
9. God’s Rest
10. Relative Perfection
11. The Two Covenants
12. The Objective Gospel
13. The Subjective Gospel
Erwin also preached three sermons on the subject of righteousness by
faith and while I could not understand much of what he preached (because
of course he spoke in German), it was evident from the response of the
people that they were greatly blessed by these presentations. Germans
have a reputation for being unemotional and unexpressive people, but
there were many expressions of joy as these meetings progressed and more
than once I saw tears streaming down the faces of those who had found
peace and relief in the truth. One lady commented to me at the end, “I
will never forget the things I have learned here. The Bible is a new
book and I will have a new understanding now every time I read it.” One
man who was present only on the last two days expressed how happy he was
that his parents had called and insisted that he come. They had been
present from the beginning and called encouraging him to come because
they wanted him to share in the blessings. He said that he had been an
Adventist for eight years but had always felt something missing in his
life. Now he felt that in what he was hearing he had found an important
key to a deeper experience with God. Another man who only attended on
the last day said, “this is the first time I am hearing this but it is a
wonderful truth and in my heart I know that it is the truth.” These
comments were typical of many others and at the end, though I was tired,
I felt that if this campmeeting had been the only reason for coming to
Europe it would have been well worth the trouble and the expense.
I left the campmeeting not only with the joy of knowing that the truth
had been understood and embraced but also having made new friends who
had found a fixed place in my heart and whose faces I look forward to
seeing again as soon as God makes it possible. This German campmeeting
was a new experience for me. It was the first campmeeting in which the
focus had been exclusively “Righteousness by Faith,” and I was thrilled
to see the results. It was also by far the most sermons which I had ever
preached at any one series of meetings. However, the experiences which
lay ahead were even more thrilling with even more demands for the
presentation of the word!
After the campmeeting was over we met with Vlad from Romania. He had
come to Germany with Allen Stump and with another brother from Romania.
Allen and Vlad were on the way to Poland but they stopped by Erwin’s
home for a couple of days after which we planned to travel on to Poland
together. The other brother whose name was Paul, was an ex-Adventist
pastor from the mainline Adventist Church. This brother had been a very
high official in the Romanian SDA church hierarchy and had been the
person in charge of the publishing work in Romania before he had been
removed from his job. After his brother rejected the doctrine of the
Trinity, this pastor had started studying the subject to show his
brother where he was wrong. But to his astonishment as he studied with
an honest heart he discovered that his brother was right! After some
time of agonizing over the matter he made his findings known to his
fellow ministers and subsequently lost his job with the denomination.
Now he had traveled from Romania with Vlad so he could speak with Allen
and me and learn some more concerning the doctrine of the godhead.
As we discussed the subject of the godhead, with brother Paul asking
many questions, the questions eventually drifted to the subject of
Righteousness by faith. Brother Paul had many questions and at first
also some objections to what he perceived to be my position on
Righteousness by faith. For a while he had difficulty understanding
exactly what was the main point of our focus, but he kept asking
questions and I appreciated the fact that he listened carefully to what
was said and made an effort to understand. By the second day, after
several hours of discussions brother Paul was beginning to get a clearer
understanding of the main ideas. Finally he said, “I see it now. It is
clear to me. It is simple, it is very simple. It is easy to understand.”
After a little more discussion he said, “you know brothers, I came here
to learn more about the godhead, but I think God has given me something
better. For many months I have been praying and asking God what to do
with my life now that I no longer work for the SDA church. I had no
clear understanding of what to do, but I think God has shown me what my
work is to be.”
We could only sit in amazement as we heard these words and we gave
thanks to God for helping brother Paul to see so clearly. The
astonishing thing was that once he understood the message he immediately
saw how important it was and the need to commit himself to teaching it.
This was typical of the way the message was received everywhere we went
in Europe.
Poland
Two days later we left Germany bound for the campmeeting in Poland.
This year it would be at a place called Lutom, not too far from the
German border. Erwin and I left late at night, many hours after the
others, because on the day that we were planning to leave I discovered
that my visa was not valid to enter Poland until the following day so we
could not cross the border until midnight. We crossed the border at
Frankfurt and after another three hours driving and having to backtrack
and search around a bit, we arrived at the campsite at almost four in
the morning, tired and worn out but thankful that we had arrived safely.
The campsite was the best of all the camps I had been to in Poland. It
had once belonged to the Wright movement, which was an “offshoot”
movement from the SDA church, founded by Fred Wright, the man who had
pioneered the teaching that God does not kill. At one time this movement
had been very popular in some parts of Europe but has lost some of its
influence. Those who have turned from it (there were several at the
Poland campmeeting) have said that it is characterized by extreme
legalism. The premises where we had this campmeeting had been
specifically prepared for occasions such as this. There was a spacious
hall which served as both meeting hall and dining area, and there were
ample bathrooms and toilets. There were also several rooms with beds as
well as a spacious yard with a lot of space for pitching tents. The
people who were the caretakers of the property provided two meals per
day for everyone. It was not Jamaican food by any means but it was good
and having been warned by my wife Jen to “make sure and eat up,” I
obeyed her orders and enjoyed what was provided.
Every campmeeting I have been to in Poland has been memorable. This
one was no exception. Firstly, our focus was of course, Righteousness by
Faith. For most of this trip, this is what I would be focusing on with
the possible exception of Hungary where there was an audience which was
mostly interested in learning the truth about the godhead.
I preached seven times and Erwin preached three times. The news that
we were focusing on Righteousness in Christ had reached the people long
before we arrived. Some of them had been on the Open Face mailing list
and they were eager to hear first hand, more of this message. Everyone
had questions to be answered and they listened with keen interest to the
presentations. I have to say that of all the times that I have been to
Europe, I have never seen such responses to the messages. Here, as in
Germany, there were several who broke out into open tears. The news of
freedom in Christ was almost too good to be believed and the wonder of
it all found expression in tears.
Near the end of this campmeeting, there was a baptism where eight
persons became a part of the body of Christ. This service was held on
Sabbath afternoon while the sun was still hot (to accommodate me). We
went down to a lovely little lake about ten minutes walk from the
campsite and there we had the ceremony. Afterwards Matti wept. As I
hugged him he said between his tears, “it’s alright man. All newborn
babies cry.”
When we had the last sermon on Sunday and said goodbye, it was with
sincere regret. On each visit to Poland I have learned to love the
brethren more, but this was the time when I was most unhappy that we had
to finally separate from one another. The experience this time had been
special.
Several moments from this campmeeting stand out in my mind. As I said,
meetings in Poland are never like in other places. Every single year
that I have been there there have been many questions on issues which I
consider to be trivial and related to legalism. Perhaps it is because
this country has been so long under the yoke of Catholicism, but it
seems that there is always a great concern over very small matters. This
year it was a question of whether or not the Levitical law concerning
women being unclean for seven days after their period was still in
effect. I tried to answer on the basis of explaining principles rather
than on the basis of a command but my answer did not go down too well
with the person who asked the question and at one point he walked out of
the room. However, he later returned.
I thought this was a stormy meeting but it was nothing compared to one
which took place later on and which involved the same brother who had
asked the question. It was a night for testimonies and also for
questions if anyone had any. This brother rose to his feet to give a
testimony and proceeded to talk for more than an hour. He spoke of
having read various passages in the Bible and what he had learned
concerning Christian unity. He told of how he had been putting away
various practices and accepting certain others. He gave details of how
he had adopted one health rule after another. I found it difficult to
get his point but I thought he really was not giving anybody else a
chance to speak. Just as I was thinking, “these people are incredibly
patient,” one brother sprang to his feet and started speaking rapidly.
My translator, Matti, could not keep up with him. He said, “this guy is
like a machine gun!” However, he gave me the gist of what was said. This
brother said, “I must protest! I cannot sit here and listen to this any
longer. What you are saying is false. It is not righteousness by faith.
All you are talking about is what you have been doing but not what
Christ has been doing.” Suddenly the meeting livened up. Another sister
rose to her feet and said, “I agree with Adam. Peter and I were in the
Wright movement for many years and we tried the way of which you are
speaking. We tried so hard to do all these things and it did not work
and we will not go back to such a religion.” Jacek and Peter were in
charge of the meeting and they asked the people to be patient while they
allowed this brother to finish, so he continued for another few minutes
before another voice interrupted him. Another brother broke in, “why
are you speaking so long? You have been talking and talking and not
giving anybody else a chance, by the time you are through there will be
no time for anyone else.” This was too much for the brother who was
giving this long speech and he finally decided to sit down. What
happened next was deeply moving.
Another brother, Peter, said, “I would like to say something, but
maybe my brother who was speaking before may be offended.” When he was
assured by the brother that he was free to speak his mind, he continued
in a very calm voice. I cannot recall everything which he said, but the
gist of it was as follows:
“What our brother has been talking about tonight is not the truth. I may
seem like the truth, but in reality it is as far from truth as night is
from day. There are two paths and sometimes there seems to be no
difference between them, but when we understand them, there is a very
great difference. For many years I was in the Wright movement and I put
all my heart into my religion. Day by day I built on my obedience. I did
everything which I read in the spirit of prophecy, I did every single
thing which I felt was my duty. I gave up meat, cheese, Everything. I
became a complete vegan. Even when I became sick and came close to death
it did not affect my way of life. I became a “perfect” man. I looked
through my life and could not think of anything left which I could give
up for the Lord. I saw that my family was unhappy, my children were
uncomfortable around me, but it did not matter to me. I let nothing
stand in the way of my quest for perfection. Finally I came to the day
when I had done it all. There was nothing left to give up and I
wondered, what shall I do now? Shall I give up my family? It was while I
was in this state that I realized that I was a great hypocrite. This
drive to be without fault obsessed me. I did not care how unhappy my
family was, I did not see their pain, I paid no attention to how much
they were hurting and it almost tore us apart. Finally one day I came to
myself and realized that I was a man without peace. I realized that I
was a great hypocrite. All my works and my painful efforts were nothing
and I was broken. All my labour and sacrifice had not brought me
happiness. It had almost destroyed my family and I was left with an
empty soul. Brethren, I have been on that road and it does not work.
That is why I know that my brother is so very wrong. It is only the
truth of Righteousness in Christ, the gift of God which can set us
free.”
I must admit that at the end of his testimony I was ready to shed some tears myself.
I noticed that these brethren were very direct with each other and
were not afraid to openly speak what was on their mind. At first I was
taken aback by it but I realized that afterwards they still spoke to
each other in a kind way and I concluded that it was far better to be
this open and direct than to speak behind a person’s back.
Sister Kristina was not a Seventh-day Adventist but was present
because she had been invited. She was present at every meeting and one
day asked if she could speak with me. She explained that she agreed with
everything which I had said. She belonged to a church which also taught
some of these things, but she had become disillusioned because she had
found out that while they spoke of salvation by faith, their lives did
not display the love and the works of Christ and she was just about
ready to leave it. Now she wanted to know, since we believed that
salvation was only by faith in Christ, why did we have such an emphasis
on avoiding certain kinds of food and why did we still feel that it was
necessary to observe the Sabbath? She also explained that she works with
the railroad company and that her job involves working on Sabbaths. I
explained the reason for healthful living, even though we are not saved
by such works and made it plain that these guidelines for health were
not a means of obtaining salvation but simply to promote good health.
She readily understood the principle that a healthy mind operates best
in a healthy body. Then I showed her the origin of the Sabbath, that it
was blessed and set apart before there was sin and was a part of God’s
perfect plan for sinful man. I showed how it was intended to be a time
of unhindered fellowship between God and those who loved Him. She had
many questions and was very honest with them. Finally she was satisfied
and thanked me. She did not tell me what she would do, but she seemed
very honest and I know that she is in the Lord’s hands. I expect to see
more of her in the future if I return to Poland.
Matti, Justyna and Chris are all young people from Poland but they
work in a printing house in Denmark. I had been in contact with Matti by
email and he had learned the message of Righteousness by faith from our
articles and tapes. He and the others had come all the way from Denmark
just to attend this campmeeting. Though they understood that basic idea
of what Righteousness by faith means, they had some gray areas and many
questions. There were even one or two misconceptions which had become a
source of difficulty. One of these was the idea that if a person who
has found Christ commits a sin it means that he did not really have
Christ. I had a careful discussion with these young people and others
and I believe they were able to see more clearly that if we do lose our
focus, even if it is through carelessness, Christ does not let go of our
hand, though we may disappoint Him. Nothing we can do can ever change
the facts of what He has done. His salvation is always available and the
only thing which can cut us off from receiving it is if we come to the
place where we no longer want it.
Again there were tears. I never saw so many tears as I saw in Europe
this year. Everywhere we went there were tears, but praise God, they
were tears of happiness. After years of legalism and fruitless toiling
towards an unattainable mark, suddenly people discovered that it was a
free gift, that what they had toiled so hard for without success was
freely given in Christ, not just in words, but in reality. The flood of
joy and relief were too much and they found expression in tears of
rejoicing.
One day Matti, Justyna and Chris came to me with the request that I
explain to them why Jesus really had to die. They asked many questions
but finally they got it. When they understood how Jesus had borne our
sins and how far this sin had separated Him from His Father I heard
Justyna speak a strange word. I looked at Matti (my translator) and he
said, “it means ‘wow.’” When she realized what it meant that Jesus bore
her sins, Justyna broke out in tears. She had not come to the
campmeeting with the intention to be baptized, but not surprisingly, she
was among the eight persons who were eventually baptized. At first,
there were two, then possibly three, but at the end there were eight.
Among those present at the meetings were three men from a town named
Gorlitz. This town is on the border between Germany and Poland and the
name is different in Polish. There it is called Zgorzelec. Anyway, these
men came with the request that they be baptized in the name of the Lord
Jesus and we were happy to grant this request. They were still members
of the Seventh-day Adventist church but the truth about God had created a
great stir in their church and there were twenty-five people there who
had accepted this truth. Things had come to a critical point and there
was imminent danger that some would be disfellowshipped soon.
After listening to the messages at this campmeeting these men
requested that Erwin come to their area where they would arrange
meetings. However they specified that they wanted him to speak only on
Righteousness by faith as they were amazed at what they had been
hearing.
Hungary
From Poland we went back to Germany to rest for a day before going on
to Hungary. It would have been much shorter to go directly to Hungary by
traveling through Slovakia but I did not have a visa for Slovakia so we
had to take the long road by going back through Germany and Austria.
The meetings in Hungary were in a town called Miskolc. These meetings
were hosted by Janos Santa, and were held in the house of his
grandfather where there was a section of the house with a spacious
living room, unoccupied and available. Janos is very young. He is
twenty-two years old and still a student at the university in Budapest
where he is studying to be an English and Mathematics teacher. He still
has three years to go before he completes his studies. He has
contemplated giving up his studies to devote himself to the work of God,
but he is very mature for his age and he recognizes that it would be
foolish to do such a thing unless God clearly directs him. In the
meantime God has been using him in a marked way already.
Two and a half years ago Janos began attending a Seventh-day Adventist
Church which is a part of a large break away group in Hungary which is
called KERAK (Keresztény Advent Közösség, – which means, – Christian
Advent Fellowship). Many years ago I had heard of this group. When the
Adventist Church in Hungary had become involved in the Ecumenical
movement, many churches had protested and the contention had become so
strong that eventually more that fourteen hundred members consisting of
several churches had broken away from the main church and had formed an
alternative SDA church. Eventually they had given themselves another
name and were now generally called, KERAK.
Janos had started attending this church after an extensive search on
the internet had led him, first of all to Christianity, then to
Seventh-day Adventism and finally to this reformed Seventh-day Adventist
Church. He had been studying with them for two and a half years
preparing for baptism but had not yet been baptized. Before baptism he
was required to study all the 26 fundamental doctrines of the church and
this process he was involved in on and off for the past two and a half
years.
Shortly after he had started this study he had stalled on the second
belief which dealt with the subject of the godhead. His continued search
on the internet had led him to sites such as Smyrna and Restoration
Ministries websites and he had become persuaded that the Trinity
doctrine was false. Now he explained to his instructor that he could not
conscientiously accept the doctrine of the Trinity as he believed it
was false. He had already begun translating the book, “Did They Believe
in the Trinity,” compiled by Lynnford Beachy and explained that he had
strong evidence to support his position. His instructor was an honest
man named Attila and he suggested that they should skip the second point
of belief for the moment and continue with the rest but he expressed a
desire to read the materials which Janos was translating and Janos
agreed to let him have them. After reading these materials Attila was
convicted that the issue was very important and he began to suspect that
the Trinity doctrine was false but he told Janos that he was not able
to properly assess them but would pass them on to the leaders of the
church who would be better able to examine and analyze them.
One day Janos was sitting in church looking sad. One sister said to
him, “why are you troubled my brother?” So Janos explained that he had
discovered that one of the doctrines taught by the church was false and
that he was in the middle of translating writings by the pioneers which
clearly showed that they did not believe in this false doctrine. The
sister asked, “can you give me copies of what you are translating?”
Janos agreed to do this. Some time afterwards this sister came to Janos
and said, “Oh my brother, I hope you are not upset. I have been sharing
your translated materials with another sister, a friend of mine. We both
believe that what we are reading is the truth!” Before Janos knew it,
several people in the church were investigating the issue and believing
the truth about the godhead, even before he had tried to tell anyone
about it!
Here in Miskolc, I also again met brother Zsolt who had come for the
meetings with his son Daniel. I first met brother Zsolt on my first
visit to Hungary a few years ago and since then he has emerged as one of
the leading labourers in the cause of truth there in Hungary. He had
travelled here to Miscolc from far away so he could meet with us and
participate in the meetings. We all stayed together in the home of
Janos’ grandfather where we would be having the meetings.
By the time I arrived for these meetings in Hungary, there were
twenty-two persons who were willing to hear what we had to say on this
matter. Allen had been there a few days before I arrived having left us
in Poland, and had already spoken to the people on the subject of the
godhead. But I would speak some more on this topic and also present the
message of Christ our Righteousness. Among those present at these
meetings was Attila, Janos’ instructor, along with his wife Andi. On the
second night I gave a study on the God of the Bible and Who is the Holy
Spirit. After the meeting Attila came to me and said, “I am happy for
this meeting. Now I have some solid evidences against the Trinity,
especially the facts you presented from the book of Revelation.” This
had been his main area of concern and after these meetings there was a
different attitude about him. However from then on I concentrated on
Righteousness by faith.
As in Germany and Poland, the message of Christ our Righteousness made
a deep impact. Among the responses was one comment made by a sister, “I
have waited for this for so many years. I cannot believe that I am
finally sitting here and listening to this.” Brother Attila was
especially interested in everything and twice he asked if he and his
wife could come in the morning so that they could ask questions.
At the meeting where I spoke on The God of the Bible and the holy
spirit. The elder of the KERAK Church and an Adventist minister (from
the regular SDA church), were present, there was also a lady there who
was one of the preachers from KERAK. After the presentation the lady
preacher made a few comments and asked a few questions. Her main point
seemed to be that she did not see how this message was related to
righteousness by faith and she did not see any difference between it and
what they believed. The elder of the church said, however, “What you
have said is very well presented and very logical, but God gave a
prophet to the remnant and she says something different.” I pointed out
that she did not and showed him the many places where Sister White
agreed with the truth as I had presented it. I also reminded him of
Sister White’s counsel to get our doctrines from the Bible alone.
However, we had expected that there would be some opposition and we were
happy that almost all of those present could see the truth clearly,
even if some would not.
The rest of the meetings focused only on Righteousness by faith. The
interest was intense and again there were tears. I cannot forget one
sister who took me aside with tears in her eyes and explained how
the message had given her hope after years of despair. Now she
understood the way but did not know how to believe. This I found to be a
problem everywhere and I realized that the answer was to help people to
see two things: First how great, real and personal is the love of God
towards us, and secondly, how complete and unchangeable is the salvation
which He has already provided in Christ. It had to be understood that
it does not matter whether we believe or not, the truth remains,
salvation is already ours in Christ. Christ obtained it for every single
person in the world, it matters not how wicked that person has been,
how deep rooted and chronic his sin, the only thing which can prevent us
from partaking of that salvation is the fact that we will not believe.
On Friday a few people from the Church fasted and prayed and at the
end, the lady preacher called Janos and told him that they had decided
to ask him not to come to church and to tell him that we would not be
welcome there that Sabbath. I was willing to comply with this request
and so was Erwin, but Janos and brother Zsolt would have none of it.
They determined that we should go and so we ended up at the church that
Sabbath. As soon as we arrived one of the leading brethren took Janos
aside and told him, “you have been warned not to come here. If you
remain there will be consequences. It is best if you leave now.” Again I
thought, maybe we should not stay where we were not wanted, but Janos
and Zsolt had no intention of leaving and so we stayed. Actually, most
of the people were very friendly. We sat in brother Attila’s Sabbath
school class and had a good time. Afterwards we listened to a sermon
which seemed to be focused on Righteousness by faith, but a diluted
version. Of course, I believe the speaker did his best and he seemed a
sincere person.
After the sermon a sister came to me and asked me what I thought of
the sermon. I told her that I thought it was good but that there were
some things I would have emphasized more. She asked me what things and I
mentioned one or two. Before I knew it this sister had embroiled me in
an argument which was getting nowhere. When I explained to her that we
not only need to study the word of God but to understand what we study,
she told me that she was not interested in understanding, only in God
teaching her! I realized that this lady had closed her mind to anything
which I would say.
At that moment the elder interrupted who had attended one of our
meetings (by this time a small crowd had gathered). He asked me whether I
believed that Christ had a nature just like ours. I explained that His
flesh was just like ours but not His mind. He replied that we cannot
separate Christ into two parts, body and spirit (mind) and stated that
if I said Christ was not exactly like us then I was teaching that we
cannot overcome sin because I was teaching that Christ had an advantage
over us. I explained that the plan of salvation was not a plan for us to
imitate Christ, but for Christ Himself to live in us. That He was able
to live in our sinful flesh without sin, when He was here on earth, and
again in us, today, but that we cannot copy Christ. He alone is able to
live His life, and His life is a life without sin. So he asked me, “are
you saying that Jesus could not commit sin?” I asked him in reply, “can
you be a homosexual?” His reply was no. I asked him, why not? You have
all the necessary equipment, you are a man. He replied that he despised
homosexuality. So I asked him, “do you believe that Jesus despised sin?”
at this he was at a loss for words but was not willing to give up his
point. At that moment someone came and insisted that we come for lunch
immediately for we were invited to have lunch with them! A strange turn
of events but it illustrated the fact that many persons in the church
were not in agreement with the position of the leadership but were in
fact happy to have us there.
After a good lunch where we were well taken care of, I was sitting
with Erwin when a man came and asked if he could speak with me
privately. His English was poor and I offered to have Erwin translate
for us. However, he said no, he wished to speak alone and so we went to a
quiet place where we had a very difficult time in trying to understand
each other. He was very friendly though and asked me some questions on
strange topics such as what did I believe about overcoming sin and how
did I believe it happened. He asked me about Jamaica, the weather, all
kinds of things and eventually I told him that I would have to leave for
there was a meeting scheduled back at our place at three o’clock.
Later, I understood that as soon as I finished speaking with this man
some of the leaders took him aside and gave him a tongue-lashing for
speaking with me. Among other things they said, “What do you mean by
speaking with him so long after we agreed that we would not speak with
them?”
Meanwhile Erwin had been standing by himself minding his business when
a lady came up to him and started to question him about our beliefs and
what the issues really were which had so disturbed the people. As he
was responding to the questions of this lady, a man who had apparently
been listening behind Erwin interrupted him. “All, right, you were
warned not to discuss these things with anybody. Now you have to leave
the premises!” Erwin had never spoken to this man before so he said,
“excuse me, did we meet? Did you ever speak to me?” The man said, “no,
but your people were told not to discuss your ideas here.” So Erwin
introduced himself. He held out his hand and said, “my name is Erwin
Zoor.” Reluctantly the man took his hand but said, “now you have to
leave.” The lady to whom Erwin had been speaking protested and explained
that it was she who had been asking Erwin questions. The man said it
did not matter and that he would have to leave in spite of this. Erwin
then suggested to this unkind brother, that they would continue their
discussion on the street, because it was public property and he could
not forbid us to talk there.
So they moved to the street where they continued to talk for another
half hour. The lady then decided to come with us to our meetings, so she
went back to get her things which were still in the meeting hall. There
another sister who opposed our work saw her and asked her, if she would
be attending our meetings. When she replied that she would be, the
other sister said, “You attend their meetings once, and then again and
again until finally you will accept everything they say and then you
will disfellowship us.” This hurt the other sister deeply because all
she wanted to do was to hear the truth, not to separate from her
brethren.
That night, after we had a very good meeting at Janos’ grandfather’s
house, the pastor of the church called Attila. He had been absent from
the church for the week as he was away attending some seminar. But he
had heard all about what was happening and he was not happy. When he
spoke to Attila on the phone he was very upset and we could hear his
voice from some distance away.
We left these brethren with the expectation that steps would be taken
against them by the church, but they were not afraid and were all
determined that no matter what the consequences were they would be
faithful to God and His truth. Later, we learned that Janos had been
disfellowshipped (what exactly this means I am not sure because he had
not been a baptized member although he attended church regularly and was
accepted by all the brethren as a part of their congregation). The
other brethren are not certain of their status but are ready for
whatever comes.
Romania
Romania was the last stop on our European trip. The meetings were held
at a place in the country called Criva not too far from a town named
Slatina. I had heard many things about Criva from Vlad. He had told me
that they had been studying Righteousness by faith for several years and
that there had been a continuous revival taking place for several
years. In fact, they had a campmeeting every month (!!) when the people
came from many kilometers away to spend a few days together in studying
the word and in fellowship. I found it hard to believe that these people
were meeting so often without growing a little tired, but Vlad assured
me that they were just as full of zeal for attending the meetings as
when they had first started. Concerning our coming he assured me, “they
are waiting for you.”
My experience in Criva was one of the best of my life as far as
sharing the gospel and Christian fellowship is concerned. The people
were waiting indeed! I never saw such an outpouring of Christian love
and fellowship. I was amazed at the spirit which I found there. The
meetings are hosted by brother Sorin and are held in a small meeting
hall on his property. This used to be the meeting place of the local
Seventh-day Adventist reform church. However, six years ago brother
Sorin, who used to be one of the officials in this church wrote them a
letter to be read at one of their conference meetings expressing his
concerns at many things which were not right in the church, among them
the extreme legalism, the ceremonialism, the abuses of power etc. The
leaders were incensed and disfellowshipped him. The problem however was
that the church in his area was on his property and had been built by
him. Though he was disfellowshipped, they continued to meet on his
property. Finally he gave them one month’s notice to leave and when they
moved out eventually, he began to organize meetings there himself. This
was the beginning of the meetings at Criva. From all over Romania
people heard about these meetings and started attending. Those with
hungry hearts came from far and near. Brother Sorin’s message was
Righteousness by faith. He hardly spoke of anything else and the results
have been remarkable. For years these meetings have been continuing
without any break and without any sign of the people losing interest.
Brother Sorin has turned his entire yard into a fruitful garden. Fruit
and vegetable plants laden with food are growing in every single inch
of space. Even the dining area is a grape arbour covered over with
plastic. While eating it is possible to reach out the hands and pick
grapes. There are many apple and plum trees full of fruit, two large
green houses full of huge tomatoes and sweet peppers, there are
strawberries and many other kinds of fruits and vegetables. A great deal
of the food which is eaten at the campmeetings comes from brother
Sorin’s garden. Just being there and seeing all of this was a blessed
experience.
The legalism of the Reform church in Romania, is best illustrated by
the following story which Vlad related to me. There was a man who was
baptized by the church, but immediately after his baptism, stopped
attending the church before he was even received into church fellowship.
He proceeded to return to a life of sin and it became necessary for the
church to consider disfellowshipping him. However a problem presented
itself because since the man had never been received into church
fellowship they could not withdraw the right hand of fellowship from
him. They had several meetings where they discussed this problem and
then finally they decided to ask the man to come to church to be
received into fellowship so that they could disfellowship him!! However,
the man refused to cooperate for a long time and they begged and
pleaded with him so they could resolve the issue. Finally, he decided to
do as they asked. He was duly received into fellowship and then
disfellowshipped, so putting an end to their problem!! I could hardly
believe this, and similar stories which I was told. However, as a result
of having belonged to a church with attitudes such as this, the message
of righteousness in Christ has burst like a bombshell among those who
have understood it here.
This was the campmeeting where I worked the hardest, but it was the
happiest for me. During the ten days that it lasted I preached
twenty-one (21) sermons and in between preaching I was constantly
answering questions and having discussions with people. The appetite of
the people could not be satisfied. When Vlad had told me what the
program was to be like I had protested vigorously. I told him it was too
much and that the people would grow weary of hearing too much of one
person, but he assured me, “they will not grow tired, they will ask for
more!” So it turned out to be. I know that it is not always possible to
tell by the tears but it blessed my heart to see how people responded to
the truths that their sins were already taken care of and that the life
which they were seeking was already theirs in Christ. I saw
understanding come to faces, the looks of amazement and then the tears
of joy.
One precious memory is of a sister who could not speak English but who
had come there with questions and uncertainties in her mind. At the end
of one sermon she came with tears in her eyes and a little piece of
paper. Written on it were the words, “ I am free!” Another sister asked
me to go for a walk with her and an interpreter. She told of how there
were some terrible sins in her past which she had never been able to
forgive herself for. Every time she spoke of the forgiveness of Christ,
her father had told her, “do you believe sins such as yours can be
forgiven? Do you forget what you have done?” For many years she had
carried this burden with her. But now, with tears running down her face
she said, “now I understand, Jesus has already taken all these sins. I
must not bear them any more. Thank God, I am free.” There were many such
experiences. These people have been studying Righteousness by Faith for
years and have a good understanding of it, however, as so often
happens, God uses different methods and different minds to reach people
and some persons found that the message presented in a different way, by
a different speaker brought understanding which they had not had
before.
One of the joys which I had during the time I spent at Criva was
baptizing three people into the body of Christ. They were sister Jenny,
sister Paula and …. Brother Janos from Hungary! Yes, he traveled with us
all the way to Romania to share the joy of the campmeeting there, but
also to at last demonstrate his entry into the body of Christ by water
baptism.
Erwin and I did not actually stay at Criva during the night. We
stayed, along with several other brethren, at the lovely home of a
couple, Florin and Mihaila, who are also a part of the Criva group. They
live in a town called Slatina which is a few kilometers distance from
Criva. Here again we had an example of the love and hospitality of the
Romanian brethren. These brethren went out of the way to satisfy our
every need and I had to be constantly refusing their offers to do
something more for us. One night the house was packed to capacity as
more visitors had come in. That night there was a heavy thunderstorm and
I was glad to be in a dry bed in a warm house. However, in the morning
one of the visitors went outside early and what was his astonishment
when he found our host and hostess sleeping in their car!! The house had
been so crowded that they gave up every single place where a person
could sleep including all the cushions from the chairs and the settee.
So, without a word of complaint they themselves slept in their car while
their guests enjoyed their house! This illustrates the spirit which I
found in this group and it gave me a little taste of what it will be
like when the spirit of Christ takes over His people as it did at
Pentecost.
When we finally left Romania after 10 days, it was with heavy hearts.
The people stood at the gate and waved until we had turned the corner. I
promised to do everything possible to come again next year. What else
could I do? The appeals were so many and so fervent I could not say no.
God may have other plans but if He makes it possible it will certainly
be one of the joys which I look forward to experiencing next year.
Germany again
The European journey was almost over but not quite. After a wearisome
journey of almost 24 hours Erwin and I made the trip back from Romania
to Germany. We stopped briefly for a couple of hours in Austria to get a
little sleep. Erwin was the driver and he needed it, but it was very
cold and we only slept for two hours before we started off again. Back
in Germany we rested for two days before we approached the very last leg
of our journey. These last meetings were held in a place called
Zetteritz which was almost two hours away from Erwin’s home. In this
community there was a little church which was operated by a group of
independent Adventists. One person from this church, brother Istvan
Keszler, had accepted the message of Righteousness by Faith as we were
presenting it and had embraced it with his whole heart. The rest of the
group were opposed to it however, though they had never heard our
presentation, but as so often happens, they had received bad reports
concerning our doctrine and wanted to have nothing to do with us. Some
of them had attended another campmeeting where our teachings had been
opposed and strongly criticized.
Brother Istvan requested that we be allowed to have meetings in the
building where this group met, on this final Sabbath that I would be in
Europe. Strangely, these brethren agreed that we could have the meetings
there, but decided that they would not attend. Instead they had their
regular Sabbath services at another place while allowing us to use their
chapel! So strong is the power of prejudice and false information! Of
course brother Istvan was there. There were also a couple of other
people from his group but most of them stayed away. However, several
persons from the community were there, including a few from the mainline
Adventist Church. There was also a family from many kilometers away. I
spoke three times and then in the afternoon, there was a question and
answer session.
It is often hard to tell how people are responding to your message, in
Germany. The people are, on the whole, not very expressive and they sit
without showing much expression of what they are really feeling. At
first I thought that the message was not making an impression on the
people, but after the second message I discovered that I was wrong. I
spoke to a few of them and discovered that they were very interested in
what they were hearing. One man said, “This is very, very interesting. I
have never heard anything like this in my life.” Later in the evening
when we had the question and answer session we were able to clarify a
few questions concerning the nature of Christ, sanctification and a few
other issues. On the whole the messages were very well received and
those who had questions or objections appeared to be satisfied with the
answers.
This meeting in Zetteritz had been our final assignment and now I
prepared for the trip home. It had been a wonderful experience in Europe
but I always told everyone who asked me if I was homesick, “the best
thing about leaving home is when you get back.” Now that the work was
over I began to feel more acutely the desire for home and family.
On the final day before I left for home I had the joy of meeting with
brother Paul Osei Agyeman from Ghana who was in Germany and who
travelled a long distance of about six hours just to meet with us.
Brother Paul had heard that we were teaching false ideas of
Righteousness by Faith and true to his character, brother Paul travelled
all this way to hear for himself what we were teaching. As he listened,
he could find no fault in what we were saying and in fact, as we
listened to him it was clear that he already believed the same things
which we were saying! He was concerned however that other people seemed
to be getting a wrong impression of what we believed.
This meeting was much too short. I had to leave at 4.00 the next
morning to catch my flight and brother Paul had to take the long journey
back to Berlin where he had an appointment the following day. However,
he took what materials we had available which included all the sermons
preached at the German campmeeting, and he promised to listen carefully
and to let us know his conclusions.
A Sad postscript
Two nights before I left Europe for home, tragedy struck the home of
Brother Erwin and his family. His mother, Elizabeth lived with him in
the same house with her husband Ewald and her grandson, Richard. That
night I woke up at about 11.00 P.M. and heard the sound of wailing and a
woman speaking hysterically between the cries. I listened for a few
moments and then there was a knock at my door. When I opened, it was
Erwin. His face was grim and he could hardly speak as he said, “I need
your help my brother. Ewald is dead.” I found this information almost
impossible to grasp. Ewald was 67 years old, but he was full of life,
hard-working and always cheerful. He was as strong as an ox and illness
seemed the furthest thing from him. He could not speak a word in English
but he was always communicating with me by signs and gestures and
always trying to bring a smile to my face. I got up in a daze and
followed Erwin to the bathroom of his mother’s apartment where Ewald was
half-sitting, half-lying, propped up against one wall. He was still
warm but he was dead.
Two days earlier Ewald had helped to move some people to another
house. The move had been a long one and he had been gone all day and
most of the night, only arriving home at 4.00 in the morning. The
following day he complained of a pain in his chest and we suspected that
he had probably injured a muscle by lifting something too heavy. The
next day sister Elizabeth said to me, “something is wrong. I do not
understand this pain with Ewald. It is not a muscle because sometimes it
is gone for a few hours and then comes back very bad.” That was the
night that he died.
As I saw the sorrow in that home and heard the heartbreaking cries of
sister Elizabeth I felt more closely than I ever had before the reality
of death. In my heart there were many questions such as, why had God
allowed this to happen now? I wondered what Jesus would have done if He
were present and I felt my inadequacy. However, as I thought about it I
recognized that no one lives forever in this life. Even Methuselah died,
and someday, if Jesus does not come soon, I will die too. The verse in
Romans 5:12 came back to my mind and hit me more forcefully than it had
ever done before. “death passed upon all men for that all had sinned.”
But equally forceful was the verse, “for as in Adam all die, so in
Christ shall all be made alive.” The certainty of the resurrection was
precious and I know that it helped to bring peace to that bereaved
family. Even Richard who is ten years old said to me as we sat waiting
for the men from the morgue to take Ewald’s body away, “now I know that
Jesus will come again soon and I will see my grandfather again.”
This final sorrow clouded the joy of the experience in Europe, but
nothing can erase the memories of the happiness which I saw on people’s
faces and the relief which I heard in people’s voices when they
understood the reality of how real, how complete, how available and how
free salvation is. Europe 2006 is over for me, but the effects of these
campmeetings will last forever to the glory and honour of our Father and
His Son.
=====================================================================
After concluding this report I received the following letters from János in Hungary and Matti in Denmark.
=====================================================================
From János
…. I have not been disfellowshipped indeed, for that cannot be, but
rather I was asked not anymore to attend their services of any kind,
neither on the Sabbaths nor other events organized by the church (i.e.
Bible readings, youth programs, etc.). When Elder ……. and Sister
……. spoke with me on this matter on Wednesday what I could tell them
was that I understand their position but that I will not promise to
subject myself to the decision of their church. They were rather furious
about it, but I said I couldn’t pledge myself for such a thing as to
hinder my freedom in Christ, even though I see it more wise not to
offend them more with my presence. It seems to me their minds are so
deeply into this ecclesiasticism that they cannot anymore understand and
appreciate religious freedom when it is not according to their
interests.
Anyway, the brethren (who have accepted the truth) are for the present
time divested of their positions and services for another 2 weeks (4
weeks were determined upon them to think, of which 2 have passed
already), and we decided that we would gather together every Friday to
study together and discuss what next. I believe they are now strong in
the truth, especially in their experience in finding Righteousness by
Faith.
I just finished translating “This is The Church” from Jones, I just
wonder what more it will accomplish… I received some deep convictions
this week I had to translate it as soon as I could that I may give of it
to the people. I’ll begin to print it today and print some more next
week. I know God is blessing His people here in Hungary, I have already
received many good responses second-hand from people I never ever talked
to but it seems to me God has just started doing something very great
in these days. Praise Him!
Blessings to you, dear Brother, from our precious Lord Jesus,
János
=====================================================================
From Matti
Dear Brother,
…. this is so real. Man… You were right to say that you have never
seen so many tears but the salvation was never so close and possible for
everyone who believes.
After being a slave of sin so many years when you get free at last and
you know the love of God toward you, your body and mind do not know
any way of expression and automatically you cry. But in your heart there
is planted a seed of love. Of love that you cannot fully express. What a
salvation, my brother. Every day is so great and more beautiful.
Christ, Christ and million more Christ.
I do not know why but I cannot stop speaking about it. The love as He
shows himself more and more. This is real. I know the saviour personally
and nothing can take it from me. I praise the Lord for the gift of
salvation and His love in His Son and my Brother Jesus. Satan has lost.
God’s character is a character of love and Satan’s arguments are without
any support. People around will see this in our lives because this is
Christ in us.
So Hallelujah for the God of love. Words cannot tell it but we know it somehow that it is true.
Love to you and your family and our brothers and sisters in Christ,
Matti, Justyna and Chris
Talks on Righteousness by Faith
At the end of the Smyrna camp-meeting in June of this year, there was a
meeting of the elders present from the various areas. Those present at
this meeting were Elders Willis Smith, Edmund Cyrus, Bob Habenicht,
David Sims, Ken Corklin, Allen Stump, Lynnford Beachy, Glen Ford,
Malcolm McCrillis and David Clayton. This meeting was convened to
discuss the subject of Righteousness by Faith and lasted for a little
over five hours.
These discussions were not conclusive but were encouraging from the
perspective that there was open and frank discussion and everyone
present was able to gain a more perfect understanding of the issues
involved. Though the time for discussion was necessarily limited as the
meeting was called on the spur of the moment, there are plans to
continue the dialogue with the hope that all will come to a perfect and
unified understanding of this critical subject. Another meeting will be
held over the week-end of September 23 in West Virginia. These meetings
will last over several days and hopefully, we should be able to resolve
some of the questions which still need to be clarified in connection
with the subject of Righteousness in Christ.
One of the suggestions arising from the meeting which seemed to meet
with universal approval was the suggestion that it could be helpful if
all those who were involved in publishing would ask other persons to
preview articles before publishing them, not with the aim or censoring
or modifying the content of the articles but in order that suggestions
could be made as to ways in which sentences, words, phrases or ideas
could be stated in a way to avoid misunderstanding. This suggestion was
regarded with some caution but when it was clarified that this would be a
totally voluntary thing and that there was no idea of anyone being
obligated to accept any suggested modifications, then the suggestion was
universally accepted.
The subject of Righteousness by Faith is to “swallow up all others.”
(The Paulson Collection p.342). All who believe this will recognize the
fact that it is imperative that those who are involved in the
proclamation of truth in these last days must make the subject of
Righteousness in Christ the center of all their teaching. Before we can
do this however, we must have a clear understanding of what this message
really is. To proclaim error in connection with such a truth would be
the greatest of all tragedies. We are asking all who love the Lord and
His truth to pray that He will direct the minds of those who will meet
on the week-end of September 23 and that He will subdue all the human
elements which might stand in the way of the understanding and reception
of truth. You may not be present there but your prayers will make a
great difference. May our Lord grant us one heart and one spirit as we
face the task of proclaiming His truth to the world.
Light in Jamaican Hills
During the month of July I had the
privilege of speaking in a Seventh-day Adventist Church in the hills of
Jamaica. To avoid repercussions I will not give the name of this
church. I was invited to hold one week of revival meetings which lasted
from Sabbath to Sabbath with meetings each night of the week excepting
on Friday.
This was of course a most remarkable thing and was only possible
because of the extreme open-mindedness of the brother who is the leader
of this church. Before I started these meetings I insisted that he
should know what my relationship with the denomination was because I did
not want to go there under false pretences. But when this brother heard
that I had been disfellowshipped his only comment was that they had
disfellowshipped Jesus also!
From the beginning the people received me with open arms. The sister
who had been instrumental in getting me invited was an old friend who
has been a lover of the truth for many many years. Originally another
person had been invited to conduct these meetings. When it turned out
that he had to change his plans for some reason, the leader of the
church had asked this sister to help him to find another person to do
the meetings. She had suggested me. She prepared the church by
explaining who I was and the nature of my work and by the time I
arrived, somewhat tentatively for the first meeting on Sabbath, they
were waiting with open arms.
Of course the focus of my messages was Christ our Righteousness. The
people drank it up like those who were dying of thirst. They were lovers
of truth and like their elder, very open-minded. On the last Sabbath
somebody started asking questions about the godhead (my friend in the
church had been agitating the subject for years apparently). By this
time brother Howard Williams and a few others from home had come to join
me and we did our best to give these dear brethren an understanding of
the truth about God and to explain why it is so important that we
understand the truth of this doctrine. We also pointed out the
connection between a proper understanding of the godhead and a proper
appreciation of righteousness by faith. Again to our amazement the
people received the truth with open arms. We recognized that here we had
encountered people with the true spirit of the Bereans who were willing
to study for themselves and were not willing to simply accept something
because it was the popular teaching.
Our time with these people was a great blessing and it is our hope
that the communication between us will remain open. This was the desire
of the brethren there and of course it is our desire. We will be doing
all in our power by God’s grace towards that end.
Open Face is published bi-monthly and is sent free to all who desire to receive it.
David Clayton: Editor and Publisher
P. O. Box 23 Knockpatrick
Manchester, Jamaica W.I.
Phone: (876) 904-7392
email: david@restorationministry.com
