The Remnant Church

Sermon manuscript for Green Lake Church of Seventh-day Adventists

Sabbath, July 27, 2013

First a story I have told before, and will probably tell again:

In the 1980s I pastored a church on New York's upper east side called Church of the Advent Hope. The neighborhood was decidedly upscale. The congregation was young and vibrant. Then there was Alex.

He was twenty-something, about six feet three. Alex struggled with schizophrenia. Sometimes you could see his brokenness on his face. Sometimes his behavior was erratic. Sometimes women working alone in the kitchen in the basement would turn to see Alex standing in the doorway watching them. That was spooky. I told him not to do that.

We did our best to include him, to make him at home among us while trying to provide adequate supervision for him.

Alex grew up in an Adventist home in the Bronx. He knew about prophecies and the end of the world and the Mark of the Beast.

When I first met him he still sometimes stayed the night at his mother and aunt's apartment. But that finally came to an end. They were afraid to let him in the door. So Alex was on the street full time. An Adventist business man, Rick Shorter, sometimes let Alex stay with him, when Rick was in town on business. Summers, Alex would sleep in the park. Winters he would ride the subway until dawn or until he was kicked off.

Social services placed him in an apartment with several other guys who struggled with mental illness. They provided various support, medication, the supervision of a social worker. But it wasn't enough. Not for Alex. Even with assistance, he couldn't manage to keep his place. He was back on the street in a couple of months.

Alex sometimes attended prayer meeting on Wednesday nights. When he learned that I often spent the night at the church, he began asking if he could sleep inside the church. I didn't mind. It was no skin off my back. I'd give him a pillow and blanket and settle him on a pew in the sanctuary. Which was far more comfortable than the subway.

Some winter mornings he'd come to the church at 4 or 5 in the morning and ring the bell, asking if he could come in out of the cold. Yes. Of course.

After this happened a few times, I explained to Alex that he was welcome to sleep in the church on nights I was there, but he needed to come by midnight. I didn't appreciate having to get up at 4 or 5 in the morning to let him in. My nights were often late. I needed my sleep. “Come before midnight or don't bother coming.” I said.

Alex promised. But he was unable to fulfill his promises. He'd ring the bell again at 4 or 5 in the morning. I would drag out of my sleeping bag in the basement, traipse upstairs and let him in. I'd give him a pillow and blanket, settle him on a pew, then go back to bed, fuming.

Finally, I decided to practice tough love. The next time Alex came at some unearthly hour in the morning, I would ignore him. He would have to learn.

A few weeks later, I was snug in my sleeping bag. It was raining and cold outside. It was fairly cold inside. The bell rang. I looked at my watch. 5 a.m. It was time to practice tough love. I pulled my sleeping bag tighter. The bell rang again. I remained steadfast. The bell again. And again.

Then I remembered that the doorbell rang not only in the basement where I slept. It also rang in the caretaker's apartment upstairs at the rear of the church. Their sleep was being assaulted by the same ringing that was tormenting me. I crawled out of my sleeping bag, dragged myself upstairs and opened the door. There was Alex with his goofy grin.

Even before he asked to come inside, before he had a chance to say anything, I started in on him. “Alex, why do you do this? I'm happy to let you sleep on a pew. But I've told you repeatedly, come in the evening. Why do you insist on waking me up?”

His goofy grin never left his face. He stood there with a look of pure innocence, like a dog trying to figure out why his master is not pleased that he has eaten the neighbor's chinchilla that came through the fence. Then he said, “I don't have anywhere else to go.”

Which reminds me of Peter's words to Jesus when crowds were offended by something Jesus said. Jesus said to his inner circle, “Will you also leave?” Peter replied, “To whom would we go?” (John 6:68)

For Alex, the Adventist Church was the one true church. It was God's remnant church, the visible, organized expression of God's community on earth. It was also home. So when he had nowhere else to go, when he was at the end of his rope, he came home. Of course.

Now some high brow theology:

We are the church of God. We—the Seventh-day Adventist Church—we are God's church. We are not just another denomination. Our church is the unique fulfillment of a prophecy in Revelation that describes God's people at the end of human history. This belief is written into our creed. The special name we have for this doctrine is “The Remnant Church,” taken from the King James translation of Revelation 12:17.

And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

This claim by the Adventist Church is highly controversial. As you would expect, other churches think they are the true church. Most famously the Roman Catholic Church makes precisely this claim.

I have said, outside of the Catholic Church there is no divine faith. Some of the Protestant friends will be shocked at this, to hear me say that outside of the Catholic Church there is no divine faith, and that without faith there is no salvation, but damnation. I will prove all I have said. (In an article titled, “The One True Church,” by by Fr. Arnold Damen, S.J. (1815 - 1890)
Imprimatur: Michael Augustine, Archbishop of New York. http://www.drbo.org/church2.htm)

Molloy and others speak of the “full,” “complete,” “total,” and “exclusive” identity between the Catholic Church and the Church of Christ. Such language can easily mislead and is understandably offensive to non-Catholic Christians. The intention, however, is to underscore that the Catholic Church is nothing less than the Church of Christ and to counter any suggestion that the Catholic Church is—albeit the most fully and rightly ordered—only one church among other churches. Again, this is not a matter of boasting or of ecclesial rivalry, which should have no place among followers of Christ. It is a matter of being as faithful as possible to what Christ intended his Church to be. (In an article, “The One True Church” by Richard John Neuhaus. First Things, April, 2009. http://www.firstthings.com/article/2009/03/the-one-true-church-35)

As you might expect, the Lutheran Church which rose in opposition to the Catholic Church makes precisely the same claim. Here is a statement by a major Missouri Synod Lutheran theologian:

The Lutheran Church expects of you that you are moved to belong to the Church, not merely outwardly and by means of external circumstances, but from your heart. . . . Indeed, the Lutheran church expects of you that you would sooner part with life and limb than to become unfaithful to the service in the Evangelical Lutheran Church. The Lutheran Church expects you to be zealous for the Lutheran Church, . . . you will accomplish this only if you are by God's grace convinced that the Evangelical Lutheran Church, as it is presently called, is the orthodox church, or, what is the same thing, the true, visible Church of God on earth. Therefore, we will occupy ourselves in these evening hours with the proof that the orthodox, or the true, visible Church of God on earth, is the Evangelical Lutheran Church. (“Lectures on the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lecture One: The True Visible Church of God on Earth” by Dr. F. Pieper - Translated by Bryce L. Winters. http://lutherantheology.com/uploads/works/pieper/tvcgod.html.) From Wikipedia: As a Systematic theologian, Franz Pieper's magnum opus, Christliche Dogmatik (1917-1924), translated into English as Christian Dogmatics (1950-1953), provided the modern world with a learned and extensive presentation of orthodox Lutheran theology. It continues to be the basic textbook of doctrinal theology in Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. He was also the main author of the Missouri Synod's A Brief Statement (1932), an authoritative presentation of that church body's doctrinal stance.

Various groups that call themselves “The Church of Christ” naturally disagree with our claim to be “the one, true church.”

This from the web site of the Union Church of Christ, 919 E Jackson Rd, Union, MS 39365:

It is clear that those who are saved DO NOT BELONG TO A DENOMINATION because there is only ONE church ever mentioned in the entire New Testament and that is the church of Christ (Romans 16:16). (http://www.unionchurchofchrist.net/home)

Of course, the Union Church of Christ insists it is not a denomination like all those other groups that call themselves churches, but are, in fact, denominations. No, the Union Church of Christ, is merely the true church of Christ existing in the town of Union, Mississippi.

My favorite exemplar of the Church of Christ confidence is expressed in the name of the True Church of God in Christ, Incorporated. From their web site:

A personal message from Bishop Oprie Jeffries: We are the True Church of God in Christ and you can depend on us because we are watching out for you. We are interested in giving you the knowledge of God from the book of God so that you may become mature and perfect in the will of God.

A doctrinal statement on the same web site: We are the True Church of God in Christ, Incorporated of the Apostles' Faith and Doctrine. As such, we preach, teach, and live what the Apostles' left on record. (http://www.thetruechurch.org/index.html)

The Adventist claim to be the “one true church” is also strongly contested within the church itself. Many Adventist scholars question the traditional interpretation of the prophecy in Revelation that we have used as the foundation for our claim. Pastors have expressed concern that this doctrine often leads to arrogance. But whatever our personal opinions about the validity of this doctrine, there it sits, article 13 in our creed.

While we acknowledge that God is active among Christians outside the Adventist Church, we claim that the organized Adventist denomination is the “remnant church of Bible prophecy.” We base this on our interpretation of Revelation 12:17.

Roman Catholics base their claim to be the one true church on Matthew 16. Church of Christ denominations base their claims on verses in Acts or Romans. Lutheran claims are based on passages in Paul. We all have our favorite passages.

As a pastor I have no authority to alter the creed. I do have the responsibility to interpret the creed in ways that are helpful to our life together. The question is: how can we take the notion that our denomination, our church, is God's true church make it something beautiful and helpful?

How would this doctrine help Alex? What guidance would it give to me as a pastor in thinking about how to respond to Alex whose behavior was sometimes personally annoying and sometimes was disruptive in the congregation?

The passage in Revelation that serves as the primary reference for our doctrine of church describes the “remnant church” as those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus. What does this mean?

One place in the New Testament where Jesus explicitly testifies regarding regarding keeping the commandments is in Luke 10. In this chapter, a religious expert asks Jesus what is required for salvation. Jesus replies by asking the expert, “What do you think? How do you interpret Scripture?” The expert answers, “Love God and love people.” Jesus says, “Smart answer. Do that and you will live.” The expert didn't want to look like an idiot who asked a question he already knew the answer to, so he asked, what do you mean love my neighbor. Who is my neighbor? Jesus responds with the story of the Good Samaritan. A man is beat up and robbed and left for dead. A couple of good Jewish people come by without stopping to help.

"Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. Luke 10:33-34

Jewish people regarded Samaritans as having a seriously defective religion. In the gospel of John, Jesus agrees with this view. Still, here in Luke, Jesus pushes right past this man's liturgical, theological defectiveness and holds him man up as a model keeper of God's law.

The testimony of Jesus regarding keeping the commandments is this: do the obvious thing to help people in need. Include people rather than exclude. Heal rather than analyze.

Which brings me back to Alex. If my church is the church of Jesus, I am required to care for Alex. Alex will never get better. Alex is not going to “progress in sanctification.” Alex is not going to be led the Holy Spirit into an ever-closer resemblance to ideal of God embodied in Jesus Christ. Alex grew up in the church. He is part of our family. If we are Christ's church we cannot leave his care to others. We cannot send him down the road to a church that specializes in the care of the mentally ill. We must make room for him in this church.

And not just for Alex, but for all who struggle with mental illness. And for those who are developmentally impaired. Classic Adventist revivalism imagines a church composed solely of people who are perfect exemplars of balanced, wise spiritual maturity.

The doctrine of the remnant and the testimony of Jesus contradict that dream. The doctrine of the remnant—the notion that our church is not some specialized subdivision of God's church, but is God's church in its fullness—this doctrine requires us to include Alex in our vision of church. Someone who functions marginally, someone who all his life will not be able to function on his own. This man, too, is an indispensable member of God's church, the remnant church. We must serve him well.

Consider these additional examples of Jesus testimony:

In Matthew 19

One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. But Jesus said, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children." Matthew 19:13-14

In Luke 19:

Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, "I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!" Jesus responded, "Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost." Luke 19:8-10

Hungry people.

Then Jesus called his disciples and told them, "I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way." Matthew 15:32.

A woman caught in adultery.

"Neither do I condemn you; go and* sin no more." John 8:11

To a rich man:

Jesus told him, "If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." Matthew 19:21

Regarding a poor woman:

While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins. "I tell you the truth," Jesus said, "this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. Luke 21:1-3

What is the testimony of Jesus: That his community includes children, hungry people, rich people, poor people, Samaritan people, people on the wrong side of cultural judgment of the church (Zacchaeus).

Catholics, Lutherans, Churches of Christ and Adventists all claim to be God's “one true church.” When any of us use this claim as a pretext for claiming superiority or authority over others, it is merely a religious basis for sinning. On the other hand, rightly understood, our sense that we are God's church becomes an exalted challenge to mirror the testimony of Jesus and declare God's welcome to the little ones, the condemned ones, those with defective theology, the poor and the rich.

Rightly understood this doctrine is about our obligation to welcome and serve people. Properly applied, we will forget the doctrine in our wholehearted service to people.