The Undercover Adventist

  The Nature of Christ The Baker Letter - Ellen White Letter 8, 1895 in 13MR 18-20 (Written to Brother and Sister W. L. H. Baker). (William Lemuel Henry Baker (1858-1933) was an evangelist, conference administrator, and Bible teacher in the United States and Australia.) Be careful, exceedingly careful as to how you dwell upon the human nature of Christ. Do not set Him before the people as a man with the propensities of sin. He is the second Adam. The first Adam was created a pure, sinless being, without a taint of sin upon him; he was in the image of God. He could fall, and he did fall through transgressing. Because of sin, his posterity was born with inherent propensities of disobedience. But Jesus Christ was the only begotten Son of God. He took upon Himself human nature, and was tempted in all points as human nature is tempted. He could have sinned; He could have fallen, but not for one moment was there in Him an evil propensity. He was assailed with temptations in the wildernes...

The Sabbath, Circumcision, and the Seal of God Few subjects generate more confusion than the relationship between the Sabbath, circumcision, and the seal of God. Scripture speaks clearly about each—but it does not use these terms interchangeably. If we want biblical truth, we must let the Bible define its own language. The Sabbath: A Sign Between God and His People The Sabbath is explicitly called a sign in Scripture. “Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a **sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you” (Exodus 31:13). “It is a **sign between me and the children of Israel for ever” (Exodus 31:17). Through the prophet Ezekiel, the Lord repeats this: “Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them , that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them” (Ezekiel 20:12). The Sabbath is a covenant sign. It identifies the Creator (Genesis 2:2–3; Exodus 20:8–11). It points ...

  Uniting Heaven and Earth Christ in Philippians and Colossians  Complete in Christ Lesson 10 - Thursday  Commandments of Men Read Colossians 2:20–23. Paul asks a piercing question: “If you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations?” (Col. 2:20). Then he lists them: “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle.” These were humanly constructed rules—religious restrictions that appeared spiritual but were rooted in what he calls “the commandments and doctrines of men.” To understand this passage, we have to read it in the context of the whole chapter. In Epistle to the Colossians 2, Paul has already pointed us to the sufficiency of Christ. In verses 11–15, he describes how Christ canceled the record of debt against us and triumphed over principalities and powers at the Cross. Salvation, he insists, is something Christ accomplished for us. It is objective. Historical. Finished. S...

  Uniting Heaven and Earth Christ in Philippians and Colossians  Complete in Christ Lesson 10 - Wednesday  Shadow or Substance? Colossians 2:16–19 In Epistle to the Colossians 2:16–19, Paul confronts a serious spiritual danger. Believers were being pressured to measure their faith by external religious practices. He highlights disputes over food and drink , and over festivals, new moons, and sabbaths —elements deeply rooted in the Jewish ceremonial system. These practices were real. They were biblical. But they were never meant to save. Paul calls them a “shadow of things to come.” A shadow is not the reality. It points beyond itself. The substance, he says, belongs to Christ. The Jewish-Christian influences troubling the church were insisting that Gentile believers adopt ceremonial observances as a mark of spiritual maturity. But Paul is firm: these practices were fulfilled in Jesus. They foreshadowed His sacrifice, His priesthood, and His redemptive work. Once the...

  Uniting Heaven and Earth Christ in Philippians and Colossians  Complete in Christ Lesson 10 - Tuesday  Alive in Christ: What Was Really Nailed to the Cross? (Colossians 2:11–15) One of the most misunderstood verses in Scripture is Colossians 2:14. Many have used it to argue that God’s law—including the Sabbath—was nailed to the cross. But when you slow down and read Colossians 2:11–15 in context, the message is not about abolishing God’s moral law. It is about the victory of Christ over sin, condemnation, and the ceremonial system that pointed forward to Him. Let’s walk carefully through the passage. 1. A Circumcision Made Without Hands Paul begins with a powerful phrase: “circumcision made without hands” (Col. 2:11). He is not talking about the literal rite given in Leviticus 12:3 or required in Exodus 12:48. He points instead to a spiritual reality—circumcision of the heart, the inward change described in Romans 2:28–29 and anticipated in Deuteronomy 30:6. This i...

  Uniting Heaven and Earth Christ in Philippians and Colossians  Complete in Christ Lesson 10 - Monday  Rooted and Growing in Christ “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him” (Colossians 2:6, NKJV). Paul’s message in Epistle to the Colossians is clear and practical: the way you begin with Christ is the way you continue with Him. You received Him by faith. You walk in Him by faith. Christianity is not a one-time decision; it is a daily, steady growth. In Colossians 2:7, Paul expands the picture: “rooted and built up in Him.” He shifts to a plant metaphor. Christians are not machines plugged into a power source. We are living plants. And living things must be rooted. The Plant Metaphor in Scripture The Bible repeatedly uses plants to describe believers: Isaiah 61:3 calls God’s people “trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord.” The point? God plants us. He intends us to grow. A planted tree does not wander. It settles into the s...

  Pork, Purity, and Principle: A Seventh-day Adventist Perspective Among Seventh-day Adventists, the question of pork is not a minor issue. It touches authority, obedience, health, and the meaning of the Cross. Let’s walk through it carefully and biblically. 1. Were the eating laws part of the ceremonial law? Short answer: No. The distinction between clean and unclean animals did not begin with Moses, nor was it limited to temple rituals. Long before Sinai, God made a distinction: “Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens… and of beasts that are not clean by two.” — Genesis 7:2 That was centuries before the ceremonial system given through Moses. The categories already existed. Now look at the Torah. The clear dietary distinction In Leviticus 11 , God gives detailed instructions: “These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.” — Leviticus 11:2 Regarding swine: “And the swine… he is unclean to you. Of their flesh s...

  Uniting Heaven and Earth Christ in Philippians and Colossians  Complete in Christ Lesson 10 - Sunday  The Wisdom and Knowledge of God Read: Colossians 2:1–7 When Paul writes to the believers in Colossae, he is not writing casually. He says, “I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you” (Col. 2:1). Though he had never seen many of them face to face, he labored for them in prayer and concern. Why? Because their stability in Christ mattered. Paul’s Purpose: Encouragement and Strength In Colossians 2:2, Paul longs “that their hearts might be comforted [encouraged], being knit together in love.” His purpose is twofold: Encouragement – that their hearts would not grow faint. Strength and unity – that they would be knit together in love and grounded in truth. The word translated “comforted” carries the idea of being strengthened and fortified. Paul knew false teachings were circulating. He understood that confused Christians become unstable Christian...

  Uniting Heaven and Earth Christ in Philippians and Colossians Lesson 10 Complete in Christ You may use this for presenting and studying the current Sabbath School Lesson.

  Uniting Heaven and Earth Christ in Philippians and Colossians  Lesson 9 - Friday Further Thought #1 Made Sin for Us Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:21 Few verses in Scripture are deeper than this one from Second Epistle to the Corinthians 5:21: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” Slow down and let that sink in. “Who knew no sin” Jesus lived a sinless life. That is not religious exaggeration. Scripture is clear. He was tempted, yet without sin. He never rebelled. Never compromised. Never failed. He did not “manage” sin well—He had none. That makes what follows astonishing. “Made Him to be sin for us” This does not mean Christ became sinful in character. It means He became our substitute. Our guilt was placed on Him. Our condemnation was credited to Him. He stood in our place and bore the judgment we deserved. This is substitution. At the Cross, God treated Christ as if He had lived our sinful life, so ...