Love And Relationships In English [Episode 11: Who Is A Believer?]

Hello dear friends, I welcome you to White Throne Ministries' series on love and relationship. It has always been interesting and you can't afford to miss an episode. And with me here is Pastor Paul Esiyama. Pastor, I only welcome you. Thank you. And please, how are you doing? By the grace of God. Thank God. So, Pastor Esiyama is a Seventh Adventist pastor at Ashanti South Ghana Conference. Before we zoom into our topic for today, we want to pray. So, Pastor, we'll pray with us. Okay, let us pray. Father, we thank you very much for your blessings and for once again bringing us here to talk about you to ourselves. Be with us as we discuss in Jesus' name. Amen. So, building from what we learnt the last time, there is quite a misunderstanding on this Bible quotation. In 2 Corinthians 6, verse 14. 2 Corinthians 6, verse 14. And the Bible reads, Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? Amen. So, a lot of controversy has come up based on this quotation. And that's what we are going to base on because it's also a very salient factor in choosing a life partner. So, that brings us to our topic for today, Pastor. Yes. Who is a believer? Based on what Uncle Paul is saying here. So, take us to him. Okay. Who is a believer? Okay. Yeah. I always say this. When we are talking about relationships that will lead into marriage, we should be very careful. You don't have to take it lightly. If you need to read, read. Whatever you need to do, do it. Because you are going to take a decision. That will take you to a certain situation that you will regret or enjoy for the rest of your life. Yes. So, don't just play with it. Oh, my friends are saying this. Oh, someone said that. No. Sit down. Do all the needful. Then, you move on. And when we talk about faith and belief, in fact, we are talking about something different. When we are talking about love, you should be very careful. When we are talking about faith, you should be very careful. Because the two deal with the heart. Yes. So, you don't have to play with it. Access of the heart. So, who is a believer? In fact, when you just take your dictionary and just open, you will see a believer is a person who believes. Who believes. A believer is a person who believes. Okay. And especially regarding religion. Right. But, you also have to search about beliefs. So, beliefs is to accept something as the truth. A believer is someone who believes. And beliefs are to accept something as the truth. This is the truth. So, you believe in the truth that you have accepted. That is what beliefs. And to accept as true, particularly, something absolute, certainty. So, you see, you are accepting something to be the truth. Then, you follow that truth with the whole of your heart. That makes you a believer in that particular thing. So, the Bible says, John 3, 16. For God so loved this world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believed in him. So, when you believe in Christ as your Lord and Master, you do it with your whole heart. And it becomes the truth for you. Okay. You become a believer. So, in Christianity, when you believe in Christ, you become a believer. When you believe in Christ, in Christianity. That is the ultimate. You become a believer. But that is of a denomination. I will go there. Okay. When we say someone is a believer, in the Bible, it is someone who believes that Christ came down to die for us. He is our God. So, anybody currently who believes in Christ as their Savior is a believer. And then the vice versa would be an unbeliever. An unbeliever is someone who does not believe in Christ. Okay. So, literally, based on what you have just explained, we shouldn't be unequally young with those people who do not believe in Christ. In Christ. Simply put. Please let's continue. So, on face value, Serving the Adventists, Pentecost, Methodists, Catholics, because we believe in Christ, we are all believers. That is the first thing. We are all believers. So, when Paul said, do not be unequally young together, it means that Christians should not get themselves involved with those who are not Christians. Like Muslims. That is it. Traditionalists. Thank you. Buddhists. Hindus. That is it. Religion. So, that is the standard. By Uncle Paul. Then. So, in summary, believers are those who believe in Christ and live as such. There are some people who believe in Christ. They don't live as such. Satan believes that Christ is God. He does not live as such. That is the point. So, let's come to Adventist line. You see, when you read the Adventist beliefs, the 28 fundamental beliefs, belief number 12, it talks about the church. So, serving the Adventists, we accept that all those who believe in Christ are classified as believers. So, for us as a church, we believe that anybody who believes that Christ is the Messiah is a believer. So, that is the first thing. So, we are trying to add more to what we have discussed already. Yes. And when you read number 13 of our beliefs, the remnant and its mission. In fact, you get it in page 181. The remnant and its mission also accept that we have been selected among the believers for a particular task. Right. We are all brothers and sisters. And you have been chosen to do something else. Well established. So, now, we have two sects now. The big family and those of us who have accepted that special assignment. And because of that, I cannot keep on doing the same things with you. Yes. So, because of that, it was said, come to work together, except they be agreed. Now, we have so many things we disagree. We disagree on the Sabbath issue. We disagree on the Ten Commandments. So, I cannot work with them. I cannot marry from them because I will have issues. Yes, because they do not agree with me on so many things. So, 2 Corinthians 6 verse 14 cannot be read for only the first family. Now, because we have come out of that family, I can read it like this. Don't be unequally yoked with unbelievers. The unbelievers can be the big family now. Because they don't believe in what God has given to us now. Well explained. Pastor, other denominations will also tend to sell their advances as unbelievers because they do not believe in the same doctrine like this. Yes. You believe in something. They also believe in something. Because you do not believe in what they believe. They will classify you as unbeliever. And because they do not also believe in what we believe, we also classify them as unbelievers. So, it's very simple. So, those who do not believe in our mission as the remnant, in a way, can be classified as unbelievers. So, selling their advances can classify the rest as unbelievers not that they don't believe in Christ but because they don't believe in the mission that we have. So, how can you marry someone who has entirely different mission and vision from yours? Wow. So, I have to look at it. And you see, when you marry someone who does not share your belief, you cannot force that person to believe in what you believe. That is one thing that people get it wrong. You accept God through belief. You accept it by faith, not because you are my husband. So, when you marry someone who is not serving the Adventist, you cannot force that person to believe in what you believe. That person will just respect you in what you believe. But you cannot force that person. And you see, when you marry, Christ made it very nice. Matthew 19. The twin shall be one. So, if you believe in Saturday and someone believes in Sunday, when you marry that person, you have to believe so. You believe in Saturday and Sunday. Your wife is part of you. So, your wife's belief becomes your belief. And your belief also becomes your wife's belief. Just that they do not share that belief, but it is part of them. So, it means you have to agree on everything. You should be one in everything. Almost. When it comes to belief, you don't have to say, Oh, me, I believe in this. She does not. No. When it comes to belief, that is life. Belief is your life. You have to make sure you share in that belief. When it comes to God, like what Ephesians said, One God, one faith, one baptism. You can have couples who have different beliefs. As I was saying, it is like a presidential candidate of a party getting married to someone who is from a different party. Like Nanadu, the wife is from Indies. Is it possible? It is not. Because what the president believes is different from what the wife believes. So, technically, your wife becomes part of you. So, that is it. So, serving the Adventist, we have a certain belief. Because of what we believe now, you cannot just marry people who do not believe in what you believe. And it has its effect. How can you be champion? Sabbath is like this. The remnant, Babylon is falling. And your wife is part of Babylon. How can you say it? You cannot. So, if you have some beliefs, please protect it. Don't marry someone who does not share in your belief. Wow, very awesome. I think this one is a Bible study. Pastor, based on this biblical exegesis, I have been in the church for so many years. 30 years, 40 years. And I have not gotten any Adventist seat. Those coming my way are all non-Adventists. They are pressing me to marry them. The Adventists I am with, they don't show any interest. Should I still hold on to what the Bible is saying? That I am a believer related to those who do not believe my belief. Thank you very much. I will say this before I answer your question. I always tell colleagues. See, colleagues, they have their own way of doing things. When your wife or your partner is with you in the same church, it is very very nice. It does not mean you are not going to have problems in marriage. No. But just that there are some issues that will not come when it comes to doctrines. Same applies to all the churches and serving the Adventists. You have a certain belief. You have agreed that God, this is the truth. I want to live by this truth. You have accepted it. Nobody forced it on you. And people are not coming. Yes, it is true. I know. I am a pastor. People come. I know. 35, 40, 41, 42. And do you know the funny part? Some are even virgins. The men are not coming. You see, we all have our crucibles. We all have our crucibles. Some will get married early. They will not have children. Some will get married late. They will have children. Some will get married early. They will have children early. Life, we all have our different lives that we live. You believe in this doctrine. You believe in this mission that we are the remnant. God has given us a certain message. You have that belief. And someone is telling you, I want to marry you. And I want to bring these new beliefs in addition to what you have. The onus is on you. To abandon your belief and marry someone who does not share your belief. Some people will do this. Pastor, I will go to church. The person will also go to this church. You see? Technically and definitely, you will compromise somewhere. I know. I have relatives who are married to not even their big family. Outside that family, different religion. When you see them, everything is okay. But I tell you, the compromises, you cannot count. If you believe in the Sabbath, that it is true. Definitely, you will compromise somewhere. Do you believe in what God has given to us? That we should come out of Babylon? If we are running away from Babylon, why do you go and get married in Babylon? It is true. It is difficult. In fact, it is not easy to be a 14-year-old lady. Virgin. Working. Though some are not. And you are waiting for a suit and nobody is coming. And people are outside. Some of the pastors will even tell you. It is okay. You just marry. It is okay. But to me, what I am telling you is this. God called you for a specific task. You have accepted to be a Seventh-day Adventist. You accept it and everything together. So don't play with it. Nobody will kill you for doing that. But don't play with what you believe. What if, Pastor? What if? Yes. I have the intention of converting the person to be an Adventist. To be in the same religion. It is a good idea. But it is not part of evangelism. How? Read Nehemiah 13. With? The whole chapter. Okay. It deals with some of the Israelites that were married to the non-believers. Nehemiah was beating them. Some of their children, they did not even know how to speak the language of the Israelites. The effect, you cannot count it. But we just cover it and polish it like that. We do not conduct evangelism with marriage. It is not part. No, we don't do that. So should I convert the person before I marry them? I don't care. Whatever you do, I don't care. And I don't want to know. I have no problem. Your life, I am not your judge. Your judge is Christ. So whatever you do, communicate with him. And before you do that, cross check what you are doing from the Bible. Don't do something the Bible frowns on. And ask God to bless it for you. All right. So you see, marriage is not part of evangelism. You just go and preach. It has worked for some people. They will preach to them. They will come, be baptized, they get married. It is true. One time I had a chat with couples like that. And the guy said, Pastor, I wanted to marry this lady. And she was telling me I should come to the church. And I decided, okay, fine. I will follow her to the church. When I marry her, then I leave. That was what the guy told me. The lady was there. And he said, but when I came, teachings and stuff. And now I am receiving the advantage. You cannot use this as a preaching topic. To say that, go and marry them and bring them. Many of them, they have gone and they couldn't come back. Pastor, thank you very much for this admonition. You're welcome. And exposing us to all these truths. Beside all these, if I decide to go outside, I'm not getting younger anymore. I'm in love with a person outside from a different church. What will the Seventh-day Adventist church do to me? Should I go outside? Okay. In fact, you are not in this world because of Seventh-day Adventists. You are in this world because God created you. How about the church? The church will not do anything to you. What do you expect the church to do? To sack you from the church? To expel you? To censure you? To disfellowship you? No. You will not. We will support you. We will pray for you. We will advise you. We will tell you some of the challenges you are going to face. And they are? They are the principles you believe. Against the principles that your partner also believes. It is going to clash. Example? Your husband is a Sunday worshipper. There is a funeral. Your in-law, your mother-in-law is dead. They are burying her on Saturday. Nothing will happen. But the family will have issues with you if you do not come. Why do you call for this issue? They will have issues with you if you do not come. Will you regret marrying your partner? So, the love you have for him will be there. But in this issue, how can you solve it? Are you going to appoint your mother or your friend or your sister to go and replace you? It is one of the issues. Two. Sabbath. How are you going to explain to your children that we call something Sabbath? And the head of the family is saying there is nothing like Sabbath. Sunday is okay. Confucian. Look at what you are going to take your children through. Different beliefs. So, your children are going to be confused from day one. Your father will go to town and buy pork. Nicely steamed. Will you allow your children to eat that food? Their father will invite them. Come and let's eat. And you do not support that. How are you going to live with this? How can you tell your children your father belongs to Babylon? The Antichrist environment. How are you going to do it? Do you get the point? Yes. How are you going to tell them clean and unclean? How are you going to differentiate? Your children are going to go through a lot. They will be confused. I have not done any survey. But the small that I know. Most of the children born in this kind of marriage. They end up not coming to Seventh-day Adventist church. And also the church of the father. Because they are confused. So, why are you going to take your children through all these things? Do you see? So, there are so many things that you are going to face. And if you have a challenge with your husband. Who is going to talk with him? Your pastor? Or your husband's pastor? Do you get it? So, the challenges are enormous. You are married to a Muslim. And you want to pray for your child who is sick. What kind of prayer are you going to pray? Oh, father in heaven. You see? The challenge is we cannot. Do you get it? Okay. Your partner is a Pentecostal. The anointing oil is in her hand. She is about to apply it. And shout. They believe in that. And you too know that anointing oil is not meant for that. How can you cope? So, there are unnecessary issues that you are going to solve. Of which it would have been better if you were not married. Thank you very much pastor for the explanation. If the church would support me. If I marry from outside. Would the church bless my marriage? Pastor from the Adventist church. During my wedding. Come and bless the wedding for me. Okay. The people are saying everything about this. Those who are saying it. I believe they don't know why they are in the Adventist church. That is the first thing. If you know why you are here. If you know the mission. If you know the vision. There are some things we will not talk about it. I always sympathize with those who have been matured for a long time. And they are waiting for a suitor who is not coming. That is why I usually have issues. Because they are going through something. You see. When you decide to marry outside. The church will not do anything to you. We will come and support you. You are a sister. You are a brother. Yes. I will be there. I was at her wedding. I was there. What do you want? The blessing of the marriage. So that you get what? You have decided to marry someone who does not share in your belief. So no Adventist pastor is going to bless this marriage. Yes. Do you know why? Because we believe that you have chosen a path that is not right. So we will support you. We will follow you. I will be there. I will advise you there. I will say what I need to say. But how can I bless two human beings who do not have faith in God? I can't do that. Wow. Yes. What you have is different from that man. So because I am a faith father. I am supposed to be talking about faith. Beliefs that are similar. How can I say God bless these two people. I cannot do that. But I cannot stop you from marrying. Because that is your decision. And that is a family decision. But we will be there. But we will not bless the two of you. We will not bless your faith. We will bless two who agree in the same faith. It is a great letter to bless someone who is not even a Seventh-day Adventist. Two Catholics. Two Methodists. I can do that. They share the same faith. Okay. But for you who have this faith different from the other person. I cannot. Because I am going to put you into a situation where you are going to disagree when it comes to faith. Wow. When you have issues, Pastor, you bless us. I cannot bless you whilst you disagree. Because the Bible says how can two work whilst they are not in agreement. Pastor, as we are finalizing everything. There are some women in the church. Who are 30, 35, 40, 50 and above. And they are waiting for sisters in the church. But they are not forthcoming. What's the worst of encouraging them? You see, it is not easy acting on advice given. But it is easy giving advice. In fact, I sympathize with our sisters in the church who are going through all these things. It is not easy to be in a church. To be faithful to God for 30 years, 35 years. As I said, some are even virgins. And sometimes the most painful aspect is this one. Some will just come to the church. They were not virgins. They just live anyhow. They didn't come to church. And they will just get fine guys in the church. And they will marry them. Leaving you there. They are going through a lot. I know. And God is aware. But my sister, God said, your families can deny you. By the Lord, I will not deny you. It is only God who can help you. And my life is different from your life. Your sister's life is different from your life. Your friend's life is different from your life. And the girl who just got married, her life is different from your life. So don't judge your life based on people. Enjoy what you have. If it is in the books of God that you will marry, it will come. Amen. Sometimes it is better to be single than to marry a fool. It is better to be single than to marry someone who will make your life uncomfortable. Some men are good. Christians, big family. But I tell you, they will mistreat you. Because sometimes it is difficult. Sometimes you don't understand it. Sometimes you ask yourself questions. Sometimes, God, why me? Why am I going through this? God, why is that? It is only me. I have a friend who said, I think I said it last time. One day when she was in JHS, she had abortion. One day when she was in JHS, she had abortion too. She is married and she has given birth to four. Are you telling me that this lady, God loves her more than anybody? But there is someone also in the church. One abortion and that's it. Someone not at all? Yes. Someone who is a virgin, married. There is no charge. We do not understand why we are here. So whatever you can do, just do it for God. And when the time is up, it is God who will bless you. But as I said, it is simple to advise. But it is difficult to take the advice and practice it. But I believe that for the help of God, you take this advice. And God will show you the way. Sometimes it looks dark. But I believe one day God will do something. Amen. God bless you so much, Pastor. For the biblical exposition in 2 Corinthians 6. Verse 14. We are bringing the curtains down for this program. And henceforth, would you agree with me that this is no more a controversy? Because the Bible has been so clear on who believers are and who unbelievers are. So our dear sisters, as Pastor said, you are not alone. And God sees you in this struggle. And one day there will be a light at the end of the tunnel. Amen. So I want to believe that as you leave your comments and your questions in the comment section, you come for them and answer them appropriately. God bless you. Amen. So before we draw it down, we say a word of prayer. Especially, Pastor, for those who are seeking for services. Yes. And those who are also praying that the Lord should aid them in choosing partners. Let us remember this. Let us pray. Father Divine, we thank you very much for taking us through these discussions. We thank you for the light given to us. Father, we pray that as together we listen to your message, help us to harken on to them. We also pray for your daughters who are waiting for suitors. Father, it is only you who can give them. We pray that you send suitors to them. We pray that you give them direction. But I also pray that you strengthen them so that they don't take decisions based on their situation. But they wait on you. Father, it is not easy to wait. Abraham couldn't wait for you. Father, I pray that let these daughters of yours wait for you. Bless them, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen and amen. So the Lord will make a way. God bless you so much. So as Mrs. White said, make haste slowly. Dear friends, thank you for staying tuned for today's program. Humbly, I request that you subscribe to our Facebook page and then also our YouTube channel. And as a self-supporting ministry, we have this line where you can reach us through your support. 0541-322-986. May the Lord bless you as you have decided to help the ministry. It is WTM White Throne Ministries. As you subscribe, you take notice of that. God bless us to meet again. Amen.