President, Eastern Highlands-Simbu Mission of Seventh-day Adventist Church,
P.O.
Box 966
Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province
Dear Pastor,
It is with great sorrow that
we write to you regarding the shameful treatment of Pastor Livingstone Kul by Elders, Deacons and church members at Bena Bena on Wednesday the 11th
of December. Pastor Livingstone was severely beaten and a church building was
burnt down at the time of this assault. Elders and Deacons led the group of
church members who beat and kicked Pastor Livingstone as he was fellowshipping
with fellow believers.
Pastor this is not the first
time this has happened in the Eastern
Highlands and we are aware
of cases of assault in Kabuifa and Bena Bena in the past. No action
was ever taken against the people involved in these assaults even though they
were Elders and Deacons of God’s church. To make this situation worse these
assaults occurred on Sabbath following divine services.
In Matthew 5:21–23 Jesus
tells us, “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger
of the judgement. But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause
shall be in danger of the judgement.’ We are also
counseled in Isaiah 58:1 that we should “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy
voice like a trumpet and shew my people their
transgressions and the house of Jacob their sins.” In Ezekiel 3:17–21, God
requires us to warn people of their sins or their blood will be required of us.
Pastor, we humbly request
that you call the perpetrators of this assault to the church discipline
following the Biblical counsel in Matthew 18:15–17. As you are aware, God
requires all of His true followers to repent of their sins and true repentance
requires making things right with the person you have offended, as well as with
God. We are praying for these individuals who committed this assault and asking
the Lord Jesus to forgive them for their unconsecrated and unchrist-like
behavior.
Pastor you should be aware
that as a result of this assault, many church members will question the behaviour of the leaders of God’s church and many more will
join the ranks of the laymen who are preaching the need to prepare, by
sanctification, for the soon return of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ.
As Pastor Livingstone had a
speaking engagement in Australia immediately after the assault, I have also been
advised that many Adventists in Australia who have heard the story are also questioning the
leadership of God’s church in PNG and believe that they see prophecy being
fulfilled. In Great Controversy, Chapter 33, “The Loud Cry,” we read: “As the
storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the Third Angel’s
Message, but have not been sanctified through it, abandon the position, and
take refuge under the banner of the powers of darkness . . . Men of talent and
pleasing address, who once rejoiced in the truth, employ their powers to
deceive and mislead souls. They become the most bitter
enemies of their former brethren.” [Great Controversy, 608.]
Two thousand years ago the
leaders of God’s church took the Son of God, beat and tortured Him and hung Him
on the cross to die. Jesus had a very small number of true and faithful
supporters, who, in a very short period of time following His death and
resurrection, took the Gospel of Salvation to the world, despite experiencing
fierce persecution by church leaders. Last year in Kainantu,
the Easter Highlands Simbu Mission saw fit to use
unbiblical authority to disfellowship a handful of
faithful laymen for the “sin” of preaching the Three Angels’ Messages in the
streets. In a matter of 18 months, thousands of faithful church members have
stood and joined the laymen in order to finish the work of the Gospel. Wherever
these laymen have been persecuted, the more church members take their stand for
truth. Pastor we are in the shaking time and Jesus will soon return as He is
now separating the wheat from the tares.
Pastor, the
Leadership of SDA Church can disfellowship all who support the laymen’s movement, but
this is not important to us. Names do not need to be written on church roles.
The only place that we need to have our names written is the Lambs Book of Life
and no church leader can remove our names form this book. Unbiblical civil
authority can be employed to try and prevent us from using the term
“Seventh-day Adventist” but you cannot erase this from our hearts because Jesus
Himself called us in this belief.
The Laymembers
Association was not established to destroy God’s church but to preach the soon
return of Jesus Christ. We would like to work along side the church in PNG, but
we are treated with suspicion and persecution by the SDA church leadership. We
pray that God will open the eyes of the leaders of the church in PNG and allow
us to work cooperatively to finish the work of the Gospel. The counsel given by
Gamaliel in Acts 5:38–39 is so relevant, “And now I
say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel
or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But
if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight
against God.”
Pastor we have not been given
the opportunity to fully discuss matters of concern with yourself or other
leaders in Eastern Highlands Simbu Mission. We would
appreciate receiving your response to this letter and we would be happy to meet
with you if you so wish.
Your Brethren in Christ Jesus,
SECRETARY
Laymembers Association of Papua New Guinea