Corporate Responsibility for Dwight K. Nelson’s Apostasy

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Dwight K. Nelson is pastor of Andrews University church. If Ted Wilson does not promptly obtain a confession of wrong from Nelson and his heretical arrogance for teaching that Allah is God https://omega77.tripod.com/allahisgod.htm, then he should fire him or the entire church is responsible by the following principles. And these principles apply to all the apostasies of the church leaders.

The church is supposed to be part of THE BODY OF CHRIST, with Him as the head and the church as the body. This is strong corporate responsibility imagery.

Rom 7:4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, [even] to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

1Cr 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

1Cr 12:27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

Eph 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

The following statement could not teach corporate responsibility in any stronger, clearer language:

1Cr 6:16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.

Mat 23:35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.

That’s a lot of generations of blood that came upon the backs of the apostate Jews because of their sins.

That (above) is the reason why true reformers have come out of churches in every succeeding generation because the leaders would not tolerate light and to remain under their intolerance is to be guilty with them of stifling the light they will not tolerate. Desire of Ages, 232, where only ONE REASON is given for true reformers leaving the church of their father—that their ecclesiastical leaders will/would not tolerate light.

Corporate responsibility: “For more than a thousand years the Jewish nation had abused God’s mercy and invited His judgments. They had rejected His warnings and mercy and invited His judgments. They had rejected His warnings and slain His prophets. For these sins the people of Christ’s day made themselves responsible by following the same course. In the rejection of their present mercies and warnings lay the guilt of that generation. The fetters which the nation had for centuries been forging, the people of Christ’s day were fastening upon themselves.” Desire of Ages, 586-7.

1Pe 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and [be] ready always to [give] an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

We are responsible to EVERY MAN that asks us a reason for our belief. That is corporate responsibility.

Ezekiel Chapter 3 is corporate responsibility in principle.

¹⁸When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

¹⁹Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

²⁰Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling-block before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

²¹Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.

“So far as his opportunities extend, every one who has received the light of truth is under the same solemn and fearful responsibility as was the prophet of Israel, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying: "Son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity, but thou has delivered thy soul.” Eze 33:7-9. The Great Controversy, p. 459.

"The plain straight testimony must live in the church, or the curse of God will rest upon His people as surely as it did upon ancient Israel because of their sins. God holds His people, as a body [corporately], responsible for the sins existing in individuals among them." Testimonies, Vol. 3, p. 269.

The words AS A BODY mean corporately! Corporate means as a body.

Word Origin & History

corporate

late 14c., "united in one body," from L. corporatus , pp. of corporare "form into a body," from corpus (gen. corporis ) "body" (see corporeal).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source

"Any connection with infidels and UNBELIEVERS which would identify us with them is FORBIDDEN by the word. We are to come out from them and be separate. in no case are we to link ourselves with them in their plans or work." E. G. White, Fundamentals of Christian Education, 482.

The above is an example of INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE corporate responsibility. In other words, as individuals and as a peculiar people church we are to have no connection with infidels and unbelievers that would identify us with them. That is forbidden in Isaiah 8:9-12 and Jeremiah 11:9-15 to site a couple examples. But there are others in Scripture.

Since Satan has taken full possession of the fallen churches AS A BODY, any connection with them is a connection with Satan, and is strictly forbidden by the word. Isaiah 8:9-12 and Jeremiah 11:9-15.

'Nothing less than the whole armor of righteousness can enable man to overcome the powers of darkness and retain the victory over them. Satan has taken full possession of the churches AS A BODY. The sayings and doings of men are dwelt upon instead of the plain, cutting truths of the Word of God. The spirit and friendship of the world are at enmity with God. When the truth in its simplicity and strength, as it is in Jesus, is brought to bear against the spirit of the world, it at once awakens the spirit of persecution. Very many who profess to be Christians have not known God. The natural heart has not been changed, and the carnal mind remains at enmity with God. They are Satan's faithful servants, notwithstanding they have assumed another name.'

I saw that since Jesus left the holy place of the heavenly sanctuary and entered within the second veil, the churches have been filling up with every unclean and hateful bird [Rev. 18:2]. I saw great iniquity and vileness in the churches; yet their members profess to be Christians. Their profession, their prayers, and their exhortations are an abomination in the sight of God. Said the angel, 'God will not smell in their assemblies. Selfishness, fraud, and deceit are practiced by them without the reprovings of conscience. And over all these evil traits they throw the cloak of religion.' I was shown the pride of the nominal churches. God is not in their thoughts; their carnal minds dwell upon themselves; they decorate their poor mortal bodies, and then look upon themselves with satisfaction and pleasure. Jesus and the angels look upon them in anger. Said the angel, 'Their sins and pride have reached unto heaven. Their portion is prepared. Justice and judgment have slumbered long, but will soon awake. Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.' The fearful threatenings of the third angel are to be realized, and all the wicked are to drink of the wrath of God. An innumerable host of evil angels are spreading over the whole land and crowding the churches. These agents of Satan look upon the religious bodies with exultation, for the cloak of religion covers the greatest crime and iniquity." E.G. White, Early Writings, pp. 273-275.

New Corporate responsibility: “We are to co-operate with the Lord Jesus in restoring the inefficient and the erring to intelligence and purity. This work ranks equally in importance with the work of the gospel ministry. Evangelism, p. 529.

Corporate responsibility: "For evils that we might have checked, we are just as responsible as if we were guilty." Desire of Ages, p. 44.

"We are just as responsible for evils that we might have checked in others by exercise of parental or pastoral authority as if the acts had been our own." Patriarchs Prophets, 578.2

"The headquarters of our church, affect the whole body of believers. If the physical heart is healthy, the blood that is sent from it through the system is also healthy; but if this fountain is impure, the whole organism becomes diseased by the poison of the vital fluid. So it is with us. If the heart of the work becomes corrupt, the whole church, in its various branches and interests, scattered abroad over the face of the earth, suffers in consequence." Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 210.

Corporate Responsibility--"The church cannot measure herself by the world nor by the opinion of men nor by what she ONCE was. Her faith and her position in the world as they NOW ARE must be COMPARED (JUDGED) with what they would have been if her course had been continually onward and upward. The church will be weighed in the balances of the sanctuary. If her moral character and spiritual state do not correspond with the benefits and blessings God has conferred upon her, SHE WILL BE FOUND WANTING." Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 83, 84.

The words “the church” in the above statement means the collective, whole church. This implies corporate responsibility. The church as a corporate body is weighed and she can be found wanting. But also, we are saved as individuals if we are faithful and the church as a body is not.

The following statement implies corporate responsibility by the words “THE CHURCH” and “her” own backsliding. All the references to “SHE” and “HER” refer to the corporate church. This is Ellen White’s counsel to the church that became a harlot. This is what she must do to repent of her harlotry AS A CHURCH BODY, and this has never been done since the statement was made in 1903.

"Unless the church, which is now being leavened with her own backsliding, shall repent and be converted, she will eat of the fruit of her own doing, until she shall abhor herself. When she resists the evil and chooses the good, when she seeks God with all humility and reaches her high calling in Christ, standing on the platform of eternal truth and by faith laying hold upon the attainments prepared for her, she will be healed. She will appear in her God-given simplicity and

purity, separate from earthly entanglements, showing that the truth has made her free indeed. Then her members will indeed be the chosen of God, His representatives. {8T

250.3}

Individual Members Responsible for State of the Church:

“Each member of the church should feel under sacred obligations to guard strictly the interests of the cause of God. The individual members of the church are RESPONSIBLE for its distracted, discouraged state, by which the most sacred truths ever committed to man are dishonored.” (5T:278)

Church Body Accountable for Negligence and Sin of Members:

“God will hold the church at _____ RESPONSIBLE, as a body, for the wrong course of its members. If a selfish and unsympathizing spirit is allowed to exist in any of its members toward the unfortunate,...He will hide His face from His people until they do their duty and remove the wrong from among them....the Lord holds the church accountable for the sin of its members until they have done all they can to remedy the existing evil.” (WM:212, 213)

“The church is in a great degree RESPONSIBLE for the sins of her members. She gives countenance to evil if she fails to lift her voice against it.” (PK:651)

“The church is in a great degree RESPONSIBLE for the sins of her members. She gives countenance to the evil, if she fails to lift her voice against it. The influence from which she has most to fear is not that of open opposers, infidels, and blasphemers, but of inconsistent professors of Christ. These are the ones who keep back the blessing of the God of Israel.” (SW 05-10-04; pr:06)

“The church as a whole is in a degree RESPONSIBLE for the wrongs of its individual members because they countenance the evil in not lifting up their voice against it. The favor of God is not enjoyed for several reasons. His Spirit is grieved by the pride, extravagance, dishonesty, and overreaching which are indulged by some professing godliness. All these things bring the frown of God upon His people.” (4T:490, 491)

“Those who have too little courage to reprove wrong, or who through indolence or lack of interest make no earnest effort to purify the family or the church of God, are held accountable for the evil that may result from their neglect of duty. We are just as RESPONSIBLE for evils that we might have checked in others by exercise of parental or pastoral authority, as if the acts had been our own.” (CG:235, 236)

“Aaron failing to stand up boldly for the right, his yielding to the strength of numbers, placed him with the majority. Aaron represents the cases of a large number composing our churches at the present day. They pass over sins existing in the church which grieve the spirit of God. They are lax where order and principle are involved, because it is not pleasant to reprove and correct wrongs. They are themselves carried along with the current, and become RESPONSIBLE for a fearful neglect of faithfulness.” (ST 05-27-80; pr:04)

“...if the sins of the people are passed over by those in responsible positions, His frown will be upon them, and the people of God, as a body, will be held RESPONSIBLE for those sins.” (3T:265)

“Brethren and sisters in the faith, does the question arise in your hearts, "Am I my brother's keeper?" If you claim to be children of God, you are your brother's keeper. The Lord holds the CHURCH RESPONSIBLE for the souls of those whom they might be the means of saving.” (ChS:13)

All who deny corporate responsibility contradict God Almighty who told us we are our brother’s keeper.

“We repeat, God holds the CHURCH RESPONSIBLE for the sins of its individual members. When coldness and spiritual declension exist, God's people should put away their pride and self-confidence and self-exaltation, and should come to the Lord in sorrow and humility, not charging him with injustice, but seeking wisdom to understand the hidden sins which shut out his presence.” (ST 04-21-81; pr:24)

God's Displeasure at Sin Among His People:

God's displeasure is upon His people, and He will not manifest His power in the midst of them while sins exist among them and are fostered by those in RESPONSIBLE positions. (3T:270)

“The sin of Eli was in passing lightly over the iniquity of his sons, who were occupying sacred offices. The neglect of the father to reprove and restrain his sons brought upon Israel a fearful calamity. The sons of Eli were slain, Eli himself lost his life, the ark of God was taken from Israel, and thirty thousand of the people were slain. All this was because sin was lightly regarded and allowed to remain among them. What a lesson is this to men holding RESPONSIBLE positions in the church of God! It adjures them faithfully to remove the wrongs that dishonor the cause of truth.” (4T:166)

“The leaven of unbelief is working, and unless these evils which bring the displeasure of God are corrected in its members, the whole CHURCH stands ACCOUNTABLE for them.” (RH 12-23-90; pr:10)

“Cleanse the camp of this moral corruption, if it takes the highest men in the highest positions. God will not be trifled with. Fornication is in our ranks. I know it, for it has been shown me to be strengthening and extending its pollutions. There is much we will never know, but that which is revealed makes the CHURCH RESPONSIBLE and guilty unless they show a determined effort to eradicate the evil. Cleanse the camp, for there is an accursed thing in it.” (TSB:237)

“We must as a people arouse and cleanse the camp of Israel. Licentiousness, unlawful intimacy, and unholy practices are coming in among us in a large degree; and ministers who are handling sacred things are guilty of sin in this respect. They are coveting their neighbors' wives, and the seventh commandment is broken. We are in danger of becoming a sister to fallen Babylon, of allowing our churches to become corrupted, and filled with every foul spirit, a cage for every unclean and hateful bird; and will we be clear unless we make decided movements to cure the existing evil?” (TSB:188)

Becoming Partakers of Others' Sin/Evil Deeds:

“The wheat is not to sow itself among the tares; for although we may not practice the works of some of the members of the secret orders, in joining them we are registered in heaven as partakers of their evil deeds, RESPONSIBLE for their works of evil, and bound up in bundles with them as tares. Thank God, it is not too late for Christians to sever themselves from all unholy connections, and come fully unto the side of Christ.” (RH 01-10-93; pr:16)

"The people of God are not to vote [for men in political parties] to place such men in office; for when they do this, they are PARTAKERS WITH THEM OF THE SINS which they commit while in office." (GW:391)

“The names of those who sin and refuse to repent should not be retained on the CHURCH books, lest the saints be held ACCOUNTABLE for their evil deeds.” (5BC:1096)

Thus, if Dwight K. Nelson won’t repent of instructing God’s people to regard allah as God, the saints will be held accountable as long as they remain MEMBERS of the apostate new movement masquerading as the Seventh-day Adventist church.

“What a lesson have we here for parents and guardians of youth, and for those who minister in the service of God. When existing evils are not met and checked, because men have too little courage to reprove wrong, or because they have too little interest or are too indolent to tax their own powers in putting forth earnest efforts to purify the family or the church of God, they are ACCOUNTABLE for the evil which may result in consequence of neglect to do their duty. We are just as ACCOUNTABLE for evils that we might have checked in others, by reproof, by warning, by exercise of parental or pastoral authority, as if we were guilty of the acts ourselves.” (4T:516)

“If God abhors one sin above another, of which His people are guilty, it is doing nothing in case of an emergency. Indifference and neutrality in a religious crisis is regarded of God as a grievous crime and equal to the very worst type of hostility against God.” (3T:281)

The story of Achan is a classic example of corporate responsibility. Joshuah chapters 6 & 7.

The story of the Jews in Jeremiah 11:9-15, wherein Jeremiah is instructed not to pray for His PEOPLE, is an example of corporate responsibility.

The words “His people” is a corporate indictment.

This is not an exhaustive list. If you watch in your studies to see wherein God’s speaks of His people as a whole; as a body; such as His church, etc. you will note many more examples of corporate responsibility.