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Commentary on "Sin"
Day 6: Thursday, May 7, 2009
Today's study is titled “The Only Solution for the Sin Problem. It is the one bright point in this week's lessons from the Sabbath School Quarterly, that is, until Ellen White is quoted.
The primary issue with today's study is found in the quotes from Ellen G. White. She states in Lift Him Up, page 24: “The divine Son of God was the only sacrifice of sufficient value to fully satisfy the claims of God’s perfect law.”
God did not require a sacrifice of “sufficient value to fully satisfy the claims of [His] perfect law.” The law required the blood of bulls and goats. Hebrews 10:8 makes this clear: “First he said, 'Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them' (although the law required them to be made).”
Jesus' sacrifice was not merely sufficient to satisfy the claims of the law. Had this been the case, we would, to quote Paul, “of all men, be most miserable.” As is stated in 1 Corinthians 15:19, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” (NIV)
Jesus did much more than just satisfy the claims of the law. He entered heaven itself and sat down at the right hand of the Almighty (Heb. 10:12.) He provided “eternal redemption” (Heb. 9:12) for us and opened up a new a living way into the presence of our Father in heaven (Heb. 10:20.)
The next quote contains a troubling statement regarding Jesus. “He had power through His own divine perfection of character to atone for man’s sin, and to elevate him, and bring him back to his first estate.”
Jesus' ability to atone for man's sin was and is based on the fact that He is a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. He can atone for us based on the power of his indestructible life. Heb. 7:15-16 says:
15 And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, 16 one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life.
Although EGWs statement comes close to the Hebrews chapter 3, there is an implicit SDA interpretation that Jesus did not know whether he would see the other side of the tomb, or even be able to endure the suffering that was about to come upon Him.
From Desire of Ages, chapter 74, we read:
As Christ felt His unity with the Father broken up, He feared that in His human nature He would be unable to endure the coming conflict with the powers of darkness.
Jesus was never in doubt about His ability to endure the cross. He knew from early on that it was within His power to lay down His life and to take it up again. Although Jesus asked the Father to take “this cup” from Him, that in no way implies that He thought He could not endure the suffering. It is simply an indication that He saw the overwhelming immensity of the suffering that He was to endure, not that He might not endure it.
Jesus' death on the cross is most definitely the “only solution for the sin problem.” And it was on the cross that the “sin problem” was dealt with once and for all.
Summary
- Jesus is the only solution for the sin problem.
- The quotes from Ellen White are problematic. It is not the claims of the law that must be satisfied—it is the claims of God Himself that must be satisfied.
- Jesus had power due to His indestructible life (Heb. 7:16,) not because He satisfied the requirements of the law. It is because He has an indestructible life that He was able to fulfill the requirement of the law.
Copyright 2008 BibleStudiesForAdventists.com. All rights reserved. Revised May 1, 2009. This website is published by Life Assurance Ministries, Glendale, Arizona, USA, the publisher of Proclamation! Magazine. Contact email: BibleStudiesForAdventists@gmail.com.
The Sabbath School Bible Study Guide and the corresponding E.G. White Notes are published by Pacific Press Publishing Association, which is owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist church. The current quarter's editions are pictured above.
Official Adventist Resources
Standard Edition Study Guide Week 6
Teacher's Edition Study Guide Week 6
Easy Reading Edition Study Guide Week 6
Search the Complete Published Ellen G. White Writings
