Commentary on "The Fruit of the Spirit is Patience"

CAROLYN MACOMBER

 

Day 2: Sunday, January 24, 2010

 

Overview

Memory Text: "And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, 'The Lord, the Lord God, Merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth." (Exodus 34:6; NKJV)

O'fill cites the story of Jonah and Nineveh as an example of God's patience with mankind. Nineveh repented and God did not destroy her. Jonah 4:2 is quoted. The author leaves out the fact that Nineveh was destroyed in later years (Nahum 2).

God is portrayed as seemingly gracious and kind to wait for the "most hardened sinners to give them the maximum time and advantage to turn their lives around." The author further portrays God's patience by writing, "If God struck out at people as quickly as humans frequently do, we'd all be dead."

The author emphasizes that the way a Christian thinks of God "has a lot to do with his or her worldview and how we treat others."

A challenge is presented with the following question, "How can we learn to do what the Lord calls us to do in Romans 15:5?" This alludes that we should develop patience to promote unity in the body of Christ.

 

Observations

The author of this lesson is very astute when he/she writes, "the way a Christian thinks of God has a lot to do with his or her worldview and how we treat others."

The author comes from an Adventist worldview not a Christian/Evangelical worldview. The Adventist worldview does not recognize original sin and paints the picture of a God devoid of wrath. A God Who waits for sinners to "turn their lives around". This idea promotes a works oriented salvation as evidenced by the author's statement that God is patient with the most hardened sinner and gives them time to "turn their lives around."

The author writes that if God "struck out at people as quickly as humans frequently do, we'd all be dead." This negates the clear teaching of scripture that we are already spiritually dead and born objects of God's wrath.

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind." (Eph. 2:1-3; ESV)

Scripture further exemplifies our "deadness" to God and our inability to change ourselves.

"What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understand; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." (Rom. 3:9-12; ESV)

The embryo developing in its mother's womb is under God's wrath, because of Adam's sin. (Rom. 5:12) This is the Christian/evangelical worldview, but not the Adventist worldview. The Adventist worldview is that we are born with a sinful nature that can be overcome through the help of the Holy Spirit. This is Biblically wrong.

We are born spiritually dead (physically alive, but spiritually dead to God), and dead people can't change themselves—their dead. Spiritually dead people can't even "seek" after God.

The Adventist worldview pictures God as kind and loving, waiting for humankind to "turn their lives around". Turning our lives around is impossible, because spiritually dead people can't move toward God.

The Christian/evangelical view is that God is a Holy Sovereign Being Who's wrath demands the death of sinners. God's amazing grace manifests Itself for us by rescuing us while we are yet sinners. Paying a debt we could never pay (Rom. 5:8).

It is Biblically incorrect to think that God is patiently waiting for us—waiting until we get-it-together. Rather, it is God's amazing grace that saves us even when we are objects of His wrath. God supplies us with the life-support of faith to believe. At some point we are given the decision to humble ourselves before God and believe in Christ alone for salvation.We can choose to believe in Christ alone for salvation or our ability to "turn our lives around" which would end in destruction.

The lesson's quarterlies author uses proof-texting to prove a predetermined theme, once again. He takes scripture out of context by asking if God is patient with sinners and then pointing the reader to 2 Pet. 3:8-9. 2 Peter 3:8-9 is often seen through the lens of Ellen White. According to her writings Christ has not returned the second time, because He is patiently waiting for the saints to be perfected. This viewpoint puts mankind in the driver's seat of what God decides—basically minimizing God and dictating when He will act. An evangelical would consider such thinking heresy.

In the context of 2 Peter 3, Peter is urging people to make a decision for Christ, because Christ will come as a thief in the night (2 Peter 3:10). In other words the Biblical theme of 2 Peter 3 is God is patient, BUT will return like a thief in the night to judge the earth.

A person shouldn't stop reading at vs. 9 as many Adventists will. Verse 10 is intricately connected with verses 8-9.

"(8) But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. (9) The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (10) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare." (2 Peter 3:8-10; NIV)

Look closely to 2 Peter 3:10. At Christ's second coming the heavens will disappear! The ESV says heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved. God is going to make everything new—including the heavens according to scripture (Rev. 21:1). The God of scripture is mighty, holy, and awesome. The god of Adventism is quite the opposite. The god of Adventism is on trial before a watching universe, and dependant on mankind's responses before He will return.

The author of this lesson is correct. How we see God determines our worldview. How do you see God? Is He seen through the eyes of Ellen White and Adventism or through scripture, His inerrant Word?

 

Summary

1. Adventists do not acknowledge original sin and the depravity of mankind.
2. Mankind is born spiritually dead to God (Rom. 3).
3. God is NOT patiently waiting for us to "turn our lives around", but, rather, He graciously supplies us with the faith to believe in Jesus. Salvation is belief in Christ alone. (Eph. 2:1-11)
4. 2 Peter 3 emphasizes our need to decide to believe in Christ alone for our salvation, because Christ will return as a thief in the night.

 

GO TO DAY 3

 

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