Commentary on "Expounding the Faith"

RICHARD PEIFER

 

Day 1: Sabbath Afternoon, July 31, 2010 - Introduction

 

Overview

“The student will –

• Know: Comprehend that although all Adam’s children have sinned, we all may become children of Christ and part of the royal family when we accept what He has done to save the world.
• Feel: Rejoice in the peace that we have despite our trials, because of the hope and love poured out through the Spirit.
• Do: Accept the free gift of grace that Christ offers in order to live the life of one justified before God.”
  (From the "Teacher’s Comments" section, Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide; July, Aug, Sept, 2010,Page 67.)

 

Observations

This lesson does a good job of explaining the Seventh-day Adventist beliefs regarding salvation. Here is a summary taken from the lesson:

• Salvation equal forgiveness/justification – “Because Paul and other New Testament writers used a variety of metaphors to explain the concept of salvation, it is not unthinkable that in our day he might have used a familial model. If so, we rightfully may render the ‘you have already been legally exonerated’ message of Romans [5:1] as ‘you have already been accepted as part of God’s family.’ ” (Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide; July, Aug, Sept, 2010, Page 71)
• A person can lose this salvation/justification/forgiveness: “As the blood on the doorposts of the Israelites in Egypt on the eve of their departure protected the firstborn from the wrath that befell Egypt’s firstborn, so the blood of Jesus Christ guarantees that one who has been justified and retains that status will be protected when God’s wrath finally destroys sin at the end of the age.” (Ibid, Page 68, emphasis added)
• A person maintains salvation/justification/forgiveness by keeping the law: “The perfect life that Jesus lived on this earth, His perfect law-keeping, has been credited to us.” (Ibid, Page 66) “Accept the free gift of grace that Christ offers in order to live the life of one justified before God.” (Ibid, Page 67)
• Eternal life is something a person receives at the end, after the judgment: “Death is an enemy, the ultimate one. When God created the human family, He designed that its members should live forever. With few exceptions humans do not want to die, and those who do, do so only after the greatest personal anguish and suffering. Death goes against our most basic nature. And that’s because, from inception, we were created to live forever. Death was to be unknown to us.” (Ibid, Page 70)

However, this is not salvation. Salvation is eternal life now, today, from this moment forward; received because of the indwelling Holy Spirit and made possible by the reconciliation Jesus provided at the cross.

Romans 5 is the turning point in Paul’s argument. The first four chapters of his letter deal with the sin problem and Jesus’ victory over it, proving that all (Jew and Gentile alike) have sinned and have been justified by God’s grace in Jesus (See Romans 3:23-24). Chapters 4-8 deal with the problem of death (the result of sin) and Jesus’ victory over it. The initial clarion call of this victory is Romans 5:10 (NASB) – “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

Reconciliation does not equal salvation, although it is a necessary part of salvation. Being raised to eternal life is salvation. This life is given to us now in the Holy Spirit who is the deposit guaranteeing our eventual physical transformation when our flesh with its indwelling sin is destroyed and we receive our new spiritual bodies (see 1 Corinthians 15).

Adventists look at Romans 5 behaviorally. Paul had so much more in mind.

 

Summary

1. The lesson asserts that because we are forgiven we are members of God’s family.
2. This is not true. God reconciled the whole world unto Himself (2 Corinthians 5:19), but clearly the whole world is not part of God’s family.
3. Something more than reconciliation is needed. That something is life. Near the end of his argument regarding eternal life and its consequences he states very clearly that anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ (the indwelling Holy Spirit) does not belong to Christ (Romans 8:9).
4. Therefore, membership in God’s family is dependent upon the indwelling Holy Spirit and not forgiveness.

 

GO TO DAY 2

 

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