Commentary on "Victory Over Sin"

RICHARD PEIFER

 

Day 5: Wednesday, August 11, 2010 - Two Contending Masters

 

Overview

“Servants of sin, servants of righteousness: the contrast is very stark. If, after baptism, we sin, does this mean that we are not truly saved? Read 1 John 1:8–2:1. How do these texts help us understand what it means to be a follower of Christ and yet still subject to falling?” (Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide; July, Aug, Sept, 2010, Page 84, emphasis part of the original quotation)

 

Observations

This is rich. We’ve just spent Sabbath through Tuesday telling people that they can have victory over sin if they but keep the Ten Commandments. Now, at the end of Wednesday’s lesson comes the big oops.

What if someone actually fails? Are they lost?

Let’s ignore the second time baptismal regeneration has been claimed. (You’d think the Adventist church belief system had been infiltrated by some of our Church of Christ brethren.)

Here is 1 John 1:8-2:1.

If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;

First, Ellen White explicitly states that the Holy Spirit will be removed from the earth and that God’s people will need to stand alone, without sin. The entire point of sanctification, “the work of a lifetime,” is the ongoing and steady removal of sin from a person’s life. In short, Adventists believe that they will be without sin. In fact, I know Adventists who claim that they don’t sin today. This claim is possible not because they have actually become sinless but because they water down the Law to the point of absurdity.

This is exactly one of the heresies John was writing about in his first letter. “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.” Therefore, if we claim to be without sin, we are lost. (See 2 John 1-2 for the converse of this.)

Second, 1 John 1:9 is not the “Christian bar of soap.” This statement is intended specifically for those who were claiming to be without sin, and no one else. If they would agree (confess) with God that they indeed were sinners, in fact that they were lost, then God could be counted on to have already forgiven and cleansed them. There is a rather involved argument regarding the construction of the Greek sentence that is too long for this venue, but it doesn’t matter. The context clarifies the situation.

Most people use this verse as their fall-back position. “OK, Lord, I’ll give it the ol’ college try.” (Time passes; usually a pitifully short amount of time.) “Oh, Lord, I looked at that woman with lust in my heart. I’m so sorry. I’ll never do it again. Please forgive me.”

And they believe it is God’s obligation to forgive them. After all, it says if I confess, He will forgive, right? God does not respond to our initiation. If He did, that would make us superior to Him. This is part and parcel of the temptation and sin in Eden.

This is why I believe those who teach that we are under Law, and then use 1 John to cover the inevitable failures, are the true antinomians. They deny everything the Law is supposed to do and reject everything Jesus accomplished on our behalf. They are twice condemned.

 

Summary

1. The entire point of this lesson has been to push perfectionism on Adventist church members. You can be without sin, they claim. Jesus will help you. You can do it.
2. Facing the inevitable failure to perform, they misuse 1 John 1 to try and make the poor sinners feel better.
3. The only way out of the resulting quagmire is to let the Law kill you and, therefore, drive you to Jesus. He is the solution, the complete solution.
4. In Him, that is, in His resurrected life, you have (not earn) forgiveness of sin (Ephesians 1:7).

 

GO TO DAY 6

 

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