Commentary on "Victory Over Sin"

MARTIN L. CAREY

 

Day 7: Friday, August 20, 2010 - Further Study

 

Overview

Friday’s lesson gives selected Ellen White quotes for study, and asks 4 questions for discussion. Today, I would like to respond to this quote from Mrs. White:

“There is no safety or repose nor justification in transgression of the law. Man cannot hope to stand innocent before God, and at peace with Him through the merits of Christ, while he continues in sin.” I Selected Messages p. 213.

 

Observations

In responding to this quote, let us consider this great statement about peace with God:

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6

The Gospel leaves no place for anyone to boast. While we were weak, ungodly (“irreverent”), and sinners, Christ died for us. By nature, we are “insolent, arrogant, boastful.” God’s answer to our cherished pride was to store up wrath and unleash it in full fury on Jesus Christ 2000 years ago. His righteousness was demonstrated, His wrath propitiated, the ransom paid by Jesus’ blood. And we had no part in any of those actions, for it was all accomplished outside of us in the life and death of Christ.

God declares us as righteous solely by what Christ did for us then, and not because of any good thought or deed in our lives. We are “are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:24

“By grace as a gift” means we did not earn it or have any part in its accomplishment. That is not very flattering to our pride. It becomes even more insulting to know that we can lay hold of this immense generosity of God by that humbling little thing called “faith.”

Paul asks in 3:27,

“What becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith.”

So the necessity of faith removes the possibility of boasting through any works of the law. So obedience has absolutely no part in your justification before God, for we are justified “apart from works of the law.” Paul uses the word “works” because he is showing us how we use the law to put God in debt to us—working for wages. That is excluded by faith. If we had one millionth of one percent of our justification owed by works, then we would focus on that part and give ourselves glory. We would boast.

Now back to the Ellen White quote from Selected Messages. She stated that there is no safety or justification in transgression of the law. Mrs. White believed that justification was something that God gives us many times throughout our lifetimes, as often as we confess and truly repent. It is something we can lose when we sin, but it is not clear how many sins, or for how long, before we cause God to take justification from us.

The shocking reality we find in Romans is that justification comes from God, through faith alone, without any law keeping whatsoever. It is based on Christ’s merits alone already accomplished. We also know from Romans 8:30 that whom God justified, He also glorified—notice the past tenses. Justification and glorification are already accomplished facts for the one with faith, so that they cannot be snatched away. Justification is a one-time act of God for the believer, who is then sealed with the Holy Spirit. That is why Romans 5:1 and 2 can say,

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

We have peace because we have obtained access, standing, and hope, all by faith. If you have laid hold of Christ’s sacrifice for your sins by faith alone, your access is already obtained. You can rejoice with real hope. Knowing that, we will walk in the Spirit and love one another, thereby fulfilling the entire law.

 

 

Copyright 2010 BibleStudiesForAdventists.com. All rights reserved. Revised August 19, 2010. 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 8

Teacher's Edition Study Guide Week 8

Easy Reading Edition Study Guide Wk 8

Search the Complete Published Ellen G. White Writings