Chapter 17

David Lin

THE first words Satan addressed to Eve fed her ego and caused her to distrust her Creator. These two natural maladies of the soul--selfishness and alienation from God--have brought moral ruin and spiritual death to all mankind. Christ came to undo the work of Satan. A strange and miraculous change occurs in every soul who gazes on the Lamb that was slain for us, putting in us an enmity against sin and a yearning for God. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groanings which cannot be uttered--this is the restoration of intercommunication, confidence and cooperation between man and his Maker, which will heal our snake-bitten souls. Thus by God's help, man gradually regains his first dominion over himself, and after that, over all nature.

The Bible calls this change a process of reconciliation with God. Satan first alienated man from God by sowing seeds of distrust, making him think that God was selfish and did not love him, but was withholding something good from him. Christ came to demonstrate that God loves us so much that He does not withhold any good thing from us, not even the best, not even His only begotten Son as a sacrifice for our sins. Every soul who sees this truth begins to know and to love God, and is thereby reconciled to Him.

At the same time, the bleeding Lamb of God reveals to us the exceeding sinfulness of sin. We are prone to think that little sins do not matter. But Calvary tells us that these "little sins," when placed on Christ our Substitute, can cause Him to sweat bloody drops of agony and cry out in despair, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" and finally die of a broken heart. Then we will feel as did Adam, when he first slew a sacrificial lamb and was amazed to see that the "little sin" of eating the forbidden fruit could result in bloodshed, agony, and death.

The natural sciences corroborate these truths regarding the attributes of God: The atom, whose structure is extremely complex, is believed by some scientists to be infinitely divisible, so that all matter can be ultimately resolved into binding energy. At any rate, even our limited knowledge of the microcosmos tells us that the Creator is very particular and meticulous in His doings. On the other hand, our knowledge of the macrocosmos reveals that God is also surprisingly generous and lavish in His giving, because He has exhaustless resources at His command. Read Isaiah 40:26.

This is also the message of Calvary. The bleeding Victim, in whom is concentrated all the riches of God's grace, testifies of God's infinite love, but also that He will by no means clear the guilty. See Exodus 34:7. He will not condone sin, even if it is found on His Most Beloved, Christ. Because Jesus is willing to bear our sins, then He must satisfy the demands of God's law by paying the penalty. Christ's prayer, "O My Father, if it be possible let this cup pass from Me. . . ." demonstrates to all creation that though God has a thousand ways of accomplishing His purposes of which we know nothing, yet on this particular issue it was not possible to "let this cup pass," unless He chose to abandon our sinful race to perdition. But that would be a denial of God's love and a diminishing of His glory. The only course open to Christ was to drain that cup of woe. These grim realities are to impress upon our minds the sinfulness of sin and the sure results of continuing in transgression. Since it was not possible for our Sin-bearer, Jesus Christ the Son of God, to escape its penalty, what possible hope is there for the sinner who must bear his own guilt because he chooses to live on in sin?

That first act of disobedience--trifling though it seemed--was essentially a manifestation of defiance of God's authority. The fact that God took immediate action indicates the seriousness of the situation. Adam and Eve were called to account for their sin.

Our accountability to God arises from the fact that we are His creatures and enjoy freedom of independent action. This freedom has not in any way been withdrawn after the entrance of sin, because God's purpose now is to teach us through Christ the proper and effective exercise of our freedom: how we can intelligently and resolutely say "Yes" to God and "No" to the devil. That is, the endowment of the ability to rule must first be trained to control our own passions and propensities. God said to Cain, "If you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; It desires to have you, but you must master it." Genesis 4:7, NIV. "Master" is the key word. Either we master sin, or it masters us. That is what Christ meant when He said, "The truth shall make you free." Knowledge of the truth leads to mastery of self, which means freedom from sin through connection with Christ. And the truth that makes us free is in the Word of God, which tells us what the issue is all about and how we can gain the mastery.

Some deny the possibility of man ever gaining the mastery over sin. They say, "Only Christ lived a sinless life, so His perfection must be reckoned as ours, but it can never become a living reality in us," implying that we will never gain the mastery and never be free, thus belying Christ's words, "The truth shall make you free." In fact,

such a doctrine belies all the truths connected with the judgment. For if it is impossible to gain the mastery, then God has no right to call us to account or to punish any man for disobedience. For sinners would be able to challenge Him with the words, "It is impossible to keep Your law--Your demands are unreasonable." God declares that He is ready to show mercy unto "thousands of them that love Me and keep My commandments," but will also "by no means clear the guilty." The existence of the thousands who keep God's commandments justifies God's punishment of the thousands who do not. For it is they who keep His commandments that prove that they can be kept by human beings restored to a vital connection with God. Therefore those who violate them are without excuse. The Cains in our world hate the Abels, because the obedience of the Abels condemns the disobedience of the Cains.

Ever since Creation it has not been possible for man to keep God's law in his own strength. But when God's original plan is again implemented through Christ, and man's conscious dependence on God is restored through the avenue of prayer, he receives strength to overcome sin through the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart. That is what God meant when He said, "I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them." Hebrews 10:16. This process is also called the new birth--the beginning of "the manifestation of the sons of God"--a company of men and women in close touch with Heaven by means of the angels "ascending and descending on the Son of man." Christ compares this to the relation of the branch with the vine. So long as the branch remains in the vine, it has vitality to bear fruit. But once it is severed, it dries up and becomes a useless twig. It is impossible for man to gain mastery in his own strength, just as it is impossible for a broken twig to bear fruit. That is why Christ teaches us: Abide in me, and I in you. . . . If ye abide in me and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. John 15:4, 7

Here man's union with Christ is realized in the prayer life. The man who abides in Christ prays in His name according to the will of God. It is that simple: When Christ's words abide in us, they mold our thinking, and we learn to pray as He prayed. Our "asking" will then be, "Not my will, but Thine be done." Such a request will certainly "be done unto you." God's answer to a truly Christ-inspired prayer brings the joy of Christ to our hearts. "Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full." Herein is the joy of true mastery--mastery over self with power received from heaven through the Holy Spirit.

This process of assimilation takes place in every soul that is born again. A human being assimilates the thoughts and affections of Jesus Christ, who describes it as eating His flesh and drinking His blood. Peter says that all who do so are "partakers of the divine nature." 2 Peter 1:4. For it is in the realm of thought that man enjoys communion with God. When the Lord says, "My thoughts are not your thoughts," He is appealing to us to rise to His level of thinking by prayerfully studying His Word, which will remold our minds in His likeness. "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void. . . ."

The Bible speaks of the day when men who have regained the mastery over self will be entrusted with greater responsibilities: the Lord will say, "Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities." Luke 19:17. Thus shall we see the realization of the Creator's original plan in making man to exercise authority under His appointment. "Unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion." Micah 4:8

The parable of the talents teaches us that before any of us is given this authority, we shall be called to "render an account" of our stewardship. This stewardship inheres in our freedom of action. Each free moral agent is naturally entrusted by his Creator with "talents," which represent everything we are free to use, such as our time, money, energies, influence, and so on. With the resources God places at our disposal we are free to decide what to do. To that extent we are "rulers" within our little domains. And to that extent God restricts His own freedom to interfere. But the time always comes when He will ask how we have ruled in the domain entrusted to us.

Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. . . . For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. Ecclesiastes 11:9; 12:14

The Last Judgment As it was on Calvary, so will it be in the judgment. God will be very generous and also very particular. He let the repentant thief off at a word, because His Son took over his burden of guilt. But He hid His face from Him who was "made to be sin for us," and who finally died in the agony of being torn from the Father's bosom. All because the Father will by no means clear the guilty. Likewise in the judgment, every soul who sincerely repents will have his sins blotted out in one stroke, but he who clings to his sins will die under the wrath of the same God who suffered His Son to be crucified. There will be no compromise.

On the typical Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) every Jew was required to "afflict his soul." "For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people." Leviticus 23:29. This verse teaches us that every man's destiny is decided by his attitude toward God's plan of redemption. Summing it up in one word, it is "believe." But our belief must have a sound basis. Is there sufficient Bible evidence to support the doctrine that we are now in the true day of atonement and our cases will soon be decided for eternity?

Anciently, on Yom Kippur the Jews could partly see and hear (by the bells on the high-priest's garment) the services going on in the earthly sanctuary. But today we must follow our High Priest by faith. The question we face is, Can we be sure that our faith is well founded? This question requires every sincere Christian to find out the truth for himself by studying the Scriptures. It is too great a risk to take another man's word for it. We need the earnest spirit of the Bereans, who "received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." Acts 17:11

God requires us to live our lives in a spirit of deep earnestness born of the realization that our cases are pending final decision in the heavenly courtroom. Every Christian who senses the reality of this truth cannot abandon himself to frivolity and self-indulgence. "Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation," is Christ's admonition to every one of His followers. We must make sure that our hands are clean and our hearts are pure.

Christ has specified one particular point as an index to the genuineness of our affliction of soul. He said, "If ye forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Matthew 6:14, 15. True faith brings forth "fruits meet for repentance" Matthew 3:8. A truly repentant soul who is grateful for God's forgiveness responds by loving every soul for whom Christ died, even though that soul has grievously wronged him. This love is not "works," but simply an indication that the grace of God has wrought the desired change in his heart. Applying this concept to the judgment, we can imagine that when a case is brought up, the question will be asked, "Has he forgiven his neighbor as God has forgiven him?" If so, his sins will be blotted out. If not, then his sins, though once confessed and forgiven, will be closely examined, remain on his record, and he will pay the penalty in the lake of fire.

O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. Matthew 18:32-34

. This parable, as well as the sanctuary service, teaches that every repentant sinner is forgiven on probation until his case is closed at death (in most cases) or at the close of probation before the Second Advent. It also teaches that God is very particular with His children, looking for the image of His Son to be reproduced in every one He redeems. His forgiving compassion would not only remove our guilt, but would also fill us with compassion. He looks for fruitage from His sacrifice: a host of children reflecting the beauty of His grace. Hence we all must face that searching question, "Shouldest not thou also have had compassion?"

This meaningful word embraces all that is in the mind of God, who says "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. . . . For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." What is the substance of His thoughts and His ways? Compassion! The immediate context says, "He will abundantly pardon."

Some people look with horror on the judgment, but God teaches us how to face judgment without horror. It is written, "He shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment." James 2:13. Do you want to rejoice against judgment? Then learn to show mercy. That is the secret.

We live today in the era of the Most Holy Place. God has revealed to us the present situation in the religious world: God's people have followed Christ into the Most Holy, but others who failed to follow Him remain in the holy place bowed down before an empty throne. This worship corresponds to the theology of the modern Evangelicals. Their emphasis is on free grace--forgiveness without true repentance: "Salvation is yours for the asking." The third angel's message is the true gospel: probationary forgiveness in the holy place and final disposition of sins in the Most Holy.

The message of God's judgment is His call to perfection, for He is very particular. There is earnest warfare before all who would subdue the evil tendencies that strive for the mastery. The work of preparation is an individual work. We are not saved in groups. The purity and devotion of one will not offset the want of these qualities in another. Though all nations are to pass in judgment before God, yet He will examine the case of each individual with as close and searching scrutiny as if there were not another being upon the earth. Everyone must be tested and found without spot or wrinkle or any such thing." The Great Controversy, 490

Again we hear voices crying, "Salvation by works!" Yes, it is salvation by God working "in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Philippians 2:13. It is the work of "Christ in you the hope of glory." Colossians 1:27. This is the true gospel of Jesus Christ. He first died for our sins, then He lives in us to remake us after God's holy image, for He is determined to have a church that is without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. And He will accomplish this purpose in us through the agency of the Holy Spirit leading us into all truth.

But, as from the beginning, this transformation can be accomplished only through our willing and active cooperation. Man must gain the complete mastery by daily receiving the indwelling Christ, who manifests Himself in a life that is in harmony with God's commandments. As the Lord of the Sabbath He comes to dwell with His people, so that they bear this mark of sanctification--the holy Sabbath of the Lord--the only badge recognized by the Creator because He himself instituted it when He made the world.

Because of the flood of new light that has come to us in the third angel's message we, the most-favored people, are also most accountable to God. "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more." Luke 12:48. Then let every Seventh-day Adventist remember that he is not to follow the crowd in pleasure-seeking, self-indulgence, and frivolity. They are in the dark, but you are in the light--light given to be proclaimed to the world. How can you forget your sacred duty and be content to be "one of the crowd?" How will you be able to render an account of your stewardship?

When Jesus said, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free," He was stating a universal axiom. Its corollary would be "You are made free in proportion to the amount of truth you know." It is so with man's experience in harnessing the forces of nature. Before he discovered the laws governing electricity, he had no freedom in its use. But after he gradually mastered them, he was able to harness electricity step by step, until now he can use it freely. Likewise, when we were in the dark about the love and justice of God and the plan of redemption, we were willing slaves of Satan and the sport of his wiles. But now through studying God's Word, we have acquired the knowledge that makes us wise unto salvation. The truth helps us to know God and to master ourselves by restoring our connection with God through earnest prayer. But we must continue to advance. As we approach the closing scenes of Christ's conflict with Satan, God reveals increasing light for His people, and the day will come when "all truth" will be fully revealed, and His people will arrive at the goal of perfect mastery of self and freedom from sin. The spotless Bride of Christ will appear "in the fullness of time" to vindicate His cause and glorify His name. "The ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads." "And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God." Isaiah 35:10; Revelation 14:5. Anything short of this goal will be a failure of God's plan of salvation and incompatible with Christ's perfect sacrifice.

When God reveals "all truth" to His people, there still exists the danger of their failing to receive it and to practice it. Just so the consummation of God's great plan depends also on our attitude toward the truth He reveals. Ezra 9:4 speaks of "every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel."In Isaiah 66:1-2 God says, "The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. . . . all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been . . . but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word." We too should tremble at the words of the God of Israel. Such a serious attitude springs out of a heart that realizes in some measure the awful majesty of Him with whom we have to deal.

The Israelites once trembled when they heard God's voice thundering from Mount Sinai. But their trembling was transitory, because they feared the physical manifestations. The trembling which God values grows out of a heart which believes His written Word, senses His moral greatness, and obeys His every command.

God in His wisdom instituted the Sabbath as a universal test of loyalty. It is based on the authority of His Word alone, for no natural phenomenon marks its sanctity, nor does a man keep the Sabbath instinctively. Moreover, God repeats this test of loyalty every week, like a physician keeping check on his patient's pulse. In the end He permits the devil's agent to enforce the mark of the beast--Satan's test of loyalty--to see how many will tremble at his command. Satan threatens the people of God with immediate economic sanctions, and finally with death. God warns the idolatrous world of future punishment--fire and brimstone. Thus the battle is joined.

For all who tremble at the word of God, He has provided the testimonies of His Spirit to prepare them for the last conflict. These writings expose the wiles of the devil and point out the many pitfalls along our path, encouraging us to look to Christ for strength. That is why Satan is stirring up his agents to discredit them. Every soul who is striving for the mastery must not be deceived. The more the enemy rants and rails against the gift of prophecy, the more conscientiously must we read its admonitions, practice them in fear and trembling, and push the distribution of these writings. For they are the "weapons" which our Commander has issued to His forces: "mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

When the battle is won, and every man stands before the Lord to render an account of his stewardship, may we all hear Him say to us, "Well done!"

David Lin

September 9, 1982

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