Transcript of Lesson 16
Welcome back to our study on The Doctrine of Salvation
How “Righteousness by Faith” Really Works
We are in Section D: What is Biblical Perfection?
And this is Lesson 16: Why is This So Important?
How “Righteousness by Faith” Really Works
We are in Section D: What is Biblical Perfection?
And this is Lesson 16: Why is This So Important?
What has been the point of all these lessons on righteousness by faith? Have we just learned some interesting Bible teachings to put in our memory files? Are we now qualified for a course completion certificate? If that is all we have accomplished, our study has been a waste of time.
There are much bigger issues at stake here. We need to see the big picture, and the part we play in it, in order to understand these universal issues and their eternal implications.
This final lesson will not be like the previous lessons with a question-and-answer format. Instead, you are encouraged to reflect thoughtfully on this lesson’s Bible verses, asking the questions:
Sin is not just about you and your salvation. Your sin dishonors God and supports Satan in his accusations against God – against His character, against His law of love, and against His mercy, justice, and the power to save you from sin.
You do play a critical part in the great struggle between Christ and Satan. Satan has claimed that God's law is unfair: angels should not have to obey it, and beings with fallen natures are not able to obey it.
“Satan declared that it was impossible for the sons and daughters of Adam to keep the law of God, and thus, charged upon God a lack of wisdom and love. If they could not keep the law, then there was fault with the Lawgiver.” (Signs of the Times, Jan. 16, 1896)
The real issue at stake here is the character – truthfulness and trustworthiness – of God. Romans 3:4 tells us: “Let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.”
These and other questions need final answers before the horrible detour of sin can come to an end. How can God be vindicated when His people are proving Satan right most of the time? This is why the sins of believers are far more serious than the sins of unbelievers.
The sins of Christians seem to say that God's law and His power are no match for the deceptions of Satan. Unless the divine-human connection shows that God's grace has more power than Satan, what is the point of it all?
God's plan of salvation, involving both justification and sanctification, are His way of revealing His power to transform and restore, not just to forgive and overlook. God's final generation will have a role to play in the vindication of His character and the credibility of His word.
God promises in Ezekiel 36:23 “And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.”
We and many generations before us have dishonored God's name and His law of love by our continued sinning. Before the conflict can end, there must be a resolution of this problem.
God must be sanctified – vindicated – in us, as undeniable evidence in order to convince and silence those who scoff at the God of heaven. Thus, the development of a perfect character by God's people is crucially important in the final resolution of the great controversy between Christ and Satan. This is the real reason for stressing the concept of perfection in God's people in the last days.
God claims that total obedience is possible. Satan claims that a sinful nature makes obedience impossible. Who is telling the truth? Only God's final generation can prove that Satan is a liar.
“If there ever was a people in need of constantly increasing light from heaven, it is the people that, in this time of peril, God has called to be the depositaries of His holy law and to vindicate His character before the world.” (Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 746)
The stakes are great, but the truth is that God will vindicate His name and authority by providing His people with His divine power to obey His law perfectly. God is trustworthy. God will not fail.
This final generation is described in a very special way. Revelation 12:17 explains: “And the dragon (Satan) was wroth with the woman (God’s Church), and went to make war with the remnant of her seed (the final generation), which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
The reason Satan is so angry with the final remnant is precisely because they keep God's commandments, which Satan claims is impossible. It is over the issue of obedience (loyalty) that the final battle will be waged.
The primary reason for a short period between the close of probation and Christ's second coming, during which time there is no Mediator for the forgiveness of sins, is to demonstrate before the watching Universe the reality of God's complete power over sin in the lives of those whose wills are totally and forever united to His will.
Some of the very people who formerly betrayed their sacred trust by agreeing with Satan that it is impossible to obey God's law will ultimately testify by their own lives that there really is no excuse for sin, and that God does have more power than Satan's temptations.
The final generation after the close of probation will play an important part in God’s final demonstration before His Universe that, indeed, it is possible for fallen human beings to obey God's law, which is righteous and good and holy.
What is perfection?
When we are more concerned about God’s vindication in the great controversy than about our own salvation, then we have the purest motivation to live a holy life, and God will honor that motive by placing all the power of heaven in our hands. No longer will we have occasional forays into the land of self-indulgence.
To silence the last lingering question that perhaps Jesus was sinless because He was the divine Son of God, the final generation will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that men and women with fallen natures can live without sinning.
This final demonstration will be the last step in the vindication of God's character, His government, His justice, and His mercy – and the great controversy will be very near its conclusion.
“Christ took humanity and bore the hatred of the world that He might show men and women that they could live without sin.” (The Upward Look, p. 303)
The Apostle Paul makes a beautiful appeal in Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.”
In Colossians 1:27-28, Paul says under divine inspiration: “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”
And lastly in Philippians 3:13-15, Paul explains his efforts, and calls all of us to strive for perfection in Christ: “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as [would] be perfect, be thus minded.”
There are much bigger issues at stake here. We need to see the big picture, and the part we play in it, in order to understand these universal issues and their eternal implications.
This final lesson will not be like the previous lessons with a question-and-answer format. Instead, you are encouraged to reflect thoughtfully on this lesson’s Bible verses, asking the questions:
- How does this apply to my daily life?
- What is the real purpose for my existence?
- Does God have a role for me to play in the last days of earth's sinful history?
- Will God's plan be delayed if I fail to carry out God's plan for me?
Sin is not just about you and your salvation. Your sin dishonors God and supports Satan in his accusations against God – against His character, against His law of love, and against His mercy, justice, and the power to save you from sin.
You do play a critical part in the great struggle between Christ and Satan. Satan has claimed that God's law is unfair: angels should not have to obey it, and beings with fallen natures are not able to obey it.
“Satan declared that it was impossible for the sons and daughters of Adam to keep the law of God, and thus, charged upon God a lack of wisdom and love. If they could not keep the law, then there was fault with the Lawgiver.” (Signs of the Times, Jan. 16, 1896)
The real issue at stake here is the character – truthfulness and trustworthiness – of God. Romans 3:4 tells us: “Let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.”
- Will God's way of handling the problem of sin save our fallen race and vindicate God’s character?
- Or, will Satan's accusations prove to be accurate and over-throw God’s throne?
- Will the Universe be safe for the rest of eternity with God's holy government?
- Is God an arbitrary dictator with more power than the rest of us?
- Or, is He the loving God portrayed in the Bible?
These and other questions need final answers before the horrible detour of sin can come to an end. How can God be vindicated when His people are proving Satan right most of the time? This is why the sins of believers are far more serious than the sins of unbelievers.
The sins of Christians seem to say that God's law and His power are no match for the deceptions of Satan. Unless the divine-human connection shows that God's grace has more power than Satan, what is the point of it all?
God's plan of salvation, involving both justification and sanctification, are His way of revealing His power to transform and restore, not just to forgive and overlook. God's final generation will have a role to play in the vindication of His character and the credibility of His word.
God promises in Ezekiel 36:23 “And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.”
We and many generations before us have dishonored God's name and His law of love by our continued sinning. Before the conflict can end, there must be a resolution of this problem.
God must be sanctified – vindicated – in us, as undeniable evidence in order to convince and silence those who scoff at the God of heaven. Thus, the development of a perfect character by God's people is crucially important in the final resolution of the great controversy between Christ and Satan. This is the real reason for stressing the concept of perfection in God's people in the last days.
God claims that total obedience is possible. Satan claims that a sinful nature makes obedience impossible. Who is telling the truth? Only God's final generation can prove that Satan is a liar.
“If there ever was a people in need of constantly increasing light from heaven, it is the people that, in this time of peril, God has called to be the depositaries of His holy law and to vindicate His character before the world.” (Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 746)
The stakes are great, but the truth is that God will vindicate His name and authority by providing His people with His divine power to obey His law perfectly. God is trustworthy. God will not fail.
This final generation is described in a very special way. Revelation 12:17 explains: “And the dragon (Satan) was wroth with the woman (God’s Church), and went to make war with the remnant of her seed (the final generation), which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
The reason Satan is so angry with the final remnant is precisely because they keep God's commandments, which Satan claims is impossible. It is over the issue of obedience (loyalty) that the final battle will be waged.
The primary reason for a short period between the close of probation and Christ's second coming, during which time there is no Mediator for the forgiveness of sins, is to demonstrate before the watching Universe the reality of God's complete power over sin in the lives of those whose wills are totally and forever united to His will.
Some of the very people who formerly betrayed their sacred trust by agreeing with Satan that it is impossible to obey God's law will ultimately testify by their own lives that there really is no excuse for sin, and that God does have more power than Satan's temptations.
The final generation after the close of probation will play an important part in God’s final demonstration before His Universe that, indeed, it is possible for fallen human beings to obey God's law, which is righteous and good and holy.
What is perfection?
- Perfection means being in so close a relationship with Christ that the individual ceases to respond to external or internal promptings to sin.
- Perfection means entire cooperation with Christ.
- Perfection means continuous death to self and a denial of one's own inclinations and self-will.
- Perfection is total rejection of egotism and pride.
- Perfection is a merger of man's will with Christ’s will so that His Holy Spirit is in full and permanent control.
- Perfection is an unbroken exercise of faith which keeps the soul pure from every stain of sin or disloyalty to God.
- Perfection is Christlikeness, combining a relationship with God like Jesus had, with the qualities of character which He revealed.
- Perfection means no longer yielding to rebellious, sinful desires.
- Perfection is living a mature life in the Spirit, full of the fruits of the Spirit, and thus without sin.
When we are more concerned about God’s vindication in the great controversy than about our own salvation, then we have the purest motivation to live a holy life, and God will honor that motive by placing all the power of heaven in our hands. No longer will we have occasional forays into the land of self-indulgence.
To silence the last lingering question that perhaps Jesus was sinless because He was the divine Son of God, the final generation will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that men and women with fallen natures can live without sinning.
This final demonstration will be the last step in the vindication of God's character, His government, His justice, and His mercy – and the great controversy will be very near its conclusion.
“Christ took humanity and bore the hatred of the world that He might show men and women that they could live without sin.” (The Upward Look, p. 303)
- Do you believe God's promises?
- Can you accept this challenge?
- Do you see this as the most glorious privilege ever set before God's people?
The Apostle Paul makes a beautiful appeal in Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.”
In Colossians 1:27-28, Paul says under divine inspiration: “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”
And lastly in Philippians 3:13-15, Paul explains his efforts, and calls all of us to strive for perfection in Christ: “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as [would] be perfect, be thus minded.”
May God bless your continued study of His Word as you reach out for the prize
of your high calling in Christ Jesus, the Son of God, our Lord and Saviour.
of your high calling in Christ Jesus, the Son of God, our Lord and Saviour.
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