The Bible pictures our world as being under the dominion of evil forces seeking to control and to ultimately destroy us. The great controversy is, of course, the result of the Lord’s work against these powers. The great news is that, after the Cross, victory against them is assured, even though the battle continues to … Continue reading –>
When we understand redemption as freedom from a form of enslavement that required external assistance, we may conclude that sinful humanity is bound by a power or influence stronger than itself. The question that needs to be answered is, by what power or agency has sinful humanity been so bound? Study Romans 6:12-23. Notice that in … Continue reading –>
Christianity is a religion of redemption, in which people are saved from the devastation of sin through what someone else − in this case, Jesus − has done for them. Thus, the Christian religion may be distinguished from a religion of law, where one may rectify his or her doom by one’s own efforts at … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Isa. 35:10, Mark 10:45, Rom. 6:12-23, Eph. 6:12, Col. 1:16, Gal. 4:1-11, Col. 2:15. Memory Text: Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it (Colossians 2:15, NKJV). Key Thought: Christ’s victory on the cross defines the scope of the victory into which the Christian may grow. The amendment to the church’s … Continue reading –>
Read Ellen G. White, “‘God With Us,’” pp. 19-29, in The Desire of Ages; Ivan T. Blazen, “Salvation,” pp. 271-313, in Raoul Dederen (ed.), Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology. “The plan for our redemption was not an afterthought, a plan formulated after the fall of Adam. It was a revelation of ‘the mystery which hath been kept in … Continue reading –>
The experience of justification places within the life of the believer spiritual realities that initiate change in the person’s life. In justification, the sinner is forgiven (Luke 7:47, Eph. 1:7, Rom. 4:7), acquitted of the charges of sin and reckoned righteous (Rom. 5:16, 18; Rom. 8:1), and given the gift of a new life (Eph. 2:1-5, 2 Cor. 5:17). The foundation of this … Continue reading –>
The sinner is justified and reconciled on the objective basis of Christ’s atoning sacrifice for all (Rom. 5:6-10). The provision that God has made for the justification and reconciliation of humankind to Himself through the death of Christ needs, however, to be brought into the experience of the believer. It is not enough to just … Continue reading –>
Throughout salvation history, starting with the first gospel promise (Gen. 3:15), through the early sacrificial system (Gen. 4:4), the covenant with Abram (Gen. 12:1-3), and then the Israelite sanctuary service (Exod. 25:8)-everything was to point to, and climax in, the life, death, resurrection, and heavenly ministry of Jesus Christ, God’s ultimate provision to solve the sin problem. The … Continue reading –>
The effects of sin did not wait for a “grace-period.” The results of sin were immediate and needed immediate attention. It was necessary, therefore, for some kind of provision to be in place when sin manifested itself. Ellen White expressed it so clearly: “As soon as there was sin, there was a Saviour. Christ knew … Continue reading –>
Because salvation is God’s solution to the problem created by sin, the extent of sin’s damage determines the scope of the solution. It wouldn’t be a solution were it unable to solve the problem, no matter what the size of the problem. What do the following texts reveal about the scope of the sin problem? How … Continue reading –>
