Sabbath: Redemption
Read for This Week’s Study: Rev. 20:1-3, Jer. 4:23-26, 1 Cor. 4:5, Rev. 20:7-15, Phil. 2:9-11, 2 Pet. 3:10.
Memory Text: “‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away'”(Revelation 21:4, NKJV).
Image © Lars Justinen Goodsalt.com
People often ask why did evil arise in the first place? Central to the answer is freedom. True freedom, true moral freedom, involves risk, because if persons (or beings) are truly free, then they must have the option to do wrong.
Fair enough, but the next question arises: Why then didn’t God just blot them out when they did wrong and spare the rest of us the horrible results of rebellion?
The answer gets to the heart of the great controversy. As we will see this week, the Lord runs a kind of “open” government, and though much about Him and His ways are mysterious, He will resolve the great controversy in a way that will forever end all questions about His self-denial, goodness, justice, love, and law.
Indeed, we will be given a thousand years to get answers, at least answers regarding the fate of the lost (we’ll have an eternity for the rest). After the Second Coming, the redeemed will live and reign with Christ for a thousand years. And, even more incredible, they will have an active role in judgment. Let’s look at the final steps in the long-playing drama of the great controversy.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, March 26.
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This earth is the place of preparation for heaven. The time spent here is the Christians winter. Here chilly winds of affliction blow upon us, and the waves of trouble rill against us. But in the near future, when Christ comes,sorrow and sighing will be forver ended. Then will be the Christians summer.all trials will be over,and there will be no more sickness or death Rev 21:4MS 28,1886) .my brothers and sisters let no our minds linger over questions that will lead us into sin. Our Heavenly father is a God that is just and righteous and full of Love. Who wants us to freely give our hearts to him and walk in his path.
It looks from the very beginning that we are suffering under someone's choices, and the question turns out to be why God didn't give us a clean plate to start from, just like He gave Adam and Eve before they chose to disobey
To me it sounds like God starts us from an evil world, the world of the known and then gives us a choice to chose good. You might say it is unfair, but we should not question God's ways. God is capable of using us in our own little world, no matter what the circumstances
Why didn't God abolish sin in its beginning by punishing those that first sinned so that we should not face the consequence of sin?
I believe that God didn't kill Adam and Even when they sinned for the same reason that God doesn't kill you and me when we sin.
They were "punished," of course. They lost their beautiful garden home, and they became subject to death. However, it was not an arbitrary "punishment." It was a consequence of their choice to listen to Satan rather than God. We suffer the consequences of our choices as well.
There is one gud thing about the end time coz all will say ,God is a fair judge coz all will be judged according to his works,Fair judgement is supportable even by a convict eg , how many times have we seen pipo being judged in courts here on earth n they agree to their crimes ,meaning they will be agreeing to the fair judgement of the courts ,whtmore God's judgement where there is no bribery ,there is fairness ,even those who won cases through bribery or through lawyers will say God is fair ,our God is great !
While that sounds like a good solution there are two problems. 1) It didn't happen that way, and 2) If God had done that he would have messed with the fundamental principle of free choice.
There are some things God cannot do because they are logical contradictions. For example, if you ask the question: Can God create a stone so heavy that he cannot lift it? Obviously there is a contradiction here that means that both the "yes" and "no" answers lead to a limit on God's omnipotence. The is the same when we ask; can God create intelligent life without giving them freedom of choice? An extension of that is that if he immediately destroys his intelligent creation immediately after they exercise their free choice he is limiting their free choice. The alternative, even though it appears abhorrent to us, is that the results of an evil free choice must be allowed to develop its full consequences.
Evil has tilted the playing field and it is not fair. The good thing is that God foresaw that possibility and made sure that there was salvation freely available for all who have been affected by evil.
There is what I think is a wonderful thought in The Desire of Ages, which has some bearing on this.
This says to me that Satan and the others were NOT "left to reap the full [and inevitable] result of their sin" in heaven. In some sense they were shielded from what should have been the inevitable consequence of their sin (i.e. death).
So it seems to me that they were removed from heaven to save their lives - they would have perished had this not happened, and the loyal angels would have thought that God had done it, when in reality their deaths would have been the inevitable consequence.
I agree with you Stewart! Only a small amplification. I believe the glory of such a mighty God we worship can extend to the earth and destroy devil even now; but God is holding this to enable us and other sinless beings to witness the horrible results of sin.
Our only existence is just by grace because our God is such holy that His glory can consume us because of our sinful nature. It is from this background, I can sense the importance of transformation of saint upon the second advent of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour.
Yes, God is shielding us from Himself.
"How wonderful is His forbearance and patience! He is putting a constraint on His own attributes. Omnipotence is exerted over Omnipotence." (18Manuscript p.188)
God uses His unlimited, absolute, power to shield us from His unlimited, absolute power... "lest ye die"! Oh how dimly we comprehend it!
But what He did for Moses, He effectively does for us all.
"...And it shall come to pass, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by". (Ex 33:22)
...and if a righteous man needed shielding like that, how much more do the ungodly need shielding!
Who instituted “the fundamental principle of free choice”? God had said to Adam that he would die the day that he ate from the tree. We say that God interposed so that Adam didn’t die. We teach that God *must* respect man’s freedom of choice. Well did He respect Adam’s choice according to our teaching?
I can see God’s interposition for Eve because she was deceived; but for Adam according to our fundamental principle, no. God is here interposing His will above Adam’s. Adam chose death!
But no, according to God’s word Adam did die that very day! That’s why we all come into this world *dead*. To God the spirit is life the flesh profits nothing. That’s why every one of us needs a resurrection, the first resurrection.
Through Adam’s sin God’s children, His foreknown from eternity, came into the world contaminated by sin like everyone else. Like the treasure found hidden in the field where the man, from joy over it, goes and sells all that he has and buys the *whole* field, God did that very thing. God sold all that He had because of love He purchased the whole world composed of Adam’s children(Satan’s) and His children, the foreknown. He removes all the gunk and goo and dross that the treasure accumulated by birth and accretion, and displays it to the universe. If one died for all then they all died so that *those who live* might no longer live for themselves...
So God did acknowledge their freedom of choice and He exercised His free will to die in His Son to *redeem* His Brethren(Relatives) from the world. His name shall be called Jesus for He shall save *His people* from their sins.
The story of redemption is the most awe-inspiring of all. It cannot be explained, understood nor illustrated for "there's no other word for grace but AMAZING" - in three words "God is love". It isn't any wonder that the Prophetess of God encourages us to take time out of every day to contemplate and review the tremendous sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf. As we daily survey the wondrous cross, we might ask what precisely did Jesus do for us? The answer, He left heaven knowing full well His destiny, for it was agreed upon after much lengthy, in-depth, painful deliberations in council with His Father. Yet the decision was taken and the plans put in place with precision.
The beloved Son of God would come to the rescue of condemned mankind, albeit by man's own choice) by surrendering His esteemed position of majesty, might and power, of being equal with God in all things, and having full dominion over all creation to take on the form of humanity and become just as a man, a simple man. He left the splendor of heaven, laying aside His supreme authority, to become poor, so we might be made rich, to have no place to lay His head, that we may inherit the kingdom, to walk the dusty streets with sandals on His feet, that we might walk the street of gold, to experience hunger, thirst, pain, so that we may be delivered from every curse due to man when Adam and Eve sinned.
Heaven was filled with unimaginable gloom and grief at the imminent annihilation of mankind for rebelling against God's law, even after being forewarned. Angels were willing to pay the price with their lives, when Jesus revealed to them, the plan to make Him the sacrificial Lamb, but that would not suffice. It was the life of the Son of God or nothing for the law of God could not be amended to suit the occurrence of sin. It had to be thus. (Heb. 9:22)"And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission of sin."
I thank God, through Jesus! I am saved from a destiny to eternal death.
There was One who was willing to die in my stead,
That a soul so unworthy might live;
And the path to the cross He was willing to tread,
All the sins of my life to forgive.
Cho.
They're nailed to the cross,
They're nailed to the cross,
O, how much He was willing to bear!
With what anguish and loss Jesus went to the cross!
But He carried my sin with Him there.
Hi Claudette,
Thanks for your inspiring comment and a good song I love most.
May God bless all for sharing the good news.
Thanks Risper. We have become a family here and ever expanding. I really benefit from sharing insights with you guys, the family members. Thanks for sharing yours as well.
The Greek word for redemption actually refers to slaves who were purchased in a marketplace. In a spiritual sense, all of us were slaves to sin until Jesus purchased us out of the slave market and set us free from sin’s bondage. Because we serve a God of love, He had to come to our rescue, to save us from the danger of eternal death. He sent His one and only son, Jesus Christ to die for us (John 3:16).He paid the price; we were bought with a special price, the blood of Jesus Christ. Thank you Jesus.The perfect plan of redemption was made because God loves us so much. He does not want any of us to perish but His desire is that ‘all of us should come to repentance.’(2 Peter 3:9; 1 Timothy 2:4).
Thanks so much Claudette for the powerful and uplifting comments, God bless you.
Thanks, Mackpherson. I am happy to have shared and I do really look forward to the daily insights and contributions for all of you. Bless you too.