“And we know that in all things God works for the god of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
This has always been a very powerful text to me, but in this class I was both enlightened and reminded of its fuller implications. I always looked at this text just as a typical comfort passage in the bible. But there are many deeper ideas represented here. For one thing, contextually all throughout the preceding verses Paul has been conveying a theme. I think this theme has largely to do with the restoration of creation. At least three different times Paul mentions creation in a state of temporal discontinuity. It is frustrated. It is in pain like a woman in labor. And just as we have contributed greatly to that pain we also will contribute to the solution to its pain. When we are glorified in Christ we will be restored to our original form and creation will then be at peace. This is the contextual theme or at least much of what Paul is talking about here. When we read this passage or quote it to others we must remember that this is the “good” that Paul is talking about. The practical application of this is deeper still. When someone young dies or something bad befalls someone who is undeserving, we read this text and expect God to do something tangible as the proof of the “good” spoken of here in this text. However, we may not always see it, because it is a deeper good that takes place on the spiritual plain. The “good” taking place here is God using this situation to contribute to the restoration of man and creation back to their perfect state. This is the good. Also Paul gives us a stipulation here in this text as well. He says in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. This shows us that there is a specific people group that this applies to. This text implies that there is an exclusivity to the divine providence of God. However, what I learned in this class was that I need to look at this text holistically. This means that when I look at this text and it says that God works for the good of those that love Him, who have been called according to His purpose, that it only includes that certain group of people. But it is not saying that God works for the good in all things for ONLY those that love God. That is probably the most important thing I’ve learned in this class, that a holistic view of scripture tells us that just because a text tells us one thing, that doesn’t negate the possibility that it could mean something else. This text does not preclude the possibility of God working in all things for the good of those who don’t love Him. I plan on preaching this theology more in the pulpit. I think we Adventists some times are guilty of an exclusivity mindset. We think that God would not condescend to work for a drug addict before he comes to Christ. But this is a powerful question. Does God work for the good of someone who is a reformed child molester? This text does not say that He won’t. This is a holistic view. And this mindset is the most valuable thing I will take away from this class. When I look at scripture, I need to think outside of the box, and consider the possibility that I’m missing something. I need to ask powerful questions about how a text relates to other texts in the bible. I need to look at how they affect each other. Many people approach a text with careful study and exegesis but they don’t look at it holistically so they miss the big picture. A holistic view is vital and it has greatly impacted my view on this text.
John 14:6 says “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” As I sat and listened in the class about predestination, foreknowledge, called, justification, and glorification, all of it comes back to Jesus being our salvation. Jesus is and never was absent from any moment of salvation. Dr. Hanna’s model and this verse are intimately linked together because Jesus is present at every stage of the model. Jesus knew the plan from the beginning (because he was there) and he knew would have to die for reconciliation to heal the relationship between God and man. If we look at Proverbs 29:18, it says “where there is no vision, people perish” and I had to tie this in because we see that God ultimately had a plan for us from the beginning of time. He had a plan to save his people from themselves and sin so that we, his people, will not perish (those who take advantage of his offer). Jesus is the link we need to attain salvation. There is no other person. No man can come to the Father unless it is by him. And this just reemphasizes my point, about how important it is to have a relationship with Christ. Jesus will not vouch for us or use his merits for us if we are not worthy. Jesus says he is the way to truth and life is through him (not in those words exactly, but you get my point), and no one can get to his Father unless they go through him. If you read his words he is telling us the way, and saying it’s the truth to eternal life. Justification is in his hands. If we look at the model presented in Romans 8: 28 -30, he has been there from the beginning because he is life. He knew what he was predestined to do for us and a foreknowledge of what was going to happen to him. He called and chosen us (disciples) and he was justified by his father when he was the atonement for our sins. And his glory will be seen at the second coming, by all eyes. And when get to heaven we will learn more about the story of Christ, in depth. And it will be during this time we will fully give God and Jesus the honor and glory they rightfully deserve because we cannot fully comprehend the magnitude of the sacrifice of Christ. And that perfection we talked about in class, we will see it firsthand when we learn about the perfect love by a Father and a Son, something that we can only hope for in human flesh. If I was to try and sum salvation in a couple of sentences linked with John 14:6, it would go something like this: Salvation (eternal life) comes from and through Jesus by faith in and of Jesus, which the righteous are sanctified and justified by Christ by obedience out of love. Since Christ was the atonement and is now the High Priest, authority given to him by God, we can attain salvation by the grace of God on behalf of Jesus Christ speaking for us (Justifying Every Sinful and Unrighteous Sinner Continually Healing and Refining Souls Together). I know it doesn’t do it justice, but it is something that Jesus can to continue to “work out” in me (I know you liked that one) in the years to come!
The sentence I have chosen to focus this essay on is found in Galatians 5:13 - “You, my brothers, were called to be free.”
The pro-life versus pro-choice argument is one of the most hotly debated topics in America today. It is, quite understandably, a touchy subject to many people. I have close friends and family members who are passionately convinced that abortion is an issue of right and wrong, black and white, where one side is righteous and the other is evil. I do not dare argue with them, and I confess that in this arena I am still fumbling to grasp a satisfactory holistic position. I do not mean any offense to those who stand on either side of this particular issue, but I do want to use this platform as an opportunity to make the following observation. I find it interesting that the pro-life/pro-choice debate centers around the perceived need to polarize two of the greatest gifts that God offers – life and freedom.
It came to my attention during one of our class periods that Paul inadvertently covers both of these great gifts in one simple sentence. “You, my brothers, were called to freedom” (Galatians 2:13). It struck me that the “called” part of this sentence is intimately tied to life. There is no life without God’s call. Without God’s call we would have never had life to begin with, and without God’s call we have no hope of future life. We needed God to call us to original life, and we need His call to experience eternal life. It is God’s call that gives us life. This was the case when God called Adam out of the earth, and this is the case when He calls us to know Him, that we “may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).
But if there is no freedom in that call, it is not a call to life. As Dr. Hanna so carefully suggested in class, even God himself is free to sin. That doesn’t mean that He will sin, it just means that if God, or Robert, or anyone is not free to choose sin, then it would not truly be life. That is what Paul meant when he said “You, my brothers, were called to freedom.” It is impossible to separate these two gifts, and have them remain as they are. Life without freedom is not life; and without life, there is no freedom. To Paul, life and freedom go hand in hand.
In his love and wisdom God created human beings as free agents, knowing all along that such freedom leaves them open to a rejection of Him and therefore a rejection of life. “See, I set before you today life…and death…choose life...so that you might live” (Deuteronomy 30:19). God called all things into existence (Psalm 33:6, 9), and among these things there are free beings. Those things which God predestined he calls (Romans 8:30), therefore it is safe to say that God predestined us to be free. In His foreknowledge (which precedes his predestination according to Romans 8:29), He foresees an open future in which freedom is possible. And the purpose of this freedom is that people would freely choose to be conformed to the image of the Son of God. This is the only way in which sinful humans may live with a perfect God, yet maintain their God-given freedom.
God’s great gift to humans is to life forever with Him (Romans 6:23). But that gift is meaningless without freedom. Fortunately, we will never be forced to choose between life and freedom, for the gift of God is life, and the call of God is freedom.
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son. . . The Lord is not . . . willing that any should perish . . . Rom 8:29, 2 Pet 3:9 The sections of these two verses sum up accurately the concept that had the most effect on me this session. These two verses discuss the concept of God’s foreknowledge and also His predestination. Our discussion of this topic this session showed me that I too had a somewhat deterministic understanding of these two concepts. While I certainly believe God has given us free will I too had looked at the concept of time in a box, with the belief that some things are destined to happen, and were outside of human control. So it was particularly compelling to me that God’s predestination is a commitment to the concept of freedom. The subsection of my “sentence” that is from 2 Peter implicitly proves this. The Lord is not willing that anyone should perish. Therefore His predestination (His will) is to life eternal for everyone. However we know that some people will die. Therefore, as we have stated in class, God’s predestination is something that can be avoided. Therefore we as human beings do have the choice to either align ourselves with the will of God or to place ourselves outside of it. Now the interesting aspect of this is that the predestination to freedom cannot be resisted. This leaves us as human beings in a particular mental quandary. We may not want freedom. Some human beings may prefer to have been robots and curse God for allowing them to make decisions. However, it is the very freedom that these people do not want that allows them assert that they do not want freedom. Regardless of our objections, I think that most human beings have a desire to be free and to determine their own destiny. So once again we see that God knows best and has established this system in the best possible way, balancing our freedom with His omnipotence and omniscience. So then the question must be asked (as we address the first half of my quotation), what does God foreknow? I think Dr. Hanna makes an interesting point when he says that God foreknows all the potential possibilities. There is certainly Biblical evidence that many prophecies are conditional. Israel’s desire for a king (1 Sam 8) and the story of Jonah and Ninevah are good examples. At the same time we also know that God does know determined futures as well. While I have not yet fully figured out how those two things work together, I realize that this is still a mystery that I will struggle with for a very long time. Because of the clear statements of God’s freedom for us, I believe and have faith that His foreknowledge is not deterministic and the fact that God knows does not mean that God orchestrates and forces us into the things that we do. I think this has a tremendous effect on life and ministry in general. It does show that we do have a role to play and that life is not fated. It removes from us the idea (excuse, maybe even crutch) that we can go through life making decisions but not really making them, because we believe that whatever happened “had to happen.” Our decisions do have meaning, and that it is every person’s responsibility to subjugate themselves to the will of God and then to make decisions in line with that will. Furthermore, it means we can present a truer picture of salvation to those to whom we witness, whether they are people who have no notion of the existence of God or those of other faiths who do not believe as we do. Because of the vestiges of a deterministic and linear understanding of God’s foreknowledge and predestination (and time and space for that matter) there are many people who believe, maybe even subconsciously that their decisions don’t matter. A better understanding of what God truly foreknows and what He has truly predestined would hopefully help us all to make better decisions because we would truly realize that every decision we make has tremendous weight and has consequences for our salvation.
This has always been a very powerful text to me, but in this class I was enlightened and reminded of its fuller implications. As I reflect on how I became a Seventh-day Adventist it motivated me to write my final paper on calling. Paul’s discussion of calling focused largely on God’s effectual call to salvation. In Romans 8:30 “And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified”. The verb “call “and the noun “calling”(klesis) refers to the effective evocation of faith through the gospel by the secret of the Holy Spirit, who unites men to Christ according to God’s purpose. Also in Romans 8:28 “and we know that all things God works for good of those who love him who have been called (kletois)according to his purpose”. The "kletois" are the ones for whom God works the good, who have come to love God, who have been called effectually according to his purpose(kata prosthesin) Paul is trying to say that calling is an act of God. In fact, it’s specifically an act of God the father, for he is the one who predestines people “to be conformed to the image of God (Romans 8:29). When God calls up people in this powerful way, he calls them “out of darkness into his marvelous light (1Peter 2:9), into fellowship of his son” (I Corinthians 1:9) and “into his kingdom and glory” (Thessalonians 2:12). These verses indicate that no powerless, merely human calling is in view. This calling is rather a kind of “summons” from the king of the universe and it has such power that it brings about the response that it asks for in people’s hearts. It’s an act of God that guarantees a response, because Paul specifies in Romans 8:30 that all who were called were also “justified”. This calling has the capacity to draw us out of the kingdom of darkness and bring us into God’s kingdom so we can join in full fellowship with him: “God is faithful, by whom you were called into fellowship of his son, Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Corinthians 1: 9). This powerful act of God is often called the “effective calling,” to distinguish it from the general gospel invitation that goes to all people and which some reject. This is not to say human gospel proclamation is not involved. In fact, God’s effective calling comes through the human preaching of the gospel, because Paul says, “to this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2Thessalonians2:14). Of course, there are many who hear the general call of the gospel message and do not respond. But in some cases the gospel call is made so effective by the working of the Holy Spirit in people’s hearts that they do respond, we can say that they have received “the effective calling”. Which is an act of God the father, speaking through the human proclamation of the gospel, in which he summons people to himself in such a way that they respond in saving faith? It is important that we do not give the impression that sinners will be saved by the power of this call apart from their own willing response to the gospel. Although it is true that effective calling awakens and brings forth response from us, we must always insists that this response still has to be a voluntary, willing response in which the individual puts his or her trust in Christ. This is why prayer is so important to effective evangelism. Unless God works in people’s heart to make the proclamation of the gospel effective, there will be no genuine saving faith. Jesus said, “no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6: 44). In distinction from the effective calling, which is entirely an act of God, we may talk about the “gospel call” in general which comes through human speech. This gospel call is offered to all people, even those who do not accept it. Sometimes it’s often rejected. However this is not to diminish the importance of the gospel call, it is the means God has appointed through which effective calling will come. Without the gospel call no one will respond and be saved (Romans 10:14).
“From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” Mt 16:21
Jesus, the Divine Son, must go and must suffer and must be killed and must be raised? What could it possibly mean that God “must” do something? Is He compelled by some other person or force? Not likely, considering His supreme position in the universe. Has He trapped Himself into it by willing it? No, I think there’s a better answer.
. . .
Last year Christianity Today did a series titled “Is Our Gospel Too Small?” That question has been on my mind often lately as I’ve considered this rich and exhaustless science of salvation. I’m afraid that perhaps our good ol’ evangelical pragmatism has duped us into shrinking the Gospel down to one (important) part of the problem and one (very important) part of the solution. It is good and necessary to be able to explain the Gospel simply and there are some helpful tools out there for doing just that, but if we think that three select texts from Romans on a pocket-sized pamphlet does justice to the sin problem or to the Savior solution, then indeed our Gospel is far too small.
The sin problem is bigger than only my personal wrong choices—it is a problem in my nature, it is a social problem too; in fact, it is a complex cosmic problem! And the solution is bigger than the death of Jesus on the cross. To solve the big, complex, personal-social-cosmic problem, God made a big, complex, personal-social-cosmic solution which includes the cross event, but is not limited to it. The solution requires His deity, His incarnation, His perfect life, His resurrection, His inaugeration, His ascension, the sending of His spirit, the revelation of His will, His intercession, His judgment, the cleansing by His fire, His return—and even more!
Our sharp focus on the cross—to the neglect of the manger and the empty tomb and the heavenly sanctuary and the new earth—has diminshed our appreciation for the whole work of God. It has narrowed our vision to the gift of justification and left us with teeny tiny predestinations and sanctifications and glorifications. What a joy it is to be forgiven! Yet there are more joys beside, joys that are stuffed on every page of every Bible, waiting for some perceptive soul to take them up and enjoy them.
This session an important insight was forged in my mind about salvation: Everything that God has done, is doing, and will do is necessary for our salvation. No piece of the plan is superfluous, no action has been unnecessary, no part is an appendix. I was initially startled to read that Christ “was raised to life for our justification” (Rom. 4:25) because I thought that justification was completely secured on the cross, but I thought wrongly. My justification requires not only the cross and the resurrection, but every aspect of Christ’s ministry. I could no more be saved without His kingly inaugeration than I could without His sacrificial death. Sounds almost heretical, doesn’t it?
But now that I understand God’s salvation economy, I perceive the significance of Matthew 16:21. Who or what makes it necessary that Christ go and suffer and die and live again? By His own free will the Lord has chosen to enact a glorious plan of salvation, and if we are to be saved then Christ must go and must suffer and must die and must be raised again. Christ journeyed to Jerusalem because He wanted to save me, and that meant enduring the cross. Christ still wants to save me, and now that means not a cross but the tunic of the High Priest, soon it will mean returning in the clouds, and someday it will mean recreating the heavens and the earth---and all for love of us!
THST540 Doctrine of Salvation Final Professor: Dr. Martin Hanna By: Fa’asoa Michael Fa’asoa
Galatians 3:3 “How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become PERFECT by your own human effort?” NLT As is our habit, we began our men’s accountability meeting at 4:00 p.m. at my home on a Wednesday afternoon about three weeks ago. Because I had been on Sabbatical from this ministry for a while, the goal was to reintroduce it’s theme and purpose for which we have gathered for clarity’s sake then move on to training for which I had been chosen as the main coordinator; multiplying myself if you will in others. Half way through our meeting as I was discussing how our understanding of Christology/Salvation will most certainly affect how we experience victory from these besetting sins or not; one of my leaders made a comment that was most certainly becoming of a “last generation perfectionist” believer. Quoting one of Ellen White’s Most Perplexing Statements he said, “…dude, we have to overcome these sins because Ellen White says that there will come a time when we will stand before God without a mediator…” (GC 425) Another leader, with an opposite extreme point of view piped up and countered by saying, “…dude I’ve done a paper on this issue man and it’s not true…we cannot be perfect…” Perplexed, I quickly realized that I myself needed to study this issue out for further clarification and then share my findings latter with the guys, but because there were new people in the midst of our meeting, mediating so that we could move on with our present agenda was most pressing and so I did successfully to my relief…praise be to GOD! After reading Romans and then Woodrow’s Chronological study on Salvation, specifically the fifteenth chapter on Perfection and Closing Events, I was relieved to find that I wasn’t alone in my justification position but rather there are those who believe as I did and do…Helmut Ott for example, and my spiritual “Dad” Martin Weber, and even Ellen White seems to indicate in the bulk of her understanding of God’s main purpose for allowing the time of trouble i.e. (“…standing before a Holy God without a Mediator..”) was/is “…designed to lead the people of God to renounce Satan and his temptations...the last conflict will reveal Satan…Ellen goes on to say…to them in his true character, that of a CRUEL TYRANT, and it will do for them what nothing else could do, UP ROOT him entirely from their effections” (RH, Aug. 12, 1884; OHC 321). While in Galatians, as in the verse above, it may seem as if Paul is saying the opposite of what the bulk of scripture teaches on perfection, but read his letters in their entirety and you will find that he teaches in harmony with scripture that while perfection is possible, it is ONLY through the power of Christ within/without etc. of us and our desperately degraded human flesh, both on this side of Glorification and, I believe, forever more. In closing, I want to concur with Whidden by saying that, “In light of Ellen White’s overall understanding of the mental attitudes involved in both sin and righteousness, it seems consistent to understand the sealed saints as both PERFECT (not committing willful sins) and yet imperfect (not absolutely reflecting the perfect image of Jesus, because they will still need earthliness to be consumed.” Ellen White on Salvation Pg. 139
Of all the verses in Scripture on salvation that we have studied in class together this past month Romans 8:28 stands out most prominently in my mind at the current time. It reads, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose.” The fuller meaning of this verse opened up to me as we discussed in class the difference between God’s will being a deterministic will or an open will. In other words, is God’s will spoken of in the above passage a deterministic will that actively orchestrates each event in our lives to bring us to the place where His ultimate and ideal will can be perfectly realized for us, i.e. salvation? Or is His will more open, allowing the events that takes place in our lives to happen regardless of the source (chance, cause/effect, evil, God) but then using the events to accomplish His purpose of salvation for us, while still giving us the freedom to ultimately resist if we so choose. As a result of our class I have joyfully grown to understand the later to be the case. While not denying God’s ability to actively determine events in our lives, I have come to believe that the bigger picture of God’s will is a picture of an open will that purposes the salvation of every person who has existed and who will yet come into existence, utilizing every circumstances that might befall them within the context of a corrupted paradise for their salvation. To borrow a phrase from pop culture, we could say “God rolls with it.” This is to say that he takes the events in our lives, some he actively determines along with others from a variety of sources that He simply allows, and He works them for His greater purpose of salvation for each individual. “He rolls with it.” He works with what He’s got. The beautiful thing is that He is the perfect ingredient. Our circumstances may be varied. The events that have befallen us in life may be overly negative or overly positive, but it doesn’t matter. Because in the above passage God promises that as the perfect ingredient He can work anything and everything for good, i.e. our salvation. However we may have messed up the recipe, with God in the mix the final result is always “our good.” This fuller understanding of Romans 8:28 also helped clear up much of the confusion in my mind over the topic of biblical predestination. I know what it is to be confused with how God can predestine something and it not happen, i.e. the salvation of all people. The answer again comes to me from Romans 8:28 and a better understanding of God’s open will. Instead of biblical predestination being a deterministic predestination that does not allow for the freedom of circumstance and individual choice, I now see biblical predestination as a reflection of God’s greater open will. According to Romans 8:29 God foreknew each individual and the time period in which they would live, and He predestined or willed that each would be saved by Christ’s sacrifice. Instead of this being a deterministic predestination with the end result set in stone, I now understand this to be an open predestination or purpose of God that can be resisted. Rather than signing on the dotted line for us, my better understand of the open will of God now helps me to see that He allows each person to sign on the dotted line for him or herself. This truth of His open will from Romans 8:28, as all truth should, only makes me love my Jesus more. I am in awe at the thought that before the foundation of the world Christ foreknew me and predestined me to be saved for eternity by His sacrifice of Himself, that He would take the events and circumstances in my life, many of which I brought on myself and use them for my salvation, and that He would leave His will open enough to let me say no, which I would have to be insane to do.
PART I(Because of the size of my file I post this in two parts.)
What I found through this session: The gospel is Jesus Christ (Gospel=Jesus Christ)
Key Text: John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”(NIV)
Last four weeks, I learned about Doctrine of Salvation from the definition of doctrine to the core elements of Salvation. Bible, the story of God’s redemptive work throughout the human history from the fall of men (Adam and Eve: Gen. 3) to the New Jerusalem (The New Earth: Rev. 21), tells us that the main essence of it is the Gospel which is God’s salvation through His son, Jesus Christ. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”(John 3:16, NIV) Therefore the Gospel in the Bible is Jesus Christ. Apostle Paul describe this truth in the Epistle of Romans, “the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son,…. (Romans 1:2-3, NIV) In Romans Paul used word, noun salvation for five times and verb saved or save is used eight times to describe what the Gospel is. A number of synonymous words are used in Romans and other Paul’s writings as the same way to express this Gospel in relation to Jesus and His redemptive work. And also synonymous words used to describe aspects of salvation in Romans are like this, 8:23, 24 (Redemption), 11:26, 27 (saved=when I take away their sins), (16:25 my gospel is equivalent to Jesus). Four Gospels also testify that Jesus is the savior from His birth, life (Ministry), and His death and resurrection. The first book of New Testament and in the first chapter of Matthew (1:21) explains all these elements in one sentence, "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins." (NKJV) If I summarize what I have been said on the above I can make a formula like below. Gospel = the One who will save from their sins = Jesus Christ During the making of this process, I wrestled with which Bible text (or a sentence in the Bible) tells all about this I learned or reminded during class period? I concluded that John 3:16 is the one which contains all this important elements.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,” – God created this earth and especially he created man in his own image to love (Gen 1:27). We can not imagine His love towards us, in Greek “heagapesen” this word derived from “agapao”, God’s agape love (or perfect love) completed to give His one and only son, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ who was God Himself became a man gave Himself as a ransom. To clearly understand this, we should understand the mystery of Godliness and divine agape love which can not measure in our limited knowledge. This agape love especially manifested to the one who were created in His own image, the only being who God formed and gave breath. God died for His creature, is it possible? I can not explain the depth of His love.
“that whoever believes in him” God’s love not only limited to certain category of people but also to open to every one who believes in Him. Not just for “A”(in other words: excellent), good Christians but even the thief who were crucified (Luke 23:42) who believed and asked Jesus to remember him.
“shall not perish but have eternal life.” I think this is the climax of the Gospel, we are not more under the chain of sins to perish but we will be live forever with the one who saved us through His death and resurrection because of His love.
Knowing this Bible text is very important in our lives and ministries because we easily say we share the gospel throughout the world, yet we do not know the Gospel, without knowing the true meaning of it, our preaching and working as ministers are meaningless.
Everybody knows this text very well, front and back literally, however there are many Christians and ministers who do not know the Gospel, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ personally in relation with the Bible text. And also if we know this text fully in relation to the Gospel, we can understand loving God and do not put Him as a tyrant (set us free from guilty feelings). I pray that this Gospel of Jesus Christ in their hearts will reveal with the knowledge of the text as genuine Christian love, kindness, gentleness so that the Word became flesh into us and shine through to those who don’t know the Gospel. Thank you.
(I got some ideas on John 3:16 from SDA Bible Commentary.)
I chose Colossians 2:6-7 for this assignment. It reads, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.” (KJV). I chose this sentence because I feel it highlights the dynamic process of salvation and also points to one way in which we can have assurance of salvation. I think it is necessary to give a tiny bit of background and context in order to understand how this verse was meant to be heard. The Apostle Paul is writing this letter to the believers at Colosse who have heard the gospel through the faithful ministering of Epaphras. Upon hearing the good news, the Colossians accepted it as truth and quickly began to grow their faith and love in the Spirit. Paul says to the believers right before verse six that he is delighted to see how orderly and firm their faith in Christ is. He then goes on to share this powerful message with them; “Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him…” (NIV). Paul mentions the step they have already taken in accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and then goes on to tell them what they are to do next. They are to “continue to live in him,” or “walk in him.” Once a believer accepts Jesus Christ and receives His salvation they must continue to move forward in Him. Just because they received salvation and are secure in Christ Jesus does not mean they can carelessly sit back and enjoy the ride. By no means! Believers who accept Jesus Christ as their Savior are to continue moving forward in Him so that they may become rooted and built up in Him. This concept of rooting ourselves in Christ paints a beautiful picture of the way in which we are to work together with the Holy Spirit. I believe that Paul’s understanding of this working is not based on a work that must be done alone or on our own. I believe Paul understands the idea of synergy, or a co-partnering with Christ in perfecting our lives. Only a few verses before this verse we see Paul pointing out this idea in 1:29 when he says, “To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.” (NIV, emphasis added). When Paul later says in verses 6 and 7 we are to “continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him…” he is implying this same meaning of “I in God and God in me.” A co-partnership and a synergistic working between God and man is what are necessary. As we continue to walk in Christ, we continue to walk in faith. Once we have accepted Christ we are in Him and He is in us. Through faith we are able to continue to walk in Him and have assurance of our salvation. Although we are sinful by nature and will by no means reach or attain sinless-ness here on earth. Through faith and our working together with the Holy Spirit we can strive towards sinning- less, but we will not be ultimately sinless until the glorification that will take place in heaven. Through this simple sentence (verse) we are able to see a wide array of meaning and understanding regarding salvation. We learn through it that accepting the gift of salvation found in Christ alone is the first step of many. Salvation is a free gift needing only to be received. Upon receiving that gift we are to “continue in Christ” so that we might be rooted in Him, built up in Him, established in Him, and overflowing with His joy and thankfulness. Through our synergistic working with the Holy Spirit we can move forward in becoming freer from sin but unfortunately we will not be sinless until we reach heaven. It is my prayer that we would continue to live in Christ, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as we were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness, for the glory of His name!
Romans 7:8, 12 “For apart from the law, sin is dead… So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.” The concept that I learned from this class in relation to this verse is that sin is an attempt to live outside of synergy with God. Then according to this concept, in another sense is that righteousness is an act or attempt to live within the synergy with God. The summary of what the law is found in Mark 12:31,31. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” 1 John 4:8 tells that “God is love.” Therefore when we link all these verses and concepts together, the law is love, God is love, which brings us to the equation that the law equals God. Let’s rephrase the above verse: For apart from ‘God,’ sin is dead. Does this make sense? It sounds as if God is the cause of sin. But rather it is not. It is not saying that God is the cause of sin, but it is telling of the relationship with God and man. Our intentions and actions to break our relationship is what sin is. People might say that if God did not make the law there would be no sin at all. But it is no different from saying that if there is no God, there is no sin. This is also no different from denying the existence of God. Perhaps it is no different from breaking the relationship with God by denying our Creator, which is what sin is as mentioned above. ‘So then, God is holy, righteous and good.’ And God is love. God wants us to come back to Him. He wants us to be saved and once again fully recover our relationship with Him. He wants us to live within the synergy with God, in love. Summing up the concept by rephrasing, sin is an attempt to live outside of the law. On the other hand, then, righteousness is to live in the law. By just looking at the word ‘law’, it just seems too difficult. The word ‘law’ makes it sound so challenging and hard for us to keep. But this is what 1 John 4:10-12 tells us: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us.” What a way to explain the synergy with God! The love of God shown here is self sacrifice for others. In the same way, God is asking from us to deny ourselves and sacrifice ourselves for God and for others. As we do so, God works within us. It is not easy. We can’t be good in loving from the beginning. But this verse implies that God is within us, which means that as we ask God to help us, He will do His best to help us. Our actions certainly cannot save us. Only Jesus can save us. It is for us to recover our relationship with Him once again. And we can do so by living in His love, acknowledging who He is, and accepting Him. It is not difficult. All we have to do is ‘come’ to Him, and He will do the rest for us. Synergy, what a great way of God!
“For if we when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Romans 5:10” When we were still living life on the opposite side of God’s will, we were brought back into a relationship with Him by the bridge that the death of His Son built, how much more now that we’re back together, are our lives of freedom going to be better because of His life. In our class discussions what kept striking me as such a vital aspect of salvation is the continuation of it. It isn’t something that finishes; it is a road we travel. It can be argued that the first time you let Jesus into your heart is not the most important aspect of your Salvation. Every time after that that you let God work in your heart, and allow yourself to come face to face with your sin, that continues to be as important. We need to know that reconciliation with God has already taken place; I am already saved from death, this is complete. The aspect that continues is my life with Him. My life with Him is made possible because of Jesus life with us here on earth. It’s a contradiction that makes sense. Life doesn’t begin for us in earnest, unless a tremendous sacrifice is made. Until we walk onto the road, after crossing the bridge made by the cross, we are not fully alive. The contradiction that does not makes sense is that as sinful humans we fight for our right to choose sin if we want to. We fight against the law of God, thinking that “getting to sin” is really the height of freedom. We don’t realize that if Christ hadn’t come and lived here and died here we would have no other choice but sin. Freedom is best expressed and maximized when we choose God. Just the fact that we can means that He initiated the reconciliation, made peace and wrote the treaty that was signed with His Son’s blood. Freedom in Christ is greater freedom than the freedom to choose sin ever was or ever will be. I find this a relevant to me and my life because it reaffirms the fact that we are all on a path the continues when it comes to the “working out of our salvation.” Christ bears patiently with our stumbles and mistakes, even saved us while we were in the mess, and he continues to do so. No matter how little or how long I fill the shoes of a pastor, I will continually need the saving grace of Jesus, because regardless of my position, I will never drop the title sinner from my credentials. Staying aware of that, and our dependence on Him, helps me understand better the road that the Youth I work with are on. I often see them repeating the same mistakes. They all struggle with different things, from lack of discipline in their studies to staying in relationships and lifestyles that do not edify them. Sometimes, I just want to shake them. I get mad at them for devaluing their lives so much, and not making the decisions to do the good things they have the freedom to do. While they can make all kinds of decisions that I don’t approve of, they cannot fall out of a relationship or friendship with me. I get mad, disappointed even, I express that to them, but in the same breath, I always remind them that I’ll be there no matter what, and no decision they ever make will result in me turning their back on them. Every time I say it, I mean it to the core of who I am. So, if I, as sinful as I am can mean it when I talk to those kids, how much more so is Jesus saying to us, I died that you might live. The bridge is built and it will never be demolished. Walk across it and have a better life. Accept the freedom that is being offered to you to come back to me. Let go of the chains and walk across because you and I are made right with one another. When I experience that kind of forgiveness and grace, when I walk across that sure and solid bridge, and walk into a greater awareness of God because I cannot stay on the side of sin…I walk deeper into His relentless love…and that brings me back to life.
#Two kinds of guilt 1. The guilt that kills Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. -The culture of ‘the guilt that kills’ During the last period of our class, one student asked Dr. Hanna about what to preach in the funeral of unbeliever. It was an interesting question and the answer to that question was interesting as well. The interesting point Dr. Hanna made was this. ‘We can’t decide whether the man/woman was believer or unbeliever for we don’t know how God has worked in his/her life. So, the supposition we have for those so-called unbeliever is that they are under condemnation and I want to say that is ‘the guilt that kills’. I’d like to call it the culture of ‘the guilt that kills’. We judge ourselves and others and condemn not only ourselves but the others too. So, if the unbeliever dies without attending church, we tend to think that they are under condemnation. That is ‘the guilt that kills’. This kind of guilt takes away joy, ruins the relationship, and kills people. -The religion of ‘the guilt that kills’ If man can earn the salvation by his own virtue, the problem is there is no standard for salvation. Buddhism is just like that. They say man will be saved by their own virtue. But no one has standard. Nobody knows the standard. So, as a result some people have an assurance but most of the others don’t have as assurance. And even the assurance some people have is not correct for there is no standard which says how much they have to reach to have salvation. So, it ultimately brings guilt to everyone actually. They know that they sin and it brings guilt and to remove the guilt, thay believe that they have to do something. It is good religion in a sense that they encourage people to do good deeds. But it is wrong religion in a sense that they give people the unending guilt. We believe that the virtue of the sacrifice of Christ is the only standard. It might be too simple and because it is so simple and because it looks like there’s not much man have to do to earn salvation, it might be hard to believe for those who exposed to ‘righteousness by works’. But, it is holistic and perfect in a sense that the sin problem is so big and man can’t even try to solve the problem and someone way bigger than sin came and solved the sin problem. Today, we are surrounded by the culture and the religion of ‘the guilt that kills’. But God had a plan and introduced ‘the gult that give life’.
2. The guilt that give life Phillipians 3:13,14 [13] Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of [it] yet; but one thing [I do]: forgetting what [lies] behind and reaching forward to what [lies] ahead, [14] I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. -More days under guilt, less days under grace Sin is addiction for sure. And sin comes with guilt. And we sin knowing that it is sin and also keep sinning. And I thought that I have to try and work hard to remove that guilt and try not to sin. But as I focused on sin more and more, I can’t get away from it. Am I saying that the guilt is worng and bad? No, without guilt I will keep sinning knowing not that I’m falling into destruction. But, this is what I want to say. When I focused on removing guilt, I couldn’t do it. What Dr. Hanna said on this matter helped me a lot. He said that the will of God is to take away the guilt. And if we try and try to remove the guilt by ourselves and just keep failing, we will reach to the point where we can’t even try any more and we will give up every thing. So, we have to go to Jesus directly whenever we sin. Believe and trust the grace of Jesus who takes us right away as we are. And the next statement was very practical to me and I think it’s totally relevant to our brethren. The question is can we go to Jesus knowing that in 3 hours we’ll sin that specific sin again? And I’ll never forget the answer. Who would know what’s going to happen, what result will come out by meeting Jesus? Coming to Jesus is so powerful, so powerful. And I believe that the point of all this issue is the attempt of Satan to make us to think that we have to deal with this guilt and sin problem with him. The good news is that there’s nothing we have to deal with Satan. We have to solve this problem with God. There is no relationship with Satan in solving sin problem. We should not run away from God. Because if God is our father, God will not deal with our problem as we think. He is our father. He is my father.
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Austin Sharp.
Doc. of Salvation Essay – Romans 8:28
“And we know that in all things God works for the god of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
This has always been a very powerful text to me, but in this class I was both enlightened and reminded of its fuller implications. I always looked at this text just as a typical comfort passage in the bible. But there are many deeper ideas represented here. For one thing, contextually all throughout the preceding verses Paul has been conveying a theme. I think this theme has largely to do with the restoration of creation. At least three different times Paul mentions creation in a state of temporal discontinuity. It is frustrated. It is in pain like a woman in labor. And just as we have contributed greatly to that pain we also will contribute to the solution to its pain. When we are glorified in Christ we will be restored to our original form and creation will then be at peace. This is the contextual theme or at least much of what Paul is talking about here. When we read this passage or quote it to others we must remember that this is the “good” that Paul is talking about. The practical application of this is deeper still. When someone young dies or something bad befalls someone who is undeserving, we read this text and expect God to do something tangible as the proof of the “good” spoken of here in this text. However, we may not always see it, because it is a deeper good that takes place on the spiritual plain. The “good” taking place here is God using this situation to contribute to the restoration of man and creation back to their perfect state. This is the good. Also Paul gives us a stipulation here in this text as well. He says in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. This shows us that there is a specific people group that this applies to. This text implies that there is an exclusivity to the divine providence of God. However, what I learned in this class was that I need to look at this text holistically. This means that when I look at this text and it says that God works for the good of those that love Him, who have been called according to His purpose, that it only includes that certain group of people. But it is not saying that God works for the good in all things for ONLY those that love God. That is probably the most important thing I’ve learned in this class, that a holistic view of scripture tells us that just because a text tells us one thing, that doesn’t negate the possibility that it could mean something else. This text does not preclude the possibility of God working in all things for the good of those who don’t love Him. I plan on preaching this theology more in the pulpit. I think we Adventists some times are guilty of an exclusivity mindset. We think that God would not condescend to work for a drug addict before he comes to Christ. But this is a powerful question. Does God work for the good of someone who is a reformed child molester? This text does not say that He won’t. This is a holistic view. And this mindset is the most valuable thing I will take away from this class. When I look at scripture, I need to think outside of the box, and consider the possibility that I’m missing something. I need to ask powerful questions about how a text relates to other texts in the bible. I need to look at how they affect each other. Many people approach a text with careful study and exegesis but they don’t look at it holistically so they miss the big picture. A holistic view is vital and it has greatly impacted my view on this text.
John 14:6 says “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” As I sat and listened in the class about predestination, foreknowledge, called, justification, and glorification, all of it comes back to Jesus being our salvation. Jesus is and never was absent from any moment of salvation. Dr. Hanna’s model and this verse are intimately linked together because Jesus is present at every stage of the model. Jesus knew the plan from the beginning (because he was there) and he knew would have to die for reconciliation to heal the relationship between God and man. If we look at Proverbs 29:18, it says “where there is no vision, people perish” and I had to tie this in because we see that God ultimately had a plan for us from the beginning of time. He had a plan to save his people from themselves and sin so that we, his people, will not perish (those who take advantage of his offer). Jesus is the link we need to attain salvation. There is no other person. No man can come to the Father unless it is by him. And this just reemphasizes my point, about how important it is to have a relationship with Christ. Jesus will not vouch for us or use his merits for us if we are not worthy. Jesus says he is the way to truth and life is through him (not in those words exactly, but you get my point), and no one can get to his Father unless they go through him. If you read his words he is telling us the way, and saying it’s the truth to eternal life. Justification is in his hands. If we look at the model presented in Romans 8: 28 -30, he has been there from the beginning because he is life. He knew what he was predestined to do for us and a foreknowledge of what was going to happen to him. He called and chosen us (disciples) and he was justified by his father when he was the atonement for our sins. And his glory will be seen at the second coming, by all eyes. And when get to heaven we will learn more about the story of Christ, in depth. And it will be during this time we will fully give God and Jesus the honor and glory they rightfully deserve because we cannot fully comprehend the magnitude of the sacrifice of Christ. And that perfection we talked about in class, we will see it firsthand when we learn about the perfect love by a Father and a Son, something that we can only hope for in human flesh. If I was to try and sum salvation in a couple of sentences linked with John 14:6, it would go something like this: Salvation (eternal life) comes from and through Jesus by faith in and of Jesus, which the righteous are sanctified and justified by Christ by obedience out of love. Since Christ was the atonement and is now the High Priest, authority given to him by God, we can attain salvation by the grace of God on behalf of Jesus Christ speaking for us (Justifying Every Sinful and Unrighteous Sinner Continually Healing and Refining Souls Together). I know it doesn’t do it justice, but it is something that Jesus can to continue to “work out” in me (I know you liked that one) in the years to come!
The sentence I have chosen to focus this essay on is found in Galatians 5:13 - “You, my brothers, were called to be free.”
The pro-life versus pro-choice argument is one of the most hotly debated topics in America today. It is, quite understandably, a touchy subject to many people. I have close friends and family members who are passionately convinced that abortion is an issue of right and wrong, black and white, where one side is righteous and the other is evil. I do not dare argue with them, and I confess that in this arena I am still fumbling to grasp a satisfactory holistic position. I do not mean any offense to those who stand on either side of this particular issue, but I do want to use this platform as an opportunity to make the following observation. I find it interesting that the pro-life/pro-choice debate centers around the perceived need to polarize two of the greatest gifts that God offers – life and freedom.
It came to my attention during one of our class periods that Paul inadvertently covers both of these great gifts in one simple sentence. “You, my brothers, were called to freedom” (Galatians 2:13). It struck me that the “called” part of this sentence is intimately tied to life. There is no life without God’s call. Without God’s call we would have never had life to begin with, and without God’s call we have no hope of future life. We needed God to call us to original life, and we need His call to experience eternal life. It is God’s call that gives us life. This was the case when God called Adam out of the earth, and this is the case when He calls us to know Him, that we “may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).
But if there is no freedom in that call, it is not a call to life. As Dr. Hanna so carefully suggested in class, even God himself is free to sin. That doesn’t mean that He will sin, it just means that if God, or Robert, or anyone is not free to choose sin, then it would not truly be life. That is what Paul meant when he said “You, my brothers, were called to freedom.” It is impossible to separate these two gifts, and have them remain as they are. Life without freedom is not life; and without life, there is no freedom. To Paul, life and freedom go hand in hand.
In his love and wisdom God created human beings as free agents, knowing all along that such freedom leaves them open to a rejection of Him and therefore a rejection of life. “See, I set before you today life…and death…choose life...so that you might live” (Deuteronomy 30:19). God called all things into existence (Psalm 33:6, 9), and among these things there are free beings. Those things which God predestined he calls (Romans 8:30), therefore it is safe to say that God predestined us to be free. In His foreknowledge (which precedes his predestination according to Romans 8:29), He foresees an open future in which freedom is possible. And the purpose of this freedom is that people would freely choose to be conformed to the image of the Son of God. This is the only way in which sinful humans may live with a perfect God, yet maintain their God-given freedom.
God’s great gift to humans is to life forever with Him (Romans 6:23). But that gift is meaningless without freedom. Fortunately, we will never be forced to choose between life and freedom, for the gift of God is life, and the call of God is freedom.
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son. . . The Lord is not . . . willing that any should perish . . . Rom 8:29, 2 Pet 3:9
The sections of these two verses sum up accurately the concept that had the most effect on me this session. These two verses discuss the concept of God’s foreknowledge and also His predestination. Our discussion of this topic this session showed me that I too had a somewhat deterministic understanding of these two concepts. While I certainly believe God has given us free will I too had looked at the concept of time in a box, with the belief that some things are destined to happen, and were outside of human control. So it was particularly compelling to me that God’s predestination is a commitment to the concept of freedom. The subsection of my “sentence” that is from 2 Peter implicitly proves this. The Lord is not willing that anyone should perish. Therefore His predestination (His will) is to life eternal for everyone. However we know that some people will die. Therefore, as we have stated in class, God’s predestination is something that can be avoided. Therefore we as human beings do have the choice to either align ourselves with the will of God or to place ourselves outside of it.
Now the interesting aspect of this is that the predestination to freedom cannot be resisted. This leaves us as human beings in a particular mental quandary. We may not want freedom. Some human beings may prefer to have been robots and curse God for allowing them to make decisions. However, it is the very freedom that these people do not want that allows them assert that they do not want freedom. Regardless of our objections, I think that most human beings have a desire to be free and to determine their own destiny. So once again we see that God knows best and has established this system in the best possible way, balancing our freedom with His omnipotence and omniscience.
So then the question must be asked (as we address the first half of my quotation), what does God foreknow? I think Dr. Hanna makes an interesting point when he says that God foreknows all the potential possibilities. There is certainly Biblical evidence that many prophecies are conditional. Israel’s desire for a king (1 Sam 8) and the story of Jonah and Ninevah are good examples. At the same time we also know that God does know determined futures as well. While I have not yet fully figured out how those two things work together, I realize that this is still a mystery that I will struggle with for a very long time. Because of the clear statements of God’s freedom for us, I believe and have faith that His foreknowledge is not deterministic and the fact that God knows does not mean that God orchestrates and forces us into the things that we do.
I think this has a tremendous effect on life and ministry in general. It does show that we do have a role to play and that life is not fated. It removes from us the idea (excuse, maybe even crutch) that we can go through life making decisions but not really making them, because we believe that whatever happened “had to happen.” Our decisions do have meaning, and that it is every person’s responsibility to subjugate themselves to the will of God and then to make decisions in line with that will. Furthermore, it means we can present a truer picture of salvation to those to whom we witness, whether they are people who have no notion of the existence of God or those of other faiths who do not believe as we do. Because of the vestiges of a deterministic and linear understanding of God’s foreknowledge and predestination (and time and space for that matter) there are many people who believe, maybe even subconsciously that their decisions don’t matter. A better understanding of what God truly foreknows and what He has truly predestined would hopefully help us all to make better decisions because we would truly realize that every decision we make has tremendous weight and has consequences for our salvation.
This has always been a very powerful text to me, but in this class I was enlightened and reminded of its fuller implications. As I reflect on how I became a Seventh-day Adventist it motivated me to write my final paper on calling. Paul’s discussion of calling focused largely on God’s effectual call to salvation. In Romans 8:30 “And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified”. The verb “call “and the noun “calling”(klesis) refers to the effective evocation of faith through the gospel by the secret of the Holy Spirit, who unites men to Christ according to God’s purpose. Also in Romans 8:28 “and we know that all things God works for good of those who love him who have been called (kletois)according to his purpose”. The "kletois" are the ones for whom God works the good, who have come to love God, who have been called effectually according to his purpose(kata prosthesin)
Paul is trying to say that calling is an act of God. In fact, it’s specifically an act of God the father, for he is the one who predestines people “to be conformed to the image of God (Romans 8:29). When God calls up people in this powerful way, he calls them “out of darkness into his marvelous light (1Peter 2:9), into fellowship of his son” (I Corinthians 1:9) and “into his kingdom and glory” (Thessalonians 2:12).
These verses indicate that no powerless, merely human calling is in view. This calling is rather a kind of “summons” from the king of the universe and it has such power that it brings about the response that it asks for in people’s hearts. It’s an act of God that guarantees a response, because Paul specifies in Romans 8:30 that all who were called were also “justified”. This calling has the capacity to draw us out of the kingdom of darkness and bring us into God’s kingdom so we can join in full fellowship with him: “God is faithful, by whom you were called into fellowship of his son, Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Corinthians 1: 9).
This powerful act of God is often called the “effective calling,” to distinguish it from the general gospel invitation that goes to all people and which some reject. This is not to say human gospel proclamation is not involved. In fact, God’s effective calling comes through the human preaching of the gospel, because Paul says, “to this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2Thessalonians2:14). Of course, there are many who hear the general call of the gospel message and do not respond. But in some cases the gospel call is made so effective by the working of the Holy Spirit in people’s hearts that they do respond, we can say that they have received “the effective calling”. Which is an act of God the father, speaking through the human proclamation of the gospel, in which he summons people to himself in such a way that they respond in saving faith?
It is important that we do not give the impression that sinners will be saved by the power of this call apart from their own willing response to the gospel. Although it is true that effective calling awakens and brings forth response from us, we must always insists that this response still has to be a voluntary, willing response in which the individual puts his or her trust in Christ. This is why prayer is so important to effective evangelism. Unless God works in people’s heart to make the proclamation of the gospel effective, there will be no genuine saving faith. Jesus said, “no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6: 44).
In distinction from the effective calling, which is entirely an act of God, we may talk about the “gospel call” in general which comes through human speech. This gospel call is offered to all people, even those who do not accept it. Sometimes it’s often rejected. However this is not to diminish the importance of the gospel call, it is the means God has appointed through which effective calling will come. Without the gospel call no one will respond and be saved (Romans 10:14).
“From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” Mt 16:21
Jesus, the Divine Son, must go and must suffer and must be killed and must be raised? What could it possibly mean that God “must” do something? Is He compelled by some other person or force? Not likely, considering His supreme position in the universe. Has He trapped Himself into it by willing it? No, I think there’s a better answer.
. . .
Last year Christianity Today did a series titled “Is Our Gospel Too Small?” That question has been on my mind often lately as I’ve considered this rich and exhaustless science of salvation. I’m afraid that perhaps our good ol’ evangelical pragmatism has duped us into shrinking the Gospel down to one (important) part of the problem and one (very important) part of the solution. It is good and necessary to be able to explain the Gospel simply and there are some helpful tools out there for doing just that, but if we think that three select texts from Romans on a pocket-sized pamphlet does justice to the sin problem or to the Savior solution, then indeed our Gospel is far too small.
The sin problem is bigger than only my personal wrong choices—it is a problem in my nature, it is a social problem too; in fact, it is a complex cosmic problem! And the solution is bigger than the death of Jesus on the cross. To solve the big, complex, personal-social-cosmic problem, God made a big, complex, personal-social-cosmic solution which includes the cross event, but is not limited to it. The solution requires His deity, His incarnation, His perfect life, His resurrection, His inaugeration, His ascension, the sending of His spirit, the revelation of His will, His intercession, His judgment, the cleansing by His fire, His return—and even more!
Our sharp focus on the cross—to the neglect of the manger and the empty tomb and the heavenly sanctuary and the new earth—has diminshed our appreciation for the whole work of God. It has narrowed our vision to the gift of justification and left us with teeny tiny predestinations and sanctifications and glorifications. What a joy it is to be forgiven! Yet there are more joys beside, joys that are stuffed on every page of every Bible, waiting for some perceptive soul to take them up and enjoy them.
This session an important insight was forged in my mind about salvation: Everything that God has done, is doing, and will do is necessary for our salvation. No piece of the plan is superfluous, no action has been unnecessary, no part is an appendix. I was initially startled to read that Christ “was raised to life for our justification” (Rom. 4:25) because I thought that justification was completely secured on the cross, but I thought wrongly. My justification requires not only the cross and the resurrection, but every aspect of Christ’s ministry. I could no more be saved without His kingly inaugeration than I could without His sacrificial death. Sounds almost heretical, doesn’t it?
But now that I understand God’s salvation economy, I perceive the significance of Matthew 16:21. Who or what makes it necessary that Christ go and suffer and die and live again? By His own free will the Lord has chosen to enact a glorious plan of salvation, and if we are to be saved then Christ must go and must suffer and must die and must be raised again. Christ journeyed to Jerusalem because He wanted to save me, and that meant enduring the cross. Christ still wants to save me, and now that means not a cross but the tunic of the High Priest, soon it will mean returning in the clouds, and someday it will mean recreating the heavens and the earth---and all for love of us!
THST540 Doctrine of Salvation Final
Professor: Dr. Martin Hanna
By: Fa’asoa Michael Fa’asoa
Galatians 3:3 “How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become PERFECT by your own human effort?” NLT
As is our habit, we began our men’s accountability meeting at 4:00 p.m. at my home on a Wednesday afternoon about three weeks ago. Because I had been on Sabbatical from this ministry for a while, the goal was to reintroduce it’s theme and purpose for which we have gathered for clarity’s sake then move on to training for which I had been chosen as the main coordinator; multiplying myself if you will in others.
Half way through our meeting as I was discussing how our understanding of Christology/Salvation will most certainly affect how we experience victory from these besetting sins or not; one of my leaders made a comment that was most certainly becoming of a “last generation perfectionist” believer.
Quoting one of Ellen White’s Most Perplexing Statements he said, “…dude, we have to overcome these sins because Ellen White says that there will come a time when we will stand before God without a mediator…” (GC 425)
Another leader, with an opposite extreme point of view piped up and countered by saying, “…dude I’ve done a paper on this issue man and it’s not true…we cannot be perfect…”
Perplexed, I quickly realized that I myself needed to study this issue out for further clarification and then share my findings latter with the guys, but because there were new people in the midst of our meeting, mediating so that we could move on with our present agenda was most pressing and so I did successfully to my relief…praise be to GOD!
After reading Romans and then Woodrow’s Chronological study on Salvation, specifically the fifteenth chapter on Perfection and Closing Events, I was relieved to find that I wasn’t alone in my justification position but rather there are those who believe as I did and do…Helmut Ott for example, and my spiritual “Dad” Martin Weber, and even Ellen White seems to indicate in the bulk of her understanding of God’s main purpose for allowing the time of trouble i.e. (“…standing before a Holy God without a Mediator..”) was/is “…designed to lead the people of God to renounce Satan and his temptations...the last conflict will reveal Satan…Ellen goes on to say…to them in his true character, that of a CRUEL TYRANT, and it will do for them what nothing else could do, UP ROOT him entirely from their effections” (RH, Aug. 12, 1884; OHC 321).
While in Galatians, as in the verse above, it may seem as if Paul is saying the opposite of what the bulk of scripture teaches on perfection, but read his letters in their entirety and you will find that he teaches in harmony with scripture that while perfection is possible, it is ONLY through the power of Christ within/without etc. of us and our desperately degraded human flesh, both on this side of Glorification and, I believe, forever more.
In closing, I want to concur with Whidden by saying that, “In light of Ellen White’s overall understanding of the mental attitudes involved in both sin and righteousness, it seems consistent to understand the sealed saints as both PERFECT (not committing willful sins) and yet imperfect (not absolutely reflecting the perfect image of Jesus, because they will still need earthliness to be consumed.” Ellen White on Salvation Pg. 139
Of all the verses in Scripture on salvation that we have studied in class together this past month Romans 8:28 stands out most prominently in my mind at the current time. It reads, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
The fuller meaning of this verse opened up to me as we discussed in class the difference between God’s will being a deterministic will or an open will. In other words, is God’s will spoken of in the above passage a deterministic will that actively orchestrates each event in our lives to bring us to the place where His ultimate and ideal will can be perfectly realized for us, i.e. salvation? Or is His will more open, allowing the events that takes place in our lives to happen regardless of the source (chance, cause/effect, evil, God) but then using the events to accomplish His purpose of salvation for us, while still giving us the freedom to ultimately resist if we so choose. As a result of our class I have joyfully grown to understand the later to be the case. While not denying God’s ability to actively determine events in our lives, I have come to believe that the bigger picture of God’s will is a picture of an open will that purposes the salvation of every person who has existed and who will yet come into existence, utilizing every circumstances that might befall them within the context of a corrupted paradise for their salvation.
To borrow a phrase from pop culture, we could say “God rolls with it.” This is to say that he takes the events in our lives, some he actively determines along with others from a variety of sources that He simply allows, and He works them for His greater purpose of salvation for each individual. “He rolls with it.” He works with what He’s got. The beautiful thing is that He is the perfect ingredient. Our circumstances may be varied. The events that have befallen us in life may be overly negative or overly positive, but it doesn’t matter. Because in the above passage God promises that as the perfect ingredient He can work anything and everything for good, i.e. our salvation. However we may have messed up the recipe, with God in the mix the final result is always “our good.”
This fuller understanding of Romans 8:28 also helped clear up much of the confusion in my mind over the topic of biblical predestination. I know what it is to be confused with how God can predestine something and it not happen, i.e. the salvation of all people. The answer again comes to me from Romans 8:28 and a better understanding of God’s open will. Instead of biblical predestination being a deterministic predestination that does not allow for the freedom of circumstance and individual choice, I now see biblical predestination as a reflection of God’s greater open will. According to Romans 8:29 God foreknew each individual and the time period in which they would live, and He predestined or willed that each would be saved by Christ’s sacrifice. Instead of this being a deterministic predestination with the end result set in stone, I now understand this to be an open predestination or purpose of God that can be resisted. Rather than signing on the dotted line for us, my better understand of the open will of God now helps me to see that He allows each person to sign on the dotted line for him or herself.
This truth of His open will from Romans 8:28, as all truth should, only makes me love my Jesus more. I am in awe at the thought that before the foundation of the world Christ foreknew me and predestined me to be saved for eternity by His sacrifice of Himself, that He would take the events and circumstances in my life, many of which I brought on myself and use them for my salvation, and that He would leave His will open enough to let me say no, which I would have to be insane to do.
PART I(Because of the size of my file I post this in two parts.)
What I found through this session: The gospel is Jesus Christ (Gospel=Jesus Christ)
Key Text: John 3:16
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”(NIV)
Last four weeks, I learned about Doctrine of Salvation from the definition of doctrine to the core elements of Salvation.
Bible, the story of God’s redemptive work throughout the human history from the fall of men (Adam and Eve: Gen. 3) to the New Jerusalem (The New Earth: Rev. 21), tells us that the main essence of it is the Gospel which is God’s salvation through His son, Jesus Christ.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”(John 3:16, NIV)
Therefore the Gospel in the Bible is Jesus Christ.
Apostle Paul describe this truth in the Epistle of Romans, “the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son,…. (Romans 1:2-3, NIV)
In Romans Paul used word, noun salvation for five times and verb saved or save is used eight times to describe what the Gospel is. A number of synonymous words are used in Romans and other Paul’s writings as the same way to express this Gospel in relation to Jesus and His redemptive work.
And also synonymous words used to describe aspects of salvation in Romans are like this, 8:23, 24 (Redemption), 11:26, 27 (saved=when I take away their sins), (16:25 my gospel is equivalent to Jesus).
Four Gospels also testify that Jesus is the savior from His birth, life (Ministry), and His death and resurrection. The first book of New Testament and in the first chapter of Matthew (1:21) explains all these elements in one sentence, "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins." (NKJV)
If I summarize what I have been said on the above I can make a formula like below.
Gospel = the One who will save from their sins = Jesus Christ
During the making of this process, I wrestled with which Bible text (or a sentence in the Bible) tells all about this I learned or reminded during class period?
I concluded that John 3:16 is the one which contains all this important elements.
Part II
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,” – God created this earth and especially he created man in his own image to love (Gen 1:27). We can not imagine His love towards us, in Greek “heagapesen” this word derived from “agapao”, God’s agape love (or perfect love) completed to give His one and only son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ who was God Himself became a man gave Himself as a ransom. To clearly understand this, we should understand the mystery of Godliness and divine agape love which can not measure in our limited knowledge.
This agape love especially manifested to the one who were created in His own image, the only being who God formed and gave breath. God died for His creature, is it possible? I can not explain the depth of His love.
“that whoever believes in him”
God’s love not only limited to certain category of people but also to open to every one who believes in Him.
Not just for “A”(in other words: excellent), good Christians but even the thief who were crucified (Luke 23:42) who believed and asked Jesus to remember him.
“shall not perish but have eternal life.”
I think this is the climax of the Gospel, we are not more under the chain of sins to perish but we will be live forever with the one who saved us through His death and resurrection because of His love.
Knowing this Bible text is very important in our lives and ministries because we easily say we share the gospel throughout the world, yet we do not know the Gospel, without knowing the true meaning of it, our preaching and working as ministers are meaningless.
Everybody knows this text very well, front and back literally, however there are many Christians and ministers who do not know the Gospel, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ personally in relation with the Bible text.
And also if we know this text fully in relation to the Gospel, we can understand loving God and do not put Him as a tyrant (set us free from guilty feelings).
I pray that this Gospel of Jesus Christ in their hearts will reveal with the knowledge of the text as genuine Christian love, kindness, gentleness so that the Word became flesh into us and shine through to those who don’t know the Gospel.
Thank you.
(I got some ideas on John 3:16 from SDA Bible Commentary.)
I chose Colossians 2:6-7 for this assignment. It reads, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.” (KJV). I chose this sentence because I feel it highlights the dynamic process of salvation and also points to one way in which we can have assurance of salvation.
I think it is necessary to give a tiny bit of background and context in order to understand how this verse was meant to be heard. The Apostle Paul is writing this letter to the believers at Colosse who have heard the gospel through the faithful ministering of Epaphras. Upon hearing the good news, the Colossians accepted it as truth and quickly began to grow their faith and love in the Spirit. Paul says to the believers right before verse six that he is delighted to see how orderly and firm their faith in Christ is. He then goes on to share this powerful message with them; “Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him…” (NIV).
Paul mentions the step they have already taken in accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and then goes on to tell them what they are to do next. They are to “continue to live in him,” or “walk in him.” Once a believer accepts Jesus Christ and receives His salvation they must continue to move forward in Him. Just because they received salvation and are secure in Christ Jesus does not mean they can carelessly sit back and enjoy the ride. By no means! Believers who accept Jesus Christ as their Savior are to continue moving forward in Him so that they may become rooted and built up in Him.
This concept of rooting ourselves in Christ paints a beautiful picture of the way in which we are to work together with the Holy Spirit.
I believe that Paul’s understanding of this working is not based on a work that must be done alone or on our own. I believe Paul understands the idea of synergy, or a co-partnering with Christ in perfecting our lives. Only a few verses before this verse we see Paul pointing out this idea in 1:29 when he says, “To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.” (NIV, emphasis added). When Paul later says in verses 6 and 7 we are to “continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him…” he is implying this same meaning of “I in God and God in me.” A co-partnership and a synergistic working between God and man is what are necessary.
As we continue to walk in Christ, we continue to walk in faith. Once we have accepted Christ we are in Him and He is in us. Through faith we are able to continue to walk in Him and have assurance of our salvation. Although we are sinful by nature and will by no means reach or attain sinless-ness here on earth. Through faith and our working together with the Holy Spirit we can strive towards sinning- less, but we will not be ultimately sinless until the glorification that will take place in heaven.
Through this simple sentence (verse) we are able to see a wide array of meaning and understanding regarding salvation. We learn through it that accepting the gift of salvation found in Christ alone is the first step of many. Salvation is a free gift needing only to be received. Upon receiving that gift we are to “continue in Christ” so that we might be rooted in Him, built up in Him, established in Him, and overflowing with His joy and thankfulness.
Through our synergistic working with the Holy Spirit we can move forward in becoming freer from sin but unfortunately we will not be sinless until we reach heaven. It is my prayer that we would continue to live in Christ, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as we were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness, for the glory of His name!
Romans 7:8, 12 “For apart from the law, sin is dead… So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.”
The concept that I learned from this class in relation to this verse is that sin is an attempt to live outside of synergy with God. Then according to this concept, in another sense is that righteousness is an act or attempt to live within the synergy with God. The summary of what the law is found in Mark 12:31,31. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” 1 John 4:8 tells that “God is love.” Therefore when we link all these verses and concepts together, the law is love, God is love, which brings us to the equation that the law equals God.
Let’s rephrase the above verse: For apart from ‘God,’ sin is dead. Does this make sense? It sounds as if God is the cause of sin. But rather it is not. It is not saying that God is the cause of sin, but it is telling of the relationship with God and man. Our intentions and actions to break our relationship is what sin is. People might say that if God did not make the law there would be no sin at all. But it is no different from saying that if there is no God, there is no sin. This is also no different from denying the existence of God. Perhaps it is no different from breaking the relationship with God by denying our Creator, which is what sin is as mentioned above. ‘So then, God is holy, righteous and good.’ And God is love. God wants us to come back to Him. He wants us to be saved and once again fully recover our relationship with Him. He wants us to live within the synergy with God, in love.
Summing up the concept by rephrasing, sin is an attempt to live outside of the law. On the other hand, then, righteousness is to live in the law. By just looking at the word ‘law’, it just seems too difficult. The word ‘law’ makes it sound so challenging and hard for us to keep. But this is what 1 John 4:10-12 tells us: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us.” What a way to explain the synergy with God! The love of God shown here is self sacrifice for others. In the same way, God is asking from us to deny ourselves and sacrifice ourselves for God and for others. As we do so, God works within us. It is not easy. We can’t be good in loving from the beginning. But this verse implies that God is within us, which means that as we ask God to help us, He will do His best to help us.
Our actions certainly cannot save us. Only Jesus can save us. It is for us to recover our relationship with Him once again. And we can do so by living in His love, acknowledging who He is, and accepting Him. It is not difficult. All we have to do is ‘come’ to Him, and He will do the rest for us. Synergy, what a great way of God!
“For if we when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Romans 5:10”
When we were still living life on the opposite side of God’s will, we were brought back into a relationship with Him by the bridge that the death of His Son built, how much more now that we’re back together, are our lives of freedom going to be better because of His life. In our class discussions what kept striking me as such a vital aspect of salvation is the continuation of it. It isn’t something that finishes; it is a road we travel. It can be argued that the first time you let Jesus into your heart is not the most important aspect of your Salvation. Every time after that that you let God work in your heart, and allow yourself to come face to face with your sin, that continues to be as important.
We need to know that reconciliation with God has already taken place; I am already saved from death, this is complete. The aspect that continues is my life with Him. My life with Him is made possible because of Jesus life with us here on earth. It’s a contradiction that makes sense. Life doesn’t begin for us in earnest, unless a tremendous sacrifice is made. Until we walk onto the road, after crossing the bridge made by the cross, we are not fully alive.
The contradiction that does not makes sense is that as sinful humans we fight for our right to choose sin if we want to. We fight against the law of God, thinking that “getting to sin” is really the height of freedom. We don’t realize that if Christ hadn’t come and lived here and died here we would have no other choice but sin. Freedom is best expressed and maximized when we choose God. Just the fact that we can means that He initiated the reconciliation, made peace and wrote the treaty that was signed with His Son’s blood. Freedom in Christ is greater freedom than the freedom to choose sin ever was or ever will be.
I find this a relevant to me and my life because it reaffirms the fact that we are all on a path the continues when it comes to the “working out of our salvation.” Christ bears patiently with our stumbles and mistakes, even saved us while we were in the mess, and he continues to do so. No matter how little or how long I fill the shoes of a pastor, I will continually need the saving grace of Jesus, because regardless of my position, I will never drop the title sinner from my credentials. Staying aware of that, and our dependence on Him, helps me understand better the road that the Youth I work with are on. I often see them repeating the same mistakes. They all struggle with different things, from lack of discipline in their studies to staying in relationships and lifestyles that do not edify them. Sometimes, I just want to shake them. I get mad at them for devaluing their lives so much, and not making the decisions to do the good things they have the freedom to do. While they can make all kinds of decisions that I don’t approve of, they cannot fall out of a relationship or friendship with me. I get mad, disappointed even, I express that to them, but in the same breath, I always remind them that I’ll be there no matter what, and no decision they ever make will result in me turning their back on them. Every time I say it, I mean it to the core of who I am.
So, if I, as sinful as I am can mean it when I talk to those kids, how much more so is Jesus saying to us, I died that you might live. The bridge is built and it will never be demolished. Walk across it and have a better life. Accept the freedom that is being offered to you to come back to me. Let go of the chains and walk across because you and I are made right with one another. When I experience that kind of forgiveness and grace, when I walk across that sure and solid bridge, and walk into a greater awareness of God because I cannot stay on the side of sin…I walk deeper into His relentless love…and that brings me back to life.
#Two kinds of guilt
1. The guilt that kills
Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
-The culture of ‘the guilt that kills’
During the last period of our class, one student asked Dr. Hanna about what to preach in the funeral of unbeliever. It was an interesting question and the answer to that question was interesting as well. The interesting point Dr. Hanna made was this. ‘We can’t decide whether the man/woman was believer or unbeliever for we don’t know how God has worked in his/her life. So, the supposition we have for those so-called unbeliever is that they are under condemnation and I want to say that is ‘the guilt that kills’. I’d like to call it the culture of ‘the guilt that kills’. We judge ourselves and others and condemn not only ourselves but the others too. So, if the unbeliever dies without attending church, we tend to think that they are under condemnation. That is ‘the guilt that kills’. This kind of guilt takes away joy, ruins the relationship, and kills people.
-The religion of ‘the guilt that kills’
If man can earn the salvation by his own virtue, the problem is there is no standard for salvation. Buddhism is just like that. They say man will be saved by their own virtue. But no one has standard. Nobody knows the standard. So, as a result some people have an assurance but most of the others don’t have as assurance. And even the assurance some people have is not correct for there is no standard which says how much they have to reach to have salvation. So, it ultimately brings guilt to everyone actually. They know that they sin and it brings guilt and to remove the guilt, thay believe that they have to do something. It is good religion in a sense that they encourage people to do good deeds. But it is wrong religion in a sense that they give people the unending guilt. We believe that the virtue of the sacrifice of Christ is the only standard. It might be too simple and because it is so simple and because it looks like there’s not much man have to do to earn salvation, it might be hard to believe for those who exposed to ‘righteousness by works’. But, it is holistic and perfect in a sense that the sin problem is so big and man can’t even try to solve the problem and someone way bigger than sin came and solved the sin problem.
Today, we are surrounded by the culture and the religion of ‘the guilt that kills’. But God had a plan and introduced ‘the gult that give life’.
2. The guilt that give life
Phillipians 3:13,14 [13] Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of [it] yet; but one thing [I do]: forgetting what [lies] behind and reaching forward to what [lies] ahead, [14] I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
-More days under guilt, less days under grace
Sin is addiction for sure. And sin comes with guilt. And we sin knowing that it is sin and also keep sinning. And I thought that I have to try and work hard to remove that guilt and try not to sin. But as I focused on sin more and more, I can’t get away from it. Am I saying that the guilt is worng and bad? No, without guilt I will keep sinning knowing not that I’m falling into destruction. But, this is what I want to say. When I focused on removing guilt, I couldn’t do it.
What Dr. Hanna said on this matter helped me a lot. He said that the will of God is to take away the guilt. And if we try and try to remove the guilt by ourselves and just keep failing, we will reach to the point where we can’t even try any more and we will give up every thing. So, we have to go to Jesus directly whenever we sin. Believe and trust the grace of Jesus who takes us right away as we are.
And the next statement was very practical to me and I think it’s totally relevant to our brethren. The question is can we go to Jesus knowing that in 3 hours we’ll sin that specific sin again? And I’ll never forget the answer. Who would know what’s going to happen, what result will come out by meeting Jesus? Coming to Jesus is so powerful, so powerful.
And I believe that the point of all this issue is the attempt of Satan to make us to think that we have to deal with this guilt and sin problem with him. The good news is that there’s nothing we have to deal with Satan. We have to solve this problem with God. There is no relationship with Satan in solving sin problem. We should not run away from God. Because if God is our father, God will not deal with our problem as we think. He is our father. He is my father.
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