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A Deadly Doctrine
Article by Andre Hayman published on GreatControversy.org on August 2, 2004.
Adapted from a Sermon delivered at the Flushing (NY) Seventh-day Adventist Church, June 5, 2004.
As I rise to speak to you today, the world pauses to remember the tragic death of a man who some say was one of the great thinkers and doers of the twentieth century, and they stop to think what might have been. For it was on this very date (June 5th), thirty-six years ago, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California that Senator Robert Francis Kennedy of NY, one of the Democratic candidates for the US Presidency, was shot by Sirhan Sirhan.
Today I will speak to you about a doctrine that is even deadlier than the bullets that took Senator Kennedy's life, for it is one that seeks to cause eternal death. Let us look back at part of the Scripture reading. Genesis chapter three, verse four says, “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die.”
Given the sermon title and the Scripture we just read, some may think I am going to preach against the false doctrine of natural immortality. However it is my intention to address a concept rising from the very core of the false doctrine of innate human immortality. For, many times, when the supposed immortality of the soul is spoken of, this core concept is implied, yet rarely explicitly considered.
So what is this core concept that I am talking about? It is none other than the deleterious doctrine of “sin and live.”
Let's Be Berean
Before I go any further, I must make it exceedingly clear that both the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy are the basis of our study today. For it is 2 Timothy 3:16 which says, “All scripture is given by Inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness.” The Spirit of Prophecy by its own acknowledgement echoes Bible truth:
Additional truth is not brought out; but God has through the Testimonies simplified the great truths already given (1).
I wish all to understand that my confidence in the light that God has given [through my books] stands firm, because I know that the Holy Spirit's power magnified the truth, and made it honorable, saying: ‘This is the way, walk ye in it.’ In my books, the truth is stated, barricaded by a ‘Thus saith the Lord.’ The Holy Spirit traced these truths upon my heart and mind as indelibly as the law was traced by the finger of God, upon the tables of stone (2).
The Lord has given me much light that I want the people to have; for there is instruction that the Lord has given me for His people. It is light that they should have, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little. This is now to come before the people, because it has been given to correct specious errors and to specify what is truth (3).
This morning I intend to give Bible truth, though the Spirit of Prophecy says; “the multitudes do not want Bible truth, because it interferes with the desires of the sinful, world-loving heart” (4). So I am in no position to compromise the word of God or be apologetic about it. This morning I challenge you to put me to the same test the Bereans put to Paul, because it is your responsibility to test everything I say, and what anyone else says, by the law and testimony (Isaiah 8:20). Sister White says:
It is not enough to do what a man thinks is right or what the minister tells him is right. His soul's salvation is at stake, and he should search the Scriptures for himself (5).
So today I tell you, don't put your relationship with me before your relationship with God, and don't just take anything I say for granted.
Probing the First Lie
Let us go back to the book of Genesis, but this time let's look at chapter 2:16-17. It says, “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” God here explicitly tells Adam that he should not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or he would most certainly die. This is not just a physical death but eternal. Now let's go over to chapter 3:1-4:
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die.
From these four verses we get an idea of how Satan works, during the time of Adam and Eve and even in our time. We see that Satan is very subtle and begins in verse one by insinuating doubt to Eve, saying, “Yea, hath God said?” or in other words, did God really say this? One of the reasons so many people believe, and so many religions preach, the doctrine of natural immortality and the doctrine of “sin and live” is because they doubt the Bible. There are even some Seventh-day Adventists who doubt both the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy.
Reading verse four of Genesis three, we see that Satan utters the first lie recorded in the Bible, not-so subtly contradicting God, and saying, “Ye shall not surely die.” Both Adam and Eve bought that lie, even though it directly contradicted what God said, for they found it to be more attractive and easier on the ears and heart.
This is the very same problem with the doctrine of “sin and live.” It is very pleasing to the heart, and it seeks to excuse sin and eliminate its consequences, including its ultimate consequence of eternal death. This is done by telling us that sin is not an issue of salvation, and that we can go to heaven while still in sin.
We recall that Paul in Galatians 1:7-11 warns of a Gospel that would seek to please men rather than God, which is exactly what the teaching of “sin and live” does. So many people, but thank God not all (as evidenced by our presence here today), desire salvation but without surrendering to the requirements of God, including giving up their life of sin. This is why they prefer to flock to churches that teach you can have eternal life while still practicing known sins, or they try to pervert the Bible to make it seem that way. After all, more people prefer to live by a broad, easy gospel invented by Satan that will allow them to feel they are saved while sinning, than the narrow way paved by God that frees from sin and empowers to victory (Matthew 7:13-14).
We should be clear that what Adam and Eve did by eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil was sin, and why it was sin. They disobeyed the word of God, or, more clearly, they broke Hiss law. For God said in Genesis 2:17, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it.” And yet they ate of it. What were the consequences of their sin? Death, both temporal and eternal.
As a result sin had entered the world, and had barred their access to the tree of life, according to Genesis 3:22-24. Thus they would have to die the physical death, and we too, being barred from the tree of life, are subject to the first death. Adam and Eve would also have had to die the second death, or eternal death, had Jesus Christ not intervened immediately and had they not come to repentance. The Spirit of Prophecy tells us Adam repented and trusted in Christ: “Faithfully did he repent of his sin and trust in the merits of the promised Saviour, and he died in the hope of a resurrection” (6).
Two Key Questions
This brings us to two key questions: (1) what is sin? and (2) what is the result of sinning? The Spirit of Prophecy says in Selected Messages: “The only definition we find in the Bible for sin is that ‘sin is the transgression of the law’” (7). She is quoting from 1 John 3:4. The problem of sinning, or transgressing the law of God is stated by God Himself. Contrary to what Satan says in Genesis 3:4, “Ye shall not surely die,” and God says in chapter 2:17, “thou shalt surely die.” And again in Ezekiel 18:20 we have, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.”
Romans 6:23 makes it clear that while eternal life is a free gift, by grace through faith alone, eternal death is earned by sinning, and we know it is speaking about eternal death because Exodus 32:33 tells us that if we sin, we will be blotted out of the book of life: “And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against Me, him will I blot out of My book.” The Spirit of Prophecy states further, “If men cling to sin, they become identified with it. Then the glory of God, which destroys sin, must destroy them” (8).
This leads to two key points. First, we cannot enter heaven if we continue in sin. Ellen White says: “Whenever men choose their own way, they place themselves in controversy with God. They will have no place in the kingdom of heaven, for they are at war with the very principles of heaven” (9).
The second point is that God does not compromise with sin. Inspiration says, “God will not make the slightest compromise with sin. If He could have done this, Christ need not have come to our world to suffer and die” (10).
Think of it. Were God willing to compromise with sin, then Satan would still be in heaven. We have considered just a few quotes from Inspiration that are exactly contrary to this “sin and live” doctrine. The facts seem plain. Yet this doctrine somehow continues to exist and has even made its way into the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Somehow the word “from” in Matthew 1:21 is changed to the word “in,” making it falsely appear that Jesus saves people in their sins rather than from them.
As I said before, the problem with this doctrine is that it seeks to excuse sin and eliminate its consequences. But this false dogma does not stand alone, for Satan has invented clever ways to make it seem acceptable. In the words of Martin Luther King Jr., “Now is the time.” Now the time has come to deal with these clever, subtle, yet oh-so-deadly theories that teach this “sin and live” doctrine. The format I will follow is the one Ellen White presents in the following statement: “He [Jesus] had set before them the truths of Scripture in contrast with tradition” (11).
Original Sin and Its Sanitized Forms
The first device that Satan uses is one I am very familiar with since I have had twelve years of Catholic school education. It is a concept foreign to the Bible; it is the concept of original sin. This teaching was made famous by a man named Augustine who lived in the 4th century A.D. It teaches that everyone born after Adam's fall is born guilty of his sin, and is born an automatic, involuntary transgressor of God's law. A Protestant theologian talking about Augustine's concept states, “According to him [Augustine] the nature of man, both physical and moral, is totally corrupted by Adam's sin, so that he cannot do otherwise than sin” (12). Pope Gregory VI has regarding this doctrine, “In Adam all have sinned” (13).
Like all doctrines, whether true or false, this one cannot stand on its own; it exists in necessary company with the false teachings of infant baptism and the Immaculate Conception. The Catholic Encyclopedia states regarding the Immaculate Conception, “No direct or categorical and stringent proof of the dogma can be brought forward from Scripture” (14). This doctrine states that Mary was immune from original sin and that this concept is needed for Jesus to have been born free from sin.
Why do I bring this up today? Because Satan has sought to introduce this concept to the very elect and bring it in among the remnant. The following inspired passage comes to mind: and “Do not forget that the most dangerous snares which Satan has prepared for the church will come through its own members” (15). New forms of this doctrine have arisen. Some say we do not inherit the guilt of Adam, but nevertheless hold that sin is an involuntary state received at birth, and that we were actually in him when he sinned, making ourselves unwilling sinners.
This leads to another unbiblical concept that says we sin because we are born sinners and that we are not sinners because of the sins we have committed. Looking at these concepts in comparison to original sin one will find that they are fundamentally the same rose by another name.
Now let us see from Inspiration, how the concept of original sin as found in the above references is contrary both to the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy. The problem with this doctrine is that it seeks to excuse sin and eliminate its consequences. It excuses our sin by teaching that we sin because we are born sinners which means sinning is inevitable and unavoidable. In fact, one author goes so far as to say: “God does not blame us for being sinners, since we are born sinful” (16). In contrast to the above, the Spirit of Prophecy says: “‘Sin is the transgression of the law.’ This is the only definition of sin” (17).
Transgression is Our Own Act
Inspiration rejects the idea that sin being an involuntary condition or state, something inherited by birth; but rather says simply that it is a transgression of the law. We do not transgress God's law merely by being born. To say that sin is a state of being apart from choice is to negate human free will. So let's point out what these concepts are saying and check what the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy have to say about them. Remember what the misguided teachers are saying: that sin is a condition inherited from birth, second, we have sinned apart from our free will, and third, we commit sins because we are born sinners.
The first point is contrary to the definition of sin we have seen from Inspiration. In act, in order to be a sinner one must become a transgressor of God's law. We do not transgress simply by being born, or Jesus would have been an automatic transgressor, for the Bible says He “was made of the seed of David according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3). According to the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy, no one can sin against their own will, neither can we bear or inherit someone else's sin. Ezekiel l8:20 insists that, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son.”
Ellen White states the following:
However great the pressure brought to bear upon the soul, transgression is our own act (18).
No man can be forced to transgress. His own consent must be first gained, the soul must purpose the sinful act, before passion can dominate over reason, or iniquity triumph over conscience (19).
It is not in the power of Satan to force anyone to sin. Sin is the sinner's individual act. Before sin exists in the heart, the consent of the will must be given, and as soon as it is given, sin is triumphant, and hell rejoices (20).
If we are born sinners, where in being born have we consented to sin? How, if sin can't exist in the heart before the will gives consent, could babies be born with hearts already sinful?
One text commonly used to support this idea is Psalm 51:5 which says, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” In context David is saying that his mother was a sinner by her actions and that he was born into an environment of sin—that is an environment in which sins are committed. King David is here asking for forgiveness for the sin he committed with Bathsheba, not for being born. All of us are born into a sinful environment; being born into that environment doesn't make us sinners. A child's being born into a family of thieves doesn't automatically make him a thief.
The Bible declares, “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2).
The Spirit of Prophecy echoes this:
By choosing to sin, men separate themselves from God, cut themselves off from the channel of blessing, and the sure result is ruin and death (21).
Men and women frame many excuses for their proneness to sin. Sin is represented as a necessity, an evil that cannot be overcome. But sin is not a necessity. Christ lived in this world from infancy to manhood, and during that time He met and resisted all the temptations by which man is beset. He is a perfect pattern of childhood, of youth, of manhood (22).
God does not separate from His people, but His people separate themselves from God by their own course of action (23).
Since sin is a choice, it should be evident that we could not have sinned when Adam sinned; because neither were we alive nor did we have a choice. To be born with a sinful nature is not the same thing as being born a sinner or to be born separated from God. We have no choice in what nature we are born with, but Inspiration is clear that the only way we separate ourselves from God is by choosing to sin. However, this is not to say that we are born saved either, for both sin and salvation are choices.
The Cheapness of Sin
Another deception Satan has introduced is the concept that sin does not cause us to become unjustified or lost. Sound familiar? It is essentially the same thing Satan told Eve in the Garden of Eden. So far we have seen the definition of sin, but it is now important that justification is defined. Sister White says, “Justification is a full, complete pardon of sin” (24). The concept that we are still justified or pardoned when we sin is completely contrary to Inspiration, but then again it would have to be if it is meant to excuse sin and eliminate the consequence of death.
The Bible says in Exodus 23:7 “Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.”
Ellen White says:
It is by continual surrender of the will, by continual obedience, that the blessing of justification is retained (25).
If sin does not annul our justification why then would Inspiration say that it has to be retained?
There is no safety nor repose nor justification in transgression of the law. Man cannot hope to stand innocent before God, and at peace with Him through the merits of Christ, while he continues in sin (26).
When man transgresses he is under the condemnation of the law, and it becomes to him a yoke of bondage. Whatever his profession may be he is not justified, which means pardoned (27).
When David departed from God, and stained his virtuous character by his crimes, he was no longer a man after God's own heart. God did not in the least degree justify him in his sins (28).
David was not justified in his sins, and if he wasn't, how can we be?
Under the Umbrella?
Another means Satan uses to fool people into believing sin doesn't matter is by saying we are under the umbrella of justification. In other words, that our sins—past, present and future—have already been forgiven. Listen to this statement,
As long as we are believers in Christ and stand under the umbrella of justification by faith, we continue to have peace with God (29).
According to Inspiration, such a concept is false. The Bible does not teach that sin is inevitable. First John 2:1 says, “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” We are not supposed to sin, but if we do, we have an Advocate. The word if is a conditional word; the verse says if we sin—not when we sin—so we are, in fact, not supposed to sin.
First Corinthians 15:34 says, “Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.” Zephaniah 3:13 tells us, “The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.” We find the fulfillment of this verse in Revelation 14:5, which speaks of the 144,000 who are translated without seeing death: “And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.”
The concept that future sins are already forgiven, and that they are forgiven without confession, repentance or forsaking is completely contrary to what Inspiration says. For Romans 3:25 declares, “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.” The New King James is even clearer, saying “the sins that were previously committed.” The Spirit of Prophecy only confirms this point; “Christ bears the penalty of man's past transgressions, and by imparting to man His righteousness, makes it possible for man to keep God's holy law” (30).
Another passage is even clearer, saying “When we repent of our past transgressions of His law, and resolve to render obedience in the future, we should believe that God for Christ's sake accepts us, and forgives our sins” (31). And consider the following, “While Christ pardons none but the penitent, those whom He pardons are first made repentant” (32).
If Christ pardons only the repentant, then how then can He forgive us of sins we have yet to commit and repent of? To say that tomorrow's sin is already forgiven is to desecrate the landmarks of the Seventh-day Adventist faith, such as the sanctuary doctrine and the investigative judgment. Think of it: if tomorrow's sin is already forgiven, why then would there be a necessity for the investigative judgment? Why would records of all of our words and actions, including our sins, be carefully recorded in heaven? And why would these facts have to be reviewed by both angels and saints, before and after the Advent, if our sins have been forgiven even before they were committed and recorded?
Satan also tries to mask the “sin and live” doctrine by putting forth the idea that God loves us so much that He will still save us while in sin, or that His love will excuse or cover up our sin. This too is contrary to Inspiration:
Many have a fanciful religion. They talk of God's love, claiming that He is not severe and exacting, but long-suffering and lenient; at the same time, they echo the suggestion of Satan ’Hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?… “Ye shall not surely die”’ (33).
Satan deceives many with the plausible theory that God's love for His people is so great that He will excuse sin in them (34).
The love of God will never lead to the belittling of sin; it will never cover or excuse an unconfessed wrong (35).
Jesus' ultimate act of love in dying on the cross was not to excuse our sins, but to set us free from them by offering us forgiveness and the power to overcome. The Bible is extremely clear that God is love, and that He is merciful and gracious, but this does not mean that those attributes cause Him to excuse or overlook our unforsaken sin. Consider God's own description of His character to Moses: “The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty” (Exodus 34:6-7).
One of the problems with dwelling on what is perceived to be the love of God is that many people don't understand what it is. In describing modern spiritualism Ellen White tells us:
Love is dwelt upon as the chief attribute of God, but it is degraded to a weak sentimentalism, making little distinction between good and evil. God's justice, His denunciations of sin, the requirements of His holy law, are all kept out of sight (36).
A summary of the problem of thinking love excuses sin is found in another statement:
That religion which makes of sin a light matter, dwelling upon the love of God to the sinner regardless of his actions, only encourages the sinner to believe that God will receive him while he continues in that which he knows to be sin. That is what some are doing who profess to believe present truth. The truth is kept apart from the life, and that is the reason it has no power to convict and convert the soul (37).
God's love does not excuse sin nor does it rid us of its consequences. But instead it offers us forgiveness, the power to overcome sin, and freedom from the penalty of eternal death if we cooperate with Him. After all, Romans 2:4 tells us it is the love and goodness of God that leads us to repentance. This doesn't mean His love will always be easy, for Jesus—out of love—thought it was better to reprove and correct people now rather than have them burn in the lake of fire. God is not waiting to condemn us, He is actually waiting to forgive and help us overcome. But this does not mean He can compromise with sin. Otherwise He would cease to be God.
Simple Steps
So far we have looked at several, but not nearly all, of the concepts that form and play major roles in the deadly doctrine of “sin and live.” We have seen from Inspiration why they are wrong, but now I must show what exactly must be done in order to rid ourselves of sin and have eternal life. Before we do this let us again consider one of the quotes I mentioned earlier, which “as long as we believe we have peace with God” (38). This sounds good, but it is only a half truth. James 2:19 says that even the devils believe, and it's hard to imagine by the ending of that verse that they are at peace with God. “the devils also believe, and tremble” (emphasis added).
According to the Bible we need more than belief for justification, for one can claim to believe yet still be in deep transgression of the law of God. For Romans 2:13 says, “For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.” This same sentiment is echoed by Ellen White in the following statement:
There are many who view themselves as defective in character when they look into God's moral mirror, his law; but they have heard so much of ‘All you have to do is to believe, only believe that Jesus has done it all, and you have nothing to do in the matter,’ that after venturing to look into the mirror they straightway go from it retaining all their defects, with the words on their lips, ‘Jesus has done it all.’ These are represented by the figure that James has marked out—the man beholding himself and going away and forgetting what manner of man he was. ‘Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.’ James has told what is to be done: ‘Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls’ (39).
But He will not accept those who claim to have faith in Him and yet are disloyal to His Father's commandment (40).
Today we cannot just be believers in the Bible, but we must also be doers of the word, for in this way we stay away from sin and we know that we are serving the Lord.
We have seen from Inspiration how deadly sin is, and how lethal and false is the doctrine of “sin and live” together with its supporting concepts. So if we know we can't enter the heavenly kingdom with sin, and that sin will cause our eternal death, what must we do to separate ourselves from sin? Both the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy contain the answer.
Confession
The first thing we must do is to go or return to God, for forgiveness by confession and repentance, thus surrendering our will to His. God says in Jeremiah 4:1, “If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.” Second Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” First John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Ellen White states the same:
Repentance is associated with faith, and is urged in the gospel as essential to salvation. There is no salvation without repentance. No impenitent sinner can believe with his heart unto righteousness. Repentance is described by Paul as a godly sorrow for sin, that ‘worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of.’ 2 Corinthians 7:10. This repentance has in it nothing of the nature of merit, but it prepares the heart for acceptance of Christ as the only Saviour, the only hope of the lost sinner (41).
One sin unconfessed and unrepented of, will close for you the gates of the city of God (42).
Forsaking
The second thing we must do in order to be forgiven is forsake our sins:
If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy (Proverbs 28:13).
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon (Isaiah 55:7).
We are solemnly warned:
Beware of procrastination. Do not put off the work of forsaking your sins and seeking purity of heart through Jesus. Here is where thousands upon thousands have erred to their eternal loss. I will not here dwell upon the shortness and uncertainty of life; but there is a terrible danger—a danger not sufficiently understood—in delaying to yield to the pleading voice of God's Holy Spirit, in choosing to live in sin; for such this delay really is. Sin, however small it may be esteemed, can be indulged in only at the peril of infinite loss. What we do not overcome, will overcome us and work out our destruction (43).
Of course, while both the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy are clear that we must forsake and overcome our sins, they are also clear that there is only one way this can be done, and that is under the power of Jesus Christ through surrendering to His will. Philippians 4:13 assures us, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
While we are not saved by our own works, we have not the faith that is necessary for salvation if we are not obedient to Christ, permitting His work in us. We are told in Hebrews 5:9 that Christ is the “author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him.” Ellen White repeats this Biblical condition for salvation:
The condition of eternal life is now just what it always has been,—just what it was in Paradise before the fall of our first parents,—perfect obedience to the law of God, perfect righteousness. If eternal life were granted on any condition short of this, then the happiness of the whole universe would be imperiled. The way would be open for sin, with all its train of woe and misery, to be immortalized (44).
Ellen White is clear in this context, however, that only through the righteousness of Christ—both imputed and imparted—can this obedience be rendered:
Our only ground of hope is in the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and in that wrought by His Spirit working in and through us (45).
Perfection
We must obtain perfection of character which includes obedience, in this lifetime, because we are told that when Jesus comes again He will give us new bodies, not new characters, and only those with the character of Christ will receive the new, incorruptible bodies:
Many are deceiving themselves by thinking that the character will be transformed at the coming of Christ, but there will be no conversion of heart at His appearing. Our defects of character must here be repented of, and through the grace of Christ we must overcome them while probation shall last. This is the place for fitting up for the family above (46).
Moral perfection is required of all. Never should we lower the standard of righteousness in order to accommodate inherited or cultivated tendencies to wrong-doing. We need to understand that imperfection of character is sin. All righteous attributes of character dwell in God as a perfect, harmonious whole, and every one who receives Christ as a personal Saviour is privileged to possess these attributes (47).
It may seem that perfection is an extremely high standard, one impossible for fallen mortals to reach. But we must understand that it is God's standard, and the reason it is so high is that God will not permit sin to arise once again in heaven. I don't know about you, but I would at a minimum be uncomfortable if my neighbor in Heaven had yet to overcome his sin of hatred which the Bible tells us is murder. For those who wonder if perfection of character is possible we find our answer in the following inspired statement: “Perfection of character is attainable by every one who strives for it. This is made the very foundation of the new covenant of the gospel” (48).
Jesus not only has the power to forgive us our sin, but also to help us attain character perfection, declaring in Jude 24 that He is able to keep us from falling. After all, Jesus also said in Matthew 5:48, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect,” and He would never tell us to do something which He would not provide the power to do.
In the 1960's the song, “We Shall Overcome” was made famous by the Civil Rights movement. Some of the lyrics were as follows:
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome someday.
In reference to overcoming sin the lyrics are more aptly changed to,
We by God's grace can overcome,
We by God's power must overcome,
We by Christ's blood must overcome today.
One may rightly ask how it is that we overcome, and the answer is simple: by the powerful blood of the Lamb. Matthew 26:28 states that the blood of Jesus Christ is shed for the remission of sins, but that's not all it does. According to Revelation 12:11 we overcome Satan by that same blood of Christ: “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”
We must recall, as Ellen White says: “there is no excuse for sinning” (49). Elsewhere she writes:
The love of God does not lead Him to excuse sin. He did not excuse it in Satan; He did not excuse it in Adam or in Cain; nor will He excuse it in any other of the children of men. He will not connive at our sins or overlook our defects of character. He expects us to overcome in His name. So it will be in the great judgment day. Men may now excuse their defects of character, but in that day they will offer no excuse (50).
Earlier we looked at Exodus 32:33 in which God said to Moses, “Whosoever hath sinned against Me, him will I blot out of My book.” But Jesus Himself tells us that by overcoming our sins through His power we will not be blotted out of the book of life: “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels” (Revelation 3:5).
Conclusion
This morning the false doctrine of “sin and live” and its related theories has been exposed, not by words of human reason but by those from Inspiration. It is imperative that we understand the deadly problem of sin and any doctrine that seeks to excuse it or to say it doesn't matter. Let me speak as plainly as possible. Sin is a matter of life and death, and while Jesus Chris is our only Way to heaven, He is not in the business of covering up or excusing unconfessed, unrepented of, and unforsaken sin. Jesus came to pay the price in order that we might have eternal life, and to forgive us our sins if we give them up. But we must also recognize that He came that we might live and follow His example and overcome sin. Today we must apply the principles of the Bible regarding sin to our lives. If we have sin in our lives, we must go to God and ask Him to forgive us, and we must claim His power to go and sin no more (John 8:11).
I close with the words of Moses found in Deuteronomy chapter 30 verses 19-20:
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey His voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto Him: for He is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
References
- Ellen G. White, Testimonies, vol. 1, p. 665.
- ________, Colporteur Ministry, p. 126.
- ________, Selected Messages, vol. 3, p. 32.
- ________, Great Controversy, p. 595.
- Ibid., p. 598.
- Ibid., p. 647.
- ________, Selected Messages, vol. 1, p. 320.
- ________, Desire of Ages, p. 107.
- ________, Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p. 51.
- ________, Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1144.
- ________, Desire of Ages, p. 349.
- Louis Berkof, Systematic Theology, (Grand Rapids: MI, Erdmanns Publishing, 1939), pp. 244, 245.
- Peter de Rosa, Vicars of Christ, (London: England, Corgi Books, 1989), p. 452.
- Kevin Knight, Catholic Encyclopedia-Immaculate Conception, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07674d.htm, accessed June 20, 2004 10:50 p.m. PST).
- Ellen G. White, Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 477.
- Jack Sequeira, “God So Loved The World” Bible Study- Study 6, What Must I Do To Be Saved?, Capital Memorial Church, Washington DC, p. 1.
- Ellen G. White, Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 951.
- ________, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 421.
- ________, Testimonies, vol. 5, p. l77.
- ________, Signs of the Times, December 18, 1893.
- ________, Selected Messages, vol. 1, p. 235.
- ________, The Faith I Live By, p. 219.
- ________, 1888 Materials, p. 1011.
- ________, Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1071.
- ________, Selected Messages, vol. 1, p. 397.
- Ibid., p. 213.
- Ellen G. White, My Life Today, p. 250.
- ________, Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, p. 379.
- Jack Sequeira, “God So Loved The World” Bible Study - Study 6 What Must I Do To Be Saved?, Capital Memorial Church, Washington DC, p. 4.
- Ellen G. White, Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1092.
- ________, Messages to Young People, p. 111.
- ________, Signs of the Times, August 4, 1898.
- ________, Review and Herald, November 18, 1890.
- ________, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 522.
- ________, Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 996.
- ________, Great Controversy, p. 558.
- ________, Testimonies, vol. 1, p. 540.
- Jack Sequeira, “God So Loved The World” Bible Study-Study 6 What Must I Do To Be Saved?, Capital Memorial Church, Washington DC, p. 4.
- Ellen G. White, Review and Herald, October 11, 1887.
- ________, Faith and Works, p. 49.
- ________, Selected Messages, vol. 3, p. 365.
- ________, Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, p.40.
- ________, Steps to Christ, pp. 32, 33.
- Ibid., p. 62.
- Ibid., p. 63.
- ________, Adventist Home, p. 319.
- ________, Christ's Object Lessons, p. 330.
- ________, Selected Messages, vol. 1, pp. 211, 212.
- ________, Desire of Ages, p. 311.
- ________, Christ's Object Lessons, pp. 316, 317.