The Two Ones, Adam and Christ

We cannot say that we have not been warned. The apostle Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, warned us very clearly: “Even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given unto him, hath written unto you; As also in all of his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to be understood, which they who are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.” 2 Peter 3:15, 16.

What shall we do then, with the writings of Paul? Shall we just lay them aside? Certainly not, they are scriptures, and we need them. But let us not approach them carelessly, and let us carefully abide by our basic rule of all Bible study, that a passage which is not clear to us at first reading must be understood in the light of other passages on the same subject. Thus the Bible interprets itself to us, and we do not place a private interpretation on the Bible. And since the Holy Spirit is the ultimate author of the scriptures, it follows that all Spirit inspired writings should be included in our study. Peter did not say that some of Paul’s writings are impossible to understand—he just said that they are difficult.

So with all due caution and care, let us address ourselves to one of those difficult passages, Romans 5:12–19. Many people have started to read this scripture, and after a few verses have given it up and gone on to the next chapter. But just now this passage is being placed before us as the cornerstone of a false theology. We are going to be hearing a great deal about this false theology, and if we do not have an understanding of Paul’s message in these verses, we are in danger of being deceived. We note in passing that false teachers quite customarily seize upon obscure passages as a vehicle for their errors, but we do not have time to enlarge on that point and cite examples just now.

In Romans 5:12 Paul sets up a comparison, which might be called The Comparison of the Two Ones, since he uses the term “one” repeatedly, and in the comparison itself does not use names. Then he does something a bit out of the ordinary. Before finishing his comparison, he stops in the middle of it to make some explanations and state some qualifications. Having done this in verses 13–17, he then returns to his comparison and completes it in verses 18 and 19.

The King James translators took note of this unusual circumstance, and put verses 13–17 in parentheses, as you will see if you look at them carefully. Paul himself also took note of it, and used a word in verse 18 which, in the Greek language, signifies a return to a line of thought which has been interrupted. This is not indicated in the King James translation, where verse 18 is introduced with the word “therefore.” But Paul did not use the single word ara, which means “therefore.” He used the compound form, ara oun, which means “therefore, to return to my interrupted subject.” (Refer to any Greek-English lexicon.)

Phillip Schaff offers this comment: “The Apostle might have spared the commentators a great deal of trouble, if he had, according to the ordinary rules of composition, first stated the comparison in full, and then given the explanations and qualifications.” Quoted in Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 529.

Having now made ourselves aware of Paul’s arrangement of his ideas, let us read the comparison in full, in verses 12, 18 and 19, passing by, for the moment, the explanations and qualifications in verses 13–17: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned . . . Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life; For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”

Let us make a list of the comparisons and contrasts between the accomplishments and influences of “The Two Ones,” who are obviously Adam and Christ:

One (Adam): One (Christ):

·Disobedience ·Obedience

·Sin ·Righteousness

·Condemnation ·Justification

·Death ·Life

·Many made sinners ·Many made righteous

Now we understand his comparison, so let us go back and examine the explanations and qualifications that Paul had put in verses 13–17. Verses 13 and 14 are an explanation of what he had said in verse 12: “and so death passed upon all men.”

Nothing else that he had said in verse 12 called for any explanation, but this did. How did death pass upon all men? How about the Gentiles, who had not had the law? Were they not exceptions? If not, why not?

Paul denies that they are exceptions, though conceding that they had not sinned “after the similitude of Adam’s transgression,” that is, not in defiance of a direct and specific command, such as God had given to Adam about the tree of good and evil. Nevertheless he holds them accountable for such light as they had, insisting that “death reigned from Adam to Moses,” even over the Gentiles who did not have the written law of Moses.

“For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression.” Romans 5:13, 14.

Paul is arguing that the Gentiles, even though they were not being held accountable for disobeying the laws of Moses, which they had not known, were nevertheless being held accountable in the manner that he had already described in Romans 2:14–16: “For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves . . . their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another. In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.”

This is a reflection of the same truth that had been expressed by the Apostle John in John 1:9: “[Jesus] was the true light, that lighteth every man that cometh into the world.”

Having thus explained in verses 13–14 what he had meant by the words, “death passed upon all men,” in verse 12, he moves on to state, in verse 15, a qualification of his comparison of “The Two Ones,” using the words “but not,” and “much more:” “But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one, many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, had abounded unto many.”

The Grace of God

He recognizes that his comparison is lopsided, because the act of God in Christ is so much greater than the act of Adam, so he puts in this much more qualification, then follows it by another qualification of a similar nature in verses 16–17: “And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.”

So the act of Adam and the act of Christ are not equal, even though both brought far-reaching results. The saving act of Christ far surpasses and transcends all other acts, and can only be compared with them if qualifications are stated. Having made this clear, he now returns to his comparison, and finishes it, in verses 18–19, which we have already examined.

The tragic act of Adam brought disobedience, sin, condemnation, death and the making of many sinners. The glorious act of Christ brought obedience, righteousness, justification, life, and the making of many righteous.

So where is the problem? How is this scripture being used as the cornerstone of a false theology?

First or the Second Death?

The problem is in the short phrase in verse 12: “and so death passed upon all men.”

Is this referring to the first death, or to the second death? We remember that the first death comes to all, as a result of Adam’s sin. We pause to reflect that others die as a result of Adam’s sin, not because they are responsible for it. Your cat, your dog, and your horse will all die as a result of Adam’s sin—not because they were responsible for it.

We remember that the second death is total annihilation. This creates a question: How could death pass from an annihilated person to other persons? Can annihilation be passed from one to another?

And in verse 15 Paul writes: “For if through the offence of one many be dead.”

Obviously these persons were already dead when Paul was writing, but had they been annihilated? No. And carrying this point a step further, Had Adam himself been annihilated? Again we must answer, No. If we choose to believe that the death referred to in Romans 5 is the second death of annihilation, we are confronted with insurmountable difficulties. How could an annihilated Adam pass on annihilation to others? Impossible.

Yet some theologians and some among us are arguing for that position. What shall we do when confronted with a problem like this? Go to the Spirit of Prophecy. That is what it is for. And if someone casts the senseless accusation at us, that we are putting Ellen White above the Bible, just look them in the eye and firmly set them straight. We are not putting Ellen White above the Bible, we are putting her above all earthly interpreters. We are saying that Ellen White had a better understanding of the Scriptures than anyone else since the Apostle Paul.

As quickly as we turn to her writings, we find that she understood clearly the difference between the first death and the second death, and that she understood which death Paul was referring to when he wrote in Romans 5:12 that “death passed upon all men.”

She discusses the matter on pages 533 and 544 of The Great Controversy. She quotes certain scriptures on page 544, including Romans 6:23: “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” She then writes: “The death referred to in these scriptures is not that pronounced upon Adam, for all mankind suffer the penalty of his transgression. It is the ‘second death’ that is placed in contrast with everlasting life.”

That makes sense. It would hardly be sensible to place eternal life in contrast with the earthly, temporary death. To contrast eternal life with eternal death would be much more logical. Then she enlarges on the subject of the first death, and in a precise parallel with Romans 5:12 she writes: “In consequence of Adam’s sin, death passed upon the whole human race.”

Here she uses three of Paul’s words, “death passed upon.” On page 533, dealing with the same subject, the first death, she uses a longer quotation from Romans 5:12: “While ‘death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned,’ Christ ‘hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.’”

On page 544 she continues in the same vein, stating what happens after the first death: “In consequence of Adam’s sin, death passed upon the whole human race. All alike go down into the grave [the first death]. And through the provisions of the plan of salvation, all are to be brought forth from their graves. ‘There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust;’ (Acts 24:15) ‘for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.’ (1 Corinthians 15:22) But a distinction is made between the two classes that are brought forth. ‘All that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.’ (John 5:28, 29) They who have been ‘accounted worthy’ of the resurrection of life are ‘blessed and holy.’ ‘On such the second death hath no power.’ (Rev 20:6) But those who have not, through repentance, and faith, secured pardon, must receive the penalty of transgression,—‘the wages of sin.’ They suffer punishment varying in duration and intensity, ‘according to their works,’ but finally ending in the second death.”

So God’s inspired messenger answers our questions about Romans 5, and clears away our problems, just as she did in the early Bible conferences of our pioneers, and in countless other situations where divine insight was needed to protect God’s people from scriptural error. Now we know beyond question that the death described in Romans 5, that began with Adam and passed upon all men, is the first death, not the second death of annihilation.

What did not pass?

Another simple means of determining what passed from Adam to others is to pose the question, What did not pass from Adam to others? Ellen White, with crystal clear consistency, deals with this question in The Great Controversy, 533, 534: “Adam could not transfer to his posterity that which he did not possess . . . Had man after his fall been allowed free access to the tree of life, he would have lived forever, and thus sin would have been immortalized. But cherubim and a flaming sword ‘kept the way of the tree of life,’ (Genesis 3:24) and not one of the family of Adam has been permitted to pass that barrier and partake of the life-giving fruit. Therefore there is not an immortal sinner.”

A prominent Seventh-day Adventist theologian, one of those who were trying to introduce the falsehoods of Calvinism into Adventism, once challenged me with the question: If guilt is not passed from Adam to his children, why do babies die? He obviously was not familiar with the above passages from the scriptures and the Spirit of Prophecy, or else just did not accept them.

Beyond Belief

It is even so today. Those who refuse to permit God’s chosen messenger to correct their thinking, and protect them from misunderstanding the scriptures, go blindly on, stumbling from one error to another, blundering in the darkness of their own presumed wisdom. An outstanding example may be seen in the recent book, Beyond Belief, by Jack Sequeira. In a chapter entitled The Two Adams—Romans 5, he argues most strenuously for six and a third pages that the death referred to in Romans 5 is the second death. Thus he firmly rejects the Spirit of Prophecy, placing his own judgment above the light that has come to us from God, and uses this as a foundation pillar in a fearfully false theology.

Substitutionary Atonement

Sequiera’s false theology is built upon three main pillars. The first pillar is his misuse of Romans 5, as already noted. The second pillar is a rejection of the substitutionary atonement, which we will consider next. The third is a total rewriting of the gospel into the incomprehensible gibberish of metaphysical language. But before I share with you anything from this book, I must caution you that the book abounds in inglorious self-contradictions. Whatever you read from it to a friend, you must be prepared to have the friend say, “Oh no, that is the opposite of what he believes,” and then actually read to you, from a different page, the exact opposite of what you read. We will have reason to note this as we go along.

Sequeira’s false theology’s rejection of the substitutionary atonement, the great truth that Christ took our punishment and died for our sins, is found on pages 39–49 of his book, Beyond Belief. There we find the following remarkable statements, attributed to Catholic scholars (but with no documentation):

“No law allows one person to assume the guilt or punishment of another. Righteousness cannot be passed from one person to another.” Beyond Belief, 39.

“It is a fundamental principle of all law, God’s or man’s, that guilt or punishment cannot be transferred from the guilty to the innocent, nor can the righteousness of one person be legally transferred to another.” Ibid., 40.

“No law of God or man will allow guilt or righteousness to be transferred from one person to another . . . Law simply will not allow sin to be transferred from the guilty to the innocent.” Ibid., 42.

What then of the following scripture?

“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all . . . he shall bear their iniquities . . . he bare the sin of many.” Isaiah 53:5, 6, 11, 12.

I just made a quick scan of the writings of Paul, and counted sixteen references saying that Christ died for us. Are these all in error? And what of the sanctuary service, which is entirely built around the concept of a transfer of sin and guilt from the sinner to a sin bearer, a substitutionary atonement? Is this all nonsense? I have just counted seventeen references in the Spirit of Prophecy which use the word transfer in describing how our guilt is laid on Jesus, and His righteousness is credited to us. Here is a sample:

“The iniquity is transferred to the innocent, the pure, the holy Son of God; and man, all undeserving, stands before the Lord cleansed from all unrighteousness, and clothed with the imputed righteousness of Christ.” Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 1178.

In my CD-ROM I found more than five hundred passages where Ellen White uses the word substitute in a similar manner. She firmly believed in the substitutionary atonement, that Christ took our punishment and died for our sins. Sequeira with equal firmness denies this, except as the word substitution is defined by himself as something other than substitution. See page 48, where he contradicts himself in a single paragraph. In a similar self-contradiction, he refers to Jesus as our sin-bearer, after redefining the term as something other than sin-bearing. (See pages 14, 124, 131, et. al.)

We have now noted two of the basic principles, the foundations, or pillars, upon which Sequeira’s false theology is based: the misuse of Romans 5 and the denial of the substitutionary atonement. We have noted that he contradicts himself in regard to the substitutionary atonement. He also contradicts himself in regard to the second death, advancing the argument that Romans 5 applies to both the first and the second death.

Metaphysical Gibberish

There is a third principle of his false theology which is made necessary by these two. This third basic principle is a virtual rewriting of the plan of salvation into the incomprehensible gibberish of metaphysical language. (Metaphysical means part physical and part nonphysical.) Consider these examples:

“All three aspects of our salvation—justification, sanctification, and glorification—have already been accomplished in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ibid., 30. (Then why are we still here? Glorified persons are in the kingdom of God.)

“All mankind, as a corporate unit, participated in Adam’s fall.” Ibid., 36. (Jesus, according to Sequeira, was a part of corporate humanity. Did Jesus participate in Adam’s fall?)

“In Him we lived a perfect life. . .” Ibid., 43. (Before we were born?)

“In Him we died the penalty for sin.” Ibid., 43. (Were we our own saviors?)

“All humanity corporately obeyed the law in one Man, Jesus Christ.” Ibid., 48. (Then why are they called sinners?)

“Every baby is born subjectively under the reign of sin, condemnation, and death because of Adam’s fall.” Ibid., 61. (What happens if they die soon after birth? And what about the baby Jesus?)

“Our eternal destiny depends on which humanity we have chosen.” Ibid., 62. (Are there two humanities, and do we have a choice?)

“Thus the life we receive at birth is a life that has sinned.” Ibid., 63. (Is this reincarnation?)

“On the cross, Christ actually experienced the second death on behalf of fallen humanity.” Ibid., 75. (This statement is not qualified, so it must include annihilation. Did Jesus experience annihilation? Ellen White indicates that Jesus did in a certain manner experience the anguish of the second death (See The Desire of Ages, chapter 74.) but she does not introduce that concept into Romans 5.)

“The whole human race, which originated in the first Adam, died in Christ, the last Adam.” Ibid., 86. (But there are still seven billion of us here.)

“God will never help the flesh to be good, because the flesh is Satan’s domain, and unalterably opposed to God.” Ibid., 94. (What about the flesh of Jesus? For the shocking answer, read on.)

“Christ’s flesh, being our corporate sinful flesh, lusted after sin.” Ibid., 147. (Is that clear enough? Ellen White says that the flesh, of itself, cannot sin. Adventist Home, 127.)

“A believer is no longer under the law’s authority.” Ibid., 164. ( Then how can we sin? and what about James 2:12: “So speak ye and so do as they who shall be judged by the law of liberty?”)

“I believe the Bible teaches that God actually and unconditionally saved all humanity at the cross.” Ibid., 8. (But the conditions are stated in the next sentence.)

We could go on, but is it necessary? In a statement that is exceptional for its accuracy, Sequeira writes in his preface: “This book presents the plan of salvation in a new light and, therefore, will require the reader to put aside all preconceived ideas in order to appreciate its message.” Ibid., 7. (It will also be helpful to put aside your reasoning faculties. This is tacitly conceded on page 8.)

“In studying the truth of the gospel, you will discover much that contradicts human reasoning.” Ibid., 8. (This is emphatically true of Sequeira’s gospel, but not of the true gospel.)

If one should put one or more of these questions directly to Sequeira, as I have done, there will be an immediate and fluent answer, but the answer will be just as incomprehensible as the statements themselves. We are reminded of Ellen White’s response to persons who asked her to explain the writings of John Harvey Kellogg in his pantheistic book, The Living Temple. They cannot be explained, she said. They are unexplainable. All in all, Sequeira’s book is a tragic conglomeration of false reasoning, contradictions of scripture, contradictions of the Spirit of Prophecy, and even contradictions of itself. What is strongly affirmed on one page is with equal firmness denied on another. The book appears to be bringing about a striking fulfillment of the solemn warning by Ellen White: “God will arouse His people. If other means fail, heresies will come in among them, separating the chaff from the wheat.” Testimonies to the Church, vol. 5, 707.

The heresies are here, pouring forth from our publishing houses and being preached from the pulpits of our churches. How can we hope to analyze them all and decipher their incomprehensible mysteries? Here is a practical suggestion. Don’t bother with the intricate arguments, the convoluted concepts, the false reasoning. Just look at the bottom line. If the bottom line tells you that you don’t need to stop sinning, that is all that you need to know. Throw the book away, even if other pages tell you that you should stop sinning, and do not pollute your mind with its mixture of truth with falsehood. Then fortify your soul by drinking from the pure fountains that flow from the throne of God, the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. Here are the strong towers in which we may find safety. May God be with you.

The End

The Two Adams

Most people at some time in their life have thought to themselves, “This isn’t fair,” or “I don’t deserve this.” I remember having this conversation in my mind. In reality I was questioning God and saying, “Why am I here? I didn’t choose to be here. I didn’t ask to be born. I didn’t choose to come into this world, and yet, here I am.”

The Bible describes only two destinies—heaven or hell. When younger, I thought I understood which way I was headed, but no matter what I did, it was like swimming upstream against the current. As much as I would struggle and fight to try to do what I knew was right, it seemed as if I was continually going deeper and deeper into sin. It was in this frame of mind that I began questioning God, asking, “Why am I here?”

In Deuteronomy 30:19 it says, “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.”

Ever since sin entered into the universe, every created being has had to make a decision to ultimately choose life or death. It began in heaven when Lucifer rebelled against the government of God, resulting in all the angels having to choose to whom they would give their allegiance. When God created man, the devil charged Him with being an arbitrary ruler, not allowing His created beings the freedom of choice.

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Genesis 2:7.

Adam was created perfect when he was put in his garden home and given every advantage to know God. Immortality was not given to him at that time. His character had to be tested to see if he would remain faithful to God. It was no fault of God that sin entered into the universe, although He is generally blamed for its results.

“It certainly was not God’s purpose that man should be sinful. He made Adam pure and noble, with no tendency to evil. He placed him in Eden, where he had every inducement to remain loyal and obedient. The law was placed around him as a safeguard.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 1, 1084.

Everything he could have needed was provided for him, and the test God gave him was made as small as possible. After a time, had Adam been faithful, he would have been set apart and set outside of Satan’s temptations.

“God had power to hold Adam back from touching the forbidden fruit; but had He done this, Satan would have been sustained in his charge against God’s arbitrary rule. Man would not have been a free moral agent, but a mere machine.” Ibid.

God wants man to be free, and only in Him is there true freedom. Satan, however, has a different agenda; his “freedom” leads man into bondage.

“In what consisted the strength of the assault made upon Adam, which caused his fall? It was not his indwelling sin; for God made Adam after His own character, pure and upright. There were no corrupt principles in the first Adam, no corrupt propensities or tendencies to evil. Adam was as faultless as the angels before God’s throne.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 16, 8.

God not only created Adam in His own image, perfect without a taint of sin with no inclinations to sin, but He provided him everything he needed. The temptation was as small as possible, yet we know the story of what happened.

“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: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” Genesis 3:2–6.

Adam and Eve failed the simple test of loyalty that would assure them eternal security. Now the innocence they had before they fell, “they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed” (Genesis 2:25), was gone. Instead, “the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” Genesis 3:7. When they sinned, they lost the robe of light, the robe of innocence. (See Christ’s Object Lessons, 311.)

They were no longer innocently naked, and their best effort to cover themselves was to sew together fig leaves. The results of Adam’s sin have affected the whole human race.

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Romans 5:12. The decision Adam made affects each one of us through the inheritance we received from him. No other man was created separate to Adam. We are all part of that original creation and Adam could pass on to his posterity no higher character than what he possessed.

“When Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden, they were innocent and sinless, in perfect harmony with God. Enmity had no natural existence in their hearts. But when they transgressed, their nature was no longer sinless. They became evil, for they had placed themselves on the side of the fallen foe, doing the very things that God specified they should not do. Had there been no interference on the part of God, fallen humans would have formed a firm alliance with Satan against heaven.” Christ Triumphant, 28.

“The transgression of God’s law brought woe and death in its train. Through disobedience man’s powers were perverted, and selfishness took the place of love. His nature became so weakened that it was impossible for him to resist the power of evil; and the tempter saw being fulfilled his purpose to thwart the divine plan of man’s creation and fill the earth with misery and desolation. Men had chosen a ruler who chained them to his car as captives.” Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 33.

“Eve fell under the temptation, and Adam accepted the forbidden fruit from his wife’s hand. He fell under the smallest test that the Lord could devise to prove his obedience, and the floodgates of woe were opened upon our world. He was furnished with a holy nature, sinless, pure, undefiled; but he fell because he listened to the suggestions of the enemy; and his posterity became depraved.” Christ Triumphant, 246.

Depraved—wicked, corrupt, destitute of holiness or good principles. That is the result of Adam’s sin which has been passed on to us. Why did he fall? It was because he didn’t believe God could replace Eve. She had been given to him by God and he loved her so much that he thought he could not live without her; therefore he determined to share her fate.

In contrast, Abraham is called the father of the faithful. Considering the test Abraham endured, it is easy to see why he is referred to in this way.

Where Adam’s test was the simplest that God could give him, Abraham’s test was the most severe, yet in reality it was the same test. God had given Abraham a son in his old age, whom he loved dearly. Then God said, “I want you to sacrifice him” (Genesis 22:2). The father of the faithful passed the test that Adam had failed.

The Condition of the Human Heart

“The heart is deceitful above all things [incurable], and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9.

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23.

“I am carnal, sold under sin.” Romans 7:14. This is the heritage we have been given from Adam, our first parent. As his offspring, born under sin, we are born in bondage. Paul said that there is none righteous (Romans 3:10) and that in our flesh nothing good dwells (Romans 7:18).

Looking at it from the most basic aspect of things, our natural state is to be filled with all unrighteousness (Romans 1:29).

“Nothing but His righteousness can entitle us to one of the blessings of the covenant of grace. We have long desired and tried to obtain these blessings but have not received them because we have cherished the idea that we could do something to make ourselves worthy of them. We have not looked away from ourselves, believing that Jesus is a living Saviour. We must not think that our own grace and merits will save us; the grace of Christ is our only hope of salvation. …

“There are conscientious souls that trust partly to God and partly to themselves. They do not look to God, to be kept by His power, but depend upon watchfulness against temptation and the performance of certain duties for acceptance with Him. There are no victories in this kind of faith. Such persons toil to no purpose; their souls are in continual bondage, and they find no rest until their burdens are laid at the feet of Jesus.” Counsels for the Church, 47, 49.

“For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do, I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members warring against the law in my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Romans 7:14–24.

In this passage, Paul says he delights in the law of God after the inward man and he wants to do what is right, but how to perform it he is unable to find. This shows you that willpower is not enough, the reason being that it is sin that dwells in him. Sin is the transgression of the law. Jesus made a more specific application for sin being within the mind. He said that a bad tree cannot bare good fruit and a good tree cannot bare bad fruit. Either the tree is good and the fruit is good, or the tree is bad and the fruit is bad (Matthew 7:17–19).

We are told that there is a law, that when I would do good, evil was present. In Romans 8:2 it says, “The law of sin and death.” There are judicial laws and there are natural laws. Judicial law is implemented when a punishment is given relative to the crime. The consequence of violating the natural law is built into the law. It’s not an arbitrary thing but is a natural course of events.

When God’s law is violated, the natural result is death because we separate ourselves from God. It is not God that arbitrarily says, “If you sin, I’m going to kill you.” It does not say that. The law says that if you sin, you transgress the law and will die as a natural consequence. If you were to violate the law of gravity, which says, “whatever goes up must come down” and jump off a building and get killed, it is not God that killed you. Dying was the result of jumping off the building. It is the same with God’s law—defy it and the natural consequence is death.

Paul says in Romans 7 that there is a law in his members that when he would do good, evil was present with him. Compare this with the illustration of the law of gravity. You can jump up and even get off the ground for a little while, but there is no way to get around the law of gravity which forces you to come right back down.

You could climb up in a tree or climb to the top of a mountain or even get higher, but still the law of gravity exists. Many Christians try to do the impossible by good works. As far as being under the law of sin and death, there’s nothing we can do that can get us out from under it.

However, there is another set of laws, and if you come into harmony with those laws, you can actually defy the law of gravity, because you are under a different law. It is called the law of aerodynamics. While in harmony with those laws, the law of gravity has no claim on you.

In Romans 8:1–4, Paul says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

In order to be free from the law of sin and death, we have to come under a different law, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. So, now there are two laws—the law of sin and death and the law of the Spirit of life.

Man has two choices—life or death. Being under one is to be freed from the other. Jesus said, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Matthew 6:24.

There is no middle ground and you are either going to be under one master or the other. So the decision to be made is, Which one will you be under?

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin: and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of Him that was to come.” Romans 5:12–14.

Adam is the figure of Him that was to come. “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.” I Corinthians 15:45–47.

Adam was a figure of Christ. He stood at the head of the human race and in him the whole human race existed. Christ stands at the head of a new creation, a new race of people, those who are saved. What Adam did affected all of us. What Christ did, and still does, encompasses all of us.

In John 3:5, 6, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Here we have the flesh, Adam and the inheritance he gave us, and we have the Spirit and the inheritance that we have in Christ—two opposing sides.

“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Romans 8:5–12.

We either live in the flesh or in the Spirit. Romans 5:15–18 says, “(But not as the offence [contrasting the two Adams], so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift, for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.”

The words free gift recurs through those verses. When I began to understand this, I thought that God had to deal with lots of things that were unfair. We were not there when Adam chose to sin and could not cast our votes. But we were also not there when Christ lived a righteous life. God knew that it wasn’t really fair for us to be born into this world and sold under sin, so He offered His own Son as a free gift making the way of salvation as easy as possible for us. He sent Jesus into the same world where we live, in the same body with the same struggles, that through His righteousness we can be set free from sin.

“He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” Romans 8:32. Think about that for a moment. What an awesome God to give us such a gift!

“And He said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.” Revelation 21:6.

Paul sums up the whole thing, “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” Romans 5:19.

Here we have two Adams—two realities, the law of sin and death and the law of the Spirit of life. We have righteousness and unrighteousness—two inheritances and two choices—life or death. When Adam was created, he did not have to choose life for that was already his. By his sin he chose death.

We inherit the sentence of death for all have sinned, but through the sacrifice Jesus made we can choose life. “Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” Mark 9:23. This seems too good to be true. It doesn’t really seem possible that God is willing to freely give you His righteousness, but it is the truth.

Practical Application

How do we receive Christ and this new life? “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” I John 5:11, 12.

“It is the spirit that quickeneth [make alive]; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.” John 6:63. We receive Christ by faith as we receive His word. And His word is a living Word. The Bible says that every word of God is God-breathed.

When God breathed into Adam, He breathed into him life, just as He breathes life into His word. “The creative energy that called the worlds into existence is in the word of God. This word imparts power; it begets life. Every command is a promise; accepted by the will, received into the soul, it brings with it the life of the Infinite One. It transforms the nature and re-creates the soul in the image of God.

“The life thus imparted is in like manner sustained. ‘By every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God’ (Matthew 4:4) shall man live.

“The mind, the soul, is built up by that upon which it feeds; and it rests with us to determine upon what it shall be fed.” Education, 126.

In every command and every promise of the word of God is the power, the very life of God by which the command may be fulfilled and the promise realized. He who by faith receives the Word is receiving the life and character of God. So God has given us through Christ the opportunity to choose life.

“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” II Peter 1:2–4. (Emphasis supplied.)

It is through God’s promises, through His word that we receive by faith the divine nature. When we believe the promise, though we may not realize it at the time, we have the assurance that God will fulfill His promise to us. It is my prayer, not only for myself but for each one of us, that we will have this as a reality in our lives, to be in Christ, partakers of the divine nature, and be set free from the law of sin and death.

Jim Stoeckert is currently working as a Bible worker for Steps to Life. 

Bible Study Guides – The Early Patriarchs

October 7, 2012 – October 13, 2012

Key Text

“The Lord is far from the wicked: but He heareth the prayer of the righteous.” Proverbs 15:29.

Study Help: Testimonies, vol. 8, 329–331; Patriarchs and Prophets, 195–203.

Introduction

“The patriarchs were men of prayer, and God did great things for them.” The Signs of the Times, August 14, 1884.

1 PRAYER IN ANCIENT TIMES

  • In the words of the apostle Peter, to whom do “all the prophets witness”? Acts 10:36–43. Name some of the patriarchs who knew Christ as a Saviour. Romans 5:12–15.

Note: “All the communion between heaven and the fallen race has been through Christ. It was the Son of God that gave to our first parents the promise of redemption. It was He who revealed Himself to the patriarchs. Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses understood the gospel. They looked for salvation through man’s Substitute and Surety. These holy men of old held communion with the Saviour who was to come to our world in human flesh; and some of them talked with Christ and heavenly angels face to face.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 366.

  • What characterized the prayer life of Adam after his fall? II Corinthians 7:10. How did God renew his faith, not only for eternity, but even in this temporal life? Genesis 3:15.

Note: “Adam’s life was one of sorrow, humility, and continual repentance. … He entreated pardon from God through the promised Sacrifice.” Spiritual Gifts, vol. 3, 50, 51.

2 ENOCH

  • What is noteworthy about Enoch? Genesis 5:23, 24.

Note: “Pray in your closet, and as you go about your daily labor let your heart be often uplifted to God. It was thus that Enoch walked with God. These silent prayers rise like precious incense before the throne of grace. Satan cannot overcome him whose heart is thus stayed upon God.” Steps to Christ, 98, 99.

“Enoch’s walk with God was not in a trance or a vision, but in all the duties of his daily life. He did not become a hermit, shutting himself entirely from the world; for he had, in the world, a work to do for God. In the family and in his intercourse with men, as a husband and father, a friend, a citizen, he was the steadfast, unwavering servant of God.

“His faith waxed stronger, his love became more ardent, with the lapse of centuries. To him prayer was as the breath of the soul. He lived in the atmosphere of heaven.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 329, 330.

  • What distinguished Enoch’s prayer life? Hebrews 11:5.

Note: “Righteous Enoch was so distressed with the increasing wickedness of the ungodly that he would not daily associate with them, fearing that he should be affected by their infidelity and that he might not ever regard God with that holy reverence which was due His exalted character. His soul was vexed as he daily beheld them trampling upon the authority of God. He chose to be separate from them, and spent much of his time in solitude, giving himself to reflection and prayer. He waited before God, and prayed to know His will more perfectly, that he might perform it. God communed with Enoch through His angels, and gave him divine instruction. He made known to him that He would not always bear with man in his rebellion—that it was His purpose to destroy the sinful race by bringing a flood of waters upon the earth.” The Signs of the Times, February 20, 1879.

“The men of that [Enoch’s] generation mocked the folly of him who sought not to gather gold or silver, or to build up possessions here. But Enoch’s heart was upon eternal treasures. …[Hebrews 11:5 quoted.]

“To such communion God is calling us. As was Enoch’s must be their holiness of character who shall be redeemed from among men at the Lord’s second coming.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 330, 331.

3 INQUIRING OF GOD

  • What comprised Noah’s witness to the world? Hebrews 11:7. Why was his life preserved? Proverbs 15:29.
  • What major domestic trial did Abraham face? Genesis 21:9–11. How did prayer reward him? Genesis 21:12, 13.

Note: “Abraham is greatly distressed. Ishmael is his son, beloved by him. How can he send him away! He prays to God in his perplexity, for he knows not what course to take. The Lord, through His angels, directs Abraham to listen to the voice of Sarah his wife, and not to let his affection for his son, or for Hagar, prevent his compliance with her wishes. For this was the only course he could pursue to restore harmony and happiness again to his family. Abraham had the consoling promise from the angel, that Ishmael, although separated from his father’s house, should not die, nor be forsaken of God; he should be preserved because he was the son of Abraham. God also promised to make of Ishmael a great nation.” The Signs of the Times, March 27, 1879.

  • What was the greatest trial of Abraham’s life? Genesis 22:1, 2. How did he wisely respond?

Note: “Stricken with grief, he [Abraham] bowed before God, and prayed as never before for a confirmation of this strange command, for greater light if he must perform this terrible duty.” The Signs of the Times, March 27, 1879.

  • How was Abraham’s worthy example later imitated by his faithful servant? Genesis 24:42–52.

Note: “He [Abraham’s servant] prayed earnestly to God to direct him in his choice of a wife for Isaac. He asked that certain evidence might be given him, that he should not err in the matter.” Spiritual Gifts, vol. 3, 109.

4 JACOB

  • What encounter with God did Jacob experience early in life? Genesis 28:10–22. How did Christ later explain the meaning of this ladder to prayerful Nathanael? John 1:51.

Note: “Christ is the ladder that Jacob saw, whose base is upon the earth, and whose topmost round reaches the throne of God.” The Signs of the Times, April 11, 1895.

  • How did Jacob pray in a crisis hour? Genesis 32:24–30.

Note: “Jacob prevailed because he was persevering and determined. His experience testifies to the power of importunate prayer. It is now that we are to learn this lesson of prevailing prayer, of unyielding faith. The greatest victories to the church of Christ or to the individual Christian are not those that are gained by talent or education, by wealth or the favor of men. They are those victories that are gained in the audience chamber with God, when earnest, agonizing faith lays hold upon the mighty arm of power.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 203.

  • How are we blessed by Jacob’s victory? Psalm 46:10, 11.

Note: “Go to your closet, and there alone plead with God: ‘Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me’ [Psalm 51:10]. Be in earnest, be sincere. Fervent prayer availeth much. Jacob-like, wrestle in prayer. Agonize. Jesus in the garden sweat great drops of blood; you must make an effort.” Messages to Young People, 131.

“A formal religion, a feeble faith, does not correspond to the truth we profess. It demands living energy and fervency of spirit. It must be heart-felt with us, if we would urge it to the hearts of others. … He who feels his weakness and wrestles with God, as did Jacob, and like this servant of old cries, ‘I will not let thee go except thou bless me’ [Genesis 32:26], will go forth with the fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit. The atmosphere of Heaven will surround him. He will go about doing good. His influence will be a positive force acting upon others. He will be a living epistle, known and read of all men. He will know that the Captain of his salvation expects him to do his very best, and he will do it with cheerfulness.” The Signs of the Times, February 24, 1888.

5 EFFECTIVE COMMUNION WITH GOD

  • What results come from deep communion with God, as experienced by men such as Moses? Exodus 33:11–23; 34:35.

Note: “Moses was hidden in the cleft of the rock when the glory of the Lord was revealed to him, and it is when we are hidden in Christ that we obtain some view of the majesty and love of God.” The Signs of the Times, April 25, 1892.

  • How can we share in the glory manifested to Moses on Mount Sinai? II Corinthians 3:18; 4:6–10.

Note: “If we keep the Lord ever before us, allowing our hearts to go out in thanksgiving and praise to Him, we shall have a continual freshness in our religious life. Our prayers will take the form of a conversation with God as we would talk with a friend. He will speak His mysteries to us personally. Often there will come to us a sweet joyful sense of the presence of Jesus. Often our hearts will burn within us as He draws nigh to commune with us as He did with Enoch. When this is in truth the experience of the Christian, there is seen in his life a simplicity, a humility, meekness, and lowliness of heart, that show to all with whom he associates that he has been with Jesus and learned of Him.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 129, 130.

“God help us to have a knowledge of the truth, and if you have seen the truth of God, press right to the light and put up the bars behind you. Make not flesh your arm; but have a living experience for yourselves, and then your countenance will shine with the glory of God. You have walked with Him, and He has upheld you. You have wrestled with Him and pleaded with Him, and He has let His light shine upon you.” Faith and Works, 78.

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1 Who promised Adam and Eve salvation?

2 Name some key points in Enoch’s experience with God.

3 How did the prayers of the patriarchs affect others?

4 Why is it important to understand the life of Jacob?

5 How is the experience of Moses to be repeated today?

© 2003 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.

Desire

The word desire is a big one and determines whether a person will be saved or lost. In Genesis 3, one of the saddest chapters in the entire Bible, it is used twice. The chapter begins with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. They could still be there except for the event that happened later in the chapter. While lingering around the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the devil, speaking through a serpent, acted the part of a salesman intent on selling Eve his product—sin. She fell for his seductive trick, and since that day he has been successful in recruiting millions of other salesmen throughout the world to seduce the masses and sell his product.

A good salesman knows there are just a few steps needed in securing a sale. First is to get the attention of the prospective customer. If they refuse to listen, then you are just wasting your time talking, but once you have their attention, they have to be convinced that they need the product. People very rarely buy something just because they need it. Need is not enough. After they are convinced that they need it, the third step in securing the sale is getting them to want it. If they desire it enough, they will buy it. Then, persuading them to take action on their desire is easy. There are many books on salesmanship describing these steps.

This was the tactic used by the devil to arouse in Eve a desire for his product. Sin in its raw form is not desirable, so to be successful in selling it, the devil had to disguise it by lying. The devil is the father of lies. He succeeded in creating in Eve such a desire for his product that she was willing to disobey God to get it.

“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” Genesis 3:6.

There are gigantic industries in the world today whose purpose is to get you to desire something enough so that you will be willing to disobey God to get it. It is the goal of the devil to destroy the Kingdom of Christ and bring grief to the heart of God by destroying His creation. He knows that if he can present sin in an attractive way and awaken the desire for it, he has his victim in his snare and another soul will be lost. The method he uses is tried and successful—he is a super salesman. The product sold is never named sin, only the good points are emphasized and always the consequences are withheld.

Think this through. Because sin is a product with deadly side effects that will bring death, pain, suffering, and all kinds of trouble in a person’s life, in order to sell it, you have to figure out some way to sugar-coat it to disguise the truth.

In II Thessalonians 2:8–12, Paul says, “Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie [that you can be saved in sin], that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

The two reasons these people are condemned is that they do not believe the truth and have pleasure in unrighteousness. What is unrighteousness? I John 5:17 says, “All unrighteousness is sin.” Simply said, people enjoy the pleasure of sin.

Eve very quickly lost the desire for what she was promised by the serpent when she saw the sad result of her choice. “To the woman He said: ‘I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you.” Genesis 3:16. Immediately the freedom she experienced in her paradise home was lost. Her desire now was going to be controlled by her husband. She lost what she had by listening to the devil’s sales pitch and by allowing him to arouse in her a desire for something that God had forbidden. The devil continues today, successfully in a multitude of ways, to awaken a desire in individuals for something that God has said is bad, in order to secure their destruction.

The Creator knows His creatures. The Bible teaches that God knows your every desire. David said, “Lord, all my desire is before You; and my sighing is not hidden from You.” Psalm 38:9.

Knowing each person intimately and the desire of every heart, God has the ability to gratify these desires. But you may ask, If God knows about my desires, why does He withhold them? I’ll give you six reasons.

Wrong Choices

A person’s desire cannot be satisfied if that desire is wrong and they want an evil thing. That was Eve’s experience.

“The wicked will see it and be grieved; He will gnash his teeth and melt away. The desire of the wicked shall perish.” Psalm 112:10. People desire evil things, and therefore their desires are not satisfied. Actually, one of the most awful things that could happen to a person is if God fulfilled their desire. But God knows what awful things would happen to you if He did give you your desires, so in mercy He withholds what you want. (See James 4:1–4.)

Controllers

For some it is their desire to always be first. “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” Mark 9:35.

This desire first manifests itself in the family and in the church when somebody wants to be in control. To those who want to be first, Jesus said that desire would not be gratified and they would be last. The devil wanted to control the angels, and it caused his expulsion from heaven. A study on the life of Jesus reveals that He who was in fact first, having all authority and power, gave it all up to demonstrate to us how we should live not wanting to control other people.

No one desiring to control another will be in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus said to His disciples, “You just have one Lord.” If we have only one Lord, what are we? Oh, somebody says, “I’m an elder in the church. I’m a deacon in the church. I’m a pastor. I’m an evangelist.” If you are a Christian, you are a servant, first of the Lord and then a servant of other people.

There are certain texts in the Bible that are often made prominent and others near them that are left out. One such example is Ephesians 5:22, 23. It says, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church.” For some reason, when people read that, they never read verse 21, because it is telling you that every one of us is to be in submission to others around us. Somehow we forget that one!

Talking to the elders, Peter said, “Nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; … Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ ” I Peter 5:3, 5.

Bondage to Traditions

Some people are not satisfied, because they desire to be in bondage to human traditions and regulations.

“But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?” Galatians 4:9. These people desire to be in bondage! In Colossians 2:20–22, Paul again addresses the very same subject: “Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations—‘Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,’ which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men?”

This constitutes a large percentage of the world that wants to be controlled by the doctrines and the commandments of men, which are never satisfied. Being in subjection to tradition brings a bondage from which you can never get free or be satisfied. These people work constantly their whole life to get salvation and are never satisfied, because they are under bondage to human laws and traditions and the regulations of man. If you’ve died with Christ, you’ve been set free, so don’t bring yourself back into bondage.

Covetousness

Another reason that some desires are not satisfied can be found right within the Ten Commandments that were repeated by Moses just before the children of Israel entered into the land of Canaan. The tenth commandment says, “You shall not covet” [Exodus 20:17], or it could be translated, “You shall not desire.” The word covet means to desire something you don’t have. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife; and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” Deuteronomy 5:21.

Here God mentions seven things that we are not to desire, and all of them have to do with something that belongs to somebody else. The devil knows human nature and is in the full-time business of getting people to want somebody else besides their own spouse, somebody else’s wife, somebody else’s husband or things belonging to others. Many people think that unless you actually go and physically commit adultery you are innocent, but the commandment says do not covet.

Long before an action takes place the heart covets—wanting somebody or something that does not belong to him or her but belongs to someone else. This is so important that God put it in as the tenth commandment. Covetousness is at the root of every sin that is committed—wanting something that God does not want you to have. That is exactly what happened to Eve, also to King David and to Judas. The devil is a master in his art of deception.

This is a huge problem in Christendom today and in the churches. Ellen White wrote about this: “How many, even in the ranks of Sabbathkeepers, are forming unsanctified connections. Men who have wives and women who have husbands are showing affection and giving undue attention to each other [persons of the opposite sex].

“The heart that loves Jesus will not desire the unlawful affections of another.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 21, 381. Now that is an interesting statement. I read that statement over and over and over. If I desire the unlawful affections of another, it means that I don’t love Jesus.

“The woman who receives the least manifestation of affection from a man who is the husband of another woman, shows herself to be in need of repentance and conversion. And the man who allows his wife to occupy the second place in his affections is dishonoring himself and his God. This thing is one of the signs of the last days. … Christ will take charge of the affections of those who love and honor God, causing them to center upon proper objects.” Ibid., vol. 10, 185, 186.

I need to tell you something. You and I do not have the power or the ability to control our own affections. We do not have the ability to control our thoughts, or our affections, or our passions. One only has that power. “Christ will take charge of the affections of those who love and honor God causing them to center upon proper objects.” Testimonies on Sexual Behavior, Adultery, and Divorce, 200. That is a promise you can claim. He, Christ, can control your affections so they don’t go out on improper objects. Desire has everything to do with whether you will be saved or lost.

Patience

Matthew 13:17 is a sad verse. It says, “Assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” These prophets and righteous men had a desire that was not satisfied in their lifetime. Because of sin, even righteous desires often cannot be gratified until a later time. In the resurrection these faithful ones will see how the plan of salvation unfolded while they slept. Only then will they see the Messiah and His ministry and be delighted.

Desires Granted

If you belong to Jesus Christ, every righteous desire that you have will be gratified.

“Then the Pharisees and the Sadducees came, and testing Him [some translations say desired Him] asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.” Matthew 16:1. His reply was that their request, or their desire was not going to be granted (verses 2–4). What was their problem? Unbelief! There are some people that God wants to do wonderful things for, but He cannot do it because of their unbelief.

Jesus cannot honor unbelief. He cannot answer the prayers of a person who doesn’t believe. One example of this is found in Matthew 13:55–58. Jesus could not do many mighty things in Nazareth because of their unbelief.

Some people’s desires are not gratified because of their unbelief. What you need is to say, “Lord, I’m choosing to trust You. This is what I want, and I’m choosing to trust You that everything that I want, that is a righteous desire, You’re going to give it to me; maybe not now, but You’re going to give it to me.” God gives people what they want. “He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him.” Psalm 145:19. But look at what it says in verse 16: “You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.”

That can be a very scary text if you demand of God something that in His wisdom He wants to withhold. He could give it to you with dire results! In the wilderness, God had put the children of Israel on a vegetarian diet. They bitterly complained about it and wanted flesh food to eat. They wanted it so bad that they were weeping, because they didn’t have any meat to eat. So God gave them their desire, and they were not deprived of their craving (Psalm 78:29). God gave them what they wanted, and many of them died as a result of eating it. Be careful what you want; you are going to get it!

“Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4. You might have some desires in your heart that the Lord is going to give you in heaven that He can’t give you right now. Have you ever known people that prayed that the Lord would make them wealthy? I’ve seen the Lord answer those kinds of prayers. The more you see the Lord answer those kinds of prayers, the more scared you are, because Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.” Matthew 19:24. Many people lose their Christianity once they become wealthy. Be careful what you pray for.

Those who are saved will be far wealthier than any could hope to be; maybe not in this life but in the world to come. Peter said to the lame man, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” Acts 3:6.

It would always be wise to say, “Lord, this is what I want, but I want what You want.” Remember how Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane? He said, “This is what I want, but not what I will (want), but what You will (want)” (Luke 22:42, literal translation). The word will can also be translated want.

God’s Will

God says, “I desire [want] mercy and not sacrifice.” Hosea 6:6. The man with leprosy came to Jesus and said, “If You want to, You can make me clean.” Jesus reached forth His hand and touched him, and said, “I want to.” (See Mark 1:40, 41.) God wants to have mercy and heal you from the leprosy of sin.

God wants you to become a partaker of His holiness. In His mercy He disciplines and chastens for our profit that we might be made “partakers of His holiness” (Hebrews 12:10). Often the only way that can be achieved is by going through the trials and struggles that we don’t like. Without holiness, no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).

“And they shall call them The Holy People, the Redeemed of the Lord; and you shall be called Sought Out, a City Not Forsaken.” Isaiah 62:12.

Repentance –

Jesus said that there’s more gladness and rejoicing in heaven over one person that repents than over 99 people who don’t need repentance. (See Zephaniah 3:17; Luke 15:17.) God wants you to repent so that you can become holy. (See Acts 17:30.)

Righteousness –

“For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; for righteousness, but behold, a cry for help.” Isaiah 5:7. God wants righteousness. He wants you to do what is right.

Compassion –

God wants you to help Him take care of His other children. (See Matthew 25:40–45.) Jesus will ask, Did you feed the hungry? Did you clothe the naked? Did you invite people that had no place to stay to your house? Did you visit the sick? Did you visit those in prison? Did you care about God’s other children? Ellen White, in The Desire of Ages, 825, describes the wrath of God and of the Lamb towards those who do nothing about those who are lost, using the illustration of how parents would feel if their son or their daughter was lost in a snowstorm and you, seeing it, did nothing to save that child.

What the Devil Wants

Jesus told Peter, “Satan has desired you, that he may sift you as wheat.” Luke 22:31, literal translation. Satan wants you too. Peter says, “The devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” I Peter 5:8. His only happiness is destroying souls that Jesus died for in order to bring grief to the heart of God. He is such a skillful tempter that without God intervening, not one of us would escape his deceptions. Pray, “Lord, please intervene in my life. I know I’ll never escape unless You work a miracle in my life.”

Your only safety is to implicitly follow divine instructions because the devil is on your track.

What Do You Want?

A careful self-examination of the desires of your heart defines whether you are saved or lost. We are not to judge each other, but we can judge ourselves by determining our desire. The Bible records the desire of many of the Bible characters.

  • David said, “I want to know God.” Psalm 73:25
  • Job said, “I want to reason with God. I want to have him explain my situation; I can’t figure it out.” Job 13
  • The righteous want only what is good. Proverbs 11:23

People say, “I want Jesus to come.” But be ready, for the Bible says of the people who are not ready for His return, “Woe to you who desire the Day of the Lord!” Amos 5:18.

Spiritual Perfection

In Hebrews 6, Paul discusses that desire for the believers to reach spiritual perfection.

Wisdom and Understanding

This is worth more than anything to be desired. (See Proverbs 3:15; 8:11.) Seek it, desire it, and crave for wisdom and understanding. This is not as the world understands wisdom and understanding, but the wisdom that can only be acquired by studying the Word.

The Desire of all Nations

Jesus! Jesus came to this world in order that He might make a way clear so that His children could be taken to a better country. The Bible says in Hebrews 11 that all the saints who lived in past ages considered that they were just pilgrims and strangers on the earth desiring a better country. So God isn’t ashamed to be called their God. He’s going to take them to a better land where He has prepared for them a city.

What do you desire today? Are you looking at what others have, or are you seeking a better land? Remember, Jesus said that if we commit our lives to Him, He will take charge of all our affections.

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Free Seventh-day Adventist Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Bible Study Guides – God’s Supreme Plan

April 7, 2013 – April 13, 2013

Key Text

“If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to shew unto man his uprightness: Then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom.” Job 33:23, 24.

Study Help: Patriarchs and Prophets, 52–62; The Story of Redemption, 42–50.

Introduction

“It is the glory of the gospel that it is founded on the principles of restoring in the fallen race the divine image.” The Review and Herald, May 2, 1912.

1 CHRIST, THE EXPRESS IMAGE

  • How does God the Father address His Son? Hebrews 1:8–10. What distinctions characterize the Son of God? Colossians 2:9.

Note: “In the work of creation, Christ was with God. He was one with God, equal with Him, the brightness of His glory, the express image of His person, the representative of the Father.” The Signs of the Times, February 13, 1893.

“Christ was God essentially, and in the highest sense. He was with God from all eternity. God over all, blessed forevermore.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1126.

  • How does the Son of God summarize His relationship with the Father? John 10:30. What should we then realize as we seek to worship God?

Note: “In Christ is gathered all the glory of the Father. In Him is all the fullness of the Godhead.” The Signs of the Times, November 24, 1898.

“Our ministers must be very careful not to enter into controversy in regard to the personality of God. This is a subject that they are not to touch. It is a mystery, and the enemy will surely lead astray those who enter into it.” Sermons and Talks, vol. 1, 343.

2 THE COUNSEL OF PEACE

  • What was to be the crowning act of God’s entire creation? Genesis 1:26; Psalm 100:3. In view of the crisis that had occurred in heaven, what did the Father and Son consider?

Note: “The Father consulted His Son in regard to at once carrying out their purpose to make man to inhabit the earth. He would place man upon probation to test his loyalty before he could be rendered eternally secure. If he endured the test wherewith God saw fit to prove him, he should eventually be equal with the angels.” The Story of Redemption, 19.

  • How did the Father and Son plan to redeem humanity in case they would fall prey to the archrebel? Zechariah 6:13, last part; Job 33:27–30.

Note: “The great plan of redemption was laid before the foundation of the world. And Christ, our Substitute and Surety, did not stand alone in the wondrous undertaking of the ransom of man. In the plan to save a lost world, the counsel was between them both; the covenant of peace was between the Father and the Son. ‘For God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life’ (John 3:16). The Majesty of heaven, the King of glory, would become a servant. The only-begotten Son, in whom the Father delighted, was given for the ransom of a fallen race. …

“The Father gave Himself to the world in the gift of His Son. It was the love of the Father for fallen man that devised in union with the Son the plan of redemption. And in this great gift the character of God is exemplified to all who shall receive the world’s Redeemer by faith, as a God of holiness and a God of love. In the crucifixion of His dear Son upon the cross of Calvary, He gives to all the sons and daughters of Adam an expression of His justice and His love. This offering made manifest the immutability of the holiness of His law. In the cross of Calvary justice and truth have met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

“The Lord God omnipotent is the God of His people. He is also a tender, loving Father, ready to hear their prayers; for God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. God sent forth His Son to be the propitiation for them through faith in His atoning blood.” The Signs of the Times, December 23, 1897.

3 THE CREATION OF THE HUMAN RACE

  • What distinguishes humanity from all God’s other creatures? Genesis 1:27.

Note: “Created to be ‘the image and glory of God’ (1 Corinthians 11:7), Adam and Eve had received endowments not unworthy of their high destiny. Graceful and symmetrical in form, regular and beautiful in feature, their countenances glowing with the tint of health and the light of joy and hope, they bore in outward resemblance the likeness of their Maker. Nor was this likeness manifest in the physical nature only. Every faculty of mind and soul reflected the Creator’s glory. Endowed with high mental and spiritual gifts, Adam and Eve were made but ‘little lower than the angels’ (Hebrews 2:7), that they might not only discern the wonders of the visible universe, but comprehend moral responsibilities and obligations.” Education, 20.

  • What should we realize about the high calling of humanity? Psalm 8:3–9.

Note: “The same unseen Hand that guides the planets in their courses, and upholds the worlds by His power, has made provision for man formed in His image, that he may be little less than the angels of God while in the performance of his duties on earth.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 415, 416.

  • Describe the Edenic scene of Adam’s early existence. Genesis 1:31; 2:8, 15.

Note: “Adam was surrounded with everything his heart could wish. Every want was supplied. There was no sin, and no signs of decay in glorious Eden. Angels of God conversed freely and lovingly with the holy pair. The happy songsters caroled forth their free, joyous songs of praise to their Creator. The peaceful beasts in happy innocence played about Adam and Eve, obedient to their word. Adam was in the perfection of manhood, the noblest of the Creator’s work. He was in the image of God, but a little lower than the angels.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 268.

4 TRAGEDY STRIKES

  • How and why did God test Adam’s fidelity? Genesis 2:9, 16, 17.

Note: “God created man in His own image, after His likeness, free from sin, and with organs well developed. The earth was to be populated with intelligent beings who were only a little lower than the angels. But God would first prove the holy pair, and test their obedience; for He would not have a world filled with beings who would disregard His laws.” The Signs of the Times, January 23, 1879.

  • What warnings should we heed from observing the way Adam failed the test? Genesis 3:1–13.

Note: “The very fact that Adam’s trial was small, made his sin exceeding great. God tested him in that which was least, to prove him; and with the prohibition He stated that the punishment consequent upon his disobedience would be death. If Adam could not bear this smallest of tests to prove his loyalty, he surely could not have endured a stronger trial had he been taken into closer relationship with God, to bear higher responsibilities. He evidenced that God could not trust him; should he be exposed to Satan’s more determined attacks, he would signally fail. …

“Adam did the worst thing he could do under the circumstances. In doing that which God had expressly forbidden he set his will against the will of God, thus waging war with His requirements. The pen of inspiration has with accuracy traced the history of our first parents’ sin and fall, that all generations may be warned not to follow Adam’s example, in the slightest disregard of God’s requirements. Had the test been in regard to larger matters, men might have excused the sin of disobedience in what they call smaller things. But God made the test with Adam upon things that are least, to show man that the slightest disobedience to His requirements is sin in every sense of the word. God, the Governor of the universe, has made all things subject to law; things apparently insignificant, and things of the greatest magnitude, are all governed by laws adapted to their natures. Nothing that God has made has been forgotten or left to blind chance. To man, as being endowed with reasoning powers and conscience, God’s moral law is given to control his actions. Man is not compelled to obey. He may defy God’s law, as did Adam, and take the fearful consequences; or by living in harmony with that law he may reap the rewards of obedience.” The Signs of the Times, January 23, 1879.

5 HEAVEN TO THE RESCUE

  • How did the angels exemplify unselfish love? John 15:13. What was to be their privilege? Romans 15:1.

Note: “The angels prostrated themselves at the feet of their Commander and offered to become a sacrifice for man. But an angel’s life could not pay the debt; only He who created man had power to redeem him. Yet the angels were to have a part to act in the plan of redemption. Christ was to be made ‘a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death’ (Hebrews 2:9). As He should take human nature upon Him, His strength would not be equal to theirs, and they were to minister to Him, to strengthen and soothe Him under His sufferings. They were also to be ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who should be heirs of salvation (Hebrews 1:14). They would guard the subjects of grace from the power of evil angels and from the darkness constantly thrown around them by Satan.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 64, 65.

  • In the words addressed to the serpent, what hope did God offer to the fallen pair? Genesis 3:14, 15; Romans 16:20.

Note: “The Godhead was stirred with pity for the race, and the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit gave Themselves to the working out of the plan of redemption.” The Review and Herald, May 2, 1912.

“Christ would take upon Himself the guilt and shame of sin—sin so offensive to a holy God that it must separate the Father and His Son. Christ would reach to the depths of misery to rescue the ruined race.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 63.

“Adam marveled at the goodness of God in providing such a ransom for the sinner.” The Signs of the Times, February 20, 1893.

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1 What are the heavenly credentials of the Son of God?

2 What was the “counsel of peace”?

3 Why was Adam tested? Why is each of us tested?

4 Explain why the test in Paradise was relatively small. Why are our daily tests small as well?

5 Can we be inspired by the response of all Heaven to this crisis?

© 2007 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.

Bible Study Guides – The Earliest Evangelists

March 29, 2015 – April 4, 2015

Key Text

“As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” Romans 5:19.

Study Help: Patriarchs and Prophets, 63–70.

Introduction

“As soon as there was sin, there was a Saviour. Christ knew that He would have to suffer, yet He became man’s substitute. As soon as Adam sinned, the Son of God presented Himself as a surety for the human race.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 1, 1084.

1 ADAM, THE FIRST EVANGELIST

  • How was the message of the eternal gospel first preached to Adam and Eve? Genesis 3:15; (compare Galatians 3:16).

Note: “Although gloom and darkness hung, like the pall of death, over the future, yet in the promise of the Redeemer, the Star of hope lighted up the dark future. …

“What love! What amazing condescension! The King of glory proposed to humble Himself to fallen humanity! He would place His feet in Adam’s steps. He would take man’s fallen nature, and engage to cope with the strong foe who triumphed over Adam. He would overcome Satan, and in thus doing He would open the way for the redemption from the disgrace of Adam’s failure and fall, of all those who would believe on Him.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 1, 1084, 1085.

  • As the first bearer of the gospel message, how would Adam have shared this message with his children? Deuteronomy 6:6, 7.

Note: “He [Adam] had been commanded to instruct his posterity in the way of the Lord; and he carefully treasured what God had revealed to him, and repeated it to succeeding generations.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 82.

2 ABEL AND SETH

  • What kind of men did God have among Adam’s descendants?

Note: “Notwithstanding the prevailing iniquity, there was a line of holy men who, elevated and ennobled by communion with God, lived as in the companionship of heaven. They were men of massive intellect, of wonderful attainments. They had a great and holy mission—to develop a character of righteousness, to teach a lesson of godliness, not only to the men of their time, but for future generations.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 84.

  • In what way was Abel a faithful witness of the gospel message? Genesis 4:4, 10; I John 3:12; Hebrews 11:4.

Note: “Abel grasped the great principles of redemption. He saw himself a sinner, and he saw sin and its penalty, death, standing between his soul and communion with God. He brought the slain victim, the sacrificed life, thus acknowledging the claims of the law that had been transgressed. Through the shed blood he looked to the future sacrifice, Christ dying on the cross of Calvary; and trusting in the atonement that was there to be made, he had the witness that he was righteous, and his offering accepted.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 72.

  • What encouragement can we gain from the life of Seth? Genesis 4:25.

Note: “Seth was of more noble stature than Cain or Abel, and resembled Adam more closely than did his other sons. He was a worthy character, following in the steps of Abel. Yet he inherited no more natural goodness than did Cain. Concerning the creation of Adam it is said, ‘In the likeness of God made He him’ (Genesis 5:1); but man, after the Fall, ‘begat a son in his own likeness, after his image’ (verse 3). While Adam was created sinless, in the likeness of God, Seth, like Cain, inherited the fallen nature of his parents. But he received also the knowledge of the Redeemer and instruction in righteousness. By divine grace he served and honored God; and he labored, as Abel would have done, had he lived, to turn the minds of sinful men to revere and obey their Creator.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 80.

3 ENOCH

  • What prophetic truths were preached by Enoch? Jude 14, 15.

Note: “Enoch became a preacher of righteousness, making known to the people what God had revealed to him.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 86.

  • What was the foundation of Enoch’s faithfulness as an evangelist? Genesis 5:22. How do you understand the statement “Enoch walked with God”?

Note: “Enoch’s walk with God was not in a trance or vision, but in all the duties of his daily life. He did not become a hermit, shutting himself entirely from the world; for he had a work to do for God in the world. In the family and in his intercourse with men, as a husband and father, a friend, a citizen, he was the steadfast, unwavering servant of the Lord.

“His heart was in harmony with God’s will; for ‘can two walk together, except they be agreed’ (Amos 3:3)? …

“Distressed by the increasing wickedness of the ungodly, and fearing that their infidelity might lessen his reverence for God, Enoch avoided constant association with them, and spent much time in solitude, giving himself to meditation and prayer. Thus he waited before the Lord, seeking a clearer knowledge of His will, that he might perform it.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 85.

  • What parallel can be drawn between Enoch and the living righteous at the coming of Christ? Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5; I Thessalonians 4:17.

Note: “The godly character of this prophet [Enoch] represents the state of holiness which must be attained by those who shall be ‘redeemed from the earth’ (Revelation 14:3) at the time of Christ’s second advent. Then, as in the world before the Flood, iniquity will prevail. … But like Enoch, God’s people will seek for purity of heart and conformity to His will, until they shall reflect the likeness of Christ. Like Enoch, they will warn the world of the Lord’s second coming and of the judgments to be visited upon transgression, and by their holy conversation and example they will condemn the sins of the ungodly. As Enoch was translated to heaven before the destruction of the world by water, so the living righteous will be translated from the earth before its destruction by fire.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 88, 89.

4 NOAH, A TEACHER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

  • Who does the Bible refer to as the “sons of God,” and what should be their attitude? Romans 8:14; I John 3:1; II Corinthians 6:14, 17, 18.
  • After the death of Adam, what error of the “sons of God” shows that the distinction between the servants of the Lord and the servants of Satan was rapidly disappearing? Genesis 6:1, 2.

Note: “The children of Seth, attracted by the beauty of the daughters of Cain’s descendants, displeased the Lord by intermarrying with them. Many of the worshipers of God were beguiled into sin by the allurements that were now constantly before them, and they lost their peculiar, holy character. Mingling with the depraved, they became like them in spirit and in deeds; the restrictions of the seventh commandment were disregarded, ‘and they took them wives of all which they chose’ (Genesis 6:2). The children of Seth went ‘in the way of Cain’ (Jude 11); they fixed their minds upon worldly prosperity and enjoyment and neglected the commandments of the Lord.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 81, 82.

  • Due to the prevailing wickedness of humanity, whom did God call to preach a message of warning? Genesis 6:5–8; II Peter 2:5. How does this parallel with our days? Matthew 24:37–39; II Peter 3:3–6.

Note: “Before the Flood God sent Noah to warn the world, that the people might be led to repentance, and thus escape the threatened destruction. …

“For a hundred and twenty years the preacher of righteousness warned the world of the coming destruction, but his message was rejected and despised.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 102.

“The sins that called for vengeance upon the antediluvian world exist today. The fear of God is banished from the hearts of men, and His law is treated with indifference and contempt. The intense worldliness of that generation is equaled by that of the generation now living.” Ibid., 101.

5 NOAH, A SPOKESMAN FOR CHRIST

  • Who was speaking through Noah, and how? Hebrews 1:1; II Peter 1:21.

Note: “[I John 3:8 quoted.] Christ was engaged in this warfare in Noah’s day. It was His voice that spoke to the inhabitants of the old world in messages of warning, reproof, and invitation. He gave the people a probation of one hundred and twenty years, in which they might have repented. But they chose the deceptions of Satan, and perished in the waters of the Flood.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 1, 1089.

  • As Noah was moved by the Spirit to preach, how does the Bible describe his hearers? I Peter 3:18–20; 4:6; Isaiah 42:7.
  • What would the gospel message have done for Noah’s hearers, and what will it do for us if we accept it? Isaiah 61:1; Ephesians 2:1–5.

Note: “As God raised Christ from the dead, that He might bring life and immortality to light through the gospel, and thus save His people from their sins, so Christ has raised fallen human beings to spiritual life, quickening them with His life, filling their hearts with hope and joy.” The Review and Herald, March 31, 1904.

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1 How did Adam’s descendants keep alive the story of creation and the fall of Adam and Eve?

2 How can we use Adam’s method of evangelism in our lives today?

3 What was Enoch’s message to his generation?

4 How did Christ, through Noah, warn the people who were chained in sin?

5 For how long did the Holy Spirit strive in Noah’s day with those who were “dead in trespasses and sins”?

© 2014 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.