Quote:

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The implication puts a bad light on the character of the Father.

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What implication is that?

Because of the righteous, the wicked are spared...

It implies a non relational fix it mentality.
This notion is too simplistic..and or shallow.
The part where Moses is allowed to see God's attributes on Mt Sinai...

doesn't match here...

God does not let the wicked off the hook because of the righteousness of Jesus...or else all should be off the hook...forever.


God addresses a lie, law, liberty and love with the salvation plan.

This trade idea without elaboration is a cheap fix..and God has a goal for much more..

Quote:

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Because of the righteous, the wicked are spared...

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Isn't that exactly what happens when a sinner accepts Christ as his savior?

Is not the wicked sinner spared, not because of any righteous deed, but because he relies on Christ's righteousness?

Look at the issues with the fall.

Eve believed a lie..God demonstrates death...shows Satan as a liar

There was law...accountability and responsibility reduced with antinomian behavior and notions of Adam and Eve..

The law was upheld by the death...demonstrating a restoration of concept/notion of responsibility/accountability

There was blameshifting because of the anxiety of guilt and shame.

Shame binds the human...Jesus takes the load/shoulders the responsibility and thus frees the victim..the human see disposition of the emotional and cognitive aberration. Heb 2:15 subject to bondage by fear of death.. >>liberty

The immediate interest, compassion , mercy, solution, multifaceted approach of God reveals the love for his creation.

The lesson brings out the issue of polemics/debates related to the significance of the cross..it takes place in the SDA denomination ..

http://www.pineknoll.org/adventist/lesson/references/2005/q1/maxinter.pdf

Check out lesson 10 portion..

I have never met this person yet some of the comments here echo my own meditations.

http://www.pineknoll.org/adventist/lesson/references/2005/q1/cross10-13.pdf

Check out this page..especially related to the atonement..

and say goodbye to NFDMTTS

http://www.pineknoll.org/adventist/lesson/index.html

You will never listen the same after chewing on the trust healing /great controversy/larger picture model of the atonement..

http://www.pineknoll.org/cag/index.html

A Graham Maxwell was a major contributopr of the SDA commentary especially on the book of Romans.

Once you get some idea of a different perspective on soteriology...you will understand my rant on NFDMTTS and playing church...also you will understand a little better why I am a clergy confronter.


My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge...


It is pathetic!!!!!!!!

Quote:

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Just think of what this implies of God..

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You keep saying that, but it's opaque to me.

Quote:

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No sinner is spared because he relies on Christ's righteousness..and nothing else.

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Really. Am I alone in thinking that's called, "the Gospel?"
What else do we rely on?

BTW..those links are all available in the SS materials section of

http://www.ssnet.org/qrtrly/qrtrly.html

TUESDAY March 1

One Man's Righteousness

What do these texts say about the character of Jesus? John 8:46, Rom. 5:18, 2 Cor 5:21, 1 Pet. 2:22, 1 John 3:5.


Yesterday we looked at the universal problem of humanity, and that's sin. In contrast to every other person, however, there's Jesus, whom the Bible teaches did not sin. In other words, He was the only Person not tainted or infected by sin in any way. He kept the law of God perfectly, always obeyed the Father's will, and never once fell. In this sense, He stands out as different from every other human being.

Now, let's go back to the principle we looked at Sunday: that of the guilty being spared for the sake of the righteous. There were no righteousness men found in Sodom and Gomorrah, nor are there any found in the world at large. Jesus, however, is the exception, and the Lord will accept Christ's righteousness alone as sufficient to spare the world. It's as though, instead of ten righteous men to save Sodom and Gomorrah, the Lord allowed for one righteous Man to save a guilty world-and that Man was Jesus. See John 3:17.

Romans 5:17-19 says that everything Adam had done through sin, Christ came to undo. Adam brought sin, death, condemnation, and disobedience; Christ brought righteousness, life, justification, and obedience. Thus, just as it was only through Adam that we all became sinners, it's only through Christ that we become righteous. Hard as it is to understand, His righteousness was so perfect, so complete and satisfactory, that it was enough to cover the sins of the whole world. And that's because His righteousness was "the righteousness of God" (Rom. 3:21). Because Jesus Himself was God, and only God Himself could provide the righteousness needed to save a fallen world.

Sure, you're a wretch, and even if you hide that fact from everyone else, you can't hide it from God. But no matter how bad you are, isn't God's righteousness, which can cover the sins of the whole world, enough to cover even you? Think about the implications of your answer.




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WEDNESDAY March 2

The Justice of God

So far this week we've seen that God will spare sinners for the sake of another's righteousness and that Jesus alone had the righteousness to cover the sins of the world. But if that's true, then why did Jesus have to die? Wasn't His righteousness alone enough? Why the terrible death at Calvary?

These are good questions, and part of the answer lies in the limits of the Sodom and Gomorrah story, which gives only one aspect of the principles involved in the science of salvation.

Suppose, indeed, that there were ten righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah, and, as a result, the cities were spared destruction. We would have seen here a great manifestation of God's mercy, for certain. Out of mercy, He spared these people the punishment that was justly theirs.

Now, in somewhat the same way, we've also seen that Christ's righteousness alone was enough to spare the whole world from the punishment of sin. This, too, represents an act of mercy.

Mercy, however, is only part of the picture. There's another element that cannot be overlooked regarding the character of God and His dealing with sin.

Look up the following texts. What point are they making about the Lord? How can we reconcile them with our understanding of a merciful God? Exod. 34:7, Job 8:3, Ps. 89:14, Jer. 23:5, Acts 7:52.


All these texts touch on a crucial issue regarding the plan of salvation:

the justice of God. The Bible says that God is just, and this leads to an important point: Again, suppose there were ten righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah and the places were spared. That would be mercy, but it certainly wouldn't be justice, would it? There were some pretty vile, crude, violent people in those cities, were there not? Should they have gotten off free, with no punishment for their sins? Christ's righteousness is enough to cover every sin of every sinner in the world, no matter how vile, violent, and rude. If all were to go free, with no divine punishment, that would be mercy, but would it be justice?

Put yourself in a situation in which you need to execute judgment. And though you want to be merciful, fairness and responsibility also demand justice. How does such a dilemma reflect the issue before God: how to be both merciful with fallen sinners and yet, at the same time, be just with them, as well?