Hello All,
(Just a general disclaimer that I must insert here at the beginning. I am but a lay person, like most of you. And these weekly “thoughts” are but my own. Not the definitive word on this or any topic. Just my own conclusions derived from my own study and faith in God. The greatest hope I have for these weekly “thoughts” is to have them be a springboard for further study on your part. Not to be a weekly treatise to be blindly accepted. So, please read them with this intent, this motive in mind).
This week’s lesson from “The Adult Sabbath School Guide” is titled “More Lessons from the Master Teacher”.
A really good lesson that asks some very pertinent questions. In Sunday’s lesson we are asked to look at Genesis 3: 1-11 regarding Adam and Eve hiding from God after their sin at the tree. We are than asked to read Romans 5:11-19 where Paul, “directly links what Adam did in Eden (hide) with what Jesus did on the cross… how Jesus came to undo what Adam did” (quoted from Sunday’s lesson). The quarterly states that what Jesus did on the cross was to “rescue us”. True. But exactly how? What does the cross do so that we will no longer “hide” like Adam and Eve? In order to “rescue us”, we need to let our guard down. We need to be willing to be “rescued”, because God will not “rescue us” against our will. And this is the topic of my “thought” for this week.
It is apparent that God cannot command anyone to obey. Obviously. He could not command the antediluvians of Noah’s day to enter the ark. He can destroy them, but He cannot make them obey. He could not command the Egyptians to “let my people go” (Exodus 7:16; 8:1; 8:20; 9:1; 9:13; 10:3-4). He can force them to comply. But that is not obedience. He could not even get the “rich young ruler” to follow Him. He cannot command us to love Him. God’s will for each of us can be thwarted by you and me. He has given us this right. This responsibility (the ability to respond). So if He cannot command obedience, all God has is the power of persuasion. Obedience is something each one of us must volitionally choose. Volitionally choosing to submit to His will rather than exercising your own. We cannot be manipulated into choosing His will. We cannot be coerced into obedience. We might be forced to comply, but compliance is not obedience. As EGW states, “a sullen submission to the will of the Father will develop the character of a rebel” (Signs of the Times 7/22/1897). She also states in “Mount of Blessing pg. 142:
Our will is not to be forced into co-operation with divine agencies, but it must be voluntarily submitted. Were it possible to force upon you with a hundredfold greater intensity the influence of the Spirit of God, it would not make you a Christian, a fit subject for heaven. The stronghold of Satan (your will) would not be broken. The will must be placed on the side of God's will.
So what does this have to do with our hiding from God? How to keep us from hiding? How to persuade us to stop hiding? How does Christ’s cross destroy the reason for our hiding? It is quite simple, really. As simple as love.
“The earth was dark through misapprehension of God. That the gloomy shadows might be lightened, that the world might be brought back to God, Satan's deceptive power was to be broken. This could not be done by force. The exercise of force is contrary to the principles of God's government; He desires only the service of love; and love cannot be commanded; it cannot be won by force or authority. Only by love is love awakened. To know God is to love Him; His character must be manifested in contrast to the character of Satan. This work only one Being in all the universe could do. Only He who knew the height and depth of the love of God could make it known. Upon the world's dark night the Sun of Righteousness must rise, "with healing in His wings." Malachi 4:2. (Desire of Ages pg. 22).
Christ’s cross undoes Adam’s (and our) hiding by showing the true character of God and by showing the true hideousness of our going our own way. Christ’s cross persuades us to desire to obey and not just reluctantly comply. Christ’s cross pulls back the curtain on all the misconceptions regarding God and our own autonomy, showing it for what it is. And Christ’s cross shows us we are loved… despite all we’ve done. And that we are forgiven and are welcomed home… if we will. We can stop hiding… if we will. Will we voluntarily yield our will? Will we voluntarily choose to serve Him and yield to Him that Lordship over our lives? The choice is ours…
“The power of choice God has given to men; it is theirs to exercise. You cannot change your heart, you cannot of yourself give to God its affections; but you can choose to serve Him. You can give Him your will; He will then work in you to will and to do according to His good pleasure. Thus your whole nature will be brought under the control of the Spirit of Christ; your affections will be centered upon Him, your thoughts will be in harmony with Him” Steps to Christ pg. 47).
With brotherly love, Jim