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Commentary on "Temperance"
Day 6: Thursday, May 27, 2010 – Bought With a Price
Overview
“Dwell more on the Cross and what Jesus did for us. Why should that motivate us in all that we do? If you truly believe that Christ, the Lord, died for your sins so that you can have the promise of eternal life, shouldn’t that take front and center in your life? How should this wonderful truth motivate you to take better care of your body temple?” (SDA Teacher’s Quarterly, P. 110)
Obwervations
Here is the source of Adventism’s incessant appeal to behavior modification. Look closely at the statement above.
Is there anything wrong with dwelling on what Jesus accomplished on the cross? Of course not!
Look closer at sentence number 3: “If you truly believe that Christ, the Lord, died for your sins so that you can have the promise of eternal life, shouldn’t that take front and center in your life?” Jesus did not die for my sins so that I can have the promise of eternal life. Jesus died for my sins so that they never again would be the cause of separation between God and me.
What happened when Jesus died? The curtain separating the Most Holy Place and the Holy Place was torn in two, exposing the Holy of Holies directly to the people.
Appealing to the cross as the motivation for better behavior is bankrupt thinking. The cross is the prime example of what it cost God to deal with our attempts at better behavior!
No, it is the resurrection that should serve as our motivation. And this motivation is not the result of a PROMISE of eternal life, but on the absolute assurance that I HAVE eternal life.
Therefore, because I am his and he is mine I can rest in the knowledge that he will finish what he started in me.
Grace never is an excuse for sin. Rather, grace teaches us to say No to sin. Appealing to Paul’s use of the word “temple” as proof that we need to try harder completely removes grace as our motivation. I am a temple of the living God! How could I do otherwise than throw myself into his arms, calling him Daddy and Father, in order receive the mercy and grace I need in my times of need?!
According to the lesson, we “owe Him our all” (P. 110). According to the Bible, we owe Him nothing. “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11, emphasis added)
Therefore, the only way to honor God with our bodies (verse 20) is to rest in Jesus’ completed work on the cross and in his resurrection, allowing him to complete his work in us.
Summary
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