A DIFFICULT PASSAGE—CAN YOU RIGHTLY DIVIDE 16MR 273.3?: A skill-testing exercise for those who understand the Character of God in the “new view.” Time to stretch your mind.... Sentence One: “A great price has been paid for the redemption of man, and none who are untruthful, impure, or unrighteous can enter the kingdom of heaven. Sentence Two: “If men do not make Christ their personal Saviour, and become true and pure and holy, there is only one course for the Lord to pursue. Sentence Three: “He must destroy the sinner, for evil natures cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Sentence Four: “Thus it is that sin, if not destroyed, will destroy the sinner, just as Satan designed it should” (16MR 273.3). What of this passage? The first three sentences don’t pose any particular problem for Character of God students. But sentence four is a bit of a brain-scramble. Any takers? Here are some leads: 1. Sentence One and the first part of Sentence Two are about the destruction of ___ in the heart of the ______. 2. How does the Lord pursue a course of destroying the sinner? HINT: How did the Lord harden Pharoah’s heart? HINT 2: (COL 84.4). HINT 3: (5T 134.1). 3. How does sin get destroyed? NOTE: Please DO NOT return with the standard view that God burns up the sinners with physical fire. Think in two pathways, here: 1) the destruction of sin in the believer; 2) the destruction of sin in the impenitent lost. 4. How will sin destroy the sinner? HINT: What is sin by its very nature? (It is true, but I am not looking for “sin is the transgression of the law” as this is indirect. I am after something more fundamental.) 5. Is there a difference between the destruction of sin and the sin destroying the sinner? If so, what is it? Again, the answer depends on whether we are talking about the believer or the finally impenitent. Follow through with both trains of thought. 6. In Sentence Four, is the destruction of sin referring to its removal from the believer or the destruction of the finally impenitent? 7. What does Satan’s design that sin should destroy the sinner have to do with this? Or we could ask: Why is Satan interested in the sinner’s death? HINT: Think “Scapegoat” transaction. 8. The phrase, “Thus it is that sin, if not destroyed…” should be linked with Sentence ___. 9. The phrase, “…will destroy the sinner…” should be linked with Sentence ____. 10. What difficulties will the standard view encounter in this passage?
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 08:16:17 +0000
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