Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic
The Book of Acts
Lesson 9. The Second Missionary Journey
Paul, God's faithful servant, suffered a humiliating rebuke in his evangelism crusade in the great city of Athens. He made the mistake of trying to match philosophy with philosophy, trying to meet the Athenian scholars on their own ground. The result: near failure in soul-winning, although a few did respond.
When he came to the immoral city of Corinth, he says he "determined not to know anything among [them], save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2). The Holy Spirit, "through the grace" of God, moved the apostle of the Lord to urge all of us ("everyone that is among you") "to think soberly" (Rom. 12:3).
Thinking that way is the essence of life on this great Day of Atonement in world history--just before the final judgment and the second coming of Jesus. Selfish fun and comedy are inappropriate now in this special "time of the end" (Dan. 12:4). That means that "everyone" whose heart is moved by that "grace" will find that worldly pleasures and comedy do not satisfy the deep yearnings that the Holy Spirit has placed in our hearts just now.
"Atonement" means in very simple words, "at-one-with," or reconciliation of heart with God; and we can know God only through knowing Christ, for He alone can reveal God to us so we can understand the Father. That means that one interest is henceforth paramount with us: the "Christ and Him crucified" idea that possessed Paul when he came from Athens to Corinth (1 Cor. 2:1, 2).
"God hath dealt to every one [of us] the measure of [genuine] faith," adds Paul, so we can think seriously, "soberly," in a world of pleasure seeking (Rom. 12:3). It's a gift of that much more abounding grace of God. We repent in behalf of those who do not know about this Day of Atonement.
In going through the four Gospels, only once did Jesus say we "must" experience something, and then it turns out to be something we can't "do." He told Nicodemus, "Ye must be born again" (John 3:7). And in only one other place in the New Testament are we told we "must" do something, and that is Hebrews 11:6 where we are told, "He that cometh to God must believe that He is, ..." And when the jailer asked Paul and Silas, "What must I do to be saved?" they answered, "Believe ..." (Acts 16:30). Were they teaching the heresy of "only-believism"?
The reality is, John 3:16 does not list all the things we must "do" in order to "have everlasting life." It plainly says, "Believe." So, was Jesus teaching "only-believism"?
Then, when Hebrews 11:6 says we "must believe" it is stating the one and only thing Scripture tells us we "must" do. "The Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35). We can't force the Bible to teach salvation by faith and by works; it teaches salvation "by grace through faith," "faith whichworks" (Eph. 2:8, 9; Gal. 5:6).
Finally, when Jesus says we "must be born again," He is not talking about a program of works. Can't be; nobody can "born" himself--or give birth to himself. We must be born, passive voice of the verb. And who does the conceiving and "giving birth"? Jesus says in John 3, verse 8, as you can't tell where the wind comes from or goes, "so is everyone that is born of the Spirit." It is He who conceives in you the new life and gives birth to the new heart; you welcome the new birth, you let it happen, you stop the abortion practice you've been doing all your life. Call it cooperation if you wish, but please don't think of it as being 50 percent your own Saviour. You cooperate by letting Him do His blessed will in you. And when all is done at last, to Him alone will you give all the glory.
It's shocking but true: as you read the New Testament, there is only one thing that we are told we must do: and that is "believe." It's clear in John 3:7-16, and in Heb. 11:6, as well as Acts 16:30, 31. And the New Testament does not teach the heresy of what is known as "only-believism," that is, that a mental assent and confession is all that is necessary--without obedience. Romans 10:10 says that "with the heart [we] believeth ... unto salvation."
And if you believe with the heart, there is certainly a change in the life that leads you to obey all of God's commandments. Put all those texts together and let them speak, and it becomes clear that the Bible meaning of the word "believe" is quite different from the usual idea held by Roman Catholic and Protestant evangelicals. To "believe" is not an exercise of selfishness, like buying a lottery ticket in the hope of winning a bonanza.
But Bible faith is not centered in winning something, even if it is a heavenly fortune instead of an earthly jackpot. Bible faith is a heart appreciation of the love of the Father in giving "His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
According to Jesus, this is the one thing you must do. But someone says, wait a minute--doesn't He say that if "you love me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15)? Yes, but please notice: the motive is love, not fear or hope of reward! And Jesus prefaces that remark with this: "believe ... in Me" (vs. 1). He is talking about receiving the atonement, the reconciliation (Rom. 5:9, 10). Paul pleads with us, "Be ye reconciled to God" (2 Cor. 5:20). Why, and how? The next verse answers: because Christ was "made to be sin for us, who knew no sin."
Let your small heart contemplate what happened on that cross; then as David says, your heart will be "enlarged" (Psalm 119:32). In such faith is everlasting life. And the message about it today is--"the third angel's message in verity" (Ellen G. White, Review and Herald, April 1, 1890).
--Paul E. Penno
Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: https://youtu.be/hQzDNQFK0yw
"Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888message.org/sst.htm
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