Participants: Stephen Bohr
Series Code: TGCC
Program Code: TGCC000005A
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00:15 Well greetings, everyone.
00:16 I'm glad to see you all out today to study 00:19 a very important subject. 00:21 Number five in this series on the great controversy between 00:25 good and evil, and how God solves that problem 00:27 through the Sanctuary service. 00:29 Before we begin our study this evening, 00:32 we want to ask for the Lord's guidance as we study together. 00:35 So I invite you to bow your heads with me as we ask for 00:39 the Lord's blessing as we study. 00:41 Father in heaven, thank You for the privilege of being here. 00:44 We need Your wisdom, we need Your knowledge, 00:47 we need understanding. 00:48 And so we ask that the Holy Spirit, through the ministry 00:51 of the angels, will be in our midst to enlighten our minds 00:55 and open our hearts. 00:56 And we thank You for hearing our prayer, for we ask it 00:58 in the precious name of Jesus, amen. 01:03 I'd like to begin our study today by reading a passage 01:06 that all of us probably can repeat from memory. 01:10 I'm referring to John 14:1-3. 01:15 What Seventh-day Adventist would not be able to repeat 01:18 those verses from memory? 01:20 Anyway, this is what it says, Jesus is speaking... 01:35 Notice, Jesus doesn't say, "I'm going to heaven 01:37 to prepare mansions." 01:38 The mansions were there when Jesus said it. 01:41 So He says... 01:53 And you know, I'm not saying that Jesus didn't go to heaven 01:56 to prepare a beautiful place for us to go to. 01:59 But that is not the primary meaning. 02:01 That might be a secondary meaning. 02:03 Jesus went to heaven to prepare a place for us 02:07 through His work in the Holy and the Most Holy Place, 02:11 which is described in the book of Hebrews 02:13 and also described in the book of Revelation. 02:16 So He continues saying... 02:38 Now we've studied so far about the work of Jesus in the camp. 02:42 He came to live His perfect life, perfectly righteous life, 02:46 in the camp. 02:47 Then He moved to the court. 02:49 And He died, so to speak, at the altar of sacrifice. 02:52 He bore the sins of the whole world. 02:55 Then at the laver, Jesus resurrected from the dead 02:58 so that He could enter His new phase of ministry 03:02 in the Holy Place of the heavenly Sanctuary. 03:05 So we followed Him from the camp to the altar, 03:09 to the laver. 03:11 And now we are going to follow Him into the Holy Place. 03:14 That's where Jesus went to prepare a place for us. 03:19 Now somebody might ask, "Why would He go there 03:21 to prepare a place for us? 03:23 Wasn't everything resolved at the cross?" 03:26 Allow me to read you a statement from Ellen White, 03:29 it's found in, Desire of Ages, page 761, 03:32 where she explains that even after the death of Jesus, 03:36 there were things to explain to the heavenly beings 03:40 about the great controversy. 03:42 And man had to make a choice. 03:46 I read now from, Desire of Ages, 761. 04:17 And now comes the particular part of the statement 04:19 that I would like to emphasize. 04:21 "He," that is man, "must choose whom he will serve." 04:28 So the next stage in the ministry of Jesus 04:30 has to do with man's choice. 04:32 The first stages have nothing to do with man's choice. 04:36 It has to do with God's choice. 04:38 Isn't that true that Jesus came to this world, 04:40 that was God's choice? 04:41 We didn't ask Him to come, right? 04:43 Isn't it true that Jesus went to the cross and died 04:45 because of God's grace, not because we requested it? 04:49 Isn't it true that Jesus resurrected without us 04:52 asking Him to resurrect? 04:53 Of course. 04:55 The first three stages Jesus does for every single 04:58 human being who has ever lived. 04:59 It's God's initiative apart from the choice of man. 05:04 But the last stages of the ministry of Christ 05:06 has to do with man's response. 05:09 In other words, it has to do with man's choice. 05:12 And therefore, Ellen White explains, "Man must choose 05:16 whom he will serve." 05:19 So the work of Jesus in the Holy Place has to do 05:22 with man's response or man's choice. 05:26 The first stages of Christ's ministration 05:28 don't have to do with man's choice. 05:30 It has to do with God's initiative. 05:33 Now a big question that comes up when we discuss 05:37 what happened at the cross is whether the atonement 05:40 was finished at the cross. 05:42 You know, back in, I think it was 1979, Desmond Ford 05:47 at Pacific Union College argued that the atonement 05:50 was finished at the cross and that the Seventh-day Adventist 05:53 Church is wrong in saying that Jesus went to heaven 05:55 to perform a work of atonement. 05:58 Now Ellen White seems to talk out of both sides of her mouth. 06:01 And I underline the word, "seems." 06:04 She seems to talk out of both sides of her mouth 06:07 when she addresses whether the atonement was completed 06:11 on the cross or not. 06:14 In some statements she appears to say that the atonement 06:17 was finished at the cross of Calvary. 06:19 In other statements she seems to say, or she does say, 06:23 that Jesus went to heaven to complete the work of atonement. 06:28 Now, there is no contradiction in the writings of Ellen White. 06:32 The contradiction is in the minds of careless 06:35 and superficial students of the writings of Ellen White, 06:38 and of Scripture, I might say. 06:41 When you look at these statements within their 06:43 legitimate context and within their legitimate emphasis, 06:47 we find that there is no contradiction whatsoever. 06:51 Allow me to read you, first of all, a statement from 06:53 Ellen White where she states that the atonement 06:56 was finished at the cross. 06:58 This is found in the book, Desire of Ages, page 834. 07:02 This is when Jesus goes and appears before His Father 07:05 at the ascension in the Holy Place. 07:18 "Now..." This is after His ascension. 07:20 "Now He declares..." 07:31 Does Ellen White teach that Jesus completed the work 07:35 of redemption when He said, "It is finished"? 07:37 Yes she does. 07:38 It's very clear. 07:39 Once again, she says that Jesus expresses to His Father, 07:43 "I have completed the work of Redemption..." 07:55 That's the first statement where Ellen White says 07:58 the work of salvation was completed at the cross. 08:03 But now I want to read the other statement which appears 08:06 to be contradictory, but really is not when you 08:08 study it carefully. 08:10 Great Controversy, page 489. 08:18 Is that what Jesus went to heaven to do? 08:20 His intercession? Yes. 08:32 Is His intercession as essential as His death on the cross? 08:35 Yes. These two statements are talking about 08:38 two different things; the cross and His intercession. 08:41 She continues saying... 08:51 So see, He performed a work on earth, but He went to heaven 08:55 to complete the work. 08:56 Now we're going to see in a moment what this means. 08:59 But allow me to finish the statement. 09:02 She continues saying, "We must by faith enter within the veil." 09:07 That's an important statement. 09:08 What did Jesus go to heaven to do? 09:11 He went to heaven to represent those who... What? 09:15 ...go to Him within the veil. 09:17 Ellen White is not talking about God's side of the equation. 09:21 Ellen White is talking about man's response by faith. 09:24 Are you following me? 09:26 Let's go to the statement again. 09:28 She says, "We must by faith enter within the veil..." 09:33 Hebrews 6:20 09:57 "...and through His mediation..." 09:59 Once again, it's talking about His intercession 10:01 in the Holy Place. 10:15 Now, how do we understand this then? 10:18 Let's ask another question. And it's this: 10:22 Did Jesus forgive people's sins at the cross? 10:26 This is going to help us answer the previous question, 10:28 whether the atonement was finished at the cross or not. 10:32 Did Jesus forgive the sins of individuals at the cross? 10:36 You know, surprisingly when I ask this question 10:39 in Seventh-day Adventist churches, most of the time 10:42 the answer is a resounding, "Yes. 10:45 Jesus forgave the sins of individuals at the cross." 10:49 But the answer, "Yes," is dangerously wrong. 10:55 You see, Jesus, by His righteous life and His death 10:59 for sin, made sufficient provision to forgive the sins 11:04 of every single person on planet earth. 11:06 As provision. 11:09 But the provision must be personally claimed. 11:14 As we shall see in this particular lesson that we're 11:17 studying, when the sinner repents, confesses His sin, 11:23 trusts in Jesus, and is baptized, Jesus takes His 11:28 perfect life and His death for sin and He places those 11:33 on the sinner's account. 11:35 And God looks upon that sinner as if he had never sinned. 11:40 To use the words of the apostle Paul, 11:42 that sinner is accepted in the Beloved because he has claimed 11:48 that which Jesus did by His life and by His death. 11:53 When Jesus went to heaven, He went into the Holy Place 11:57 and He began His work as Intercessor on behalf of those 12:02 who repent, confess their sins, and trust in Jesus Christ 12:07 as a personal Savior. 12:09 This is an individual choice. 12:12 This is the response of man. 12:15 Are you understanding the first steps in the plan of redemption 12:18 are God's initiative by grace without our request? 12:22 But what Jesus did in the camp and in the court 12:25 must be appropriated by faith, it must be claimed by faith. 12:29 Or else it does not have any value for us personally. 12:35 According to the apostle Paul, David and Abraham, 12:38 for example, were justified by faith even in the Old Testament. 12:43 Did David and Abraham repent of their sins? 12:46 Yes they did. 12:48 Did they confess their sins? 12:50 Most certainly they did. 12:52 Did they have faith in Jesus Christ? 12:55 Yes. 12:56 The only difference between now and then is that 12:58 they claimed Christ as a future Redeemer, 13:02 whereas we claim Christ as one who already 13:05 paid the penalty for sin. 13:07 But the faith in Old Testament times was focused on a 13:11 future Jesus, and our faith is focused on the Jesus who came. 13:15 But all of the Old Testament heroes had to appropriate Jesus, 13:20 had to accept the provision, in order for the provision 13:23 to benefit them. 13:25 I hope you're understanding what we're saying. 13:27 Now let me give you an example so that we can understand 13:31 this particular relationship between the finished 13:35 work of Christ in terms of His life and His death... 13:37 He does not need to live again, He does not need to die again. 13:41 That happened once for all. 13:42 God's initiative. 13:44 ...and His completing the work, which means now He intercedes 13:47 for those who claim what He did in the camp 13:49 and in the court. 13:51 The most famous verse in the Bible, of course, is John 3:16. 13:57 Hands down. 13:58 Everybody that I know has this committed to memory. 14:03 But most people underline the first half of the verse. 14:08 And they kind of forget that there's 14:09 a second half to the verse. 14:11 Now what does the verse say? 14:17 Did the world ask God to send His Son? 14:20 Or was that God's initiative by grace, 14:22 by His love and His mercy? 14:24 It was totally God's initiative that He sent Him. 14:27 But now notice the response. 14:29 This is the Holy Place, by the way, where we're going now. 14:35 He became incarnate, He lived a perfect life, 14:37 He died for sin, He resurrected on earth. 14:40 But now comes the second half of the verse. 14:42 The second half says... 14:49 That is the human response to the initiative of God. 14:52 I hope you're understanding. 14:54 Now let me give you an illustration so that you can 14:56 understand what I mean. 14:58 I want you to imagine the owner of a bank. 15:03 Now the owner of this bank has limitless resources. 15:06 I mean, there's no limit whatsoever to the financial 15:09 resources that the bank owner has. 15:12 And this bank owner, as he looks upon this earth, 15:15 he's filled with sorrow and grief 15:17 as he beholds the inhabitants of planet earth 15:21 burdened down with debt, all kinds of debt. 15:25 And so he, in his mercy, says, "I'm going to set up an account 15:29 in my bank that has enough capital in it that anyone who 15:33 comes to the bank can claim the capital, 15:36 and all of their debts will be wiped out. 15:40 Every single person on planet earth can come to the bank. 15:43 I'm depositing enough resources in this account 15:46 for everyone's debt to be canceled." 15:49 You're talking mortgages, you're talking credit cards, 15:53 you're talking educational loans, 15:55 you're talking department store credit cards, 15:57 you're talking about auto loans, and all the rest. 16:00 There's enough capital in that account to pay 16:04 every single person's debts. 16:07 But let me ask you, what good would this do 16:09 if no one knew that the capital was available? 16:13 And so the bank owner says, "I've got to let everybody 16:15 know about this." 16:17 And so by word of mouth, television, radio, the internet, 16:22 billboards, television, Twitter, Facebook, What's Up, 16:26 and every other means, he says, "I'm going announce to the world 16:30 that there's this account. 16:31 And there's enough there to pay the debts of every single person 16:35 on planet earth." 16:39 There's no reason for anybody to be in debt. 16:41 Is that correct? 16:42 Right. 16:43 But there's a catch. 16:45 Now listen to what the catch is. 16:47 The debtors must, number one, be truly sorry that 16:51 they incurred the debt. 16:53 And they must come to the bank owner and they must confess 16:56 that they were wrong in living beyond their means. 17:00 And they must trust that the bank owner 17:02 will keep his word in applying the capital to all of their 17:07 debts so that their debts can be canceled. 17:10 And they must sign a document officially saying 17:15 that their debt was totally canceled and totally paid for. 17:21 Now what if a person doesn't come to the bank 17:23 to claim the capital? 17:25 Will it do them any good? 17:28 Will their debts be paid? 17:30 No. 17:31 You see, the bank owner, by his mercy and initiative, 17:34 sets up the account. 17:36 But only those who come and say they're sorry 17:40 that they got in debt, and they confess that it was wrong 17:43 to get in debt, and they trust the bank owner 17:46 that he's serious when He says that the debt can be canceled, 17:50 and the individual officially signs, 17:53 that that individual's debt is canceled. 17:57 And so, the work that Jesus performed in the camp 18:00 and in the court is for everyone. 18:03 Jesus deposited enough capital in the bank of heaven 18:07 through His life and through His death to save every single 18:10 sinner who has ever lived in the history of planet earth. 18:14 There's sufficient capital there. 18:17 However, only those who come to Jesus in repentance, 18:23 confessing their sin, trusting that Jesus will keep His word, 18:29 and making it official through baptism, we're going to notice, 18:35 will benefit from what Jesus did. 18:39 Are you following me? 18:40 Now, let's review something we studied concerning 18:45 the resurrection of Christ. 18:47 Let's go to 1 Corinthians 15:13-18. 18:51 You know, most Christians, if you ask them whether Jesus 18:54 forgave people's sins at the cross, they say, 18:55 "Oh yeah, at the cross all sins were forgiven." 19:00 If that's true, then why didn't Jesus just end it all 19:03 when He died on the cross? 19:06 Now notice 1 Corinthians 15:13-18. 19:47 Does the resurrection of Jesus have anything to do with 19:49 our sins being forgiven? 19:51 Absolutely. 19:53 So His death did not take care of sins. 19:55 Because He had to resurrect to take care of sins. 19:58 Are you following me or not? 19:59 Notice Romans 4:25. 20:01 We touched on this point before. 20:03 And let's read Romans 4:25. 20:06 First of all, it speaks about the sacrifice of Christ, 20:08 and then it speaks about His resurrection, 20:10 the purpose of His resurrection. 20:12 It says... 20:20 Or as other versions say, "He was raised 20:23 for our justification." 20:25 So why was Jesus raised? 20:27 Why did Jesus go to heaven? 20:28 So that He could what? 20:30 So that He could justify us. 20:32 Now the question is, what is justification? 20:35 It's a fancy theological word that simply means, 20:39 pardon or forgiveness. 20:42 In the book, Faith and Works, page 103, Ellen White 20:46 explains the following... 20:58 So in other words, when a person repents, confesses, 21:03 trusts in Jesus, and is baptized, they are justified 21:08 or they are forgiven of their sins. 21:10 And God looks upon them as if they had never sinned. 21:13 God accepts them in the beloved. 21:17 So, was everything taken care of at the cross? No. 21:21 Now if I ask you this question, "What is most important: 21:25 the perfect life of Jesus, His death on the cross, 21:30 His resurrection, or His intercession in the 21:33 heavenly Sanctuary?" which would you say 21:36 is the most important? 21:39 It's an impossible question to answer. 21:42 Because if Jesus did not live His perfect life, 21:45 His sacrifice would not have been accepted. 21:48 If Jesus had not lived and died, then He would not what? 21:55 Resurrect. 21:56 And if Jesus did not resurrect, He would not be able to 21:59 carry on the next step in the plan of salvation, 22:02 which is His intercession. 22:04 So those who say, "The cross, the cross, the cross," 22:07 I agree that the cross is vitally important, 22:09 but it is not all and everything. 22:12 All of the steps of Jesus in the plan of salvation 22:15 are critically important in the plan of salvation. 22:18 And we can't focus on just one. 22:21 So the question is, biblically, what did Jesus 22:23 go to heaven to do? 22:26 Let's read several verses, what Jesus has been doing. 22:29 And you know, when I ask Christians, I say, 22:31 "What has Jesus been doing for the last 2000 years?" 22:36 You know, there's a period of silence. 22:40 You know, kind of like they're puzzled. 22:42 What has He been doing for 2000 years? 22:44 If sins were all forgiven at the cross, 22:46 what has He been doing for the last 2000 years? 22:50 You know, even in Adventist churches somebody might 22:52 come up and say, "Interceding." 22:53 Why would He need to intercede if sins were 22:55 forgiven at the cross? 22:59 Are you following what I'm saying? 23:00 Let's see what the Bible has to say about what Jesus is doing 23:04 in the Holy Place. 23:05 1 Timothy 2:5 1 Timothy 2:5 23:10 "For there is one God and two Mediators..." 23:15 Oh, thank you. Okay, you're still with me. 23:17 So it says... 23:29 Now do you remember that the Redeemer 23:31 had to be our next of kin? 23:33 So is it vitally important for Jesus to have been a man? 23:38 Of course. 23:39 For two reasons, and there are other reasons, 23:40 but two principle ones. 23:42 Number one, God cannot be tempted. 23:43 And number two, God can't die. 23:45 And the Messiah had to come and He had to live in human flesh 23:49 a perfect life, a righteous life, and then He 23:51 had die on the cross. 23:53 Neither of those two things can God do. 23:55 So that's why Jesus had to become a man 23:57 to be our Intercessor. 23:59 Now notice also 1 John 2:1. 24:03 It says in 1 John 2:1... 24:16 Notice the first text we read from 1 Timothy 2:5, 24:19 it says that He is one Mediator. 24:23 One go between. 24:24 Here it says we have what? An Advocate. 24:27 That's an individual who defends us in a court of law. 24:30 Now what kind of Advocate is He? 24:32 It says... 24:35 "...Jesus Christ..." What? "...the righteous." 24:39 Why is that important? 24:41 Because we can't come to the presence of God 24:43 because we have no righteousness. 24:45 But when we claim Jesus and His righteousness, 24:48 Jesus comes before the Father and He says, 24:50 "Father, I come here as the righteous one. 24:53 Don't look at Pastor Bohr, look at Me. 24:55 Because He accepted Me." 24:57 And so He must not only be a man, our next of kin, 25:00 He must also be righteous. 25:03 Now does Jesus intercede for everyone? 25:07 That's another answer I usually get, 25:09 "Oh yes, He intercedes for everyone." 25:11 No He doesn't, according to the Bible. 25:13 See, people have developed these traditions 25:16 because they don't read the Bible carefully. 25:18 Notice Hebrews 7:25. 25:22 Hebrews 7:25 25:24 Speaking about Jesus, it says... 25:37 Now, is that clear enough? 25:39 So who is Jesus able to save to the uttermost? 25:43 "...those who come to God through Him..." 25:45 Notice, "...since He always live..." 25:48 Why does He always live? 25:50 Because He resurrected, right? 25:51 "...He always lives to..." What? 25:53 "...to make intercession for them." 25:56 For whom? 25:57 For those who come to God through Him. 26:00 In other words, those who claim the righteousness 26:03 of Jesus Christ. 26:05 No one can come to the Father except through Jesus. 26:07 Notice John 14:6. 26:10 John 14:6 26:22 We have one Mediator. 26:23 He's a man. 26:25 He is a righteous man. 26:26 And He intercedes for those who come to God through Him. 26:30 That's what Jesus has been doing during the last 2000 years 26:34 since He went to heaven; applying the benefits 26:37 of His earthly work to those who claim personally those benefits. 26:42 Incidentally, Jesus is the ladder. 26:45 You remember the ladder that Jacob saw? 26:47 The top of it reached to the highest heaven 26:49 and the base of the ladder was on earth. 26:52 Do you know what the base of the ladder represents? 26:54 The humanity of Christ. 26:55 Do you know what the top of the ladder represents? 26:58 The divinity of Christ. 27:00 He is God, therefore He can represent us to God. 27:02 And He's man, and therefore He can represent God to man. 27:05 In other words, He's a supreme bridge builder. 27:08 Do you know what the word, supreme pontiff, means? 27:11 Pontifex Maximus. 27:12 It means, the supreme bridge builder. 27:14 Of course the papacy says that the supreme 27:17 bridge builder is in Rome. 27:19 But the Bible says that the supreme bridge builder 27:22 is in heaven. 27:23 He only is God. 27:25 And He only is a righteous Man that can bridge 27:28 heaven and earth. 27:30 Every human being is disqualified. 27:32 Because no human being is God, 27:33 and no human being is righteous either. 27:36 And so no human being can fulfill the role of intercessor 27:41 or mediator except Jesus Christ. 27:45 Now let's notice a few more verses that refer to the moment 27:49 when people's sins are forgiven. 27:52 Let's go to Acts 2:38. 27:56 Acts 2:38 28:00 On the day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter 28:03 preached a powerful sermon. 28:05 And if you look at His sermon, he talked about the perfect life 28:08 of Jesus, then he described the death of Jesus, 28:12 then he described the burial of Jesus, 28:15 and then finally he spoke about the resurrection of Christ. 28:19 And then he referred to the ascension of Christ 28:22 to the right hand of God to intercede for sinners. 28:26 Now when Peter finished his sermon, evidently he didn't 28:30 make a call, so he finished his sermon, and so the individuals 28:34 who were present there came to Peter and they said, 28:37 "Well Peter, you know, in the light of what you've preached, 28:39 that Jesus is in heaven, He's now interceding, 28:42 what do we need to do? 28:44 How do we need to respond?" 28:46 Notice Peter's response in Acts 2:38. 28:58 Is that an individual thing? 29:01 Some versions say, "...each one of you..." 29:04 Is there such a thing as corporate repentance? 29:07 Nope. It's individual. 29:09 So it says... 29:20 When do people receive the remission of sins? 29:23 When they repent and they are what? 29:25 And they are baptized. 29:26 And then it speaks of a fringe benefit. 29:31 Do you know what the purpose of the gift of the Holy Spirit is? 29:33 Once a person is baptized and a person's sins are forgiven, 29:36 they're given the Holy Spirit so that they 29:38 can do what the bank owner did. 29:40 So that they can go and tell people, 29:41 "Hey, the Sanctuary is open. 29:44 Come to the bank. Get your debts canceled." 29:47 The Holy Spirit is not given for us to jump in church 29:50 and to speak in tongues, and to roll over in the aisles, 29:52 and to laugh in the spirit." 29:54 The Holy Spirit is given for witnessing. 29:57 It's not given for self-edification 30:00 and to make us feel good, according to Scripture. 30:02 So must we repent to receive forgiveness of sins? 30:06 We're going to talk about baptism in a few moments. 30:08 Go with me to Acts 5:31. 30:11 So the first step is to repent. 30:13 Let's notice what the next step is. 30:15 Acts 5:31 30:17 It repeats the same thought as we just read. 30:20 Speaking about Jesus... 30:32 You know, we don't even repent. 30:34 Repentance is something that God gives us. 30:37 The Bible says in Romans 2:4, the goodness of God 30:40 leads us to repentance. 30:42 So God takes the initiative in repentance. 30:44 And so it says here that Jesus became Prince and Savior... 30:54 So when does Jesus forgive sins? 30:56 When He's at the right hand of God. 30:58 Did you notice that in this verse? 31:00 Now notice, besides repentance, it's not enough just to repent 31:04 inside, we must confess our sins. 31:07 Notice 1 John 1, and we'll read only verse 9. 31:12 1 John 1, well let's read verse 7 and then verse 9. 31:19 Is that a condition? Yes. 31:32 Is this talking about the cleansing of the Sanctuary? 31:35 Is this talking about the cleansing of the Sanctuary? 31:37 The heavenly Sanctuary? No. 31:39 Whose cleansing is it talking about? 31:41 He cleanses us from all sin. 31:43 That's what happens in the daily service. 31:45 Notice verse 9... 31:49 Ah, so it's not only repentance. 31:59 To forgive who? 32:00 "...us our sins..." 32:05 So in the daily service, who is the focus, the Sanctuary or us? 32:09 We are the focus in the daily service. 32:12 We're going to notice that in the yearly service 32:14 it's the Sanctuary that is cleansed. 32:16 It's a different service at the end of the Hebrew year. 32:19 So first of all, repentance. 32:21 Secondly, we find that it's necessary to confess 32:25 sin to receive forgiveness. 32:27 Number three, we must trust Jesus. 32:29 We must trust that when Jesus says that He will place His 32:32 life and His death to our account that He's serious 32:34 and He will really do it. 32:35 Notice Acts 10:43, speaking about Jesus... 32:52 So you'll notice that in Acts 10:43 we're told that 32:56 one of the conditions for benefiting from what Jesus did 33:00 was to believe or to trust in Jesus. 33:03 It's doesn't mean simply to believe in your brain. 33:06 It means to trust in Him as personal Savior. 33:10 Now there's a fourth condition. 33:11 We've noticed three so far. 33:12 Number one, repent. Number two, confess. 33:15 Number three, have faith in Jesus. 33:18 And number four, we mentioned already when we read Acts 2:38, 33:22 it has to do with baptism. 33:25 Baptism is like signing the document. 33:29 In other words, baptism is the icing on the cake. 33:32 It makes everything official. 33:35 Notice Mark 16:16. 33:38 Mark 16:16 33:41 Here, Jesus is speaking after His resurrection... 33:52 So notice, we have to believe or trust in Jesus, 33:55 but we show it how? 33:57 Through baptism. 34:05 And some people say, "Well, it doesn't say at the end of 34:08 the verse, 'But he who does not believe 34:09 and is not baptized will be condemned.'" 34:11 Well it's not necessary because if you don't believe, 34:14 you're not going to choose to be baptized anyway. 34:16 And so, it's only necessary to say, "He who believes 34:20 and is baptized will be saved." 34:23 So the four conditions that we find are repentance, 34:27 confession, faith or trust in Jesus, which is shown 34:31 by the rite of baptism. 34:34 Now let's notice some biblical illustrations 34:37 of these steps. 34:40 First of all, let's talk about the four steps 34:44 with regards to the story of the prodigal son. 34:49 Is there an indication in this story of repentance, confession, 34:53 trust in his father, and baptism? 34:57 The answer is, yes. 34:59 You know the story of the prodigal son. 35:02 You know, he was a son that served his father like a slave. 35:06 And he finally said to his father, "Father, I'm tired 35:09 of being at home. 35:11 And I want to go away and I want to live it up. 35:13 Give me my part of the inheritance." 35:15 And so he goes, makes a mess out of his life, 35:18 and he ends up there living among the swine 35:22 and competing for the food of the swine. 35:26 And when he's there, you know, he suddenly 35:30 comes to his right mind and he says, "What am I doing here? 35:34 He says, "Man, I remember my father's house, 35:37 how well my father treated his servants. 35:41 And how well my father treated me." 35:44 He says, "I'm going to go back to the house." 35:47 Let me ask you, what is it that led him to repent? 35:50 The goodness of his father, right? 35:51 He remembered the goodness of his father. 35:53 And so he repents and he says, "I'm going to go back home 35:56 and I'm going to say, 'I have sinned against heaven 35:59 and against you, and I'm not worthy to be called your son.'" 36:02 So did he confess his sin when he went back? 36:04 Absolutely. 36:05 He said, "I have sinned against heaven and against you." 36:08 So he repented. 36:09 Secondly, he confessed his sin. 36:11 Let me ask you, third, did he believe and trust 36:15 that his father would receive him back? 36:17 Of course. 36:18 He would not have gone back unless he believed 36:20 that his father would receive him back. 36:22 Of course, he grew in his understanding, because 36:24 he thought his father was going to receive him as a slave, 36:27 or as a servant, but his father received him as a what? 36:30 As a son, and he was re-integrated into the family. 36:34 Now it's also interesting to notice what the father did 36:37 with the son when he returned. 36:39 The Bible tells us that the father took his best robe 36:42 and he put the best robe on his son. 36:44 Now let me ask you, do you think it would make sense 36:46 for the father to put the robe on before this guy took a bath? 36:50 I rather doubt it. 36:51 I think that probably what they did was wash him up, 36:55 and then place the garment of the father's 36:57 righteousness on him. 36:59 And there's a biblical foundation for that. 37:00 You remember the story of Zechariah 3 where Joshua 37:05 is there standing and he's covered with filthy garments. 37:09 And the angel is told, "Take away those filthy garments." 37:13 So first of all, you take away what? 37:15 The filthiness. 37:17 And then cover him with a beautiful robe. 37:20 And so this son went through all of the process 37:24 that we've described. 37:26 He repented, he confessed his sin, 37:28 he trusted in the goodness of his father. 37:31 And mostly likely, although the story doesn't say so, 37:34 he was washed up, and then his father covered him 37:37 with his robe of righteousness. 37:39 Which is what the Bible calls justification, 37:42 or as we have seen, forgiveness. 37:45 Are you seeing all the steps? 37:47 And of course, Ellen White, as we've noticed, says in, 37:50 Faith and Works, page 103... 37:57 Do you think this son would now find it a delight 38:00 to obey his father? 38:01 Oh, he knew the love of his father. 38:04 He said, "Man, my father received me back 38:06 in spite of the fact that I did all this. 38:08 I blew it. He received me back as a son." 38:11 Would that be a big incentive for him to be 38:13 obedient to his father? 38:14 Yes. No longer because he felt obligated to, but because 38:19 he could now grasp the love and mercy of his father. 38:23 See, obedience comes as a result of understanding the goodness 38:28 and the mercy and the grace of God. 38:31 Now let's talk about Adam and Eve. 38:34 This is an interesting story. 38:36 When Adam and Eve sinned, were they repentant 38:39 immediately after their sin? 38:41 No. 38:42 You say, "How do we know they weren't?" 38:44 You know, the greatest sign that an individual is not 38:47 sorry for sin is blaming other people. 38:50 That's the greatest sign of a false repentance, 38:53 is you blame someone else. 38:54 So when God comes to Adam and says, 38:56 "Adam, what have you done," 38:57 Adam says, "Yeah, I ate from the tree. 39:00 I'm not going to deny it. 39:01 But the woman that You gave me, it was her fault." 39:04 And then God comes to Eve and He says, "Eve, what have you done?" 39:08 She says, "I'm not going to deny that I ate from the tree. 39:10 I did eat from the tree. I admit it. 39:13 But it was the serpent that You made. 39:14 If You had not made that serpent, 39:16 the serpent would not have tempted me 39:17 and I would not have sinned." 39:19 So, they were sorry about the consequences that 39:24 their sin was going to give them. 39:25 That is, death. 39:27 But they were not sorry that they had committed this sin. 39:29 Do you know when they really felt sorry for sin? 39:34 Ellen White describes it in, Patriarchs and Prophets. 39:37 It's when Adam had to offer the first sacrifice 39:40 in a world where there was no death. 39:43 God told him, "Get a lamb. 39:44 Slit its throat." 39:46 Can you imagine what it was like? 39:47 You know, there's so much death in the world today that 39:50 it doesn't even tickle us. 39:53 But in a world where there was no death, 39:55 suddenly that animal in his arms is limp. 39:58 Dead. Doesn't breathe anymore. 40:01 And then Ellen White explains how Jesus Himself 40:04 said to Adam and Eve, "Listen, that little lamb represents Me. 40:09 Because of your sin, that's what's going to happen to Me." 40:12 Do you think that they were really sorry for sin now? 40:14 You better believe it. 40:16 And then, of course, we have the story of David. 40:20 What a wonderful story. 40:21 You know, David committed adultery 40:23 with Uriah the Hittite's wife, Bathsheba. 40:26 And then he had Uriah killed on the battlefront. 40:32 I mean, two terrible horrendous sins; adultery and murder. 40:36 Did David repent of His sin? 40:38 All you have to do, folks, is read Psalm 51. 40:43 It's all there. 40:45 Did he repent of sin? 40:47 Just read the psalm. He did. 40:49 Did he confess audibly his sin to the Lord? 40:52 Yes. Did he trust in the mercy of the Lord? 40:55 Did he say, "I know You can forgive me. 40:57 I trust in You." 40:59 Absolutely. 41:00 Did he ask God to wash him in Psalm 51? 41:04 See, there you have represented what? 41:06 Baptism. 41:07 He's not only saying, "Forgive me," 41:08 he's saying, "Wash me. 41:10 Clean me up." 41:12 And so we have all of the steps mentioned specifically 41:16 there as well. 41:18 You know, what is the difference between true repentance 41:21 and false repentance? 41:23 It's very simple. 41:24 False repentance means that you're sorry for the 41:27 consequences that your sin is going to give you 41:30 instead of for the sin itself. 41:32 Now when I was a kid, I have three sisters, 41:36 and once in a while I would get in fights with my sisters. 41:39 It's a normal thing in a world of sin. 41:41 Although now looking back, I'd say I should have overcome that. 41:44 But anyway, when I fought with me sisters, 41:46 my dad would say, "Son, they are women, 41:51 and they are to be treated with respect." 41:54 And he said, "I'm going to give you a licking." 41:57 Or a whipping. 41:59 And you know what I'd say to my dad? 42:01 I'd say, "Oh no, dad, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. 42:04 I'm really sorry." 42:05 Do you really think I was sorry that I fought with me sisters? 42:08 Not on your life. 42:09 I was sorry that I was going to get whipped. 42:12 That's false repentance. 42:13 See, sorry for the consequences of sin 42:16 rather than for the sin itself. 42:18 And Ellen White says very clearly that we should not 42:24 serve Jesus because we want to go to heaven 42:27 or we want to keep out of hell. 42:30 We should serve Jesus and we should be repentant because 42:34 of the sin itself. 42:35 Because it hurts Jesus. 42:37 It hurt the Lord. 42:39 And when we see what sin did to Jesus, 42:41 we will not want anything more to do with sin. 42:45 Now let me read you here a statement, a couple of 42:48 statements actually, from the spirit of prophecy 42:51 on what Jesus went to do in heaven. 42:54 She's so clear. 42:55 The first is in the book, Faith and Works, page 103. 43:00 This is one of the most beautiful statements 43:01 I've ever found on the issue of the conditions for forgiveness 43:07 and what forgiveness provides for God's people. 43:16 "Through faith..." 43:19 See, it's a condition, right? 43:20 "Through faith, the believer..." 43:24 That's faith, right? 43:56 So when is it that Jesus bears the sins as the 43:59 Substitute and Surety? 44:01 When the individual, through faith, comes to Jesus. 44:05 And then she continues saying... 44:09 This is what Jesus says in His intercession. 44:45 Isn't that a magnificent statement about what happens 44:47 when a sinner comes to God through Jesus Christ? 44:52 He now gets the benefits of Christ's life and death. 44:56 When Ellen White speaks about the benefits 44:59 of Christ's atonement, she's talking about 45:01 Christ's perfect life and death which He will put to the account 45:05 of those who repent, confess their sins, 45:08 trust in Jesus, and are baptized. 45:11 Here's the second statement. 45:12 It's found in, Early Writings, page 259-260. 45:21 You remember that happened when Jesus died. 45:40 It was offered at Calvary and it was accepted by His Father 45:43 when He ascended to heaven. 45:44 Remember He appeared before His Father 45:46 and showed His wounds. 45:47 Revelation 5 describes it as the Lamb as though 45:50 it had been slain. 45:52 He presents Himself before His Father. 45:54 "The great Sacrifice had been offered..." 46:15 Did He go to heaven to shed it upon everyone on planet earth? 46:19 No. 46:20 "...to shed upon His disciples the benefits of His atonement." 46:25 And you'll notice that the benefits of Christ's atonement 46:28 are His perfect life on earth and His death for sin. 46:33 Which He did for every single person who has ever lived 46:36 in the history of planet earth on God's initiative, 46:39 not man's choice or man's initiative. 46:43 The statement continues with the following words... 46:54 "...and still trusted in their useless 46:56 sacrifices and offerings." 46:59 Of course, because they didn't realize that Jesus 47:00 the true Lamb had died. 47:02 She continues saying... 47:16 Because they did not follow Him in the previous steps, 47:19 they had no idea what Jesus was doing in heaven. 47:23 Now I'd like to mention something about baptism 47:27 before we draw this to a close. 47:30 Most Christians have a very superficial view 47:35 of what baptism really means. 47:37 In fact, I have found that many Adventists also are fuzzy 47:41 on the profound meaning of baptism. 47:44 So I'm going to explain what baptism is, because 47:46 it's one of the conditions for receiving forgiveness, 47:50 according to what we've studied. 47:51 Repentance, confession of sin, faith and trust in Jesus, 47:55 and it is all announced or crystallized by 47:59 the rite of baptism. 48:01 Now, we believe that baptism should be of individuals 48:05 who understand what they are doing. 48:08 And we usually say adults, but you know, there are children 48:11 who reach a certain age where they can 48:12 understand what they're doing. 48:14 They can repent, they can confess their sins, 48:16 they can have trust in Jesus, 48:18 and they can choose to be baptized. 48:20 So we believe that baptism should be 48:23 of knowing individuals. 48:25 And secondly, that it should be by immersion. 48:28 The person should be submerged totally and 48:31 completely in the water. 48:32 And you say, "Now why would that be important?" 48:35 The reason why it's important is because when a person is 48:39 baptized, they are repeating in miniature the experience 48:43 of Christ and they are being included in the 48:46 experience of Christ. 48:47 Let me explain what I mean. 48:49 Probably all of you have seen a baptism. 48:51 The pastor is in the baptismal font. 48:54 And the pastor says, "I now baptize you in the name of the 48:58 Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen." 49:00 And then the candidate that is in front, what is the last thing 49:04 that the candidate does before the pastor puts him 49:06 or her under the water? 49:08 Stops breathing, right? 49:11 They better stop breathing. 49:14 What do they do while they're under the water? 49:17 They don't breathe. 49:18 What is the first thing that they do when they 49:20 come out of the water? 49:22 They breathe again. 49:23 Right? 49:25 Do you know what's happening there? 49:26 They are repeating in miniature the experience of Christ. 49:30 They are being included in Christ. 49:32 They are now in Christ because they went, in miniature, 49:35 through the experience of Christ. 49:38 They are not now in themselves, they are in Christ. 49:41 So can sprinkling represent that, being included in the 49:46 death, burial, and resurrection of Christ? 49:49 Absolutely not. 49:51 Now the reason I took the time to speak about the meaning 49:54 of this fourth step, the step of baptism, 49:57 is because Satan has established a counterfeit. 50:02 A counterfeit way of salvation. 50:05 Instead of having people look to heaven, 50:07 the devil has fixed it so that people look to the earth 50:12 for salvation. 50:14 Now you say, "What do you mean?" 50:17 I'm going to speak now boldly about the Roman Catholic system. 50:22 And this is no reflection on individual Roman Catholics. 50:25 Because we're not talking about individuals 50:27 of the Roman Catholic Church. 50:29 We're talking about Roman Catholic theology, 50:31 and how it does not fit with everything that we've described. 50:35 The book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus was sacrificed 50:39 once for all. 50:42 He was sacrificed once for all. 50:43 He needs not be sacrificed ever again. 50:47 But the Roman Catholic Church teaches that in each mass 50:50 Jesus is sacrificed all over again. 50:53 And people look, not at Jesus the true Sacrifice in heaven, 50:57 they look at that little wafer, that little host, in the hands 51:00 of the priest. 51:01 A counterfeit sacrifice. 51:03 Not only that, the Bible tells us that there's only 51:06 one Advocate, one Intercessor, who is perfectly righteous; 51:10 Jesus Christ. 51:11 We noticed that the Intercessor has to be a man, 51:14 He has to be a righteous man, and He has to be God. 51:17 The Roman Catholic Church says that there are human 51:21 intercessors, there are priests who represent individuals. 51:26 The problem with priests, yes they're human, 51:28 but they're not righteous humans. 51:30 And furthermore, they are not God. 51:32 So they cannot bridge the distance 51:34 between heaven and earth. 51:35 And so people go to the priest, they confess to the priest. 51:38 They say my sins are taken care of. 51:40 They're totally oblivious to the fact that there's only one 51:43 who can represent them before God; 51:45 Jesus Christ the righteous one. 51:48 And then the Roman Catholic Church teaches also 51:50 that baptism should be of infants that cannot repent, 51:54 they cannot confess, they cannot trust in Jesus. 51:57 And they say it's okay to just do a little 51:59 sprinkle on their heads. 52:01 The Bible says that we must be buried in baptism. 52:04 Because when we are buried in the waters, 52:06 we are participating in the experience of Jesus Christ. 52:10 So Roman Catholicism has established a counterfeit 52:14 system of salvation on earth. 52:16 And the sad thing is that Protestants today 52:20 are oblivious to the difference between Roman Catholicism 52:23 and Protestantism. 52:24 And you have people like Rick Warren saying, 52:26 "Oh, you know, we all believe in Jesus. 52:29 We all believe that Jesus died. 52:30 We all believe that Jesus resurrected. 52:32 We all believe that Jesus went to heaven." 52:34 Yes, but the concept of salvation of Roman Catholicism 52:39 and the concept of the Bible are radically and totally different. 52:43 Because people look to a human system for salvation 52:46 on earth in Roman Catholicism when the Bible tells us 52:50 that there is no hope except in Jesus Christ 52:53 and His intercession in the heavenly Sanctuary. 52:55 Are you following me or not? 52:57 This is a vitally important thing. 52:59 Now let's introduce our next study. 53:03 In Leviticus chapter 1 through chapter 15, 53:07 the words that describe sin are almost always in the singular. 53:13 Words like: sin, transgression, uncleanness in singular. 53:19 Because Leviticus 1 through 15 is describing the daily service. 53:24 In other words, individuals placed sin, transgression, 53:28 uncleanness in the Sanctuary. 53:31 But in Leviticus 16 it's different. 53:35 Because in Leviticus 16, the words are plural. 53:39 Sins, transgressions, uncleanness in plural. 53:45 Because we're going to find in our next study 53:48 that the purpose of the next step of Jesus in the Sanctuary, 53:52 the day of atonement, is not to introduce the sins 53:56 of individual sinners in the Sanctuary, but the purpose is 54:01 to take the whole cumulus of sins that have entered 54:04 the Sanctuary and take that cumulus of sins 54:07 out into the court to place on the head of the scapegoat. 54:13 So what happened in the daily service was simply 54:16 that when individuals confessed their sins 54:19 the priest would place his hand on the head of the victim, 54:23 would transfer the sin of the sinner to the victim, 54:26 the victim would be slain. 54:27 The blood was then taken into the Sanctuary 54:30 with the record of the blood, and the sinner was forgiven. 54:33 But the Sanctuary was what? 54:36 The Sanctuary was defiled. 54:37 Because the blood bore the record of what? 54:41 Of sin. 54:42 Is that what Jesus is actually doing in heaven now? 54:45 Yes. 54:47 You see, Jesus died on the cross. 54:49 And when I repent, and confess my sins, 54:51 and trust in Jesus, and I'm baptized, 54:53 Jesus takes those sins into the heavenly Sanctuary 54:57 and He places them in the Sanctuary. 55:00 Can I have assurance of forgiveness? 55:01 Absolutely. 55:03 I don't have the problem anymore. 55:05 Where is the problem? 55:06 The problem is in the Sanctuary. 55:08 So the Sanctuary, if it's defiled by sin, it must be what? 55:13 It must be cleansed. 55:14 And that's the service of the day of atonement 55:17 that we're going to talk about in our next two lectures. 55:21 Are you following what I'm saying? 55:22 Let me read you from, Great Controversy, 421-422, 55:27 as we close. 55:56 Isn't this simple? 55:57 I mean, it's just absolutely simple. 56:00 Placed on the victim, the victim's blood is shed, 56:04 the blood is taken into the Sanctuary, 56:06 and through the blood the Sanctuary has the record of sin. 56:09 The Sanctuary is defiled. 56:11 And therefore, the Sanctuary needs to be what? 56:13 The Sanctuary needs to be cleansed. 56:16 Now I'll tell you what some people say. 56:18 They say, "Adventists never have the assurance of salvation. 56:21 Because Adventists say that their sins are written 56:25 up there in heaven. 56:27 And so they can never be sure if they're saved or not." 56:30 But let me tell you, our greatest assurance of salvation 56:34 is to have our sins up there, to make sure that our sins 56:39 enter the Sanctuary through the blood of Jesus 56:42 and that they're up there. 56:44 Because if the sins are not up there, they are here. 56:48 So you better make sure that you repent of sin, 56:52 and you confess your sins, and you trust in Jesus, 56:55 and you're baptized if you haven't been, 56:57 and that Jesus now mediates, is your Advocate, 57:01 is your Intercessor in heaven, and takes your sins 57:04 and He places the sins, covered by the blood, 57:07 in the heavenly Sanctuary. 57:08 You see, as long as your sins enter the Sanctuary 57:11 covered by the blood, you don't have anything to worry about. 57:15 Your greatest assurance is to have them there. 57:17 Because if they are not there, they are where? 57:20 They are here. 57:22 And so our next study, we will go into the Most Holy Place 57:27 of the heavenly Sanctuary. 57:28 And let me just set the stage. 57:31 Has every person who has claimed Jesus 57:35 truly repented of sin? 57:38 Are their true and counterfeit believers in the church? 57:42 Yes. 57:43 So how do you know who are genuine and who are counterfeit? 57:48 God will reveal it in the what? 57:51 In the judgment. 57:53 And so the daily service and the yearly service 57:57 are intimately connected, as we will see. |
Revised 2016-09-07