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Doing it the Jesus way

That article Darrel Carson wrote spoke volumes to me and was such a big help. My old coping skills (well, my lack of them) when things get tough increasingly had gotten worse over the years to the point that I was fatalistic. 

I recently faced a possible layoff at work. This situation would have normally sent me on a spiral of panic. But this time, knowing Jesus is my Sabbath rest 24/7, I deliberately chose to leave it to Him. Darrel’s article was a timely reminder to keep me on course with trusting Him.

So a job opportunity came up with an application deadline of the same date that my current job was to be decided. I submitted my application less than an hour before midnight—and today I received a call that I was on the shortlist for this potential new management job, and I have an interview tomorrow. Nothing like this has ever happened so quickly for me before.

Knowing that Jesus is in full control has taken such a burden off my shoulders, and for the first time ever I am doing it the “Jesus way”, not “my way”.

Thank you for everything you do.

—VIA EMAIL

 

Does Ezekiel teach annihilation?

My husband, who is an Adventist, was trying to explain to me Ezekiel 28. According to him, this chapter is referring to Satan. However, verse 19 says that the subject of this chapter “shall be no more forever”.  

I have my concerns about his explanation because this understanding would mean that the devil is not to be punished forever, and hell will happen only for a short period of time and not for eternity.

I have learned in Bible Study Fellowship to follow certain rules to study the Bible, and jumping to conclusions, which appear to be real to my mind, could be dangerous without studying the context. (I listen to your podcast every week.)

Is Ezekiel 28 a chapter used by Adventists to explain their theory of annihilation?  

Who is Ezekiel 28 referring to?

—VIA EMAIL

Response: First, EGW uses this chapter to describe Satan. Because of the reference to the subject of the prophecy being in the Garden of God, she applies the description to Satan. I don’t believe this interpretation is unique to EGW, however; she most likely borrowed it from some author that she read. Many people do see this chapter as including the evil influence of Satan in the prophetic language. 

Second, the chapter is first of all a prophecy against the King of Tyre. Ezekiel is delivering the words of judgment that foretell this wicked king’s ultimate demise. He would become hated and a source of horror, and he would be destroyed. 

Third, I personally suspect that the language in this prophecy that seems to apply to an evil being may well reflect the fact that, as Paul says, our fight is not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers (Eph. 6). Further, in Daniel 10 the prophet has a vision, and finally an angel appears to him in answer to his prayers, and the angel tells Daniel that he had been contending with the Prince of Persia, and only Michael the Archangel, “your prince” (Dan. 10:21) came to his assistance. Daniel quotes the angel saying that, after contending for two weeks with the prince of Persia and being aided by Michael, he then had to leave after appearing to Daniel because the prince of Persia was leaving, but the Prince of Greece was coming,

If you remember the vision of the statue with the head of Gold (Babylon), the chest of silver (Medo-Persia), the waist and hips of bronze (Greece), and the legs of iron (Rome) above the toes which were an unstable mixture of iron and clay, the empire of Greece overthrew the empire of Persia during the time of Alexander the Great who was followed by four kings who took over the rulership of the Greek empire. The angel talking to Daniel was speaking of this coming shift in world power. God’s angel had been contending with the Prince of Persia, and from this we know that there are spiritual powers who have organized assignments over the nations. The fact that God’s archangels were contending with the Prince of Persia and then would be contending with the Prince of Greece implies that the princes over these pagan nations are evil powers. 

Here in Ezekiel 28 I suspect the prophet is speaking to the King of Tyre, as verse 2 explicitly says, but then is also describing the long-existing evil influence that had become part of what identified the king of Tyre. We learn, based on the prophet’s own words, that the King of Tyre was evil and rose in his heart to disrespect God and to set himself up as a god. The ancient pagan kings often were identified as gods to their people, and they demanded worship—consider the case of Daniel and his friends when confronted with Nebuchadnezzar’s demand that the empire worship him. These kings historically believed they acquired their power from the gods, and this assumption may well have been the case with the king of Tyre. 

Fourth, I was not aware of this passage being a key proof text for Adventist “soul sleep”, but they certainly could/would use it if they saw it, I am sure. But we cannot assume this passage teaches that hell is temporary or that people are not eternally punished. In the context, Ezekiel is telling the king of Tyre that he is doomed, that he will be overthrown, discredited before the people, and that because of his intractable evil, God would destroy him publicly in such a way that he would become a horror to the people, and he would lose all power, lose his position, be humiliated and destroyed, and would never participate in his evil international schemes again. The curse of verse 19 suggests that he would leave no progeny to carry on after him, and he would have no future reward—as God did promise His people that they would. Daniel, for example, was promised in the last verse of the book (Dan 12:13): “But as for you, go your way to the end; then you will enter into rest and rise again for your allotted portion at the end of the age.”

Quite in contrast with God’s promise that Daniel would rise and have a portion at the end of the age (perhaps the clearest reference to resurrection in the OT), God’s message to the king of Tyre—and also to his demonic mentor—is that they will have utterly no future or hope or influence. 

One of the first rules of hermeneutics is that we cannot form doctrine out of prophetic or poetic passages. Those passages may add corroborating evidence and strength, but doctrine must be formed from clear didactic passages. Adventism, on the other hand, supports most of its spurious doctrines with out-of-context verses from prophetic/figurative passages. These were never intended to teach doctrine! They give evidence and foretell events, but they are not clear statements of beliefs because they are often descriptive instead of prescriptive or didactic. Verse 19 in Ezekiel is poetic prophecy, and to tell an evil king and his demonic influencer that he would cease to be forever is not a statement about the existence or duration of hell. It is simply a statement of eternal judgment and God’s preventing him from ever having any influence that could hurt the world or His people again. He would be destroyed, as in eternally dead, separated from God and the life of Christ, forever. 

One more thing: the clear statements about eternal life, life after death, and even hell are found in the New Testament, not the Old. 2 Timothy 1:9-10 say that God’s purpose and grace have been granted from all eternity but now have “been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” In other words, the clearer understanding of the nature of eternity for both believers and unbelievers was hidden prior to the Lord Jesus coming and fulfilling the law, breaking its curse, and revealing eternity through His own death and resurrection and the inauguration of the new covenant and the new births of believers. 

No, this passage is not evidence for the Adventist view of death. It is a prophecy of judgment on an evil king who had no fear of God.

 

Puzzled about sanctification

I appreciate the transcribed podcasts because they allow a “pause” for contemplation of the points being made without losing additional thoughts as happens during a regular “live” podcast.  

One of the comments which caused me to pause for contemplation in the podcast on “security” was this: “The Catholic model and the Adventist model of soteriology says that justification, or being declared righteous by God, and sanctification, or obeying God and doing good works—that both of those are necessary for salvation.”

Another was:  “Sanctification, then, is the fruit of salvation,…”  

Also, “Sanctification means growing in Christlikeness.” 

Then you seemed to switch the meaning of sanctification (from being works) and said, “However, the word ‘sanctification’ simply has a very clear single meaning, ‘set apart for holy use’. We’re set apart for God’s use.”

Your discussion continues with the use of theological phrases like “Progressive Sanctification,” and “Positional Sanctification.” You also mention “Ongoing Sanctification.”  It was all a little confusing, especially for those not trained in theological jargon. 

Then you come to a discussion on I Corinthians 6:9-11. Here I believe you use the correct, and really only correct, meaning of the word Sanctification, to be set apart for God’s use. You say, “Now, notice what Paul says to these people. God Himself washed them. They were sanctified. In other words, they were put into Christ, set apart for God’s purposes.”

Sanctification, just as Justification, is an act of God without any “progressive,” or “ongoing” elements to it. Yes, there is a maturing, a growing up into Christ as we are led by His Spirit, but is this sanctification? That is the Adventist definition of sanctification, not the Biblical one. I know you are aware of this, but I found the discussion on this subject a little confusing.

—VIA EMAIL

Response: Scripture does describe “sanctification” as having two aspects: we can call them “positional” and “progressive”. We are sanctified, set apart for holy use, when we trust Jesus and are born again. 

At the same time, although we are sanctified positionally, counted righteous and seated with Christ and eternally secure, we are still living in mortal bodies and are being sanctified.

For example, here are a couple of texts:

1 Thessalonians 5:23: Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 10:14: For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

In Philippians 2:12 Paul says, “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.” 

In 1 Cor. 13:10 Paul says, “For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.” 

And so forth. We spend the rest of our lives on earth learning to trust God and to live increasingly like Christ, realizing that no temptation has overtaken us except what is common to man…and with the temptation God provides the way of escape also… (1 Cor. 10:13). 

Our sanctification is like our redemption. It is as good as done, and in God’s eyes we are counted 100% righteous. But He continues to sanctify us and clean us up. Our learning to overcome the law of sin in our mortal flesh is ongoing sanctification. In the same way, when we trust Christ we are fully redeemed and we cross from death to life. We are adopted as God’s sons and heirs (Romans 8:14-17). And yet—“we ourselves groan within ourselves, awaiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body” (Rom. 8:23).

So, are we adopted as sons when we believe and are born again, or are we adopted when our bodies are redeemed? The answer is—both are true.

The essential us, our now-living spirits, are credited with justification, sanctification, redemption, adoption, glorification, and every blessing we inherit. The indwelling Holy Spirit is the guarantee that these things will come to fruition (Eph. 1:13-14). Yet we do not fully possess these things yet. They are ours—as is our position as the bride of Christ—but we are “engaged”, not fully consummated in our role. We are sanctified in God’s eyes, legally belonging to Christ—but we still have not physically experienced our redemption from our sinful flesh. 

Sanctification is the same. We are positionally fully sanctified, but we are experientially being sanctified while we wait for the redemption of our bodies. We still have a law of sin in our members (Rom. 7), and we are not physically fully sanctified as long as we still house that law of sin in us. It no longer controls us; we no longer are its slaves, and we have the power of God to not live for the sin that used to be our master. But we still struggle with it. Paul even says in 1 Corinthians 9:27 that he disciplines his body and makes it his slave so that he will not be disqualified. He was describing his ongoing sanctification as he learned to trust God with his temptations. 

We are sanctified in the same way we are saved: by faith. As Paul said in Colossians 2:6, “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.” We walk be faith, just as we received Jesus by faith. Our salvation and our ongoing sanctification—our learning to trust Jesus and to respond to temptations and struggles—are both by faith.

What we do in our bodies does matter; our spirits may be alive, but our bodies can distract us away from the reality of Christ. Only those who are born again and alive can even fight the body, but we are repeatedly asked to fight it by learning to trust Jesus while we live in the body. This process is progressive, or ongoing sanctification. We are two parts: body and spirit, and the two parts are not glorified at the same time. Our identities are justified and sanctified when we trust Jesus, but our bodies and our learning to trust Jesus are processes we begin when our spirits come alive. Our bodies are in process until we are called home.