Stephen
Terry, Director
Worship
the Creator
Commentary
for the May 26, 2018 Sabbath School Lesson
“For
if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting
them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; if he did not spare the
ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected
Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; if he condemned the cities
of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of
what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man,
who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous
man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by
the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— if this is so, then the Lord knows how to
rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the
day of judgment.” 2 Peter 2:4-9, NIV
Our lesson this week focuses on the first angel’s
message in Revelation, chapter 14.[i] That passage commands
worship of God, our Creator. But exactly what that means may be up for debate.
The lesson author attempts to focus on obedience as the necessary component of
that worship. But when we look at the historical relationship between man and
God in the Bible, it seems to be one long litany of disobedience. Even famous
King David, whom God called a man after his own heart,[ii] murdered Uriah the
Hittite and committed adultery with that man’s wife. If obedience was essential
to salvation then David failed. But he is only one example of many, many
failings in the Bible. It seems the only purpose of obedience is to demonstrate
that no matter how hard we try to find salvation by that route, we are doomed
to fail. We stand condemned in our perfidy.
Perhaps this sounds cynical. But is it? Is there someone, either yourself or
among your associates, who is free from this plight, someone who is perfect in
all their ways? Some among us continue to claim that this is possible, even
maintaining it is a necessity in the final generation of those who are alive at
the Parousia. This not only seems an impossibility given our history, but it
obviates the need for Christ’s gift of grace. Why would someone who is perfect
in righteousness need a savior? But beyond that, is it even possible? John
tells us that to even claim to be without sin is self-deception.[iii] At the very point we
make such a claim, we deny our need for Christ, and in that denial we shut off
the flow of grace so essential to our well-being.
Does this mean we will not experience a sanctifying
influence as a result of engaging with Christ and receiving the Holy Spirit?
No. Our deeds and desires will become more righteous over time. The problem
comes when we feel that sanctification will be completed before Jesus appears
in the clouds. Our flesh remains carnal until that time. It will continually prompt
us to depart from righteousness and to seek selfish ends. That is why it must eventually
be replaced by an incorruptible body.[iv] Until then, the only
possible outcome for these bodies is death. This is the result of sin, going
all the way back to the Garden of Eden. Even if one believes the story of Adam
and Eve to be metaphor as opposed to literal, the point remains that there is
an endemic flaw to humanity that pushes us to place self-interest above all
other considerations. In that Edenic story, man chose to seek greater power for
himself through an act of disobedience, not considering the consequences for himself
and the created world he exercised dominion over. This act has been repeated
myriad times in myriad ways since. We have become powerless to resist this
drive to selfishness. It also cannot be sated. Like a drug, each new level of
selfishness brings with it toleration of that level so that the next level
becomes necessary to produce the same sense of fulfilled entitlement. The only
thing that stops us from pursuing it all the way to the end is either some
entity, social or governmental, with the power to resist us, or someone
pursuing similar selfish ends that we cannot overcome. In our frustration, we
may eventually succeed in overcoming even that, but in doing so we may find
that the death warned of in the Eden story is very real as our own dissipation consumes
us.
The Decalogue testifies against this selfishness. It
states plainly that there are times when the interest of others is paramount
and failure to accept that brings condemnation and death.[v] In that sense, we may even
consider the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil as a metaphor for the Decalogue
for the abuse of either brings the same result. Fortunately, the same salvation
promised in Eden, in answer to that condemned act at the tree, also frees us from
the condemnation that the law brings to us as a result of our own selfish
choices.[vi] But that being the case,
we might ask, won’t that mandate obedience from the moment we accept Christ?
Perhaps we need to realize that obedience was always mandated, not simply after
we came to Christ, and that requirement always condemns us to death, before,
during and after we accept Christ. But Christ’s death on the cross was also for
all sins, past, present, and future. No sins were missed. He does not need to
be crucified again in order to cover something we did after baptism as opposed to
before. The law makes it clear that we should not sin or we will die, but if we
confess our sins, there is grace to cover them.[vii] Jesus will pick us up,
clean us off, and set us in the right direction each time we come to Him.[viii]
We might ask why He would do this. Have you ever made
something special and felt an attachment to what you created? I have crafts
that I made many years ago that are still with me because of the special
memories they represent. They are only inanimate objects, incapable of knowing my
feelings about them or the good times they represent. Nonetheless, I care
enough about them to have kept them. How much more so then for the God who
created us? Does it seem so strange that He would cherish us in a special way,
perhaps remembering the wonderful times walking with the very first of mankind
along the paths of Eden? What joy as they relished together the beautiful
flowers and Adam talked of his plans for the garden. The man’s eyes may have
sparkled with the anticipation of what was to come as he cared for the plants
and animals. How sad it must have been for God when all that came crashing down.
Of course, as God, He knew the future. He knew what would happen if they ate
from the tree. He warned them, but they chose not to heed the warning. He
longed for the restoration that could be possible through the promised Savior,
but few shared that desire with Him. In fact, at one point only eight souls on
the entire earth still wanted a relationship with God. God therefore preserved
them through a devastating deluge so that the hope of that restoration would
not die in the flood of selfish evil that had overtaken everything.
For thousands of years, God has desired to restore the
relationship we once had with Him. Most, like the Israelites in the wilderness,
have not felt that it would be in their best interest to have that
relationship. They choose instead to go their own way. Selfishness too often
still fills our thoughts. We are fine with having God around, as long as we get
to call all the shots. But the minute God says to us that we are not pursuing a
healthy path, we shut Him out and reject His counsel. But as any loving shepherd
would, He searches for His sheep, calling to us and hoping we will return. What
joy He must experience at each wandering one who returns to His arms. As each
returns they naturally try to bring the joy of the restored relationship to
others that they might also return, and then they also can share in the joy as
others return as well. In a sense, these are the angels calling others to
return to worship their Creator, for in the Greek, the word translated as “angel”
means “messenger,” and each of us has the opportunity and privilege to carry
the message to others that God still loves them and has never stopped seeking
them. Like a father waiting in the path, hoping and yearning for a wayward son
to return, His love for that son, though wayward, never dies. We don’t need to
be perfect to come home. We only need to remember who our Father is and trust
in His love.
