The Cosmic Conflict Over God’s
Character
In Matthew 25: 14 – 30, we find the Parable of the
talents. We read that two of the
servants improved on what they were given.
We are not told why. But, the
last servant hid the talent, and did not improve on it, but we are told
why. This man’s action based on what he
thought of the Master,
Mat
25:24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew
thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering
where thou hast not strawed:
Mat
25:25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there
thou hast that is thine.
We
could imply that the other two servants thought the opposite of their
master. Ellen White seems to tell us that
Eve had a similar problem,
The tempter intimated that the divine
warning was not to be actually fulfilled; it was designed merely to intimidate
them. . . . {CC 15.5}
Such has been Satan's work
from the days of Adam to the present, and he has pursued it with great success.
He tempts men to distrust God's love and to doubt His wisdom. He is constantly
seeking to excite a spirit of irreverent curiosity, a restless, inquisitive
desire to penetrate the secrets of divine wisdom and power. In their efforts to
search out what God has been pleased to withhold, multitudes overlook the
truths which He has revealed, and which are essential to salvation. . . . {CC 15.6}
Eve really believed the words of Satan,
but her belief did not save her from the penalty of sin. She disbelieved the
words of God, and this was what led to her fall. In the judgment men will not
be condemned because they conscientiously believed a lie, but because they did
not believe the truth, because they neglected the opportunity of learning what
is truth. {CC 15.7}
Eve doubted God’s
integrity. She judged God’s character
incorrectly. This is what provoked her
downfall. She now needed to restore her
trust In God.
Did you notice that Ellen White says that Eve’s experience applies
to all men? What lie are men choosing to
believe that leads them away from believing God? We read from Ellen White,
In the opening of the
great controversy, Satan had declared that the law of God could not be obeyed,
that justice was inconsistent with mercy, and that, should the law be broken,
it would be impossible for the sinner to be pardoned. Every sin must meet its
punishment, urged Satan; and if God should remit the punishment of sin, He
would not be a God of truth and justice. When men broke the law of God, and
defied His will, Satan exulted. It was proved, he declared, that the law could
not be obeyed; man could not be forgiven. Because he, after his rebellion, had
been banished from heaven, Satan claimed that the human race must be forever shut
out from God's favor. God could not be just, he urged, and yet show mercy to
the sinner. {DA 761.4}
Our lesson has made it clear throughout the
quarterly that this is what our denomination believes: Sin must be
punished. And, it is God who must punish
it. Is it not disturbing that we believe
of God what Satan says of Him?
If this is what we believe then we
believe that something must be done to avoid the punishment. God must be appeased. This is the core belief of every pagan
religion. This is why they practiced sacrifices. Only “the smell the blood” would appease the
angry god. Christians have adopted this
understanding of God. Christians
understand that “Christ died to reconcile the father unto us.” You will find no such thought anywhere in the
Bible. The Bible is very clear,
2 Corinthians 5:19 To wit, that God was
in Christ, reconciling the world
unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto
us the word of reconciliation.
We read in John 3: 16 that God so loved the
world that He gave his only begotten Son – the Lamb slain from the beginning of
the World to away its Sin (Revelation 13: 8, John 1: 29). It was the Father Who
wanted – and still wants - to be reconciled to us. We read from Romans,
Romans 5:6 For when we were yet without
strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
Romans 5:7 For scarcely for a righteous
man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love
toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:9 Much more then, being now
justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled,
we shall be saved by his life.
In Christ, while we still saw God as the
enemy, we were reconciled to God and not God to us. Christ says in John 14,
John 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from
henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
John 14:8 Philip saith unto him, Lord,
shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
John 14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet
hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and
how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
Many read the story of Jesus and realize
that there concept of God differs from Jesus.
Jesus Himself tells us that He and the Father are One. Jesus is a prefect representation of His Father. Any concept of God that differs from Jesus is
wrong. Ellen White says,
There
stood in the world One who was a perfect representative of the Father, One
whose character and practices refuted Satan's misrepresentation of God. Satan
had charged upon God the attributes He himself possessed. Now in Christ he saw God
revealed in His true character—a compassionate, merciful Father, not willing
that any should perish, but that all should come to Him in repentance, and have
eternal life. (1 SM, p. 254).
