This started as a response to some good comments on God's wrath, but turned into a full-fledged blog. Enjoy!
We are well aware of Romans 3:23,
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
and John 16:8,
"And He [the Holy Spirit], when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment".
But my questions are these: What is the glory of God referred to in Romans 3:23? And since the verse also refers to our actions (e.g., sinning, falling short), is its context Old or New Covenant? Does the Holy Spirit convict us of our sinful actions?
The obvious answer to the first question is that the glory of God is Jesus Christ. The Father glorifies the Son. In comparison to Jesus, as God in the flesh, who deserves all glory, mankind failed to equal Him both in NATURE and OBEDIENCE. Thus, we see that Romans 3:23 is to be seen in context of the Old Covenant requirements--we disobeyed AND death reigned in our nature.
So then, where is the solution to Romans 3:23? Well, you read on, that's how it works! Look at Romans 3:24-25:
[All who fell short of God's glory but now believe in the righteousness from God through faith in Jesus Christ are now] "being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed"
That confirms the clarification of John 16:8 found in John 16:9 - "concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me". So, does the Holy Spirit convict us of sin? Yes, but I believe that in context of the New Covenant the Holy Spirit convicts all mankind--believer and non-believer alike--in regard to unbelief in Jesus Christ, who perfectly fulfilled God's standard for righteousness and is the sole satisfaction of God's wrath upon disobedience.
But you say, "Jeremy, the Holy Spirit does convict me about my individual sinful actions!" Well, you can choose to believe that if you like, but it's not what John 16:9 says. Of course, there is another possibility as to why you would feel convicted about not obtaining the standard of the Law you just broke. Could it be...Satan? He is the accuser, and since he loves to categorize people, it fits perfectly with your guilty conscience. He would never want you to know that you have been redeemed completely and cleansed of ALL unrighteousness.
And just to clarify about the wrath of God: I believe that the sacrifice of Jesus has fully satisfied God's wrath and brought peace between man and God. But we need to clarify a distinction between wrath for having broken covenant, and wrath for unbelief.
Obviously, the issue is whether or not one chooses to believe and accept Christ's work and its completeness for themselves. If Jesus perfectly and fully fulfilled the Law Covenant, then the wrath of God for man's failure to obey the terms of the Law Covenant has been fully satisfied. Second Corinthians 5:19 states He doesn't impute man's transgressions to them, and I believe He is only able to do that because the Covenant has been fulfilled by a representative of all mankind.
Jesus freely and fully received God's wrath for our failure to comply to the Law Covenant both in nature and obedience. Why can't we freely and FULLY receive God's grace for Jesus' perfect compliance to the Law Covenant both in nature and obedience? (see next blog!)
Thus, the only sin left which will receive the wrath of God is unbelief, which come upon unbelievers on the Day of Wrath. Paul, of course, gives whole lists of behaviors that are sinful, but at the beginning of those lists is always a statement that reveals man's unbelief in God or even in Christ as the Messiah, i.e. the propitiation. Those lists are significant, to be sure, but they list the results of unbelief.
In short: the only sin God will hold mankind accountable for is unbelief in Jesus. All wrath for man having broken the Law Covenant has been fully received by Christ. This why we are to be ministers of reconciliation. This is quite different from teaching that points out peoples' sins. Yes, the Holy Spirit will convict the world of its sins, but usually that is never fully explained to reveal that sin is unbelief (John 16:9 - "because they do not believe in me").
That should change our whole concept of what constitutes sin in New Testament context. It should also allow us to begin to believe in the infinite possibilities with God on our side, as opposed to constantly dealing with the sin issue.
"My people perish where there is no vision." (See my next blog!)
Grace=Peace,
Jeremy
No comments:
Post a Comment