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Sabbath School Today, Volume 9 - Paul E. Penno

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one will be able to say that God did not pay for his or her sins.<br />

Many people fear the judgment of God, and well they should if they<br />

believe it is done by an impassive, disinterested being who arbitrarily wants<br />

to see how many people He can keep out of heaven. They imagine Him like<br />

some evil Santa Claus who is keeping His "naughty or nice" list. Yet, we<br />

know that God is love, and the Bible describes love as "love is patient, love<br />

is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not<br />

act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take<br />

into account a wrong suffered" [some versions translate this as "it keeps no<br />

record of wrongs"] (1 Cor. 13:4-5, New American Standard Bible). If love<br />

does not keep a record of wrongs, why does the Bible speak of record books<br />

in heaven where God blots out our sin?<br />

The seeming contradiction is easily resolved. God does keep a record,<br />

but not against us, but to explain His actions. The plan of salvation brought<br />

justification, or a "verdict of acquittal" for every human that has ever lived<br />

on this earth, but we are not forced to accept that verdict. When the "hour of<br />

His judgment" comes, God needs records to show that He provided a fair<br />

opportunity to every human being to make a choice. Throughout our<br />

lifetime, God has brought circumstances which cause us to come to a<br />

decision for or against the grace of God. The "evidence" for justification in<br />

our case is not our own obedience, but Christ's total identity with us as our<br />

second Adam and our sacrifice. He died for every one, accepts every one,<br />

and treats them generously as though they were forgiven. God is already<br />

reconciled to us (see, for example, Gal 2:16-21).<br />

Only the work of the Creator God through the agency of His Holy Spirit<br />

can make this reconciliation a reality in out hearts and minds. The Bible<br />

presents a message that must lighten the earth with glory. It meets and<br />

complements the heart-longings of all who hunger and thirst after<br />

righteousness, who are now scattered throughout Babylon, awaiting the final<br />

85

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