Study Focus: Genesis 32; Matt. 5:29; John 16:5–15; Col. 1:28, 29; 1 Pet. 1:13.
Part I: Overview
This lesson focuses on several essential elements that help us build a threefold strategy for overcoming crucibles. First, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we must cultivate understanding of the truth about God, evil, and ourselves in the immediate context of our life and in the larger context of the great controversy. While it is true that merely understanding our situation is not enough, this understanding is the crucial, foundational stepping-stone upon which the other elements are placed to construct the right response to the crucible. We need to know why things happen and answer these questions: Whose side do we choose to stand on, and why?
Second, we must understand the nature of our God-given free will. Yes, it is true that God is sovereign and gives us salvation and all the good things for living and prospering. However, He created us with true freedom, without which we would not be the same. That is why God empowers and calls us to exercise our free will and collaborate with Him in the great work of salvation and the development of His kingdom.
Third, this collaboration requires of us radical commitment and perseverance. We cannot collaborate with two different kings that are at war with each other. We must know the truth, choose the just and loving King of heaven, align our lives with His principles, and fully commit to the cause of His kingdom, no matter what. These principles will give us the full, ever-renewable energy to fight and overcome in the crucible of this life.
Lesson Themes: This week’s lesson highlights three major themes.
The role of truth in overcoming crucibles
The role of our free will in overcoming crucibles
The role of commitment and perseverance in overcoming crucibles
Part II: Commentary
Augustine and Pelagius on the Freedom and the Power of the Will
Many Christians find it difficult to understand how our free will relates to the origin of evil and suffering, as well as to salvation. Some fall into one of two extremes as illustrated by the fifth-century fierce debate between British ascetic Pelagius, who settled in Rome (c. 355–420), and Augustine (354–430), the bishop of Hippo in North Africa. Their debate was over the issue of free will and salvation. Having arrived in Rome and seen the spiritual and moral laxity of the Christians in the capital of the Western Roman Empire, Pelagius concluded that the problem was rooted in the teachings of Augustine on original sin and grace.
Thus, Pelagius decided to confront the bishop of Hippo (present-day northeastern Algeria). Augustine taught that God is love, and the essence of love is freedom (there is no love without freedom). Further, Augustine posited that God created a perfect and good universe. He also created humans in His image, which means that humans were created perfect, good, loving, and free. Thus, according to Augustine, when Adam and Eve abused their freedom and sinned, they generated the original sin. As a consequence, they were covered in guilt, their nature changed from perfect to sinful, and they lost their freedom. They could still perceive the good or the perfect but could not live it out.
What Augustine proposed was that sin is more than an individual act or error; rather, it is a condition of human existence separate and against God. Original sin comprised guilt and proclivity to evil. After the Fall, all humans are sinful, Augustine opined, because we are born with Adam’s guilt and with a sinful nature that enslaves our wills and lives. Thus, Augustine believed that we cannot be saved simply by choosing to do good, because we are sinful; we cannot be saved simply by receiving an instruction or encouragement or by following an example, because we cannot do away with Adam’s guilt. Nor do we have the power to overcome our sinful condition and do good, Augustine further asserted. In his opinion, the only way to be saved is if we could die to the sinful nature and resurrect to another nature. But according to Augustine, we cannot do even this by ourselves. The only way we are saved is by God’s grace. In His grace, Augustine explained, God exercises His sovereign will and decides to save us by Himself: He removes Adam’s and our guilt from us through His grace and the sacrament of baptism and subdues our sinful nature through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, who regenerates in us a new spiritual nature and gives us the power to live a righteous life. For this reason, Augustine introduced the concept of divine predestination: because we are enslaved by sin after the Fall, we cannot repent on our own; thus, God predestines some of us to salvation and the rest to perdition.
Pelagius thought that Augustine’s position led to spiritual laxity, as Christians would now blame their moral decadence on the original sin and would shun personal responsibility for sin and evil. For this reason, Pelagius proposed another perspective. Like Augustine, Pelagius believed that God created a perfect universe and humans as free beings. Evil originated in Adam’s free choice to sin. However, Pelagius rejected Augustine’s idea that humans inherit a sinful nature and guilt from Adam. According to Pelagius, Adam’s sin affected only him and not his children. Thus, Pelagius reasoned, the innocence and free will of Adam’s posterity were fully preserved, and therefore, each child that is born into the world is born with a perfect nature and a perfectly operational free will.
Further, Pelagius asserted that all humans sin, not because they are born with Adam’s guilt and sinful nature, but all sin because all of us are born and live in a corrupt social environment and exercise our will and choose to sin. According to Pelagius, a person is guilty, not because of the guilt inherited from Adam but because of his or her own choice to sin. Therefore, Pelagius maintained, God holds us accountable for our sins because we are truly free. God calls us to conduct a righteous life because He knows we can do so. Jesus lived a perfect life and showed us that this is possible. Yes, we live by God’s grace, but in Pelagius’s view, the divine grace consisted in the fact that God created us with free will, gave us His law and instructions for living out good and perfect lives, and gave us the example of Jesus. Furthermore, God gives us forgiveness in Jesus in case we fall by choosing to sin and gives us the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our spiritual journey. For additional reading on the Augustine-Pelagian debate, see, for example, Alister E. McGrath, Christian Theology: An Introduction, 5th ed. (Oxford, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011), pp. 18–20.
Each of the two contenders were, no doubt, sincere and highlighted good points. However, each of them fell into extremes. Augustine fell into predestination and sacramentalism (God’s grace comes to us through the sacraments). Pelagius fell into a superficial treatment of sin and salvation by works. The truth lies in the Bible! The Bible presents God as love (John 3:16; 1 John 4:8, 16). He created Adam and Eve innocent (Gen. 1:31, Gen. 2:25, Eccles. 7:29) and with freedom of choice (Gen. 2:15–17). However, our parents chose to sin (Gen. 3:6).
The Bible is clear that sin is not a simple past act of Adam and Eve. Rather, the Genesis account of the Fall describes immediate and profound changes appearing in their nature, relationships, environment, lifestyle, and descendants (Gen. 3:7–24, Gen. 4:1–16). The apostle Paul stipulates that with Adam sin and death “entered” (invaded) and pervaded the world in space and time (Rom. 5:12–14, NKJV). Sin brought upon humanity suffering, death, and condemnation for all men (Rom. 5:16–18). Because of the transgression of Adam, all people “were made sinners” (Rom. 5:19, NKJV). For this reason, all humans are born in sin, and none is born righteous (Rom. 3:9–18, 23; Ps. 14:1–3; Ps. 51:5). Thus, the Bible rejects Pelagianism and presents sin as more than an individual human act. Rather, sin is described as both an external and internal force that enslaves and destroys all humanity in all its aspects. Facing this grim outlook, Paul exclaimed desperately: “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Rom. 7:24, NKJV). By itself, humanity cannot solve the problem of sin and evil. The only hope for sinful humanity is in the sacrificial and transformative ministry of Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:24, 25; Rom. 5:6–19; Rom. 7:25) and in the regenerative and mediating ministry of the Holy Spirit, who gives us a new heart (Ezek. 36:26, 27; John 3:5–8; Rom. 8:3–6, 9–17).
Furthermore, the Bible does not teach the Augustinian concept of predestination and sacramentalism. Yes, at the foundation of the biblical teaching of salvation is always God’s initiative, intervention, solution (the sacrifice of Christ), and power for redemption (Gen. 3:8, 15; Exod. 20:2; Rom. 5:6–8). However, God did not predestine some humans for salvation and some for perdition. Rather, God always gave humans the individual freedom to choose (Josh. 24:15) and holds the individuals and nations accountable for their acceptance or rejection of His salvation (see, for example, Gen 4:4–12, Gen. 15:16). The golden text of the gospel declares that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16, NKJV). The Bible insists that God wants, and invites, all to be saved (Ezekiel 33; John 1:12, 13; 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9; 1 John 2:2; Rev. 22:17). And once the people respond to God’s invitation, they collaborate with God in His salvation (2 Pet. 1:10, James 4:8, Rev. 3:20). Scripture also rejects any sacramental view of the divine grace; on the contrary, the New Testament emphasizes that God gives all of us His grace, only—and directly—through Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12; Heb. 5:9; Heb. 7:24, 25; Hebrews 9; Hebrews 10).
Historically, most Christians rejected Pelagius and embraced Augustine’s understanding that all humans are born with a sinful nature and that sin is an invincible force for humans. Roman Catholics integrated into their theology Augustine’s idea that all humans inherit Adam’s guilt and the need for sacraments but rejected his views on predestination. In contradistinction, Protestantism rightly rejected Augustine’s idea that we inherit Adam’s guilt and that God’s grace comes through the sacraments, but large parts of Protestantism erroneously accepted his concept of predestination. In the wake of the Enlightenment, modern and postmodern societies tend to reject the Augustinian ideas and think more in line with Pelagius. To reach people in these societies, we not only need to emphasize the biblical teachings on the free will and our profound responsibility for our individual and communal history but also share the biblical teaching about the seriousness of the power of sin and our only hope of salvation in Jesus Christ. This illustration helps us understand that knowing the truth is essential for our understanding of suffering and trials in our lives. But it also helps us understand our own nature and the power of free will. Such understanding helps us always seek and accept God’s help, guidance, and power to overcome our crucibles.
Part III: Life Application
Spiritual discipline and cheap grace. Of course, Augustine and Luther taught salvation by divine predestination as a celebration of God’s tremendous grace. However, this concept has led some Christians to think that if we are irreversibly elected and saved by God, we do not, and cannot, participate at all in the process of salvation. This concept, also called “cheap grace,” leads to a lack of spiritual discipline in many Christians. If God irreversibly elected us, why pray? Why read the Bible? Why be vigilant? Why participate in the life of the community of faith? Why evangelize? Great historical movements of revival in Protestantism, such as late seventeenth-century Philipp Spener’s pietism in the German Lutheran context and several Great Awakening movements in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in North America, responded to this peril by proposing deliberate spiritual discipline programs for both families and communities. Examine your individual spiritual life, the spiritual life of your family, and the spiritual life of your community. What is the state of spiritual discipline in these circles? What can you do to make meaningful and profound changes so as to bring about a spiritual discipline in accordance with the biblical exhortations (see Col. 1:28, 29; 1 Cor. 9:23–27)? Design a project to promote a lifestyle of spir-itual discipline for your personal life, and, if necessary and possible, for your family and community.
Radical Commitment. Some Christians think Christianity is synonymous with the absence of suffering and troubles. Other Christians do allow for some amount of inconvenience. But how many Christians are radically committed to God, to His call to follow Christ, to His kingdom, and to His mission in the great conflict between God and Satan, good and evil? In the context of increasing persecution of contemporary Christians in various parts of the world, numerous Christians feel the need for a better—indeed, radical—preparedness to go through crucibles. Examine your level of commitment to God and His kingdom. Design a scale of personal commitment. Based on your scale, what is radical commitment for you? To what extent are you ready in your Christian commitment to serve God in whatever way He may ask of you?
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Key Text: Colossians 1:29
Study Focus: Genesis 32; Matt. 5:29; John 16:5–15; Col. 1:28, 29; 1 Pet. 1:13.
Part I: Overview
This lesson focuses on several essential elements that help us build a threefold strategy for overcoming crucibles. First, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we must cultivate understanding of the truth about God, evil, and ourselves in the immediate context of our life and in the larger context of the great controversy. While it is true that merely understanding our situation is not enough, this understanding is the crucial, foundational stepping-stone upon which the other elements are placed to construct the right response to the crucible. We need to know why things happen and answer these questions: Whose side do we choose to stand on, and why?
Second, we must understand the nature of our God-given free will. Yes, it is true that God is sovereign and gives us salvation and all the good things for living and prospering. However, He created us with true freedom, without which we would not be the same. That is why God empowers and calls us to exercise our free will and collaborate with Him in the great work of salvation and the development of His kingdom.
Third, this collaboration requires of us radical commitment and perseverance. We cannot collaborate with two different kings that are at war with each other. We must know the truth, choose the just and loving King of heaven, align our lives with His principles, and fully commit to the cause of His kingdom, no matter what. These principles will give us the full, ever-renewable energy to fight and overcome in the crucible of this life.
Lesson Themes: This week’s lesson highlights three major themes.
The role of truth in overcoming crucibles
The role of our free will in overcoming crucibles
The role of commitment and perseverance in overcoming crucibles
Part II: Commentary
Augustine and Pelagius on the Freedom and the Power of the Will
Many Christians find it difficult to understand how our free will relates to the origin of evil and suffering, as well as to salvation. Some fall into one of two extremes as illustrated by the fifth-century fierce debate between British ascetic Pelagius, who settled in Rome (c. 355–420), and Augustine (354–430), the bishop of Hippo in North Africa. Their debate was over the issue of free will and salvation. Having arrived in Rome and seen the spiritual and moral laxity of the Christians in the capital of the Western Roman Empire, Pelagius concluded that the problem was rooted in the teachings of Augustine on original sin and grace.
Thus, Pelagius decided to confront the bishop of Hippo (present-day northeastern Algeria). Augustine taught that God is love, and the essence of love is freedom (there is no love without freedom). Further, Augustine posited that God created a perfect and good universe. He also created humans in His image, which means that humans were created perfect, good, loving, and free. Thus, according to Augustine, when Adam and Eve abused their freedom and sinned, they generated the original sin. As a consequence, they were covered in guilt, their nature changed from perfect to sinful, and they lost their freedom. They could still perceive the good or the perfect but could not live it out.
What Augustine proposed was that sin is more than an individual act or error; rather, it is a condition of human existence separate and against God. Original sin comprised guilt and proclivity to evil. After the Fall, all humans are sinful, Augustine opined, because we are born with Adam’s guilt and with a sinful nature that enslaves our wills and lives. Thus, Augustine believed that we cannot be saved simply by choosing to do good, because we are sinful; we cannot be saved simply by receiving an instruction or encouragement or by following an example, because we cannot do away with Adam’s guilt. Nor do we have the power to overcome our sinful condition and do good, Augustine further asserted. In his opinion, the only way to be saved is if we could die to the sinful nature and resurrect to another nature. But according to Augustine, we cannot do even this by ourselves. The only way we are saved is by God’s grace. In His grace, Augustine explained, God exercises His sovereign will and decides to save us by Himself: He removes Adam’s and our guilt from us through His grace and the sacrament of baptism and subdues our sinful nature through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, who regenerates in us a new spiritual nature and gives us the power to live a righteous life. For this reason, Augustine introduced the concept of divine predestination: because we are enslaved by sin after the Fall, we cannot repent on our own; thus, God predestines some of us to salvation and the rest to perdition.
Pelagius thought that Augustine’s position led to spiritual laxity, as Christians would now blame their moral decadence on the original sin and would shun personal responsibility for sin and evil. For this reason, Pelagius proposed another perspective. Like Augustine, Pelagius believed that God created a perfect universe and humans as free beings. Evil originated in Adam’s free choice to sin. However, Pelagius rejected Augustine’s idea that humans inherit a sinful nature and guilt from Adam. According to Pelagius, Adam’s sin affected only him and not his children. Thus, Pelagius reasoned, the innocence and free will of Adam’s posterity were fully preserved, and therefore, each child that is born into the world is born with a perfect nature and a perfectly operational free will.
Further, Pelagius asserted that all humans sin, not because they are born with Adam’s guilt and sinful nature, but all sin because all of us are born and live in a corrupt social environment and exercise our will and choose to sin. According to Pelagius, a person is guilty, not because of the guilt inherited from Adam but because of his or her own choice to sin. Therefore, Pelagius maintained, God holds us accountable for our sins because we are truly free. God calls us to conduct a righteous life because He knows we can do so. Jesus lived a perfect life and showed us that this is possible. Yes, we live by God’s grace, but in Pelagius’s view, the divine grace consisted in the fact that God created us with free will, gave us His law and instructions for living out good and perfect lives, and gave us the example of Jesus. Furthermore, God gives us forgiveness in Jesus in case we fall by choosing to sin and gives us the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our spiritual journey. For additional reading on the Augustine-Pelagian debate, see, for example, Alister E. McGrath, Christian Theology: An Introduction, 5th ed. (Oxford, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011), pp. 18–20.
Each of the two contenders were, no doubt, sincere and highlighted good points. However, each of them fell into extremes. Augustine fell into predestination and sacramentalism (God’s grace comes to us through the sacraments). Pelagius fell into a superficial treatment of sin and salvation by works. The truth lies in the Bible! The Bible presents God as love (John 3:16; 1 John 4:8, 16). He created Adam and Eve innocent (Gen. 1:31, Gen. 2:25, Eccles. 7:29) and with freedom of choice (Gen. 2:15–17). However, our parents chose to sin (Gen. 3:6).
The Bible is clear that sin is not a simple past act of Adam and Eve. Rather, the Genesis account of the Fall describes immediate and profound changes appearing in their nature, relationships, environment, lifestyle, and descendants (Gen. 3:7–24, Gen. 4:1–16). The apostle Paul stipulates that with Adam sin and death “entered” (invaded) and pervaded the world in space and time (Rom. 5:12–14, NKJV). Sin brought upon humanity suffering, death, and condemnation for all men (Rom. 5:16–18). Because of the transgression of Adam, all people “were made sinners” (Rom. 5:19, NKJV). For this reason, all humans are born in sin, and none is born righteous (Rom. 3:9–18, 23; Ps. 14:1–3; Ps. 51:5). Thus, the Bible rejects Pelagianism and presents sin as more than an individual human act. Rather, sin is described as both an external and internal force that enslaves and destroys all humanity in all its aspects. Facing this grim outlook, Paul exclaimed desperately: “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Rom. 7:24, NKJV). By itself, humanity cannot solve the problem of sin and evil. The only hope for sinful humanity is in the sacrificial and transformative ministry of Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:24, 25; Rom. 5:6–19; Rom. 7:25) and in the regenerative and mediating ministry of the Holy Spirit, who gives us a new heart (Ezek. 36:26, 27; John 3:5–8; Rom. 8:3–6, 9–17).
Furthermore, the Bible does not teach the Augustinian concept of predestination and sacramentalism. Yes, at the foundation of the biblical teaching of salvation is always God’s initiative, intervention, solution (the sacrifice of Christ), and power for redemption (Gen. 3:8, 15; Exod. 20:2; Rom. 5:6–8). However, God did not predestine some humans for salvation and some for perdition. Rather, God always gave humans the individual freedom to choose (Josh. 24:15) and holds the individuals and nations accountable for their acceptance or rejection of His salvation (see, for example, Gen 4:4–12, Gen. 15:16). The golden text of the gospel declares that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16, NKJV). The Bible insists that God wants, and invites, all to be saved (Ezekiel 33; John 1:12, 13; 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9; 1 John 2:2; Rev. 22:17). And once the people respond to God’s invitation, they collaborate with God in His salvation (2 Pet. 1:10, James 4:8, Rev. 3:20). Scripture also rejects any sacramental view of the divine grace; on the contrary, the New Testament emphasizes that God gives all of us His grace, only—and directly—through Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12; Heb. 5:9; Heb. 7:24, 25; Hebrews 9; Hebrews 10).
Historically, most Christians rejected Pelagius and embraced Augustine’s understanding that all humans are born with a sinful nature and that sin is an invincible force for humans. Roman Catholics integrated into their theology Augustine’s idea that all humans inherit Adam’s guilt and the need for sacraments but rejected his views on predestination. In contradistinction, Protestantism rightly rejected Augustine’s idea that we inherit Adam’s guilt and that God’s grace comes through the sacraments, but large parts of Protestantism erroneously accepted his concept of predestination. In the wake of the Enlightenment, modern and postmodern societies tend to reject the Augustinian ideas and think more in line with Pelagius. To reach people in these societies, we not only need to emphasize the biblical teachings on the free will and our profound responsibility for our individual and communal history but also share the biblical teaching about the seriousness of the power of sin and our only hope of salvation in Jesus Christ. This illustration helps us understand that knowing the truth is essential for our understanding of suffering and trials in our lives. But it also helps us understand our own nature and the power of free will. Such understanding helps us always seek and accept God’s help, guidance, and power to overcome our crucibles.
Part III: Life Application
Spiritual discipline and cheap grace. Of course, Augustine and Luther taught salvation by divine predestination as a celebration of God’s tremendous grace. However, this concept has led some Christians to think that if we are irreversibly elected and saved by God, we do not, and cannot, participate at all in the process of salvation. This concept, also called “cheap grace,” leads to a lack of spiritual discipline in many Christians. If God irreversibly elected us, why pray? Why read the Bible? Why be vigilant? Why participate in the life of the community of faith? Why evangelize? Great historical movements of revival in Protestantism, such as late seventeenth-century Philipp Spener’s pietism in the German Lutheran context and several Great Awakening movements in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in North America, responded to this peril by proposing deliberate spiritual discipline programs for both families and communities. Examine your individual spiritual life, the spiritual life of your family, and the spiritual life of your community. What is the state of spiritual discipline in these circles? What can you do to make meaningful and profound changes so as to bring about a spiritual discipline in accordance with the biblical exhortations (see Col. 1:28, 29; 1 Cor. 9:23–27)? Design a project to promote a lifestyle of spir-itual discipline for your personal life, and, if necessary and possible, for your family and community.
Radical Commitment. Some Christians think Christianity is synonymous with the absence of suffering and troubles. Other Christians do allow for some amount of inconvenience. But how many Christians are radically committed to God, to His call to follow Christ, to His kingdom, and to His mission in the great conflict between God and Satan, good and evil? In the context of increasing persecution of contemporary Christians in various parts of the world, numerous Christians feel the need for a better—indeed, radical—preparedness to go through crucibles. Examine your level of commitment to God and His kingdom. Design a scale of personal commitment. Based on your scale, what is radical commitment for you? To what extent are you ready in your Christian commitment to serve God in whatever way He may ask of you?