Hello All,
(Just a general disclaimer that I must insert here at the beginning. I am but a lay person, like most of you. And these weekly “thoughts” are but my own. Not the definitive word on this or any topic. Just my own conclusions derived from my own study and faith in God. The greatest hope I have for these weekly “thoughts” is to have them be a springboard for further study on your part. Not to be a weekly treatise to be blindly accepted. So, please read them with this intent, this motive in mind).
This week’s lesson from the “Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide”, is titled “Christ-Shaped lives and Spirit-Inspired Speech”. In Monday’ lesson, I really like the emphasis on the “clothing” change, which is really “imagery: (1) to ‘put off’ or turn away from the old way of life (Eph. 4:22); (2) to experience inner renewal (Eph. 4:23); and (3) to ‘put on’ the new, Godlike pattern of life (Eph. 4:24). Paul’s metaphor reflects the use of clothing in the Old Testament as a symbol for both sinfulness (e.g. Ps. 73:6; Zech. 3:3,4; Malachi 2:16) and salvation (e.g. Isaiah 61:10; Ezek. 16:8; Zech. 3:4,5).” (Quote from Monday's lesson).Great! We often say that Christ’s righteousness covers us so that our sinfulness cannot be seen. After all, so the reasoning goes, God is holy and cannot even look upon sinfulness, so our true condition is “covered” by Christ and His righteousness (for we have none of our own) so God can look upon us, not sinful as we are but wrapped as it were in Christ’s clothing of righteousness. I’ve even heard an Adventist pastor proclaim from the pulpit with great enthusiasm, that because of Christ’s covering, what God the Father thinks about you is irrelevant. It’s what He thinks of His Son who covers you. This idea makes a mockery of sin, a mockery of righteousness, a mockery of love, and a mockery of our God. So, the quarterly rightfully interprets this “covering” as a metaphor. Let’s look at some other quotes about this…
In Proverbs 10:12 it says “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins”. The word “cover” is used in contrast with “stirs up strife”. So, in its original use, “cover” does not mean to obscure, to conceal, to disguise, to mask, to darken, to veil. It means to subdue, suppress or even change a person, not to “stir-up”. This supports the statement in “Christ’s Object Lessons” pg. 311, where Mrs. White rightfully explains what it means to be “covered” or “clothed” with the righteousness of Christ. “By His perfect obedience He has made it possible for every human being to obey God's commandments. When we submit ourselves to Christ, the heart is united with His heart, the will is merged in His will, the mind becomes one with His mind, the thoughts are brought into captivity to Him; we live His life. This is what it means to be clothed with the garment of His righteousness”. We see in this quote what truly being “covered” means. It is not a mere external covering so God cannot see us. The idea of an external covering is an accurate description of a Pharisee, a hypocrite. Nice and white outside, but full of dead men’s bones inside. A concept like that is foreign to our God of transparency, authenticity, sincerity and inner holiness. The true meaning of being covered is to be converted and changed… to be like Christ, not merely covered by an external cloak of Christ-like-ness. It is “true obedience (which) springs from the love of righteousness” (Christ’s Object Lessons pg. 97), not a disguise of righteousness. Like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Sin in our heart is not something to be hidden and disguised. Sin needs to be exposed, confessed, repented-of, and purged… all to God and by God. Nothing less will suffice. Sin and self-serving is killing us and a mere covering does little to remove the poison that is eating the heart out of us.
In this regard, the “love chapter” of 1 Corinthians 13 says so much… what God’s love actually looks like and what it does. “Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. Love never gives up; and its faith, hope, and patience never fail. Love is eternal” (GNB verses 4-8). It is this “love” that “covers” us and changes us, restores us and heals us… and is not a mere “hiding” or “disguising”. Because “love is the agent which (God) uses to expel sin from the heart” (Mount of Blessing pg. 77), expelled from inside us, not merely hiding us and externally “covering” us. It is this love that changes us inside and turns us around… converts us. “Let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:20). Let love reign in our hearts and our lives is my prayer for us all, so that we may be His instrument to “turn a sinner from the error of His way” and thereby “cover a multitude of sins”.
With brotherly love, Jim