The Work of Sin Removal

In Colossians 1:19,20 we are told that peace with God comes through the blood of the cross, and that “by him” (Christ) God would “reconcile all things unto himself.” The ransom could be viewed as that part of God’s plan which permitted Jesus to provide the price necessary to compensate for Adam’s transgression. The sin-offering might be viewed as that sacrificial part of God’s plan by which there is developed, through suffering, a special class of “kings and priests unto God,” to be used in restoring mankind to that which was lost. All this will result in the world’s release from the adamic condemnation, and will make possible the awakening of the dead.

What a glorious and magnificent prospect we thus see before us, representing the over-all objective of sacrifice in the plan of God! Uncounted billions, who lived, it seemed, but to die, will return from the tombs. Families will be reunited with their departed loved ones; the rich and the poor, the just and the unjust, all of earth’s inhabitants will return. “All that are in the graves shall hear his voice [the voice of the Son of God], and shall come forth.”—John 5:28,29

But as we contemplate this bright, happy picture of the restoration of life upon earth, a dark cloud seems to arise. As the dead are brought back to life again during the millennial reign of Christ, would they not immediately become subject to a fresh condemnation in God’s sight? It is reasonable to assume that upon being awakened from death, a man will exhibit the same traits of character and stains of sin which he possessed when he died. The Scripture suggests this when it states, “Where the tree falleth, there it shall be.”—Eccl. 11:3

“Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” (Gal. 6:7) Continued acts of wrongdoing cannot but leave their mark upon the character of the individual. Although the adamic condemnation will have been lifted, the habit patterns in the direction of sin will still remain. In this condition man would be susceptible to violating God’s laws, which are perfect and require the. measure of a perfect man’s ability to keep them. Thus he could not stand before God without being immediately resentenced to death for acts of sin and disobedience.

But God has the solution! The Bible reveals that this predicament has been anticipated, and that the necessary provision has been made to meet it. Yes, our loving Father has arranged to shield newly awakened mankind from the requirements of divine Justice until the degradation from inherited sin can be erased. He has provided for a thousand year sin-removal period, during which imperfect man will be represented before the Father by a Mediator. This will allow sufficient time and will provide the means to recover the human family from its fallen condition.

The great Mediator is to be Christ, and his body members will share in the work of mediation and, with Christ, will have the honor of uplifting mankind and applying to them the benefits of the grand sacrifice for sin. Of Jesus it was prophesied that he “shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied,” and of his body members, that they shall share his “spoil.”; (Isa. 53:11,12) These are all references to the work of blessing mankind, instructing them in righteousness, and restoring them to the perfection which was lost in Eden. Since the ransom will have been provided and the sin-offering completed before this phase of blessing begins, the work of sin removal may be considered as their beneficial result.

That glad day of instruction and correction in righteousness is the theme song of all the prophets in one way or another. It is the millennial morning when God’s kingdom will be established upon the earth and when the hearts of all people will be full of joy. Through the New Covenant arrangement, God will forget the sins of the past and will place all men on a new, individual trial for life:

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah. … After those days … I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. … They shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for … I will remember their sin no more.”—Jer. 31:31-34

Through the processes of restitution administered by the great Mediator class and their representatives upon earth, the world will gradually appreciate the ways of the Lord and will refrain from serving sin. “When thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.” (Isa. 26:9) “Nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” (Micah 4:3) “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads.”—Isa. 35:10

“In the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain [kingdom] of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain [kingdom] of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion [heavenly phase], and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem [earthly] phase.”—Micah 4:1,2

In many ways, throughout the great thousand-year day of the kingdom, all mankind will be given the opportunity to learn the desirability of righteousness, and the folly of disobedience to God. Fresh in the minds of the people will be the long, bitter experience with sin and death, and all the suffering and depravity associated with it, which gripped mankind for the previous 6,000 years. With this background of contact with evil, man will be fully convinced of the wretchedness of sin and the matchless brilliancy of virtue as contrasted with it. He will be ready and willing to submit himself to the purifying and uplifting influences of the millennial reign.

Step by step God will lead man back to the position of human perfection—mental, moral, and physical. This is to be accomplished through the instruction and help made available to the people, and will be supervised by Christ and his church. The progressive aspect of their work of sin removal was shown by the Prophet Isaiah, who described the opening of a “highway of holiness” for the unclean of the world. Any who pass over this way, from which the stones of stumbling have been removed, will find themselves becoming clean and pure in heart.—Isa. 35:8; 49:10; 62:10

The work of character reformation and sin removal in the heart of man will be the most important and ambitious effort of its kind ever undertaken. The great power and wisdom of the Almighty God assure us that it will be a success and that the great majority of mankind will be converted and restored to the original likeness of their Creator. Only a very few, who stubbornly refuse to make any progress, will forfeit their privilege of life and be destroyed in what the calls “the second death.”—Isa. 60:1-5,21; Rev. 20:12-15; 21:1-5

“Close your eyes for a moment to the scenes of misery and woe, degradation and sorrow that yet prevail on account of sin, and picture before your mental vision the glory of the perfect earth. Not a stain of sin mars the harmony and peace of a perfect society; not a bitter thought, not an unkind look or word; love, welling up from every heart, meets a kindred response in every other heart, and benevolence marks every act. There sickness shall be no more; not an ache nor a pain, nor any evidence of decay—not even the fear of such things.

“Think of all the pictures of comparative health and beauty of human form and feature that you have ever seen, and know that perfect humanity will be of still surpassing loveliness. The inward purity and mental and moral perfection will stamp and glorify every radiant countenance. Such will earth’s society be; and weeping bereaved ones will have their tears all wiped away, when thus they realize the resurrection work complete.”*

*The Divine Plan of the Ages, pp. 191-192

At the close of the thousand years, man will have been restored to full harmony with God and will have the complete capability of standing directly before him. The work of the Mediator having ended, Christ will turn over the kingdom to the Father:

“Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the ‘kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”—I Cor. 15:24-26

What a grand preview is thus provided of the removal of sin. How desirous we all are to see this noble objective realized! But let us also remember the way in which the Scriptures indicate that we may have a share in this glorious work. The emphasis is on the present, and upon our willingness to be counted now with our Lord in his ignominious role of suffering and sacrifice. This is the only path to glory. “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.”—I Pet. 5:6

It was a plan of sacrifice, conceived in the mind of God, that made possible the redemption of man. It was this sacrifice and the suffering which it entailed that developed and perfected the character of his only begotten Son. And now it is the privilege of sharing in that same sacrifice that the Heavenly Father holds out to us.

Yes, it is sacrifice that represents the key to future participation with our Head in the work of sin removal and in dispensing blessings to all the nations of the earth. (Gen. 22:17,18; Gal. 3:29; Rom. 8:17) May the Lord give to each of us the measure of faith needed to behold this vision of future glory and to accept the pathway leading to it. Jesus pointed out the way when he said: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”—Matt. 16:24

What eternal joy will be ours if we are able to say with Paul, “I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision!”—Acts 26:19

—Contributed

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