Beyond Belief: Chapter 8 – The Cross and the Atonement
Far more happened at the cross than shame, suffering, and death. On the face of it, Jesus’ cruel fate appeared to be a triumph for Satan. But God took this apparent defeat and turned it into a glorious victory by which the whole human race could be saved. Paul said: “Jews demand miraculous signs and […]
Beyond Belief: Chapter 7 – The Cross and the Great Controversy
The very heart of the New Testament message is the cross. It is the supreme manifestation of God’s agape love. At the cross, God met the just demands of the law on behalf of the human race; there Jesus Christ demonstrated God’s power by defeating Satan and sin. Paul uses “the cross” as a sort of shorthand […]
Beyond Belief: Chapter 6 – The Two Adams: 1 Corinthians 15
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul repeats to the Christians in Corinth the same ideas regarding the two Adams he had presented tothe Roman believers in Romans 5. Briefly, here is what Paul is saying in 1 Corinthians 15:19-23, 45-49. Verses 19-20. Correcting those who denied the resurrection, Paul points out that the great hope of […]
Beyond Belief: Chapter 5 – The Two Adams: Romans 5
The teaching of the two Adams is one of the most neglected and misunderstood doctrines of the bible. Yet it is vitally important to our salvation because the eternal destiny of all who have ever lived is closely connected with these two men — Adam and Christ, who is the “second Adam.” As we saw […]
Beyond Belief: Chapter 4 – Christ Our Substitute
The biblical concept of corporate oneness leads us to the important doctrine of substitution. This doctrine was at the very heart of the theological controversy between the Reformers and the Roman Catholic scholars during the Reformation. The central issue under dispute had to do with the ethical problem raised by the truth of justification by […]
Beyond Belief: Chapter 3 – The Gospel Defined
In the centuries before Jesus came to earth, the people of Alexandria in North Africa depended for their survival on the wheat brought by grain ships from Phoenicia (present-day Lebanon). It was good news indeed, then, when these ships appeared in port. The Greek-speaking residents of Alexandria actually coined a word to announce the good […]
Beyond Belief: Chapter 2 – God’s Redemptive Love
When the Bible says that “God is love” [1 John 4:8, 16], it doesn’t mean that one of His attributes is love. It means that He is love. It means that love is the essence of His nature. Because of this, we need to understand everything about God and all that He does in the context of […]
Beyond Belief: Chapter 1 – The Sin Problem
The gospel is God’s solution to the sin problem. So it is important to begin our study of the gospel by first understanding sin. Too often we try to understand the solution God has prepared for us in Christ (the gospel) without first recognizing the full extent of the problem (sin). But that is to […]
Beyond Belief: Preface
This book presents what I consider to be Scripture’s essential teaching about the gospel. Seventh-day Adventists have emphasized the three angels’ messages, the very heart of which is “the everlasting gospel” to be proclaimed “to every nation, tribe, language, and people” [Revelation 14:6]. But before we can proclaim this gospel, we must understand clearly what […]
