Responsibility for Sin by W. C. G.

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jun 13, 1871

Responsibility for Sin.

By W. C. G.

From the superficial reading of a few texts of Scripture, and from the prevalence of the old fable of foreordination, quite a large class of people are to be found at the present day who feel disposed, either directly or indirectly, to lay the responsibility of their sins upon God, instead of taking it upon themselves. Such texts of Scripture as 2 Thess. 2:11, 12, are pressed into the service of these unbelievers, and made to teach man's lack of accountability. Let us for a moment examine this scripture, and see what it really teaches:

“And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie; that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” Verses 11, 12.

By a careful examination of this scripture and the context, we shall learn,

1. The time when these delusions are sent.

2. Their nature,

3. The condition of the people upon whom they are sent, and

4. The purpose of God in sending them.

Let us consider

1. The time when these delusions are sent. The chapter opens with an exhortation concerning the coming of Christ. The Thessalonians are admonished not to be deceived into the belief that Christ's second advent would occur in their time. “For,” says the apostle, “that day shall not come except there come a falling away first, and that Man of Sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” Verses 3, 4.

Reference is here made, undoubtedly, to the great apostasy which finally culminated in the establishment of the papacy, which is to endure until the coming of Christ, and which “the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth,” and “destroy with the brightness of his coming.” Verse 8.

Before he comes, however, there is to be a special work of deception accomplished by Satan, in which all will be involved who receive not the love of the truth. The time referred to in the text, therefore, is just prior to the second advent of our Saviour.

2. The nature of these delusions. Satan is to work with “all power, and signs, and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness.” Who can doubt the fulfillment of this prediction in the workings of modern spiritualism? It has come up in the right time, and is exerting the predicted influence to prepare the people for condemnation before the Judge of all the earth. If necessary, we might multiply texts of Scripture on this point to show the fulfillment, but this is foreign to our purpose.

3. The condition of the people on whom these delusions are sent. They have first prepared themselves for deception and delusion by not receiving the love of the truth. As the terrible power of Satan is about to be felt in the world, the mercy of God is manifested in the increasing light upon his word, and especially upon an important truth which shall be a shield against the power of Satan to all who receive the love of it in their hearts. The rejection of the truth prepares the way for the deceptions of the enemy, and the strong delusion which God permits to come, sweeps into the snare all who are not fortified with the love of the truth.

4. The purpose of God in permitting these delusions to come. The text says, “That they all might be damned.” The original is κριθῶσι, which is sometimes rendered judged or condemned, and which is its obvious meaning in this case. The object of their delusion is not simply to seal their destruction, for this is already sure in their rejection of the truth; but to manifest before all the world what is in their hearts, and show the justice of their condemnation. While God is able to judge the heart without the aid of the outward acts, he nevertheless deems it best in some instances to develop the hidden iniquities of the heart, that finite beings may see the justice of his dealings.

It will be seen that those who are deceived are such as have “pleasure in unrighteousness,” and not the honest in heart, who desire to walk in the truth; so that none can charge God with the responsibility of their acts. They first reject the truth, not having the love of it in their hearts, and then fall an easy prey to Satan's wiles because the truth is not their shield and buckler.

Let us all learn from this the importance of keeping the love of the truth, and not merely its theory, in our hearts, lest we, like others, become victims to the strong delusion that is to ensnare so many in these last days.

W. C. G.