CHRIST’S CHURCH AND THE LAW LESSON 12 BY CARLENE BURRELL

MEMORY TEXT “Here is the patience of the saints, here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” ( Revelation 14, 12 NKJ)

HOW IMPORTANT ARE THE 10 COMMANDMENTS? "NOT EVERY ONE THAT SAITH UNTO ME, LORD, LORD, SHALL ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN; BUT HE THAT DOES THE WILL OF MY FATHERWHICH IS IN HEAVEN. - MAT 7:21 "I DELIGHT TO DO THY WILL, O MY GOD: YEA, THY LAW IS WITHIN MY HEART." PSA 40:8 "LET US HEAR THE CONCLUSION OF THE WHOLE MATTER: FEAR GOD, AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS: FOR THIS IS THE WHOLE DUTY OF MAN." - ECC 12:13 "HE WHO SAYS 'I KNOW HIM', AND DOESN'T KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS IS A LIAR, AND THE TRUTH IS NOT IN HIM" - 1 JOHN 2:4

In 1 John 2:3 we hear the apostle say "hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." The phrase "know that we know" indicates that the apostle John believed that this distinct point of doctrine is the one, true, validating test that we can rely on to have confidence in, as to whether or not we know Jesus. Do we keep His commandments?

THE SYMBOL OF CONTINUITY FOR GOD'S CHURCH IS HIS LAW, WHICH, AFTER THE FALL, MUST ALWAYS BE COUPLED WITH GOD'S SAVING GRACE. TOGETHER, BOTH ARE THE ESSENCE OF THE GOSPEL.

FROM ADAM TO NOAH WHAT TEST WAS GIVEN TO ADAM AND EVE? WHY? IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO LOVE, ADAM AND EVE HAD TO BE CREATED AS MORALLY FREE AGENTS. THEY HAD TO HAVE THE ABILITY AND THE FREEDOM TO DO WRONG, EVEN IF THEY HAD NO VALID REASON TO DO SO. THE TEST AT THE TREE WAS A MORAL TEST: IN WHAT WAY WOULD THEY USE THEIR GOD-GIVEN MORAL FREEDOM? (GENESIS 2:16-3:7)

FROM NOAH TO ADAM Read Genesis 6:5-9 The world into which Noah was born was worse than any society that has ever existed, which means that it must have been pretty bad. With people living for almost a thousand years, it is not difficult to see how evil could become ingrained in society to the point that God became sorry that he ever created people to begin with! Read Genesis 6: Why was God sorry that He had created man? How was Noah different from all the other men in his time?

FROM ABRAHAM TO MOSES After the flood, it was the responsibility of Noah and his sons to share God's will with their descendants. Noah's family knew that global destruction had come to the world as a result of humanity's refusal to obey God's law and, having experienced God's grace, they could do something to help develop a more faithful generation. Unfortunately, not too long after the flood, the inhabitants of the earth again rebelled (Gen. 11:1-9).en. 11:1-9 “ Many of them denied the existence of God and attributed the flood to the operation of natural causes. Others believed in a Supreme Being, and that it was he who had destroyed the antediluvian world; and their hearts, like that of cain, rose up in rebellion against him.”-Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 119.atriarchs and Prophets, p. 119

HOW DOES THE LAW AND GRACE WORK TOGETHER? The standard of righteousness is His law. However when people measure up against His law, they fall short and are therefore condemned by the law. If the law were the means of salvation, then none would have hope of eternal life. The hope of the christian is not found in the law but in Jesus Christ, who not only kept the law perfectly but through God’s miraculous power allows believers to share in His righteousness. (Romans 8:3,4) The christian can now serve the law of God with a free conscience because Christ has taken away the law’s condemnation (Romans 7:25, 8:2). The grace that comes through Christ does not release us from the law but rather compels us to obey it.

FROM MOSES TO JESUS AND FROM JESUS TO THE REMNANT God chose a people to be the stewards of his true law. These people were the Hebrew nation, the descendants of Abraham and heirs to the covenant promise made to him many centuries earlier—a promise whose ultimate fulfillment was found only in Jesus. Read Deuteronomy 7:6-12 to reveal the close relationship between law and grace. Despite israel's mistakes, failures, and, at times, outright rebellion, it was still among these people that the messiah came, lived, ministered, and died, fulfilling the covenant promise made to abraham many centuries earlier. As the second Adam, Jesus came to this earth without sin, and through constant devotion to His Father managed to maintain his obedience all the way to the cross. With his resurrection, Jesus crossed the finish line, for He broke the chain of death. Now, through the power of the Spirit, the resurrected Christ shares His righteousness with every believer.

ELLEN G. WHITE, EVANGELISM “The theme of greatest importance is the third angel's message, embracing the messages of the first and second angels. All should understand the truths contained in these messages and demonstrate them in daily life, for this is essential to salvation. We shall have to study earnestly, prayerfully, in order to understand these grand truths; and our power to learn and comprehend will be taxed to the utmost.” -Ellen G. White, Evangelism, p. 196.Evangelism, p. 196

SUMMARY Keeping the Ten Commandments, is the will of our Father in heaven, and therefore, is a condition of salvation, to those who have received the knowledge of the truth. (Heb 10:26) Violating any one of the Ten Commandments, is a violation of the whole Law. We can keep the Law even while living in a world of sin and corruption. Many Bible characters have kept God’s commandments even amidst apostasy. We are justified by faith in Christ. “Faith in Christ is necessary; for there is no saving quality in law. The law condemns, but it cannot pardon the transgressor.”- Ellen G. White