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>>Eric Flickinger:
Welcome to "Sabbath School,"
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brought to you by It Is Written.
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We're glad that you
could be with us today.
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We are continuing
our journey, our study
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into "God's Love and Justice."
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What does that look like?
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This is week number
12, lesson number 12.
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We are looking now at
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"Love and Justice: The
Two Greatest Commandments."
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We're glad that you're with
us. Let's begin with prayer.
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Father, we thank You for being
with us now for 11 lessons,
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and we anticipate that You're
going to be with us again today.
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We ask that You will bless
our time together in Your Word
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and ask also that You
will bless us abundantly
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as we learn more about
You and Your character.
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We thank You, in
Jesus' name, amen.
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Well, we're grateful to
have with us, once again,
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the author of this quarter's
"Sabbath School" lesson,
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Dr. John Peckham.
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He is an associate
editor of the "Adventist Review"
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and also a research professor
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at the Theological
Seminary at Andrews University.
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John, thanks for
being with us again.
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>>John Peckham:
Thank you for having me.
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>>Eric: So we're
getting close to the end
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of this journey together,
we're not there yet, but we have
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a very significant subject
that we're looking at this week,
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"Love and Justice: The
Two Greatest Commandments."
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Help us to understand
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how this relationship
between love and justice
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reflects God's character.
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And why are these two
ideas, love and justice,
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why should we view
them as being inseparable?
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>>John: Yeah,
yeah, many people think
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of the ideas of
love and justice,
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particularly when it comes
to God's love and God's justice,
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as kind of like polar opposites.
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You have love and mercy
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and maybe happy
feelings over here,
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and over here you have justice,
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and these seem disconnected
in some people's minds.
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But in the Bible, these two
things are inseparably linked
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because they are
central to God's very character.
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The Bible is very
clear that God is love,
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and the Bible is also very clear
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that God is entirely
good and righteous and just.
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And it's central not
only to God's character,
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but it's central to the
entire great controversy.
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Because this is
what is at stake,
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the question, "Is
God really loving?
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"Is God really just?
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Is He really righteous
as He says that He is?"
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And in fact, we
find in the Bible
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that God is not
only loving and just,
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but His justice is
an object of His love.
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He loves justice.
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And in the Bible, you can't
have true love without justice.
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Love without justice is
going to be very deficient.
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But justice without
love is also deficient.
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They always go together.
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So I want us to
see just a few texts
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that state this very clearly.
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The first one is
Isaiah 61, verse 8.
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>>Eric: "For I,
the Lord, love justice;
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"I hate robbery
for burnt offering;
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"I will direct
their work in truth,
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and will make with them
an everlasting covenant."
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>>John: This idea, "I,
the Lord, love justice."
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You just see the ideas
connected so closely there
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in God's own
delight that He takes
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in justice and righteousness.
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Jeremiah 9:24 puts it this
way: "'But let him who glories
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"'glory in this, that he
understands and knows me,
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"'that I am the Lord,
exercising lovingkindness,
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"'judgment, and
righteousness in the earth.
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For in these I
delight,' says the Lord."
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And so you see just how
closely they are connected.
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And this is the case
all throughout Scripture.
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Then one of my
favorites, Psalm 85, verse 10.
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I love the way the
psalmist puts this.
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>>Eric: "Mercy and
truth have met together;
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righteousness and
peace have kissed."
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>>John: It's such a
beautiful thought, right?
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Far from being
these polar opposites,
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they kiss; they meet.
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And another text
in the psalm says
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this is the
foundation of God's government,
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His
righteousness and His justice,
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and yet also His lovingkindness.
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These things go
together in God's character;
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they go together
in God's government.
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>>Eric: So we see
that righteousness--
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or that justice and love,
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they should go
together; they do go together,
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whether we
recognize that or not.
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Let's bring this
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a little bit closer
to home for ourselves.
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In what measure
or in what manner
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should we as Christians
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be concerned about addressing
things like injustice,
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suffering in the world?
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What does that look
like for us in tangible ways?
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>>John: Yeah, here
again, there's a lot of people
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who think of these things
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as disconnected
from their faith,
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disconnected from
their Christianity.
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But in fact, if
what we just saw is true,
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that God loves justice,
that this is His delight,
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if we are followers of Christ--
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being a Christian means
to follow Christ, right?
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To walk in His ways,
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what I would call
the way of the Lamb
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versus the way of the dragon,
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and the way of the Lamb
is the way of unselfish love,
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and God's
concern is about justice.
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That means our concern
should be about justice
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and love as well.
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And this again is consistently
the teaching of Scripture.
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This is one of the
major themes of the prophets
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all throughout
the Old Testament,
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these calls for
justice among God's people,
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for people to be treated well,
for oppression to be relieved,
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for the needy to be
fed, for all of these things,
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for us to do what we can do
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to be the hands and
feet of the love of God,
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to bring about
righteousness in His world.
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And so there are a number
of texts that address this.
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One I want to read is in
Isaiah, chapter 1, verse 17.
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In Isaiah 1, verse 17, it
says this: "Learn to do good;
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"seek justice,
rebuke the oppressor;
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defend the fatherless,
plead for the widow."
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And then later in
Isaiah, in Isaiah 10:1-3,
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Isaiah expands on this.
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>>Eric: "Woe to those who
decree unrighteous decrees,
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"who write misfortune,
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"which they have prescribed
to rob the needy of justice,
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"and to take what is right
from the poor of my people,
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"that widows may be their prey,
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"and that they may
rob the fatherless.
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"What will you do in
the day of punishment,
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"and in the desolation
which will come from afar?
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"To whom will you flee for help?
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And where will
you leave your glory?"
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>>John: So here we
see God's great concern
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for unrighteousness,
His concern for the needy,
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His concern for the poor.
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And it's very
difficult to read the prophets
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and not come across
these kinds of themes
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over and over and over again.
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So if God is
concerned about these things,
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if the prophets are
crying out for these things,
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shouldn't we as Christians
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also be concerned
for these things, right?
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And actually act accordingly.
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This is the way John
puts it in 1 John 4:20.
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This is by no means just
an Old Testament emphasis;
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the same emphasis is found
throughout the New Testament.
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But John writes in 1 John 4:20,
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he says, "If
someone says, 'I love God,'
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"and hates his
brother, he is a liar;
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"for he who does not love
his brother whom he has seen,
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how can he love God
whom he has not seen?"
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So if we say that we love God,
then we must also love others
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because everyone is a
child of God in some sense.
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Now, God wants to draw everyone
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into an even
closer relationship,
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to be a special
child of God in Christ,
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but even those who
are not yet believers,
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who are not in Christ by
faith, they are children of God,
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and God wants us to
work to do good for them
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and ultimately to draw
them into fellowship with Him.
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And this is
part of what it means
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to be a follower of Christ.
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This was part of His mission
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and part of the
task that He gives to us
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as well in this world.
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>>Eric: And of course, this
is part of what Jesus taught
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through His ministry as well.
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I'm thinking of over
in Matthew, where He talks
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about the two great commandments
of love God and love others.
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How does that play into
what we're talking about here?
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>>John: Yeah, these
two great love commandments
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are Jesus's answer
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to, "What is the
greatest commandment?" Right?
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And so the greatest
commandment is just love--
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love for God
and love for others.
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So I want us to
read that together,
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to read Jesus'
words in Matthew 22,
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Matthew 22,
verses 37 through 39.
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>>Eric: "Jesus said to him,
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"'"You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart,
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"'with all your soul,
and with all your mind."
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"'This is the first
and great commandment.
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"'And the second is like it:
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"You shall love your
neighbor as yourself."'"
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>>John: Yeah, so love is
the fulfillment of the law.
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The entire--Jesus goes on to say
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that the entire law and prophets
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hang on these two points.
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And so here, actually, in
the New Testament in Matthew,
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He's not giving
entirely new commandments.
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First of all, these
commandments correspond
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to the two tables of
the Ten Commandments.
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But not only that, these
are actually commandments
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that He quotes
from the Old Testament.
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They're already there in
Deuteronomy and Leviticus.
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"Love the Lord your
God with all your heart,
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...soul, [strength] and...mind."
That's from Deuteronomy.
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And "love your neighbor as
yourself" is from Leviticus.
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And these two
commandments actually correspond
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to the two greatest
sins in the Old Testament.
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We talked about
earlier in this program
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about the great sin of
idolatry and how this is
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such a massive
theme of the prophets.
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Well, that sin of idolatry,
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it's actually the
opposite of loving God
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with one's heart, soul,
strength, and mind, right?
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And so the love
commandments are the antidote,
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and the idolatry or anything
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that takes
one's focus off of God
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with our entire being, right?--
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this heart, soul,
strength, and mind
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is pointing out
that God wants all of us.
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He wants our
devotion in every way.
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Anything that detracts from that
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is actually to effectively
be breaking the commandments
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and effectively to fall
into the sin of idolatry.
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And the second great sin
throughout the Old Testament
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that is so emphasized--
we've seen just a few texts,
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but it's literally all over
the Old Testament prophets--
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is this great sin
of a lack of justice
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among human relationships.
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This oppression of the poor,
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the needy not
being well taken care of
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while others are prospering--
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all of these kinds of
issues over and over again,
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the prophets rail
against these things.
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And here again,
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that second greatest
sin corresponds directly
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to what Jesus identifies
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as the second
great commandment, right?
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Which also corresponds
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to the last part of the
Ten Commandments, right?
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That you should love
your neighbor as yourself.
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And of course,
the way to do this
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is summed up in what
is called the golden rule,
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which is also from Jesus, right?
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You should do unto others
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as you would want
them to do unto you.
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And so ultimately,
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the very
carrying out of justice,
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the very bringing
good about in the world,
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it actually is
the action of love.
00:10:49.61\00:10:52.11
And here again, we see how
closely these ideas are aligned.
00:10:52.15\00:10:55.92
Because to love God
requires that we love others.
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To love others requires
that we do good for them
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and try to bring about
justice and righteousness
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and well-being for
all of God's children,
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wherever they may be.
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>>Eric: So there is a connection
that meets in a very real way,
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or should meet in a
very real way, in our lives.
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And so we have that opportunity
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to be the hands
and feet of Jesus
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in other people's lives as well.
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If somebody wants to
understand this better,
00:11:19.87\00:11:21.81
there's a companion
book that goes along
00:11:21.84\00:11:23.48
with this quarter's
"Sabbath School" lesson.
00:11:23.51\00:11:24.88
Share with us a
little bit about that.
00:11:24.91\00:11:26.92
>>John: Yes, in
the companion volume,
00:11:26.95\00:11:28.88
I have an opportunity
to go into more depth
00:11:28.92\00:11:31.35
in all of these issues,
00:11:31.39\00:11:33.05
the understanding of
what God's love is like,
00:11:33.09\00:11:34.86
what God's justice is like,
00:11:34.89\00:11:36.22
how God can be just
00:11:36.26\00:11:37.66
in light of the
suffering in the world,
00:11:37.69\00:11:39.29
and then God's
concern and His care
00:11:39.33\00:11:41.23
and what He calls us to do,
00:11:41.26\00:11:43.23
how this relates to
God's great plan and design
00:11:43.26\00:11:47.64
and how we can really
be followers of the Lamb
00:11:47.67\00:11:50.41
instead of those
who ultimately give
00:11:50.44\00:11:53.78
their allegiance to
the dragon in the end.
00:11:53.81\00:11:56.18
All of these things
are bound up together,
00:11:56.21\00:11:57.95
and I can draw those
things out even more clearly
00:11:57.98\00:12:00.92
in the companion volume.
00:12:00.95\00:12:02.42
>>Eric: So make sure you
pick up that companion book.
00:12:02.45\00:12:04.52
It's easy to find
at itiswritten.shop.
00:12:04.55\00:12:07.59
Again, itiswritten.shop,
and you are looking
00:12:07.62\00:12:09.99
for the companion book
00:12:10.03\00:12:11.33
to this quarter's
"Sabbath School" lesson
00:12:11.36\00:12:13.03
by Dr. John Peckham.
00:12:13.06\00:12:15.56
If by chance you happen to have
00:12:15.60\00:12:17.60
missed an episode of
this quarter's lesson,
00:12:17.63\00:12:21.00
you are not--you're not lost.
00:12:21.04\00:12:24.74
There is hope for you.
00:12:24.77\00:12:26.17
You can find all of the lessons
archived at itiswritten.tv
00:12:26.21\00:12:31.08
and on the It Is
Written YouTube channel.
00:12:31.11\00:12:34.02
All the episodes
from this quarter
00:12:34.05\00:12:35.95
and previous
quarters are found there,
00:12:35.98\00:12:38.02
very easy to find.
00:12:38.05\00:12:39.35
You can go back
and re-watch them,
00:12:39.39\00:12:41.02
re-study them,
dig into them again,
00:12:41.06\00:12:43.32
and you will be able to mine
00:12:43.36\00:12:45.33
more and more
out of the lessons.
00:12:45.36\00:12:47.76
We're not done yet.
00:12:47.83\00:12:49.20
This is still lesson number 12.
00:12:49.23\00:12:51.10
We have one
more to go next week,
00:12:51.13\00:12:52.90
but we still
have a little bit more
00:12:52.93\00:12:54.24
to dig into also today
00:12:54.27\00:12:56.47
as we are looking at
"God's Love and Justice."
00:12:56.50\00:12:59.67
We're taking a look at
how these two are inseparable,
00:12:59.71\00:13:02.98
how these two go together;
00:13:03.01\00:13:04.48
they are the
greatest commandments.
00:13:04.51\00:13:06.85
And we're gonna continue looking
at these greatest commandments
00:13:06.88\00:13:10.35
in just a moment
when we come right back,
00:13:10.39\00:13:12.69
once again, here
on "Sabbath School,"
00:13:12.72\00:13:14.56
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:13:14.59\00:13:16.46
¤¤¤
00:13:16.49\00:13:19.19
>>John Bradshaw: When
God created the earth,
00:13:20.96\00:13:22.80
He designed
three unique systems:
00:13:22.83\00:13:25.77
the land, the
water, and the air.
00:13:25.80\00:13:30.87
These systems
functioned in perfect unity,
00:13:30.91\00:13:33.88
and everything in them
benefited everything else.
00:13:33.91\00:13:36.98
But if you look
at the world now,
00:13:37.01\00:13:39.78
you'll see that
each of these systems
00:13:39.81\00:13:41.58
is in significant
and accelerating decline.
00:13:41.62\00:13:46.62
Join me for
"Earth's Rapid Decline,"
00:13:46.65\00:13:49.56
part 4 of It Is Written's
series, "Prequel of the Bible."
00:13:49.59\00:13:54.10
The whole planet groans
under the weight of sin.
00:13:54.10\00:13:58.00
The Bible says that "the earth
will grow old like a garment."
00:13:58.03\00:14:02.50
We'll explore what
this means for us today
00:14:02.54\00:14:05.14
and what it
means for the future.
00:14:05.17\00:14:07.48
Don't miss
"Earth's Rapid Decline,"
00:14:07.51\00:14:11.08
part 4 of our 5-part
series, "Prequel of the Bible,"
00:14:11.11\00:14:15.28
brought to you
by It Is Written TV.
00:14:15.32\00:14:18.15
>>John: Thank you
for remembering that
00:14:20.86\00:14:22.16
It Is Written exists
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00:14:22.19\00:14:24.49
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00:14:36.67\00:14:40.74
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00:14:46.82\00:14:50.49
¤¤¤
00:14:51.49\00:14:55.62
>>Eric: Welcome
back to "Sabbath School,"
00:14:55.66\00:14:57.16
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:14:57.19\00:14:58.83
We are taking a look at
"God's Love and Justice:
00:14:58.86\00:15:01.93
The Two Greatest Commandments"
00:15:01.96\00:15:03.43
here in lesson number 12.
00:15:03.47\00:15:05.47
John, I want to take a moment
00:15:05.50\00:15:07.14
and look at the story
of the rich young ruler.
00:15:07.17\00:15:09.50
It's an interesting
story where we see again
00:15:09.54\00:15:12.31
that these broader themes
00:15:12.34\00:15:13.68
of love and
justice come together.
00:15:13.71\00:15:15.38
Walk us through this story.
00:15:15.41\00:15:17.08
>>John Peckham: Yeah,
so this man comes to Jesus,
00:15:17.11\00:15:18.85
and he has this question, right?
00:15:18.88\00:15:20.18
"What must I do?
00:15:20.22\00:15:22.32
What good thing must I
do to inherit eternal life?"
00:15:22.35\00:15:25.35
And Jesus' answer is,
first of all, He says,
00:15:25.39\00:15:28.52
"If you want to enter into
life, keep the commandments."
00:15:28.56\00:15:32.93
And when the
man asks which ones,
00:15:32.96\00:15:34.83
Jesus recounts,
"You shall not murder,
00:15:34.83\00:15:36.40
"you shall not commit
adultery, you shall not steal,
00:15:36.43\00:15:38.63
"you shall not
bear false witness,
00:15:38.67\00:15:40.44
"honor your
father and your mother,
00:15:40.47\00:15:42.00
and love your
neighbor as yourself."
00:15:42.04\00:15:44.37
And those, of course, correspond
to the great commandment,
00:15:44.41\00:15:47.81
to love your
neighbor as yourselves,
00:15:47.84\00:15:49.18
and those specific commandments
in the Ten Commandments
00:15:49.21\00:15:51.78
that correspond to that.
00:15:51.81\00:15:54.05
But the man says, "I've
done all of these things
00:15:54.08\00:15:55.88
since my youth, so
what do I still lack?"
00:15:55.92\00:16:00.26
And it's
interesting that he recognizes--
00:16:00.29\00:16:02.39
even though, at
least in his mind,
00:16:02.42\00:16:03.73
he's keeping all
the commandments--
00:16:03.76\00:16:05.06
he's still
lacking something, right?
00:16:05.09\00:16:06.53
There's still something missing.
He seems to recognize this.
00:16:06.56\00:16:11.07
And Jesus responds to him.
00:16:11.10\00:16:13.80
He says, "If you
want to be perfect,
00:16:13.84\00:16:16.34
"go, sell what you
have and give to the poor,
00:16:16.37\00:16:20.08
"and you will have
treasure in heaven;
00:16:20.11\00:16:22.34
and come, follow me."
00:16:22.38\00:16:26.65
Now, when we
think of that story,
00:16:26.68\00:16:28.08
you might be familiar
with that story already.
00:16:28.12\00:16:30.55
And we know the answer already,
00:16:30.59\00:16:33.09
but I think that the call
that Jesus gives to that man
00:16:33.12\00:16:37.66
is also a call that
is for us as well, right?
00:16:37.69\00:16:41.73
And this man has a
momentous decision--
00:16:41.76\00:16:43.70
like, everything is before him.
00:16:43.73\00:16:45.93
Do you want to live
with God for eternity?
00:16:45.97\00:16:47.90
Do you want to be
with Christ forever?
00:16:47.94\00:16:49.90
And Jesus effectively
says this is what is lacking
00:16:49.94\00:16:53.31
in this young man.
00:16:53.34\00:16:55.28
And we know that
"he went away sad
00:16:55.31\00:16:57.78
because he had
many possessions."
00:16:57.81\00:17:00.62
And I think the
point of the story
00:17:00.65\00:17:02.08
isn't necessarily
making any kind of claim
00:17:02.12\00:17:05.32
about how prosperous one is
or how prosperous they are not.
00:17:05.35\00:17:08.69
But in the case of this man,
00:17:08.72\00:17:10.33
he was clearly
wedded to his belongings
00:17:10.36\00:17:14.50
in a way that they
ended up taking priority
00:17:14.56\00:17:17.23
over the things of God.
00:17:17.27\00:17:19.33
And maybe he knew this
in his heart of hearts.
00:17:19.37\00:17:21.00
Jesus certainly knew it,
00:17:21.04\00:17:22.34
that he was
putting something ahead
00:17:22.37\00:17:24.04
of his
relationship with God, right?
00:17:24.07\00:17:25.81
Which is, again, another form
of this great sin of idolatry.
00:17:25.84\00:17:30.01
And we should ask
ourselves as well,
00:17:30.05\00:17:32.01
are we putting
anything above God?
00:17:32.05\00:17:35.95
And if we're not, if God
has blessed us with prosperity,
00:17:35.98\00:17:40.76
if God has blessed
us with well-being,
00:17:40.79\00:17:43.39
then we should actually
be using that prosperity
00:17:43.43\00:17:47.50
to love God and
love other people,
00:17:47.56\00:17:50.43
which means that we
will be doing good for others
00:17:50.47\00:17:52.87
with the blessings
that God has bestowed on us.
00:17:52.90\00:17:54.80
We won't have them stop with us.
00:17:54.84\00:17:56.14
We will be a blessing
to others in tangible ways.
00:17:56.17\00:17:59.24
>>Eric: You know,
you've mentioned a few times
00:17:59.27\00:18:00.88
in our journey
together this sin of idolatry.
00:18:00.91\00:18:04.35
It's something
that was significant
00:18:04.38\00:18:06.08
in the Old Testament times. It's
certainly something significant
00:18:06.11\00:18:08.78
in New Testament times.
00:18:08.82\00:18:10.79
How does this sin of
idolatry connect to the idea
00:18:10.82\00:18:14.96
that we are
failing to love others
00:18:14.99\00:18:17.73
if we are involved in this sin.
00:18:17.76\00:18:20.50
>>John: One way to understand
the great sin of idolatry is
00:18:20.53\00:18:22.83
as a lack of allegiance,
00:18:22.86\00:18:24.87
a lack of loyalty to
the true King, right?
00:18:24.90\00:18:28.17
And we've seen over
and over again in Scripture
00:18:28.20\00:18:30.74
how that is
described, what being loyal,
00:18:30.77\00:18:35.14
having allegiance in
God, what that looks like.
00:18:35.18\00:18:38.11
And that is, first
of all, to love God,
00:18:38.15\00:18:41.48
but, just as
importantly, to love others.
00:18:41.52\00:18:44.75
So if someone claims to be
a loyal follower of Christ,
00:18:44.79\00:18:49.06
but they don't love others--
00:18:49.09\00:18:51.29
and by loving others we
don't just mean in our mind,
00:18:51.33\00:18:54.20
but actually love others
tangibly in relationships--
00:18:54.23\00:18:57.87
then that is betraying the fact
that we are not really loyal.
00:18:57.90\00:19:01.67
We're not really serving God.
00:19:01.70\00:19:04.14
If you tell me that you love me,
and then you mistreat my son,
00:19:04.17\00:19:09.48
you obviously don't
love me or my son, right?
00:19:09.51\00:19:12.91
And conversely, if you
do something for my son,
00:19:12.95\00:19:15.42
that shows that you love me.
00:19:15.45\00:19:16.75
In a similar way
but even much greater--
00:19:16.79\00:19:19.02
because as much
as I love my son,
00:19:19.05\00:19:20.36
and I love him dearly,
00:19:20.39\00:19:21.69
God loves everyone
exponentially more than that.
00:19:21.72\00:19:26.53
And we can say all
day long we love God,
00:19:26.56\00:19:29.96
but if we don't
love His children,
00:19:30.00\00:19:32.27
then we're actually
showing that we don't love Him
00:19:32.30\00:19:35.20
with our whole heart, right?
00:19:35.24\00:19:36.54
And so it's not as if
idolatry is over here,
00:19:36.57\00:19:39.27
and the second
great sin is here.
00:19:39.31\00:19:41.11
These are connected
because if we truly love God,
00:19:41.14\00:19:44.08
we won't put
anything ahead of Him.
00:19:44.11\00:19:45.78
If we don't put
anything ahead of Him,
00:19:45.81\00:19:47.38
then everything
we've been given,
00:19:47.42\00:19:48.92
we will actually want to use
00:19:48.95\00:19:50.62
in the service of
His great mission,
00:19:50.65\00:19:53.12
which is actually to
draw everyone into His love.
00:19:53.15\00:19:56.86
And this is
emphasized throughout Scripture.
00:19:56.89\00:19:58.66
I want us to read together
00:19:58.69\00:20:00.00
a couple of texts on
the importance of this.
00:20:00.03\00:20:03.33
One of them is in
Zechariah 7, verse 9.
00:20:03.37\00:20:07.17
>>Eric: "Thus
says the Lord of hosts:
00:20:07.20\00:20:09.04
"'Execute true justice,
00:20:09.07\00:20:10.64
"'show mercy and compassion
everyone to his brother.
00:20:10.67\00:20:14.54
"'Do not oppress the
widow or the fatherless,
00:20:14.58\00:20:16.71
"'the alien or the poor.
00:20:16.75\00:20:18.31
"'Let none of you
plan evil in his heart
00:20:18.35\00:20:20.62
against his brother.'"
00:20:20.65\00:20:21.95
>>John: And so this
is, again, just one example
00:20:21.98\00:20:24.19
of many texts of the
prophets emphasizing this point.
00:20:24.22\00:20:28.46
And I ask myself, how
could one read these texts
00:20:28.49\00:20:31.36
and ever think that God
doesn't care about the poor
00:20:31.39\00:20:34.73
or the needy or
justice among relationships?
00:20:34.76\00:20:37.97
And if God cares
about these things so much,
00:20:38.00\00:20:40.20
we also should, right?
00:20:40.24\00:20:41.80
To follow the
way of the Lamb means
00:20:41.84\00:20:43.17
that we're also going to be
concerned about these things.
00:20:43.20\00:20:45.71
Jesus emphasizes
this in His own teaching.
00:20:45.74\00:20:48.28
In Luke 11:42, He says
this: "Woe to you Pharisees!
00:20:48.31\00:20:52.91
"For you tithe mint and
rue and all manner of herbs,
00:20:52.95\00:20:56.89
"and pass by
justice and the love of God.
00:20:56.92\00:21:01.59
"These you ought to have done,
00:21:01.62\00:21:03.46
without leaving
the others undone."
00:21:03.49\00:21:07.96
So He's not making a claim
00:21:07.96\00:21:09.30
that you shouldn't pay
attention to the details.
00:21:09.33\00:21:11.93
He's saying don't pay
attention to the details
00:21:11.97\00:21:14.40
in a way that neglects
"the weightier matters"--
00:21:14.44\00:21:17.11
the way it's said in Matthew
when He says this, right?--
00:21:17.14\00:21:19.27
of love and justice and mercy.
00:21:19.31\00:21:22.34
And all of these things
are near to the heart of God.
00:21:22.38\00:21:24.45
They should be
near to anyone's heart
00:21:24.48\00:21:26.88
who claims to be a
follower of the one true God.
00:21:26.92\00:21:30.85
>>Eric: So we're
seeing that in New Testament,
00:21:30.89\00:21:33.12
we're seeing it
in Old Testament.
00:21:33.15\00:21:34.46
It's a consistent
theme throughout the Bible.
00:21:34.49\00:21:37.13
I want to jump to Psalm
82 for a few minutes here.
00:21:37.16\00:21:40.23
In Psalm 82, it
shows pretty clearly
00:21:40.26\00:21:42.90
God's concern for justice.
00:21:42.93\00:21:45.10
How does that relate to us
00:21:45.13\00:21:46.63
in our social
responsibilities today?
00:21:46.67\00:21:49.44
>>John: Yeah, this is
really a profound passage.
00:21:49.47\00:21:52.11
It's actually
one of the passages
00:21:52.14\00:21:53.51
that many scholars identify also
00:21:53.54\00:21:55.81
as a passage that
relates to the heavenly council
00:21:55.84\00:21:58.55
that we've talked about before.
00:21:58.58\00:22:00.15
And so in this
passage, you have God
00:22:00.18\00:22:01.98
who was actually chastising
00:22:02.02\00:22:04.89
and judging not
only human rulers--
00:22:04.92\00:22:07.39
He is judging them
for injustice in society--
00:22:07.42\00:22:09.79
but He's also chastising
00:22:09.82\00:22:11.96
the so-called
gods of the nations,
00:22:11.99\00:22:13.46
which we saw in earlier lessons,
00:22:13.50\00:22:15.23
behind those gods-- so
those gods don't exist,
00:22:15.26\00:22:18.37
the gods the nations
thought they were worshiping
00:22:18.40\00:22:20.17
were not real gods,
00:22:20.20\00:22:21.50
but behind them were
demons masquerading as gods
00:22:21.54\00:22:24.34
that are also having influence
and having impact in society.
00:22:24.37\00:22:27.24
And in Psalm 82, at least
as it's read by most scholars,
00:22:27.28\00:22:30.48
you have both of
these in the text.
00:22:30.51\00:22:33.25
And you can just
see it in the language.
00:22:33.28\00:22:35.15
So let's read it together.
00:22:35.18\00:22:36.65
Psalm 82, beginning in verse 1.
00:22:36.69\00:22:39.95
>>Eric: "God stands in the
congregation of the mighty;
00:22:39.99\00:22:42.66
"He judges among the gods.
00:22:42.69\00:22:44.43
"How long will
you judge unjustly,
00:22:44.46\00:22:46.73
"and show
partiality to the wicked? Selah
00:22:46.76\00:22:49.86
"Defend the poor and fatherless;
00:22:49.90\00:22:51.53
"do justice to the
afflicted and needy.
00:22:51.57\00:22:53.70
"Deliver the poor and needy;
00:22:53.74\00:22:55.47
"free them from
the hand of the wicked.
00:22:55.50\00:22:57.37
"They do not know,
nor do they understand;
00:22:57.41\00:23:00.18
"they walk about in darkness;
00:23:00.21\00:23:01.91
"all the foundations
of the earth are unstable.
00:23:01.94\00:23:04.68
"I said, 'You are gods,
00:23:04.71\00:23:06.31
"'and all of you are
children of the Most High.
00:23:06.35\00:23:08.75
"'But you shall die like men,
00:23:08.78\00:23:10.62
"and fall like
one of the princes.'
00:23:10.65\00:23:12.62
"Arise, O God, judge the earth;
00:23:12.65\00:23:14.66
for You shall
inherit all nations."
00:23:14.69\00:23:17.13
>>John: So we see here
a number of things, right?
00:23:17.16\00:23:19.46
God is clearly very
concerned about justice,
00:23:19.49\00:23:22.26
and He's bringing judgment
00:23:22.30\00:23:24.93
against the gods of the nations
00:23:24.97\00:23:28.24
and then also the
earthly rulers, right?
00:23:28.27\00:23:30.24
So the psalmist
points out this injustice.
00:23:30.27\00:23:34.68
He calls for God to
actually bring judgment.
00:23:34.71\00:23:38.75
And then God
says, "You are gods,
00:23:38.78\00:23:40.68
"and all of you are
children of the Most High.
00:23:40.72\00:23:43.18
But you shall die like men."
00:23:43.22\00:23:45.89
So judgment will come
in the end eventually,
00:23:45.92\00:23:48.99
both on the earthly rulers
that have worked oppression
00:23:49.02\00:23:51.99
and also the demonic rulers,
00:23:52.03\00:23:54.50
the demonic forces of this age
00:23:54.56\00:23:56.87
that are in the background
and operating in the background
00:23:56.90\00:24:00.07
in the world to bring
about oppression and injustice.
00:24:00.10\00:24:04.67
So both of these
things are there in Psalm 82.
00:24:04.71\00:24:08.38
And again, it should
serve as a warning for us.
00:24:08.41\00:24:11.18
Even if we're not rulers,
even if we're not governors,
00:24:11.21\00:24:14.05
how are we living our
lives? Are we living our lives
00:24:14.08\00:24:17.62
in a way that
reflects God's love,
00:24:17.65\00:24:19.25
or do we participate in things
that actually do the opposite
00:24:19.29\00:24:24.66
and don't bring
good to the world
00:24:24.69\00:24:26.36
but bring actually evil
and suffering in the world?
00:24:26.39\00:24:29.60
Here, I think the
question should ring in our ears
00:24:29.63\00:24:33.47
of the man after Jesus says,
00:24:33.50\00:24:36.64
"You shall love your
neighbor as yourself,"
00:24:36.67\00:24:38.21
and he asks this question,
00:24:38.24\00:24:39.54
"Well, who is my
neighbor?" Right?
00:24:39.57\00:24:41.71
And this is a common
theme throughout Scripture
00:24:41.74\00:24:44.01
going all the way
back to the beginning
00:24:44.05\00:24:45.98
in the story of Cain and Abel
when Cain is questioned by God,
00:24:46.01\00:24:49.32
"Am I my
brother's keeper?" Right?
00:24:49.35\00:24:51.12
And of course he means
that as a negative reply, like,
00:24:51.15\00:24:53.56
"Why should I be responsible
for where my brother is?"
00:24:53.59\00:24:56.02
But actually, yes,
00:24:56.06\00:24:57.36
we are supposed to
be our brother's keeper.
00:24:57.39\00:24:59.36
Who is our neighbor?
00:24:59.39\00:25:00.76
And the story that Jesus
tells, the good Samaritan,
00:25:00.80\00:25:03.53
it's not a
shocking story to us anymore
00:25:03.57\00:25:05.47
because we're so familiar to it,
00:25:05.50\00:25:07.14
but it's shocking at the time
because many Samaritans and Jews
00:25:07.17\00:25:10.17
thought of each
other as enemies.
00:25:10.21\00:25:11.51
They shouldn't
have, but they did.
00:25:11.54\00:25:13.34
And so the fact
that in this story,
00:25:13.38\00:25:14.84
the Samaritan
is the hero, right,
00:25:14.88\00:25:17.18
and he actually
treats the Jewish man
00:25:17.21\00:25:20.45
who is just left for
dead by the side of the road,
00:25:20.48\00:25:25.12
he treats him with the
mercy and the compassion of God,
00:25:25.15\00:25:27.39
whereas the religious leaders
00:25:27.42\00:25:28.82
just walk by on the
other side of the road.
00:25:28.86\00:25:30.69
This is utterly shocking.
00:25:30.73\00:25:32.76
And it should be
shocking to us today as well,
00:25:32.79\00:25:34.73
that we are called
to love our neighbors,
00:25:34.73\00:25:37.30
which includes those
who might see us as enemies.
00:25:37.33\00:25:40.14
And that's
Jesus's great command:
00:25:40.17\00:25:41.54
"Love your enemies."
00:25:41.57\00:25:43.04
This is much
easier said than done,
00:25:43.07\00:25:44.77
but this is the
important emphasis
00:25:44.81\00:25:47.11
all throughout Scripture.
00:25:47.14\00:25:49.18
>>Eric: John, we don't
have too much time left,
00:25:49.21\00:25:50.75
but I want to
read Micah 6, verse 8,
00:25:50.78\00:25:52.68
give you an
opportunity to comment on that.
00:25:52.71\00:25:55.38
Micah 6:8 says,
"He has shown you,
00:25:55.42\00:25:58.09
"O man, what is good;
00:25:58.12\00:25:59.65
"and what does the Lord
require of you but to do justly,
00:25:59.69\00:26:02.76
to love mercy, and to
walk humbly with your God?"
00:26:02.79\00:26:05.66
How do these principles here
help us to understand justice,
00:26:05.69\00:26:10.83
mercy, humility
in our daily lives?
00:26:10.87\00:26:13.07
>>John: Yeah, yeah, it's
such a beautiful passage, right?
00:26:13.10\00:26:15.84
And in some ways it's simple.
00:26:15.87\00:26:17.94
There are many things
that are hard to understand,
00:26:17.97\00:26:19.91
but what God
desires of us and asks of us
00:26:19.94\00:26:22.41
is not hard to understand.
00:26:22.44\00:26:24.61
Sometimes it's hard for us to do
00:26:24.65\00:26:26.18
because of our sinful
nature and selfishness,
00:26:26.21\00:26:27.78
but it's not hard to understand.
00:26:27.82\00:26:29.35
"To do justly, to love mercy,
to walk humbly with your God."
00:26:29.38\00:26:33.56
And I think Ellen
White puts it best
00:26:33.59\00:26:35.09
in her masterpiece,
"The Desire of Ages."
00:26:35.12\00:26:36.66
She writes,
"Every false religion
00:26:36.69\00:26:39.59
"teaches its
adherents to be careless
00:26:39.63\00:26:41.56
"of human needs,
sufferings, and rights.
00:26:41.60\00:26:44.63
"The gospel places a
high value upon humanity
00:26:44.67\00:26:47.14
"as the purchase of
the blood of Christ,
00:26:47.17\00:26:48.94
"and it teaches a tender regard
for the wants and woes of men.
00:26:48.97\00:26:52.77
The Lord says,
'I will make a man
00:26:52.81\00:26:54.48
"'more precious than fine gold;
00:26:54.51\00:26:56.28
even a man than the
golden wedge of Ophir.'"
00:26:56.31\00:27:00.95
And here I think the point
is that if we are to love God,
00:27:00.98\00:27:04.29
if we say we love
God, we must love others.
00:27:04.32\00:27:06.19
And that requires
the principles of love,
00:27:06.22\00:27:08.86
justice, and mercy in
the way we conduct ourselves
00:27:08.89\00:27:12.29
as followers of Christ.
00:27:12.33\00:27:13.90
>>Eric: John, thanks
for leading us through
00:27:13.93\00:27:15.20
this week's lesson once again.
00:27:15.23\00:27:16.97
And we wanna thank you
for joining us once again.
00:27:17.00\00:27:19.73
As we're
continuing our journey--
00:27:19.77\00:27:21.70
we're not quite finished
yet; we have one more lesson,
00:27:21.74\00:27:24.51
one more week that
we're going to be going into
00:27:24.54\00:27:26.78
as we continue looking
at God's love and justice,
00:27:26.81\00:27:29.98
how those two are
inextricably intertwined,
00:27:30.01\00:27:33.88
and not just
theologically or theoretically
00:27:33.92\00:27:37.05
but very, very practically.
00:27:37.09\00:27:39.42
We've looked today at
how we can care about,
00:27:39.45\00:27:41.99
how we can express
God's love for others
00:27:42.02\00:27:45.06
and the actions that we take
00:27:45.09\00:27:46.39
and the way that we interact
with them and assist them
00:27:46.43\00:27:49.23
in the challenges in their life.
And we hope that today's lesson
00:27:49.26\00:27:52.40
has been a very
practical one for you.
00:27:52.43\00:27:54.74
We'll be back again next week
00:27:54.77\00:27:56.10
as we continue
our journey looking
00:27:56.14\00:27:58.61
at God's love and mercy
here on "Sabbath School,"
00:27:58.64\00:28:02.21
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:28:02.24\00:28:04.18
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00:28:04.21\00:28:08.22
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