Participants: Jill Morikone (Host), Pr. CA Murray, Pr. John Dinzey, Pr. Ronny Shelton, Shelley Quinn
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP000032A
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00:01 The Bible tells us...
00:20 Join us now for the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:24 Our study today is, The Gospel of Galatians. 00:33 Hello and welcome to the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:36 I'm Jill Morikone. 00:38 And we're so glad that you have tuned in 00:40 and are taking time as we open up the Word of God 00:42 and share from our hearts and from the Word of God. 00:46 If you're just joining us, we are studying, 00:48 The Gospel in Galatians. 00:50 This is the quarterly put out by the 00:52 Seventh-day Adventist Church. 00:53 And you are welcome to attend a local SDA church 00:57 and they would be happy to give you a quarterly, 00:59 or you can go to the website. 01:06 That stands for, Adult Bible Study Guide. 01:11 And we are on lesson number seven, The Road to Faith. 01:16 We're discussing Paul's epistle to the Galatian church 01:20 and the concept of justification by faith 01:25 that just runs like a thread, you could say, 01:27 through the entire book. 01:28 I want to introduce our panel here today. 01:31 To my left is Pastor Ronnie Shelton. 01:33 And it's a joy to have you here. 01:34 Thank you, Jill. Appreciate the offer. 01:36 And brother Johnny Dinzey. 01:38 And we're so glad that you're here too. 01:40 Good to be here. Praise the Lord. 01:41 And Pastor C.A. Murray, welcome. 01:44 You're quite welcome. 01:46 It's a joy to have you. 01:48 And Shelley Quinn. 01:49 Oh it's always fun to be with you all and to discuss 01:52 these wonderful truths. 01:54 Amen, it's just a joy to open up the Word of God 01:57 and to see what His Word has for us. 02:00 And I'm always blessed by each member of this panel, 02:02 because they have a walk with God. 02:04 And they share from their own experience 02:07 and from their knowledge of the Word. 02:09 So before we go any further, let's go to the Lord in prayer. 02:12 And Pastor Ronnie, would you pray for us? 02:15 Our heavenly Father, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit, 02:17 again we thank You that You have promised to be with us 02:21 when we open the Word. 02:22 And I pray that our hearts and our minds 02:25 can be drawn closer to You today. 02:27 Lord, help us to get into the Word 02:29 and discover the truths, the treasures, that You have there 02:32 for each of us. 02:33 Bless again, and most of all that You be worshiped above all. 02:37 - In Christ's name, amen. - Amen. 02:40 My mom and I were taking a cross-country trip. 02:43 We left in my little green car, this is before Greg 02:47 and I got married, Washington state 02:49 and we drove all the way to Virginia 02:51 in just a couple of days. 02:52 So it was a long journey. 02:55 And I remember we were kind of mid-country, 02:59 I think we were in Nebraska. 03:01 And we did not have GPS. 03:03 I don't even think we had cell phones. 03:05 And so, there's none of those gadgets that 03:08 kind of help direct you. 03:09 And we were on a country road because we were 03:12 going to go visit some friends. 03:14 On the way we were spending the night at their house. 03:16 And so on this country road it was pavement. 03:20 And then it turned to gravel, brother Johnny. 03:22 And you would think the smart thing would be to turn around. 03:27 But we kept going. 03:29 It turned from gravel, it went to dirt. 03:33 And you would think the smart thing at that point 03:35 would be to turn around. 03:37 But we kept going. 03:38 We were convinced from looking at a map, 03:41 but it's not that blown up, 03:42 but we thought this was the right way. 03:44 And then from the dirt road it turned into a field. 03:48 And we actually almost got stuck. 03:51 It was a little muddy, and we actually ended up in the field. 03:54 We had to turn around and we had to come back. 03:57 I think many of us have experienced that situation 04:01 where maybe you become disorientated 04:03 or you become lost. 04:04 But spiritually that happens as well. 04:08 Even after we accept Christ, as Paul talked to the Galatians, 04:12 they received Christ; they were justified in the Spirit. 04:16 But then we can become disorientated. 04:18 And we can all of a sudden think it's all about works. 04:21 It's all about something that I have to do. 04:24 And we kind of lose our way or lose our road map. 04:27 So that's why we're talking today about the road to faith. 04:31 Or you could say, the road map that leads us to faith. 04:36 There's two viewpoints out there. 04:37 You could say it's all gospel. 04:40 We're not under the law, but under grace. 04:42 Or you could say it's all about the law, 04:45 or it's faith plus works. 04:48 But really, the two are inseparable. 04:50 The law points us to Jesus. 04:53 And then at the foot of the cross 04:55 we experience justification. 04:57 We accept Jesus. 04:59 He brings us into right standing. 05:01 And God enables us by the power of His Spirit 05:04 to transform us and write His law on our hearts. 05:06 So this week we're looking at, The Law and the Promise. 05:09 Galatians 3:21-25 is really the verses that we'll be 05:15 focusing on this week. 05:16 Let's read our memory text. 05:18 Galatians 3:22 05:21 We'll say that together. 05:23 "Scripture has confined all under sin, 05:26 that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be 05:31 given to those who believe." 05:34 Sunday is, The Law and the Promise. 05:35 And let's read Galatians 3:21. 05:39 Galatians 3:21, the Bible says, 05:41 "Is the law then against the promises of God? 05:45 Certainly not!" 05:48 I want to stop there just a second. 05:49 The New King James says, "Certainly not!" 05:51 I think King James says, "God forbid." 05:55 NIV says, "Absolutely not." 05:58 If you look at it in the Greek, "Never may it be." 06:02 "May it be," would be, come into being, to happen or become. 06:05 So Paul is saying, "Never may that take place." 06:07 "Never may that happen." 06:09 "Certainly not! 06:11 For if there had been a law given which could have 06:16 given life, truly righteousness would have been 06:19 given by the law." 06:20 Paul's opponents, the lesson brought this out, 06:24 that Paul's opponents believed that the law 06:28 somehow gave spiritual life. 06:32 Can the law give life? 06:35 - It cannot. - No, it cannot. 06:36 That's right, Pastor Ronnie. 06:37 I think of Leviticus 18:5. 06:40 "You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, 06:44 which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the LORD." 06:47 So you might think, "Oh, if I do these I would be okay." 06:52 However, we forget Romans 3:23. 06:54 "...all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God..." 06:58 Therefore, no matter what I try to do now, 07:01 even though maybe we could keep the letter of the law, 07:05 it would not be, what we would say, the spirit of the law. 07:08 And we know that in our past we would have all sinned, 07:11 some point, and fallen short of the glory of God. 07:14 I think about Jesus and the sermon on the mount. 07:17 You know, the Jews kind of prided themselves that they 07:19 were keeping the law pretty well. 07:21 And if you look at simply the letter of the law: 07:25 "Thou shalt not commit adultery." 07:27 Okay, I'm faithful to my spouse. 07:29 "Thou shalt not steal." 07:31 I'm not going to steal something of Shelley's. 07:34 "Thou shalt not bear false witness." 07:36 Okay, I won't... 07:38 But if you look beyond that to the spirit of the law, 07:43 there's no way that any of us 07:46 could keep the spirit of the law. 07:48 The Bible says whoever even looks at a woman with lust, 07:52 or whoever... 07:53 It goes so much deeper. 07:56 If you even have hatred for someone, or unforgiveness, 07:59 it's the same as committing murder. 08:02 We know that the law cannot give life. 08:04 Only God and His Spirit can make us alive. 08:09 I want to look at just a couple of scriptures about that. 08:12 Let's look at John 5:21. 08:15 John 5:21 08:17 Looking at God and His Spirit can make us alive. 08:24 Do you have that Shelley? You want to read that? 08:25 Certainly. John 5:21 08:29 "For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, 08:33 even so the Son gives life to whom He will." 08:37 So who gives us life, from that scripture? 08:39 That's Jesus. 08:41 Yes, absolutely. 08:43 "The Father raises the dead and gives life to them, 08:45 the Son gives life to whomever He will." 08:48 There's another verse I love; John 6. 08:51 We're still in John. 08:52 Just jump over a chapter here. 08:55 John 6:63 09:01 John 6:63 09:03 "It is the Spirit who gives life." 09:05 Now here it's the Spirit. 09:06 "The flesh profits nothing. 09:09 The words that I speak to you, they are spirit 09:13 and they are life." 09:14 Now the word in here in the Greek, in the words, 09:17 and you can correct me, but it's the "rhema" word. 09:20 The spoken word. 09:22 "Rhema," would be a specific word spoken by God 09:25 with an applied purpose. 09:27 It goes beyond me just saying, 09:29 "I'm going to claim a certain scripture." 09:31 It is a confession of faith. 09:33 A word of faith that declares, "I am who God says I am." 09:38 Not what I think, not what Pastor Ronnie thinks about me, 09:42 but who God says I am. 09:45 You think about the word, "in the beginning," 09:46 when Jesus, God spoke and there was light. 09:50 Spoke the world into existence. 09:52 The same power is here inherent in the Word of God. 09:56 "The words I speak to you..." 09:58 So the life; we're talking about what makes us alive. 10:02 The law cannot make us alive. 10:04 Jesus can make us alive. 10:05 We read that in John 5:21. 10:07 The Spirit makes us alive. 10:09 That's John 6:63. 10:12 But also the Word. 10:15 The Word makes us alive. 10:17 Let's jump over to another scripture. 10:18 Romans 4:17 10:26 Romans 4:17 10:34 Now this is talking about Abraham 10:36 and the faith of Abraham. 10:38 Then he says, Abraham, "...in the presence of Him 10:40 whom he believed," meaning Abraham believed, 10:42 "God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things 10:46 which do not exist as though they already did..." 10:51 "...calls those things that do not exist..." 10:53 So when I speak the Word of God over my life, 10:56 it's calling those things that do not exist. 10:59 2 Corinthians 5, you think about, "If anyone is in Christ, 11:03 he is a new creation. 11:04 Old things have passed; behold, all things have become new." 11:07 Now I can say, Pastor Ronnie, "Well, I don't know about that. 11:11 And I don't feel like a new creation. 11:13 And I don't think I'm very new today. 11:15 And I feel disconnected from God." 11:17 The Word of God says, "If anyone is in Christ, 11:20 He is a new creation." 11:22 I can claim that word over my life. 11:24 You're saying we can't go by our feelings? 11:26 Yes, that's what I'm saying. 11:28 Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha... 11:30 That's right, we can't go by our feelings because our feelings 11:33 will always cast us down. 11:35 That's right. 11:36 Seldom does your feelings cause you to rise. 11:39 Most of the time it's, "You are unworthy. 11:42 You're a sinner. 11:43 How do you have the audacity to claim anything?" 11:46 - Amen. - That's right. 11:47 Even in those times when the feelings are telling you 11:49 you're pretty good, don't go by that either. 11:51 Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha... 11:53 So we go by the Word of God and not by what I feel. 11:56 Amen, whether I wake up in the morning and you feel like, 11:58 "Oh it's a rainy day, and I've prayed, 12:00 and I don't feel real connected to God. 12:02 So today must not be a good day." 12:03 No, we don't go by how we feel. 12:05 We go by what the Word of God says. 12:08 And the Word of God gives us life. 12:10 Jesus gives us life. The Holy Spirit gives us life. 12:14 So if the law cannot save us, and the law cannot 12:19 give us life, what benefit do you think the law has for us? 12:24 It can't save us, and it can't give us life, 12:28 but what benefit does the law have? 12:29 When you say, the law, you're talking 12:31 about the Ten Commandments? 12:32 Yes, the moral law. 12:34 Well, the moral law helps us to understand sin. 12:37 Sin in our life. 12:39 It reflects the character of God so that we know, 12:45 you know, who God is and understand His holiness. 12:49 But it also points us to our need for a Savior. 12:53 - Amen. - Amen. 12:54 You know what else it can do? 12:55 It cannot give you life, 12:57 but it can protect the life that you have. 12:59 - That's good. - Good. 13:00 Just think, if everyone in the world were faithful 13:03 to the seventh commandment, would we have an aids epidemic? 13:08 If everyone was faithful to their spouse, 13:11 they did not commit pre-marital sex, 13:13 or extra marital sex, or homosexual sex, 13:17 or sex with animals, or whatever else perversion we can. 13:20 If we all just did what the commandment says, 13:23 a lot of pain, a lot of death, and a lot of sorrow 13:26 could be alleviated, would never exist. 13:28 So it does protect the life that we have. 13:30 Amen, absolutely. 13:32 Pastor Ronnie, you have, "Kept Under the Law." 13:35 I do. 13:36 "Kept Under the Law," under Monday's portion. 13:39 And we're looking at Galatians 3:23. 13:43 We talked about that somewhat. 13:46 Let's look at that, Galatians 3:23. 13:49 And there it says, "For all have sinned 13:52 and fall short of the glory of God." 13:54 Are you in Romans 3:23? 13:55 I am. What am I doing over there in Romans? 13:57 Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha... 13:59 - You did that earlier. - I did that before. 14:00 That's contagious. 14:02 Let me look over here again. 14:03 Three and twenty three. 14:05 I even had the bookmark in the right place. 14:07 And there it says, 14:10 "But the Scripture has confined all under sin, 14:16 that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be 14:20 given to those who believe." 14:22 That's verse 22. He's reading Galatians 3:22. 14:26 And then 23, "But before faith came, we were kept 14:30 under guard by the law, kept for the faith 14:34 which would afterward be revealed." 14:38 And so Paul writes that before faith came, 14:40 that we were kept under the law. 14:44 And you notice by, "we," Paul is referring to the 14:47 Jewish believers in the Galatian churches. 14:51 By, "we," he's including himself when he says, "we." 14:55 And then they are the ones acquainted with the law, 14:59 and Paul has been speaking to them in particular 15:02 since Galatians 2:15. 15:04 You remember what happened before Galatians 2:15? 15:08 He talks about the Jerusalem Council, 15:10 the first part of Galatians 2. 15:11 Yeah, there he was talking about, this is where he went 15:13 face to face with Peter. 15:15 Remember and he said, "You were associating with the Gentiles 15:21 until the brethren came down from Judea." 15:24 Or from Jerusalem, rather. 15:26 And he said, "Now you aren't." 15:27 So they had a face to face confrontation there. 15:30 And so this can be seen in the contrast then; 15:33 the, "we," in Galatians 3:23 and the, "you," in Galatians 3:26. 15:40 Galatians 3:23 reads, "Before faith came..." 15:44 But in the literal Greek, it read, "Before the faith came..." 15:49 Because Paul then is contrasting the place of 15:53 the law before and after Christ. 15:55 So he said that's two different things. 15:58 The law says one thing before Christ, 16:00 but after Christ now it's saying something a little different. 16:04 So, "the faith," is more likely a reference to Jesus Himself 16:08 and not a reference to Christian faith in general. 16:12 Now Paul says that we are kept under the law 16:15 before the coming of Christ. 16:17 What does it mean to be under the law? 16:21 As Adventists we've been told that a lot; 16:23 "Oh you people live under the law." 16:25 What does it mean to be under the law? 16:28 Don't you think it's under the condemnation of the law? 16:30 - Precisely - Okay. 16:34 Were you going to add to that, C.A.? 16:35 No, that's precisely what I was going to say. 16:38 The reference that is give there is, compare Galatians 3:22-23, 16:42 which we just read, with Romans 6:14-15. 16:45 So let's look at Romans 6:14-15. 16:55 Romans 6:14-15 16:57 "For sin shall not have dominion over you: 17:01 for ye are not under the law, but under grace. 17:04 What then? Shall we sin, because we are not 17:07 under the law, but under grace? 17:09 God forbid." 17:10 Yeah, certainly not. God forbid. 17:12 Paul uses the phrase, "under the law," 17:14 twelve times in his letters. 17:16 Depending on its context, we have a couple of 17:20 different connotations. 17:22 And the first one it talks about in our lesson studies 17:25 is, "under the law," as an alternative way of salvation. 17:29 This is the way the Jewish nation was looking at it. 17:33 I told you the story in another lesson study about 17:36 the Jewish lady radio syndicated person, Laura Schlessinger. 17:43 And she wrote a book called, The Ten Commandments. 17:45 And she said, in the Christian view she said we are saved, 17:50 "You say that you are saved by the merits of Christ. 17:54 That He gave His life for you." 17:56 And she said that's the way Christians look at it. 17:59 She said, "But me, as a Jew, I look at it as if we are saved 18:03 by our merits." 18:05 In other words, by the keeping of the law still. 18:09 And you know, I think the Jewish nation still does that, 18:11 because they still have not accepted Christ. 18:13 They still are looking for their Messiah. 18:16 And so they are not going to be saved by the merits of Christ 18:21 because they don't recognize Christ. 18:23 What's sad about that is, if you do not have Christ, 18:26 the only way to get right is to work your way. 18:29 And it's impossible. 18:31 So you're climbing a wall that you can never scale. 18:34 Because your ability, you cannot do it. 18:38 You cannot do it consistently, you cannot do it thoroughly, 18:40 you cannot do it from the heart. 18:42 And you cannot meet the demands of the law 18:43 because you are not a holy person. 18:46 So you're kind of working against the wind, basically. 18:52 You know, and some have said, brother, that when Jesus came 18:56 He did away with the law. 18:57 But did Jesus do away with the law? 19:00 In reality, He did more... 19:03 In reality He required more from the law keeping 19:08 than the commandments did. 19:10 In other words, you referred to it about, 19:12 "Thou shalt not commit adultery." 19:13 Jesus said, "Don't even think about it." 19:16 So He made the law even a bigger issue 19:18 about being obedient to that part of the law. 19:21 The moral law. 19:23 So Jesus didn't wipe out anything. 19:25 He said, "Don't think I came to destroy the law and prophets. 19:28 I didn't come to destroy them but to fulfill them." 19:30 And some people will still say, 19:31 "See, there He did away with it." 19:33 But He said He fulfilled it. 19:35 And we look at that, well what is it then that Jesus fulfilled? 19:39 Somebody give me that. 19:41 What is it that Jesus fulfilled? 19:42 He said, "I didn't come to destroy but to fulfill." 19:44 The word, "fulfill," is to fill it to its fullest. 19:47 So as you just said, when it comes to the letter 19:50 of the law, He added. 19:52 Because to Jesus, lust was the sin, 19:56 adultery was the fruit of the sin. 19:58 Hatred was the sin, murder was the fruit of the sin. 20:01 But He also fulfilled all of the ceremonial laws, 20:07 everything that had to do with the sacrificial system, 20:10 which pointed to Him. 20:11 So in all ways when He fulfilled that, it came to an... 20:16 He fulfilled it and it was over, because it only pointed to Him. 20:20 But in the Ten Commandments, He filled it to its fullest. 20:24 And it's eternal. 20:27 It also means, to meet the requirements of. 20:29 Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. 20:33 Someone had to meet that requirement. 20:34 It's like all of us have gone to school and gotten a degree. 20:37 Somewhere on your degree it says, "Because you have 20:38 fulfilled the requirements of...," yada, yada, yada, 20:41 "...we give you this degree." 20:42 Now it doesn't mean that those requirements are gone. 20:46 The next person that wants to get that degree 20:48 has got to fulfill those requirements too. 20:49 But for us, Christ has fulfilled them. 20:52 So now they are done. 20:54 And that's what the book of Hebrews says. 20:55 The old system, you had priests who would come and live and die, 20:58 and then someone else would come. 20:59 But Christ did it once and for all. 21:01 He fulfilled the requirements, so now they are fulfilled, 21:03 and they have been lived out in His life. 21:05 If you'll give me that thought. 21:06 That's was exactly what I was going to say, 21:08 is what Pastor C.A. said. 21:09 Not only the sacrificial system pointed forward to Christ, 21:12 and He fulfilled that, but He also fulfilled the law. 21:16 You know, "Without the shedding of blood, 21:17 there is no remission of sin." 21:18 And He lived a perfect life, died as the perfect sacrifice, 21:22 for you and for me. 21:23 You know, and I can add to that too, that when He says 21:25 He came to fulfill the law and the prophets, 21:28 we can go back and look into the book of Isaiah and 21:31 other places where it predicted the Messiah would come. 21:35 And He said, "I fulfilled that. 21:37 I came." 21:38 And the book of Isaiah told how He would be born, 21:41 and how He would suffer, and how He would die. 21:44 And the prophets foretold this, and that, and the other 21:46 about Him, He said, "I fulfilled all of those things." 21:49 Could I just add one scripture? 21:51 You were in Romans, what was it, Romans 6:14-15 21:57 about not being under law but being under grace. 22:00 And then, he's basically saying, "No one can serve two masters." 22:04 You can't serve the law and serve grace. 22:06 But look at verse 16, because we have a choice of masters. 22:10 Here he says, you're not under the law, but, 22:11 "Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves 22:15 slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, 22:19 whether of sin leading to death, 22:22 or of obedience leading to righteousness?" 22:27 I just think that is... 22:28 We know that righteousness by faith is the only kind of 22:33 righteousness there is. 22:34 But when Christ's righteousness is working in us, 22:37 there is going to be that we're going to follow 22:40 that path of obedience. 22:42 So we talked about the first part of, "under the law," 22:45 the first as an alternative way of salvation. 22:50 And we've just said that's impossible. 22:52 If I could live perfect from this moment on, which I can't, 22:56 if I could, I would still be lost. 22:58 Because my past is full of sin, you see. 23:02 And if I have to pay for my own sin... 23:05 And I always ask this to people, "Do you think 23:07 you can pay for your own sin?" 23:09 And I'll get mixed... 23:12 And I'll say, "Yeah, you can." 23:13 And millions will pay for their sins. 23:16 But I don't want to. 23:17 And explain that, what happens when you pay for your sin? 23:21 It's the eternal second death. 23:23 That's it, that's it. 23:25 And millions and millions of people will pay for their sins. 23:27 But not and live. 23:29 Yeah, that's right. 23:30 Because you pay for your sin, and it's over. 23:34 And so the second thing we look at then about, 23:39 "under the law," in the sense of being under 23:42 its condemnation. 23:44 We are under the law, the condemnation of the law. 23:48 Because the law cannot atone for sin, the violations of it 23:53 demands ultimately results in condemnation. 23:58 This is the condition of all human beings. 24:05 We always talk driving down. 24:08 We're all tempted at times to go faster than the law allows. 24:13 You know, we're in a big hurry, C.A. 24:15 "I've got to get to the airport because the 24:17 plane won't wait on me." 24:18 You know? 24:19 "I've got to get there." 24:21 The next thing you know the speed limit says, "70," 24:22 and I'm doing 80 or 85, or something. 24:26 And when the policeman pulls me over, what can I say? 24:29 I'm guilty. 24:31 I'm caught. The radar has got me, you know. 24:33 I'm guilty. 24:34 And he says, "You know, there's a penalty for this." 24:38 And Jesus looks at our lives and He says, 24:40 "There's a penalty for what you've done. 24:43 But if you will surrender to Me, I'm going to pay your penalty." 24:49 And so when my name comes up in the courts of heaven, 24:51 He stands by me and He says, 24:53 "I'm going to pay the penalty for him. 24:55 Because He's one of My own." 24:57 And so we're talking about being under, 25:00 you know, being under the condemnation of the law. 25:04 Johnny, help me with that. 25:07 Well thank you very much. 25:09 You know, as you were talking, and you said that 25:15 you mentioned the punishment for somebody breaking 25:19 the speed limit. 25:21 And we've mentioned this before, 25:23 but it's good to bring it out again. 25:24 Maybe somebody is listening that has not heard it before. 25:28 When Jesus saves you from the punishment of sins, 25:33 it doesn't then give you license to say, 25:36 "Well, He's forgiven me. I can go ahead and..." 25:39 I don't have to obey the speed limit no more. 25:41 I've been forgive, you know. 25:42 So it doesn't do that. 25:45 It's wonderful when you look at 2 Corinthians, 25:49 I think it's 2 Corinthians 5:21. 25:54 "For He hath made Him to be sin for us, 26:00 who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness 26:04 of God in Him." 26:06 So it's not only that God wants to forgive us, 26:09 and I'll say that again, and again, and again, 26:12 it's not only that God wants to forgive us, 26:15 He wants to change us so that we don't do it again. 26:18 Because what really are the Ten Commandments? 26:21 They're protecting us from hurting ourselves 26:24 and they're protecting us from hurting others. 26:27 So they are to our benefit. 26:30 So if they are protecting us and protecting others, 26:34 then they are good, they are good. 26:36 I remember one time I was in a country. 26:39 For some reason my mind says, "Don't mention it." 26:43 But it could happen here in the U.S. 26:46 And I had to rent an apartment at that place. 26:49 And there the home had a little gate that if somebody 26:57 really wanted, they could jump over that gate. 26:59 But there was a gate to keep people out of there. 27:02 Maybe dogs or other creatures, whatever. 27:04 But then I was given a key to open another gate 27:09 which was taller, and you really couldn't get through that 27:11 unless you really, really wanted to. 27:13 And so now I go to the door and there's a lock 27:18 to get into the door. 27:20 But wouldn't you know it, I had to close the door 27:23 but then there's another iron gate inside. 27:27 The first day I did this, I said... 27:30 And I looked at the windows and they had bars also. 27:33 I said, "I'm in jail in here." 27:36 And so I could look at it that way, but at the same time 27:40 I could say, "I am safe here. 27:42 Because really, who is going to be able to get in here. 27:46 It has to be somebody that really, really is desperate 27:49 to get in to where I am." 27:50 So I was somewhat safe. 27:52 Looking at this in Tuesday's portion, it says, 27:56 The Law as Our "Guard". 27:59 The Law as Our "Guard". 28:01 So Paul gives us two basic conclusions about the law. 28:03 One, the law does not nullify or abolish God's promise 28:07 to Abraham, which is found in Galatians 3:15-20. 28:11 And number two, the law is not opposed to the promise, 28:14 which is Galatians 3:21-22. 28:17 So we have to ask ourselves, what role does the law 28:21 actually play then? 28:23 What benefit? 28:24 We already mentioned some benefit. 28:26 It protects us and protects others. 28:28 And you mentioned about the law that protects the people. 28:32 Imagine if it says, "Thou should not steal," 28:34 and everyone obeyed that. 28:36 Wouldn't that be wonderful that you could put your things 28:38 anywhere and you know when you come back 28:40 it will be there? 28:43 And that you could park your car anywhere 28:45 and not have to lock it up? 28:47 But people not only have locks for their cars, 28:49 they have alarms. 28:52 And so we live in a society where we are not guaranteed 28:56 that the other person is going to obey the laws of the land 29:01 and the laws of the Lord. 29:04 And so we have to consider these things. 29:06 And I am reminded one time while I was in the army, 29:09 there was this young man that was reading the Bible 29:13 for the very first time. 29:15 And interestingly enough, the Lord said to me, 29:20 "Don't bother him." 29:22 Because I said, "Wow, first time that he's reading the Bible. 29:25 I get to share with this person the wonderful things." 29:29 And the Lord said, "Don't bother him." 29:32 And I said, "Okay Lord, I won't." 29:34 So as time went on, I noticed that he would come to me 29:39 and tell me what wonderful things he was 29:41 discovering in the Bible. 29:43 And when he got to Moses, he said, "Is this the one 29:47 that died on the cross for us?" 29:49 This is how little he knew. 29:51 And then he got to the Ten Commandments. 29:53 "Wow, I just read the Ten Commandments. 29:56 They are wonderful." 29:58 And he said this... 29:59 Now he was in the army at that point. 30:02 He says, "If in the United States everyone kept 30:06 these Ten Commandments, 30:08 what a different country this would be." 30:11 So he, reading this for the first time, 30:14 his mind was open to the beauty of the Ten Commandments 30:19 and how wonderful they are. 30:20 So when we think of God's laws as our guard, 30:25 we can think that God provided them for our benefit. 30:29 And as we mentioned before, they are a transcript 30:32 of God's character. 30:35 So, I would like to bring some things that are mentioned here 30:39 in Galatians 3:19-24. 30:43 In Galatians 19... 30:45 Chapter 3. There's no chapter 19. 30:47 Galatians 3:19-24, it talks about the Ten Commandments. 30:53 And I'm just going to look at some of the verses here. 30:56 We already talked much about 19-21. 31:00 But verse 22 says, "But the scripture hath concluded 31:02 all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus 31:06 might be given to them that believe. 31:10 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, 31:13 shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed." 31:18 Now notice this, "...under the law, shut up 31:21 until the faith afterwards be revealed. 31:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster..." 31:27 See, it's making a conclusion 31:30 based on what was mentioned before. 31:32 "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us 31:35 to Christ, that we might be justified by faith." 31:39 And that is something we're going to talk about later 31:42 in another study, about the law being our schoolmaster. 31:46 So here, the word translated, "kept," in verse 23 31:49 literally means, to guard. 31:52 And it can be used in a negative sense 31:54 as well as in a positive sense. 31:56 As I mentioned, the illustration about being in a house 32:01 apparently protected, but at the same time I felt like 32:04 I was in jail initially until I analyzed it and said, 32:07 "I am safe in here." 32:09 And so we see that Paul talks in a positive way 32:16 about the Ten Commandments. 32:18 He says that the law is good, and just, and it's beautiful. 32:25 Let's look at a scripture that is found in the Old Testament 32:31 here in Psalm 19. 32:37 Psalm 19 32:38 Wow, I just thought of a scripture 32:40 I never put together with this. 32:41 We may have to read that, it may fit very well. 32:45 Notice this. 32:48 I hope I have time. 32:49 Psalm 19:7-8, it says the following, 32:55 "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: 32:59 the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. 33:04 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: 33:07 the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes." 33:10 So this psalmist makes a declaration that the 33:13 law of the Lord is perfect. 33:16 I would like to ask for somebody to read in 1 Corinthians 13, 33:20 maybe read the last three verses. 33:22 Because I never put these two together until this moment. 33:24 And it may be something that we need to look at, 33:27 because I think there's... 33:29 What verse do you want? 1 Corinthians 13? 33:30 1 Corinthians 13, the last three verses. 33:34 "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, 33:36 I understood as a child, I thought as a child; 33:39 but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 33:42 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. 33:47 Now I know in part, but then I shall know 33:49 just as I also am known. 33:51 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; 33:55 but the greatest of these is love." 33:58 Amen. 33:59 It's not the scripture that I thought it was. 34:01 Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha... 34:02 You're looking for the one that parallels the same thing 34:05 from 19 and then the New Testament? 34:07 Yes, because it says, "When that which is perfect has come..." 34:10 I can find it in a moment. 34:11 "When that which is perfect has come..." 34:13 So we see here that the law of the Lord is perfect. 34:15 And if something is perfect, I question... 34:18 Verse 10, "When that which is perfect has come, 34:20 then that which is in part will be done away." 34:22 - That's right. - Okay. 34:23 So, "When that which is perfect is come, 34:26 then that which is partial will be done away," 34:29 then we can look at that verse and understand 34:32 that the law of the Lord is perfect, 34:33 talking about the Ten Commandments, 34:35 it's not in part. 34:37 It cannot be done away because it's perfect already. 34:40 That's the point I wanted to make here. 34:42 And so we see that the law of the Lord is perfect, 34:45 converting the soul, created by a perfect God, 34:50 a transcript of His character. 34:52 And it helps us understand that we are to love God 34:55 with all of our hearts, and our fellow man as ourselves. 34:58 I think we have something that doesn't need to be changed. 35:02 It's already perfect. It cannot be improved upon. 35:04 - Amen. - Amen. 35:06 You cannot improve upon perfection. 35:08 "The Law as Our Schoolmaster." 35:10 So we undertake now to delve into the schoolmaster 35:14 aspect of the law. 35:16 I'm in Galatians 3, reading verses 24-25. 35:20 "Therefore the law is our tutor," I have in the 35:23 New King James, "to bring us to Christ, 35:26 that we might be justified by faith. 35:29 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor." 35:34 Now I want to read something from Ellen White, 35:36 Selected Messages, book 1, page 234. 35:40 "In this scripture," that is Galatians 3:24, 35:43 "the Holy Spirit through the apostle is speaking 35:45 especially of the moral law. 35:47 The law reveals sin to us, and causes us to feel our need 35:52 of Christ and to flee unto Him for pardon and peace 35:57 by exercising repentance toward God and faith 36:01 toward our Lord Jesus Christ." 36:05 The text that was read in Romans 6 reminds me, 36:12 when we look at the word, "under," 36:15 "under," has been used by many people to suggest 36:19 that being out from under is saying that we no longer 36:23 have to keep. 36:25 But, "under," really has to do with whatever 36:28 penalty, or sanction, or encouragement 36:31 that particular part of the law has to do. 36:34 That's why if you're under grace, there are certain things 36:36 that come with being under grace. 36:38 If you are under the law, there are certain things 36:40 that come with being under the law. 36:42 I'll tell you a quick story. 36:43 Years ago I was in New York City pastoring 36:45 and I was late for prayer meeting, Wednesday evening, 36:47 and I was flying along the parkway, 36:49 and a police stopped me. 36:50 And I had on my dashboard a little clergy sign. 36:55 And he said to me, "Are you a real clergyman?" 36:58 I said, "Yes sir, I am." 37:00 New York City policeman, he said, "Okay." 37:02 He said, "Slow down or you're going to meet your Boss." 37:06 - Ha, ha, ha, ha... - That's great. 37:09 He said, "And you make take some others with you 37:11 who may not be so ready. 37:13 So slow down." 37:15 And I thought about that. 37:17 Because we have established here that the law 37:20 protects us and protects others. 37:22 You know, it protects us and protects others. 37:24 And he said that. 37:25 "You may be ready to meet your Boss, but you may take 37:27 some other people with you who are not so ready. 37:28 So slow down." 37:30 Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha... 37:33 I thought about that. That was many years ago. 37:37 But this part of the lesson looks at the schoolmaster. 37:41 And I knew about this idea of the "paidagogos," 37:45 or the teacher, or the tutor, 37:47 but I did not know that it was a slave. 37:49 I thought it was an indentured person or someone assigned 37:53 to take care of the children. 37:55 But we find here that it is a slave. 37:57 And evidently the owner of the home, or the lord of the home, 38:03 had great confidence in this person. 38:06 Because he put this person in the hands, gave them 38:10 charge over his children. 38:12 Not only to teach them, but the lesson gives indication 38:16 that they took care of the physical needs. 38:19 So it was almost like a nanny. 38:21 But it was a nanny who was a slave. 38:24 They provided food. 38:26 They were also allowed to punish. 38:28 Now of course that goes back to the old days 38:30 when we went to school; they punished. 38:32 Ha, ha, ha, ha... 38:34 You can't do that anymore because they'll 38:36 call Child Protective Services. 38:37 But back in those days you could punish. 38:40 So this tutor was responsible really for every aspect 38:46 of the child rearing process of those young people. 38:50 And he was turned over. 38:54 The idea that they served a dominant position 38:58 in the life of that child. 39:00 They could reward, they could punish. 39:01 They really had charge of the disciplinary aspects 39:05 of that child's life. 39:06 Well, if we transport that to the commandment of God, 39:12 the commandments of God really keep us from a lot of suffering. 39:16 They keep us from a lot of bad things happening. 39:19 And we've sort of, we've touched on this. 39:21 If the commandments of God were kept as best man could, 39:27 what a different world we would have today. 39:31 It would be just a far different experience 39:34 than we now find ourselves in. 39:37 So now we come to Christ and we are no longer 39:42 under the condemnation, as you well said, Pastor Ronnie, 39:46 of the law. 39:49 "There is now, therefore, no condemnation," Romans 8:1, 39:53 "to those who are in Christ Jesus." 39:55 We are out from under the negative aspects 39:58 of the law. 40:00 So the law becomes to us, for us, a very positive thing. 40:05 I have never looked at the Ten Commandments 40:07 as negative aspects of walking with Jesus. 40:12 You know, I don't see them as restrictive, 40:15 I don't see them as against me or negative. 40:18 They're something that I willingly do. 40:21 Plus they're something that I know if I do these things 40:23 my life will be better off. 40:25 You know, my life will be happier. 40:27 I have a wife that I love and care for. 40:29 I have no desire to break the seventh commandment. 40:33 Why would I want to do that? 40:34 - And break her heart. - And break her heart. 40:36 So doing these things, keeping these commandments, 40:39 don't keep us from anything that is good for us. 40:42 And point in fact, they keep us from things 40:44 that are bad for us. 40:46 They are not only a transcript of the character of God, 40:50 they become part of my character when I accept them. 40:54 So being faithful to Irma is not work. 40:57 It is not something that I have to force myself to do. 41:00 It's something that I want to do because we have an 41:02 existing love relationship. 41:04 And my love relationship with the Lord 41:07 filters through all of those commandments. 41:09 And that's why when Exodus 31 says that the Sabbath is 41:14 a sign of our sanctification, it is the most visible... 41:19 Our sanctification by God. 41:20 But it is the most visible of the signs. 41:22 But they all really are signs. 41:24 When I'm faithful to my wife, 41:26 that's a sign of my sanctification. 41:28 When I don't covet, when I don't lie, 41:30 when I don't cheat; those are all emblems of the fact 41:33 that something is going on between me and the Lord. 41:36 And the Sabbath is the most visible of those signs. 41:39 But I'm not under the law, 41:40 I'm not under the penalty of the law, 41:42 because I'm walking within the confines of the law. 41:46 And God is guarding me and keeping me. 41:49 And I think if we were to think of that as a guardrail 41:55 along a cliff, you're driving along a cliff 41:57 and there's a guardrail there, that guardrail is keeping you 42:00 from doing something, but it's something you 42:02 wouldn't want to do anyway. 42:04 I don't want to go over that cliff. 42:05 That guardrail is my friend. 42:07 I love that guardrail. 42:08 - Thank you, Jesus. - I love that guardrail. 42:10 Lord, please let that guardrail continue. 42:13 And so that's the mindset that we need to have. 42:16 The schoolmaster says, "Come to the Lord." 42:20 And when you get there, you get free. 42:23 You're not under condemnation anymore. 42:25 You are free. 42:27 So you don't need the tutor now because Christ is inside 42:30 and He's teaching me from within, not from without. 42:34 Amen. Well said. 42:36 I would like to, for Thursday's lesson, 42:39 "The Law and the Believer," as Ellen White said, 42:42 this is in particular speaking to the moral law, 42:45 but I want to broaden this out just a bit. 42:47 Because in the entire chapter of Galatians 3, 42:53 he tells us in verse 10, he's speaking of the book of the law, 42:56 which is the old covenant of what Moses wrote 43:01 by God's dictation. 43:03 He says that this was something that was put into 43:07 process through a mediator. 43:09 So we know he's talking about the book of the covenant, 43:12 which included the ceremonial laws. 43:14 So my thought, Galatians 3:25, when he's been talking about 43:20 we're no longer under this tutor, I'm thinking 43:23 in a broader sense that the whole entire Mosaic covenant 43:27 was the tutor. 43:29 And he says, "Therefore," in verse 25, "after faith has come, 43:35 we're no longer under a tutor." 43:38 Now faith, here, is the provision of faith 43:44 by salvation in Christ Jesus as our Savior. 43:48 So this law, this whole system that Moses wrote, 43:55 is no longer the "paidagogos" that has to take us to school 43:58 safely every day. 44:00 Because what we have is, the Author of the law 44:05 is now our school teacher, is He not? 44:07 Jesus Christ. 44:08 And we've talked about the Ten Commandments 44:10 revealed our sin. 44:13 The Ten Commandments reveals our sin nature, I should say. 44:18 It reflects the character of God. 44:21 And it points us to the need for a Savior. 44:24 So that's how it was kind of something that was so special. 44:28 It points us to the need. 44:30 But then when you think of this ceremonial law, 44:33 it symbolized everything about Jesus Christ. 44:37 And He fulfilled everything that was typified. 44:43 But then the civil law, do we still follow the civil law 44:46 of that old covenant? 44:49 No. It was very strict. 44:51 It was harsh, almost. 44:54 Because God was working with a people 44:56 that could not understand their own sin. 45:00 So what we have is the moral law at the heart of 45:04 the old covenant, but it's the foundation of God's covenant. 45:10 So it's inside the ark. 45:12 And we see in Hebrews 8:10 that the Ten Commandment law 45:18 is also the heart of the new. 45:20 He says, "'This is the covenant that I will make with the 45:22 house of Israel after those days,' says the LORD: 45:26 I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; 45:32 I will be their God, and they shall be My people.'" 45:35 So we don't obey the commandments to be saved. 45:39 We've said this a million times. 45:41 But we obey because Christ's nature is working in us. 45:49 It's imparted to us. 45:50 If this is the transcript of God's character, 45:54 as we obey we begin to reflect His character, right? 45:58 So what we look at, as you've said, that moral law is like 46:03 a fence to keep us protected to have happiness, 46:08 and our freedom is found in Christ. 46:11 Because now we can go on without any fear of condemnation 46:16 of our previous life. 46:18 Now our lesson takes us to Romans 8:1-3, 46:21 but I want to jump back. 46:23 Somebody look up Romans... 46:24 Well no, let me just, let me just, I'll give you a... 46:27 We don't have much time, so I will give you 46:30 a succinct, hopefully it will be succinct... 46:35 Ha, ha, ha, ha... 46:37 And I have to go back to one thing. 46:39 Some people think that Galatians 3:25, when he says 46:43 that, "After faith has come, we're no longer under a tutor," 46:47 they think that dismisses the Ten Commandments. 46:49 But disobedience to the moral law is what? 46:53 - Sin. - Sin. 46:55 That's what 1 John 3:4 says. 46:57 And so Jesus said in John 8:34, "Whoever commits sin is 47:01 a slave to sin." 47:02 So we lose our freedom as we sin. 47:05 Now before I go to Romans 8, let me just kind of back up 47:08 to Romans 6. 47:10 In Romans 6:3, go ahead and somebody read Romans 6:3. 47:17 "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized 47:20 into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?" 47:23 If we're looking at God's true process for sanctification, 47:30 first we've got to recognize the justification 47:34 that Jesus Christ accomplished for us, right? 47:37 Romans 6:11 47:40 Romans 6:11 47:42 "Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed 47:46 to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord." 47:50 Alright, so if we're reckoning that we have been dead to sin, 47:54 what are we going to do? 47:56 We're going to live by His righteousness. 47:57 This is God's process of sanctification. 48:02 Johnny, how about Romans 6:13. 48:04 Romans 6:13 48:06 "Neither yield ye your members as instruments 48:09 of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, 48:13 as those that are alive from the dead, 48:16 and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God." 48:19 Alright, do you see this process of sanctification? 48:22 We understand the justification Christ has accomplished for us. 48:27 We know that we're dead to sin, we're living by His 48:31 righteousness, and we yield ourselves, surrendering totally 48:36 to Him day by day. 48:37 So now if you go on in Romans 7, and speaking specifically 48:44 to the moral law, it was intended to promote moral life 48:47 and guard against sin. 48:49 Could man keep the law under his power? 48:52 - No. - And what does Paul say? 48:53 You know, he's talking about this internal strife 48:57 that he suffered because he inherited this sin nature. 49:02 There were two natures in him. 49:05 And they were constantly warring with one another. 49:08 And what he found is that this sinful nature 49:13 brought him down quite often, right? 49:15 And here's what we have to remember. 49:17 When we are striving for sanctification by self-attempts, 49:24 if we're being sanctified in any other way than by grace, 49:29 if we're not surrendered to God, anything that you do to try 49:34 to sanctify yourself, it's going to be frustrated. 49:38 I mean, that's just the bottom line. 49:40 And Paul knows this by experience. 49:41 So Romans 8:1... 49:43 Here he's saying in Romans 7, "Oh who can deliver me 49:48 from this body of sin?" 49:50 But in Romans 8:1... 49:52 Well he ends in Romans 7, 49:54 "Thank God through Christ Jesus." 49:58 And then he says, "There is therefore now no condemnation 50:02 to those who are are in Christ Jesus, who don't walk 50:06 according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." 50:09 So God imputes Christ's righteousness to us. 50:14 And here our guilt, our death penalty, 50:18 was removed by Christ on the cross. 50:20 And when we receive Him as our Savior 50:22 we are no longer under that threat of God's punishment. 50:27 And then we've got this imputed righteousness. 50:29 And then here he's talking about it in verse 2. 50:32 "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus 50:36 has made me free" from this law of the spirit of death. 50:39 That old sin nature, that's the law of the 50:43 spirit of death, isn't it? 50:44 Plus it's like somebody says, you tell a kid, 50:47 "Don't touch this cake," what's the first thing they're going to 50:51 want to do if you turn your head? 50:52 All you think about is touching the cake, right? 50:55 And eating cake too. 50:57 And so it's kind of like the commandments 51:00 gave opportunity, it pointed out sin, 51:02 but it's kind of like, "Oh, don't? Okay, I will." 51:06 But it's interesting here because in Romans 8... 51:10 To this point Paul has only mentioned in the whole book 51:13 of Romans, he's only mentioned the Holy Spirit twice. 51:16 He mentioned it in Romans 1:4 and in Romans 5:5 51:20 when He said God pours His love into our hearts. 51:23 But now in Romans 8, he mentioned the Holy Spirit's 51:26 sanctifying influence nineteen times. 51:31 Isn't that amazing? 51:33 Twice in the book before, and now nineteen times. 51:36 So I just think of what he said, "Where the Spirit of the Lord 51:41 is, there is liberty." 51:43 And there is, you know, John tells us in 1 John 3:8 51:48 that, "He who sins is of the devil, 51:52 for the devil has sinned from the beginning." 51:54 So there's no freedom in sin. 51:57 You may think that if you don't pay attention to 52:00 God's commandments, you're free. 52:02 No, you're a slave to sin. 52:04 And so what Jesus did was take on our flesh and blood 52:09 to deliver us from that power. 52:11 And in verse 3, real quickly, he says, 52:13 "For what the law could not do in that it was weak 52:17 through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son 52:19 in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: 52:23 and He condemns sin in the flesh, that the righteous 52:26 requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us by those 52:32 who don't walk according to the flesh 52:34 but according to the Spirit." 52:36 So the leading of the Holy Spirit is God's provision 52:40 for sanctification by grace through faith. 52:44 Amen. Well said, Shelley. 52:46 You know, Augustine, the great Catholic theologian, 52:49 ran into this same thing. 52:50 He knew that there were things in his life 52:52 He could not control. 52:53 He had this old man, new man fighting against. 52:56 - Oh, don't we all. - And we all do. 52:58 And that's my point. 53:00 He came up with an inadequate solution 53:03 because he focused so much on the weakness 53:05 of the law in the flesh. 53:07 Well, the solution is to get Christ in there 53:11 to counteract that. 53:12 It's not going to be by works, 53:13 it's not going to be by beating yourself up. 53:15 It's not going to be by those kinds of thing. 53:17 The secret is not fighting as much as it is surrender. 53:22 It's waving the white flag and letting Christ come in 53:25 and work His life out through you. 53:28 It reminds me of Galatians 5. 53:29 And we'll be studying this in a future lesson 53:32 about the work of the flesh, the works of the flesh, 53:36 lusting or warring against the fruit of the Spirit, 53:39 and how as we walk in the Spirit. 53:42 I love what you said, Pastor C.A., as we surrender. 53:45 It's all about saying yes to Jesus, 53:47 making that choice for Jesus. 53:49 Allowing Him to work in and through me. 53:52 There's a quote from Ellen White I wanted to read. 53:54 And then I'll pass it back to you all with a question. 53:57 This is from Friday's portion of the lesson. 53:59 In Selected Messages, book one, page 235, 54:03 "The law of ten commandments is not to be looked upon 54:06 as much from the prohibitory side, as from the mercy side. 54:12 Its prohibitions are the sure guarantee of 54:15 happiness in obedience. 54:18 As received in Christ, it works in us the purity of character 54:24 that will bring joy to us through eternal ages. 54:28 To the obedient it is a wall of protection." 54:33 And that's what you brought out, brother Johnny. 54:34 That guard, the law as our guard. 54:37 So in the couple of moments we have left, 54:40 a question for you as panelists. 54:43 How can we grow... 54:44 We've been talking this whole lesson about the law 54:46 and the role of the law in our lives. 54:48 How can we grow to love the law? 54:52 And I know, Pastor C.A., you touched on that a bit 54:55 when you talked about the love relationship. 54:57 But how can we grow to love the law in our lives? 55:00 I think grow to love the Lawgiver. 55:02 - Amen. - Amen. 55:04 Focus on the person of Jesus. 55:07 And then those things that are a part of the personhood of Jesus 55:10 become part of your personhood. 55:12 I wouldn't so much focus on loving the law, 55:15 or hating the law, or even my relationship with the law. 55:18 I would really work on my relationship with a Person. 55:21 With Christ Jesus. 55:22 And then these other kind of things fall into line 55:25 as I love the Lawgiver. 55:27 And He works out His law by putting His commandments 55:30 in my heart, as Hebrews 8 says, 55:32 and making me part of His kingdom that way. 55:34 Amen. 55:36 I think we see in the law, as we read, that it's perfect. 55:40 And when we consider that it came from the 55:43 perfect mind of God we can come to some degree of love. 55:47 David said, "How I love thy law." 55:49 Well, is it talking about the Ten Commandments 55:51 or the whole five books? 55:55 The Pentateuch, as they say. 55:57 But the priority is, "Love the Lord your God 56:02 with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind." 56:04 And as you learn more and more about Him, 56:08 you cannot but help to fall in love with Him, 56:10 because God is love Himself. 56:15 And when you see love in action in God through His people, 56:20 and how He can change the worse of people 56:24 to be such wonderful human beings, 56:29 to be kind and loving towards others, 56:31 you just have to say, "Only God can do that." 56:34 Amen. It's a beautiful thing. 56:35 I think that's what God wants to do in each one of 56:38 our hearts and lives as daughters and sons 56:42 of the Most High. 56:43 And that is our next lesson, From Slaves to Heirs, 56:47 and the adoption we have as God's children. 56:49 But I just want to encourage you to fall in love with Jesus. 56:53 If you don't know who He is, spend time in His Word. 56:57 Maybe start with the gospels. 56:59 It's a wonderful picture of who Jesus is, of who God is. 57:04 Find out who He is and make a choice to surrender 57:07 your life to His care and keeping. 57:09 I want to thank Shelley Quinn, Pastor C.A. Murray, 57:12 John Dinzey, and Pastor Ronnie Shelton 57:14 for sharing your thoughts from the book of Galatians. 57:17 And we just want to thank you for joining us 57:20 as you do each week. 57:21 I want to encourage you to check out your local 57:24 Seventh-day Adventist Church. 57:25 Spend time learning, growing, fellowshipping 57:29 with brothers and sister. 57:31 We will see you next time. 57:32 God bless you and keep you. |
Revised 2024-06-17