Are the law and gospel opposed to each other? Can people who have never heard of Jesus be faithful to the law? Find out what the Sabbath School author has to say on this week’s edition of “Ask the Author.”
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(Rom. 1:16, 17)
No matter how good our lives are, none can escape the constant reminders of sin. Inevitably, happiness is interrupted by sickness, death, disaster. On a personal level, feelings of spiritual security are often challenged by memories of past sins and, even worse, by the urge to sin again.
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In what ways do Romans 6:23, Romans 7:24, and Ephesians 2:1 describe the impact of sin?
A person living in sin, in unrighteousness, is merely a [...]
(John 1:17)
John condensed the history of salvation into one verse: The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17, NKJV). As a result of Adam’s sin, all humanity has been affected by the curse of death. The curse is intensified by the fact that no one born to human parents, except Jesus, has been free from sinful inclinations. Therefore, God selected a people to whom He revealed His law, intending that those elected [...]
(Acts 10:34, 35)
Read Acts 10:34-35; Acts 17:26-27; Romans 1:20; and Romans 2:14. What is the central teaching of these texts?
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Despite Israel’s mistakes, God did not leave the people in other nations without a witness. Those who were not privileged to receive God’s written revelation received divine messages through the pages of natural revelation (Rom. 1:20). God’s book of nature contains enough information to direct a person to Him.
God has also instilled a measure of [...]
(Deut. 30:15-18)
The giving of the law to Israel was a special act. Just before He gave the law to Moses, God reminded His people that they are a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exod. 19:6, NKJV). Among all nations on the face of the earth, it was to Israel that God specially revealed His law (Rom. 9:4). The law was not intended to be a burden to the people but to be a tool through which the chosen [...]
Read Romans 7:7-12. What is Paul saying here about the relationship between sin and law? Why would he even ask such a question as, Is the law sin? (NKJV).
Paul so closely relates the law and sin that he asks the rhetorical question, Is the law sin? The answer, of course, is that it’s not; on the contrary, at the end of the section he says, Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good (NKJV). The [...]
Read for This Week’s Study: Rom. 7:7-12; Deut. 30:15-20; Matt. 7:24-27; Acts 10:34-35; John 15:10; Eph. 2:1.
Memory Text: For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17, NKJV).
A century before Christ, Roman poet Lucretius wrote a famous poem that was lost in history until the Middle Ages called On the Nature of Things. Though often accused of being an atheist, Lucretius didn’t in his poem deny the existence of the gods; [...]
You can view a discussion of the current lesson in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris. (Adobe Flash Player version.) A Youtube version of this week’s lesson at Hope Sabbath School is below. You can download the video, the MP3 audio, and the lesson outline from the HopeTV Sabbath School Site. You might also want to bookmark the HopeSS Youtube channel.
Rober [roh-BEHR] and his family live in a small town in eastern Peru. His wife, Roxana, began attending the Adventist church and took the couple’s children with her. She often invited, Rober, but he wasn’t interested in religion.
However, in his heart, Rober sensed that his life wasn’t what it should be. He often drank, but later felt guilty that his bad habits weren’t a good example for his children. He wanted to be a better husband and father, but he [...]
Further Study: Read Ellen G. White, Church Discipline p. 260-264; Consider One Another, pp. 260-266, in Testimonies for the Church, vol. 7.
Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Here, again, our duty is plainly set before us. How can the professed followers of Christ so lightly regard these inspired injunctions? . . .
We know but little of our own hearts, and have but little sense of our own need of the mercy [...]
