Read for This Week’s Study: Gen. 9:12-17, Gen 17:2-12, Gal. 3:15-28, Deut. 9:9, Heb. 10:11-18, Heb. 9:15-28.
Memory Text: For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance-now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant (Hebrews 9:15, NIV).
God’s eternal decision to save humanity has been revealed to us through the ages in the covenants. Though [...]
Mpo [m'POH] and Tendai [TEN-dai],* live in Zambia. One day they were hot and thirsty after playing. They sat down in the shade to rest. Then Mpo jumped up. “There’s a b-i-g watermelon growing in a field near here. Let’s go get it!”
Picture courtesy of GC Office of Adventist Mission
The two boys set off toward the field. “Mpo ran ahead and grabbed the watermelon from the vine and raced toward the bushes. Tendai followed his friend. He wanted to [...]
Further Study: Read Ellen G. White, Preaching the Distinctive Truths, p. 231, 232, in Evangelism; The Faith That Works and How Faith Is Made Perfect, p. 88, 89 in The Faith I Live By. “Let the subject be made distinct and plain that it is not possible to effect anything in our standing before God or in the gift of God to us through creature merit. Should faith and works purchase the gift of salvation for anyone, then the Creator [...]
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.
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.”
You can view the same video on YouTube if you
(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.
Image © Frank Gampel from GoodSalt.com
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?
Image © Don Mammoser from GoodSalt.com
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 [...]
