Wednesday: The Law and the Gospel
Daily Lesson for Wednesday 27th of May 2026
Jesus Himself explained very powerfully and succinctly what His relationship to the law was.
In Matthew 5:17-18, what did Jesus say about the law?
In a similar way to how parents’ boundaries for their child reveal what they value, God’s law tells us about His character and what is important to Him. God gave us His law to protect our relationship with Him and with one another, knowing that His law would guide every aspect of our lives as we grow in Him. After all, who hasn’t suffered the terrible consequences of what sin, a violation of the law, has caused to each of us?
Image © Review & Herald Publishing from GoodSalt.com
Love for Jesus is at the very center of the law. Jesus said, “ ‘If you love me, you will obey my commandments’ ” (John 14:15, NET). When we genuinely love Jesus, we will be naturally compelled to keep His law. When we see His law clearly, we will feel compelled to love Jesus more. And, even more important, always keeping before our eyes a vision of the Cross and Christ’s substitutionary death for us is the best way to foster our love for God.
That’s why the gospel goes hand in hand with the law. That is, however much we believe in the law and in the importance of keeping it, we must always remember that in terms of our legal standing before God, the law only condemns. The law never forgives, never justifies, and never atones. On the contrary, it points out why we need to be forgiven, why we need to be justified, and why we need atonement. That’s why along with the law—even foundational to our understanding of the law—is the gospel, Christ’s death on our behalf, which does for us what the law can never do: justify us before God.
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Read the following verses: Romans 3:28, Romans 4:13-16, Galatians 2:16, Galatians 3:13, and Philippians 3:9. What do these verses teach us that can help us, as believers, to keep the law, without becoming legalistic? |
In a few weeks, all being well, I am going on a long sightseeing and hopefully bird photography trip to Darwin in our little motorhome. Altogether, the trip is about 12,000 km, by road. This is a special trip to spend time with family members in a shared activity. We are all growing older and realise that time is running out for such activities.
Because we are doing this trip by road, we have to obey the traffic rules. There rules are very restrictive, I have to keep within speed limits, drive on the left side of the road, stop at red lights, give way to pedestrians at crossings and so on. The purpose of the trip is not to see if I can get all the way to Darwin and home again obeying all the rules. It is a sightseeing, bird-watching and family trip. Keeping the traffic rules is going to help me have a safe journey but it is not the purpose of the journey,
I know it is not a perfect illustration, but sometimes when I hear conversations about the law in the Christian context, I fear that we have forgotten our real purpose for being here.
Listen to what Ellen White had to say:
Maurice,
I love your comments and illustration!
Let us remember why we’re here! AMEN
The gospel has never been, and will never be, about humanity and what we can do for God. Rather, it is about what God has done for us through Jesus Christ. God Himself initiated the gospel—the good news of salvation. When humanity rebelled against Him, God did not choose condemnation, even though the law demanded judgment for sin. Instead, in His mercy and love, He sent His Son to redeem and deliver us. Jesus Christ came to die for sinners, offering salvation freely by grace. As Scripture teaches, “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Eternal life is found in knowing the Father and Jesus Christ whom He has sent (John 17:3). The gospel, therefore, is centered entirely on God’s grace, love, and redemptive work through Christ.
On the other hand, the main purpose of the law is not to save us or serve as a means of earning righteousness before God. The Apostle Paul explains, “through the law we become conscious of our sin” (Romans 3:20). The law acts like a mirror, exposing the sinfulness of the human heart and showing us our need for a Savior. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus illustrated what true love for one’s neighbor looks like under God’s standard. The Samaritan showed compassion by stopping to help a wounded stranger, caring for his immediate needs, and even paying for his continued care. Yet the law’s standard of perfect love also reveals how far humanity falls short of God’s righteousness. Thus, the law points us to our need for the gospel, where Christ fulfills what we could never achieve on our own.
Galatians 3:24-26
[24]Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
[25]But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. Sons and Heirs
[26]For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
The law shows us we need someone to help us keep the laws and whoever is in Christ shall no longer live in bondage of the law but above the law in Victory. In accepting Christ into our lives he gives us the power to keep the laws.
Philippians 2:13
for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
A Single Mother’s Story – Judge Frank Caprio https://youtu.be/rQMWRMDjDZU?si=8O9vOjEEijrR-3XY
In this video, a single mother named Gladys stands before Judge Frank Caprio with nine traffic violations. She is visibly carrying a mountain of stress, explaining that many of these violations happened while she was literally fleeing a dangerous domestic violence situation to protect her nine-year-old daughter.
The law is the law. The red lights were run, the violations were real, and the legal system couldn’t just pretend the rules didn’t exist. The law itself had no capacity to forgive her; its only job was to point out her violations and demand a $350 penalty she simply couldn’t afford.
But look at what happens next. Instead of throwing the book at her, the judge taps into a fund made up of donations sent in from everyday people. Right there on the spot, he uses those funds to pay off her debt. Gladys is so overwhelmed with gratitude that she breaks down and asks the judge for a hug.
This is the exact picture of what happens when the Law meets the Gospel.
It perfectly unlocks what the lesson author means this week when she writes:
“When we see His law clearly, we will feel compelled to love Jesus more.”
The author notes that “in terms of our legal standing before God, the law only condemns. The law never forgives, never justifies, and never atones.” Just like those traffic tickets, God’s law can only show us where we’ve crossed the line.
The law shows us how broke we are, but the Gospel shows us how rich His grace is.
When we look from the law straight to the Cross,realizing Jesus stepped down from the bench to pay our entire debt out of His own pocket, our hearts completely melt. We don’t walk out of that courtroom thinking, “Great, now I can go break the rules all I want!” Instead, we walk out with a profound respect for the law, and an overwhelming love for the Savior who just rescued us.
Thank you, Isaacs omeke for wonderful story inspired me, how Jesus Died for me and you, while Jesus hang on Cross, I was on His mind.
We’re saved by His grace nothing more! The law only condemns but Jesus’ grace saves and pays all our dues. Sin separates us from God’s presence but the gospel takes us close to the cross thus saving us completely
Ohhhh how I love your illustration…. Beautiful job well done showing both the compassion and humility of the gospel…
and unyielding strength of the law!!!
Faith and law are inseparable.They work together to strengthen our relationship with God. Faith in and love for what God has done leads us to a greater respect and appreciation for the law.
The Law exists because, as humans, we need to follow standards and accepted collective behavior. Although the Law is founded on love (for God, self, and others), before God, we all break it at some point. Thus, true love, which means the real fulfillment of the Law, was given by Christ when He died for His guilty creation. He did not create sin, but He gave us His own life so we could live forever again.
The Psalmists consistently speak about God’s law in positive and uplifting terms. Rather than viewing the law as a burden, they describe it as perfect, trustworthy, life-giving, and a source of joy and wisdom.
Psalm 19:7 says, “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” Psalm 1 presents the blessed person as one who delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on it day and night.
Throughout Psalm 119, the psalmist repeatedly expresses love for God’s commandments, testimonies, and statutes because they provide guidance, understanding, peace, and spiritual stability.
The psalmist even declares, “Oh, how I love Your law!” (Psalm 119:97). That is significant because it shows that obedience was not viewed merely as obligation, but as the natural response of a heart that loves and trusts God.
At the same time, the Psalms do not teach salvation by works. The broader biblical picture shows that salvation is by God’s grace, while the law reveals His character and guides the believer in righteous living. The law does not save us, but neither is it meaningless or abolished in the life of the believer. Instead, it continues to point us toward God’s will and away from sin.
It is absolutely critical to our Christian experience, especially as Seventh-day Adventists, that we have a correct understanding of the Law as it relates to Grace. A failure in this respect can have serious adverse, social , emotional and psychological consequences.
The prophet Jeremiah captures the miraculous quest we pursue in seeking to live a holy life when he says – “Can an Ethiopian change his skin or a leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.” Jeremiah 13:23 NIV. This is the reason why God’s grace is indispensable.
Through God’s grace we are (1) declared not guilty – Justification and (2) we are empowered to live a holy life (Sanctification). This process of Sanctification involves us spending quality time with Jesus every day fanning the flames of Faith. Simply going to church every Sabbath would not make or keep you as a Christian.
Seventh-day Adventists to my way of thinking are especially vulnerable to an attempt of salvation by works. Our evangelistic “selling point” (in Christian countries) is the Sabbath , and the fact that the Ten Commandments is still the expected standard of Christian conduct. Its emphasis is defined in our name as an organization and we stand out almost alone in the Christian community in our theological viewpoint. If it is one group of Christians who need to revisit and emphasize the doctrine of righteousness by faith: they are Seventh-day Adventists.
The beauty of the Good News (gospel) is that Jesus has done that for us which we could not do for ourselves – He has perfectly met the requirements of the Law which entitle us to eternal life. And when we perfectly trust Him (have faith) in our daily living, He also empowers us to live in harmony with that Law, which changes (sanctifies) us to live in the heavenly atmosphere of self-sacrificing love.
So the bottom line is that we need not focus on the Law (any more than we focus on a mirror). Rather, we focus on Jesus and trusting Him to direct us and change us. Surrendering to Him is a daily and constant matter, and I find that the longer we practice this, the more constant our connection with Him becomes.
I am often amazed at the dramatic life changes in new Christians with a really messy background who realize their desperate need of Jesus. They cling to Him for dear life, and that is what creates the dramatic changes in their lives, including a deep understanding of spiritual things.
I remember a young woman in her twenties whom I’ll call Danielle. She was deeply involved in the occult, and I don’t remember how she got from there to the place where she searched for a knowledge of God in the Bible.
All I can remember now is that she told us she locked herself into a hotel room and just called out to God all day for weeks, just stopping to eat and sleep. After several weeks, she decided she needed to find a seventh-day-Sabbath-keeping church, and she walked into our Sabbath School class one Sabbath morning with a lot of questions. Even the first Sabbath, it was evident that she had a good grasp of spiritual things. (Through His Spirit, God can teach us in a moment what would otherwise take a lifetime to learn.)
As she continued to attend and participate, it became clear that she had a closer walk with Jesus than probably 90% of church people. She radiated enthusiasm and the love of Jesus, as she clung to Him, knowing that He was the only one who could keep her from being dragged back into the occult by the demons who had haunted her.
I’m also thinking of a young man who just recently started attending our church. Coming from a background of drug and alcohol abuse and law-breaking, he clings to Jesus daily. When he speaks about his experience, he also radiates enthusiasm and the love of Jesus. And, oh, yes, God is using him to minister to others, as he travels the country on his job. (That job is also evidence of God’s blessing.)
Even if we have no background in the occult, drug abuse, alcohol abuse or law-breaking, do we need Jesus any less? Has He done less for us? Our respectable sins of pride, gossip, judgmentalism, etc. are no less a hindrance to eternal life. If we cling to Jesus like those who come from a “bad” background, He will change us to radiant Christians just like He changed them.
Do we understand what Jesus means by saying: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them? Matt.5:17. Saying “to fulfill them” implies that a core message, a deeper meaning was to be communicated and understood when applying the Law and the messages the prophets heard from God to tell the people.
Without the Law and the prophets, we would not know what sin is – Rom.7:7-8. Why is it so important that man knows that there is sin and how to deal with it? Is it not for the sole purpose to offer us Salvation – to show us the Way of Righteousness to live by?
Man is loved by and is accountable to His Creator. Jesus loved God with all His heart. By having come to ‘fulfill the Law and the prophets’ through/by faith, He demonstrates that when loving God with all our heart and expressing this love to our fellow man the essence of the Law and the prophet’s messages are fulfilled – Matt.22:36-40.
As we are covered by Jesus’ Righteousness, a spiritual war is being fought on our behalf. God loves us and gave us His Law and the Prophets to know and follow the by Him established principles and guidelines – given to man to conduct his life by – love not hate – peace not acrimony toward each other; guiding man’s choices to cause us to live peaceably with each other in a sinful world. Matthew Ch.5.
The Seventh Day Adventist Church General Conference President April 8, 9; “Grace is amazing to A Penitent Sinner, Amen” ❤️