Sabbath: Living the Gospel
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Read for This Week’s Study: Rom. 8:20-23; John 3:16-17; Matt. 9:36; Eph. 2:8-10; 1 John 3:16-17; Rev. 14:6-7.
Memory Text: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10, NKJV).
As soon as we talk about God’s commands, requirements or instructions, we run the risk—or even face the temptation—of thinking that somehow what we do can earn or contribute to our salvation or otherwise gain favor with God. But the Bible tells us repeatedly that we are sinners saved by God’s grace through Jesus and His substitutionary death for us on the cross. What could we possibly add to this in any way? Or, as Ellen G. White has written: “If you would gather together everything that is good and holy and noble and lovely in man and then present the subject to the angels of God as acting a part in the salvation of the human soul or in merit, the proposition would be rejected as treason”. – Faith and Works, p. 24.
Thus, too, even our works of mercy and compassion toward those in need should not be seen as legalistic. On the contrary, as we grow in our understanding and appreciation of salvation, the link between God’s love and His concern for the poor and oppressed will be passed on to us, recipients of His love. We have received, so we will give. When we see how God so loved us, we also see how much He loves others and calls us to love them, as well.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 7.
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One of the issues I have with the way often talk about being saved is that we cast salvation in terms of the goal of getting to Heaven and ultimately living in the New Earth forever. We speak of rewards and paint pictures of ourselves wearing gold crowns and fine clothes.
Just for a moment, imagine there will be no heaven, no blissful eternal life, and now is all we have. Would that change how we behave? Would we become selfish and not care about others? My point is that for salvation to be really meaningful, it has to be meaningful now. When Jesus said "My kingdom is not of this world" he wasn't saying that his kingdom was in heaven - a different place to earth. He was saying that his kingdom was at hand but lived to different principles to those that governed earthly kingdoms. Grace rather than greed, love instead of revenge, and selflessness rather than avarice. Salvation is meant to be shared, not hoarded.
Jesus showed us how the saved person lives, not as a prescription for eternal live, but as a description of a fulfilled life in him now.
How do we preach the three angels' messages with that in mind?
Matthew 7:21-25
These are the group of people who have cast out demons in the name of Christ, prophesied in the name of Christ, and have done many wonders in the name of Christ, yet Jesus claims, I never knew you. Why?
Those who profess to follow Christ must be law abiding citizens.
Christ did not come into the world to break the law rather He came into the world to uphold the law.
By His obedience we are healed.
Matthew 7:24 Jesus is saying, don't be hearer of the word rather be a doer of the word.
If the people whom he is casting out have done great work, why does He say depart from me?
Because they were practicing lawlessness.
Matthew 23:23
23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin, but you have disregarded the weightier matters of the Law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
Christ never compromises on justice, mercy and faithfulness.
What you say is true, but I believe it goes deeper than that. Yes, in the final judgment, all are judged in accordance with their deeds, so of course those who are to be condemned will be confronted with their failure to keep God's law. But WHY did they end up being so lawless?
I believe it was because they sought to come to God on their merits. Those who fail to rely entirely on the blood and merits of the Saviour, who lack a sense of their own nothingness apart from Christ and His grace, have no barrier against sin. Their full intentions may have been to be a shining example of living out the requirements of God's law, but like Peter who didn't know himself, they find out (too late, in the cases of those who WILL not see it) that they were incapable of achieving their goals.
So the real, underlying issue is not a willingness to comply with the requirements of God's law, but a willingness to renounce self and rely wholly on Christ.
how profound the comment made by Mr.Ashton!I believe everything in a righteous man, all of every thing that is good should be second nature in us. While growing up the bible was presented to me as a book of "Do's and Dont's. Now that my relationship is budding with Christ; it is a book of "Wills and Wonts". Now "Thou shalt" will be as "I will"....
Praise You Lord for Your longsuffering
This wk topic is- Living the Gospel.
Living means- the pursuit of a lifestyle of a specific type.
Gospel means- Go-spel or the final word or authority on a matter.
2. The good news of Jesus- His birth, life, death, burial and resurrection.
Putting the two together I came up with the answer which means, someone living a specific lifestyle as specified by someone else according to the other person birth, life, death, burial and resurrection. Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ who lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. This is living the gospel in it’s entirety.
For example- I went to the store to get sabbath lunch. My family member and I was talking on my phone complaining about a Christian SDA school. I am running a little short on money so I was trying to make do. I cash out using self checkout. No human being was behind me in the line. As I grab my receipt something said to me look down below, as I looked down below I saw a bill hanging out waiting to be claimed. In a split second I had to decide what to do. That was not my money, someone else forgot to take their money. When we are daily crucified with Christ the Holy Spirit takes up our weakness and helps us in our daily living. He points us to Jesus and how he lived.
“No matter how many good qualities we may have, no matter how honorable and refined we make consider ourselves, if the soul is not baptized with a heavenly grace of love, we are deficient in true goodness, and unfit for heaven, where all is love and unity. When the heavenly principle of love fills the heart, it will flow out to others, not merely because favors are received of them, but because love is action, and modifies the character, governs the impulses, subdues enmity, and elevates and ennobles the affections. This love is not contracted so as to include only the home-circle, but is as bright as the world, and is in harmony with that of the angel-workers. This love cherished in the soul sweetens the entire life, and exerts a refining influence on all around. Possessing it, we cannot but be happy, let fortune smile or frown. God, in His Providence, has willed that no one can secure happiness by living for himself alone. The joy of our Lord consisted in enduring toil and suffering for others; and we shall find true happiness in following His example, and living to do good to our fellow man....When we have the saving power of truth in our own souls, we cannot forbear communicating to others the practical truths that have made our own hearts joyful in God. (Sabbath School Comments by Ellen G. White, 3rd Q 2019, lesson 10).