Lesson 8 for May 24, 2014

So He said to him, Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One,
that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.
He said to Him, Which ones? Jesus said, You shall not murder, You
shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false
witness, Honor your father and your mother, and, You shall love your
neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 19:17-19)
All the law; both the 10
Commandments and
other sections of the
Torh (Lev. 19:18)
Jesus expects those who
will live eternal life with
Him to fulfill the Law of
God in this life.
Wont we want to fulfill
Gods will in Heaven?
Which commandments must the rich young ruler keep?
On these two commandments hang all the Law
and the Prophets. (Matthew 22:40)
You shall love the
Lord your God with all
your heart, with all
your soul, and with all
your strength.
(Deuteronomy 6:5)
You shall not take
vengeance, nor bear
any grudge against the
children of your people,
but you shall love your
neighbor as yourself: I
am the Lord.
(Leviticus 19:18)
The Law of God is the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20:3-17). It is
based on the next two commandments, love God (commandments
1 to 4) and love your neighbor (commandments 5 to 10)
All the Law [The Pentateuch, from Genesis to Deuteronomy] is
based on the 10 Commandments.
The Prophets [from Joshua to Malachi] were based on the law.
They explain it.
Which are those two commandments? How are they related
to the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 22:35-40)?
If Jesus had cancelled the Law by
dying, those two commandments
which are also part of the Law,
should have also been cancelled.
On the contrary, He taught us to
fulfill ALL the Law of God.
If you keep My commandments, you will abide in
My love, just as I have kept My Fathers
commandments and abide in His love. (John 15:10)
He honored his parents (Luke 2:51)
He refused to worship Satan (Luke 4:8)
He kept the Sabbath (Luke 4:16)
He never sinned (Heb. 4:15)
He was always obedient (Phil. 2:5-11)
How did Jesus keep Gods
Commandments?
And being found in appearance as a
man, He humbled Himself and became
obedient to the point of death, even
the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:8)
If we want to abide in the love of Jesus, we
must obey Him as He obeyed the Father and
remained in His love.
Not to keep the commandments of God is
not to love Him. None will keep the law of
God unless they love Him who is the only
begotten of the Father. And nonetheless
surely; if they love Him, they will express
that love by obedience to Him. All who
love Christ will be loved of the Father, and
He will manifest Himself to them. In all
their emergencies and perplexities they
will have a helper in Jesus Christ.
EGW (This Day with God, May 13)
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one
another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
(John 13:34)
Jesus had already taught us to love
both our friends and enemies. He
taught that based on the teachings
in the Old Testament.
Why was loving one another a NEW
commandment?
There is a nuance that makes it new,
we must love one another as Jesus
loved us.
We love Him because He first loved us
And this commandment we have from Him:
that he who loves God must love his
brother also. (1 John 4:19, 21)
to those who are without law, as without law (not
being without law toward God, but under law toward
Christ), that I might win those who are without law.
(1 Corinthians 9:21)
Paul tried to save everyone. When trying
to reach the Gentiles, he didnt initially
use the law of God. He looked for themes
that were more familiar to them. He used
those themes to make them understand
the love of God.
In Corinthians, Paul wanted to clarify that
he respected and obeyed the law of God,
even when he didnt use it first of all
when preaching to the Gentiles.
According to Paul, that obedience is based
on obeying the law of Christ (John 13:34)
The Gentiles, Paul approached by exalting Christ, and then presenting the
binding claims of the law. He showed how the light reflected by the cross of
Calvary gave significance and glory to the whole Jewish economy.
EGW (Gospel workers, pg. 118)
The law of Christ is driven by mercy.
Had it not been for His sacrificial
death, there would be no reason to
keep the law of God. However,
because Christ has made eternal life
possible, there is an incentive for
the faithful to resume keeping Gods
law after moments of weakness.
Bear one anothers burdens, and so fulfill
the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2)
Fellow believers should use the law of Christ as a
vehicle to transport the repentant sinner back to
the arena of Gods law of love.
For the Father judges no one, but has
committed all judgment to the Son.
(John 5:22)
We will be judged by He who has already
experienced what we do; and His law is
love. Thats comforting!
Fulfilling the law does not mean that we
obey it to gain personal favor with God,
but it beckons each Christian to share
the love of God with those who need it.
As the standard of judgment, the law
serves to measure the level of love that
the individual has shared with God and
humanity.
When Christ presides over the final
judgment, He will use Gods unchanging
law of love as the standard by which to
judge (James 2:12)