Sin, the Gospel, and the Law

Read for This Week’s Study

Judges 14; Mark 9:42–48; Rom. 3:20; Matt. 5:17, 18; Rom 3:28; Matt. 7:24–29.

Memory Text:

“I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have given me life. I am Yours, save me; for I have sought Your precepts” (Psalm 119:93, 94, NKJV).

Without a doubt, sin is the greatest obstructor to a close relationship with God. Not only does sin separate us from God now (Isa. 59:2), but it also deceives, hurts, consumes, and eventually destroys us. Our battle against sin and self is the greatest battle we’ll ever face, with tremendous, even eternal, implications.

Some dismiss sin as just a regular part of life. After all, it’s human nature to indulge in pleasure. But do we make light of sin because society has become so comfortable with it? We can tiptoe around the topic of sin, afraid that we’ll offend someone if we call it what it is, but in the end, the more we choose to live comfortably with it, the further we’ll slip from a healthy relationship with God.

Yes, every person has sinned, and our thoughts, motives, actions, and words hurt others, ourselves, and God. Ultimately, sin destroys our relationship with God, but God has revealed Himself to us through the knowledge of His law, which shines light on the sin in our lives.

This week let’s explore the reason God gave us His law and, when someone transgresses God’s law and consequently sins, what or who can help to restore their relationship with God.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, May 30.

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Additional Reading: Selected Quotes from Ellen G. White

To Daniel was given a vision of fierce beasts, representing the powers of the earth. But the ensign of the Messiah’s kingdom is a lamb. While earthly kingdoms rule by the ascendancy of physical power, Christ is to banish every carnal weapon, every instrument of coercion. His kingdom was to be established to uplift and ennoble fallen humanity.
To Adam, the offering of the first sacrifice was a most painful ceremony. His hand must be raised to take life, which only God could give. . . . As he slew the innocent victim, he trembled at the thought that his sin must shed the blood of the spotless Lamb of God. This scene gave him a deeper and more vivid sense of the greatness of his transgression, which nothing but the death of God’s dear Son could expiate. And he marveled at the infinite goodness that would give such a ransom to save the guilty.
The types and shadows of the sacrificial service, with the prophe­cies, gave the Israelites a veiled, indistinct view of the mercy and grace to be brought to the world by the revelation of Christ. . . . Only through Christ can man keep the moral law. By transgression of this law man brought sin into the world, and with sin came death. Christ became the propitiation for man’s sin. He proffered His perfection of character in the place of man’s sinfulness. He took upon Himself the curse of disobedience. The sacrifices and offerings pointed forward to the sacrifice He was to make. The slain lamb typified the Lamb that was to take away the sin of the world. . . .
The law and the gospel are in perfect harmony. Each upholds the other. In all its majesty the law confronts the conscience, causing the sinner to feel his need of Christ as the propitiation for sin. The gospel recognizes the power and immutability of the law. “I had not known sin, but by the law” (Romans 7:7), Paul declares. The sense of sin, urged home by the law, drives the sinner to the Saviour. In his need man may present the mighty arguments furnished by the cross of Calvary. He may claim the righteousness of Christ; for it is imparted to every repentant sinner.—God’s Amazing Grace, p. 15.

Obedience to the laws of God develops in man a beautiful character that is in harmony with all that is pure and holy and undefiled. In the life of such a man the message of the gospel of Christ is made clear. Accepting the mercy of Christ and His healing from the power of sin, he is brought into right relation with God. His life, cleansed from vanity and selfishness, is filled with the love of God. His daily obedience to the law of God obtains for him a character that assures him eternal life in the kingdom of God.—God’s Amazing Grace, p. 146.