FOURTH QUARTER 2021
SABBATH SCHOOL INSIGHT #6
NOVEMBER 6, 2021
“FOR WHAT NATION IS THERE SO GREAT?”

 

Abundant peace have they who love Thy law; and it is no stumbling block to them. Psalms 119:165, Spurrill's Translation.

 

Those of you who have studied the book of Daniel from the gospel perspective have probably noted the significance of the word gadal in Daniel 8:9, where the little horn grows “exceedingly great” and defiles the sanctuary, leading to the question “how long?” and the answer of the 2300-year prophecy, which is of course the foundational prophecy of the Advent movement.

 

Moses is pointing out to Israel the root of true greatness, both for the nation and each individual - that God is near and listening to our calls upon Him (Deuteronomy 4:7), and that He is embodied in His statutes and righteous judgments found in the law (Deuteronomy 4:8).

 

“You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;

Your right hand has held me up,

Your gentleness has made me great.” Psalms 18:35.

 

It is experiencing Christ in the law, and the law in Christ, that truly makes us great. When we believe in the salvation He has accomplished, He dwells in us providing the gentle power to write the Law of Love on our hearts.

 

“The only defense against evil is the indwelling of Christ in the heart through faith in His righteousness. Unless we become vitally connected with God, we can never resist the unhallowed effects of self-love, self-indulgence, and temptation to sin. We may leave off many bad habits, for the time we may part company with Satan; but without a vital connection with God, through the surrender of ourselves to Him moment by moment, we shall be overcome. Without a personal acquaintance with Christ, and a continual communion, we are at the mercy of the enemy, and shall do his bidding in the end.” (DA 324).

 

We tend to think of adding or subtracting from the law in terms of the Papacy, the self-exalting (gadal) power that thinks to change times or laws, “teaching as doctrines the commandments of men,” as did the Jews of Christ’s day. Matthew 15:9. Because they had lost Christ in the law, they felt the need for additional protection from breaking it; hence the multitude of commands they added. For the same reason the Papacy has followed the same path, not only obviously changing the Decalogue itself, but in addition using Greek philosophy to “protect” the truth:

 

Pope John Paul II in his encyclical Faith and Reason writes:

 

“For Clement, Greek philosophy is not meant in the first place to bolster and complete Christian truth. Its task is rather the defense of the faith: ‘The teaching of the Saviour is perfect in itself and has no need of support, because it is the strength and the wisdom of God. Greek philosophy, with its contribution, does not strengthen truth; but, in rendering the attack of sophistry impotent and in disarming those who betray truth and wage war upon it, Greek philosophy is rightly called the hedge and the protective wall around the vineyard.’”

 

When Christ is subtracted from the law it is inevitable that we will lose the only power to keep the law. This is what happened at Baal Peor, and what the 1260-year experience of the church apostasy bears out. We cannot keep the law apart from Christ, and not merely power dispensed from Him will do, but His very indwelling presence is required. If we are not cleaving to Him in love (the two shall become one flesh, Ephesians 5:31,32), then we will like Israel at Baal Peor be joined to another (Numbers 25:3) and be breaking the law as a consequence.

 

Wisdom and understanding are not so much found in keeping the law per se, but in believing the gospel of Christ, who is the wisdom of God embodied in the law.

 

Here’s how W. W. Prescott puts it (all emphases here and forward added):

 

“Obedience. - That goes with the cross. To everyone who thinks that he cannot obey God's law, I would say, Obey the gospel. If you are afraid of the law, obey the gospel, that is enough. What happens to those who do not obey the gospel? - 'And to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9. Friends, obey the gospel, and I will risk the law. Obey the gospel, because we have found in the plainest possible manner that the gospel is simply the law in Christ.” (February 10, 1896 WWP, BEST 44.6)

 

“We are now prepared to summarize the results of our study upon the relation between the law and the gospel. We have found that the law reveals sin by defining the standard of righteousness, and that in the gospel the righteousness required by the law is revealed. We have found that the gospel is the gospel of Christ, and that the righteousness which is revealed in it is the righteousness wrought out for us by Christ through a life of perfect obedience to the law of God. Thus, the gospel is God's provision not merely for fulfilling the requirements of the law for us in Christ, but also for fulfilling the requirements of the same law in us through Christ, and this is accomplished by receiving Christ, the very embodiment of the law, into our hearts by faith, so that 'it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me.’”

 

“The fruit of such a union with Christ is seen in a life which is in harmony with that same law which was the inspiration of His life, and the law which at first revealed sin now bears witness to the genuine character of that righteousness 'which is by faith of Jesus Christ.’ And thus, what the law could not do in that it was weak through our flesh, has been done for us by putting that same law into the flesh in Christ, and through Him into our flesh, ‘that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.'

 

“This brings us to the conclusion that THE GOSPEL IS SIMPLY THE LAW IN CHRIST, and therefore an attempt to abolish the law is an attempt to abolish Christ and the gospel, and an attempt to change the law is an attempt to change the character of Christ and to thwart the purpose of the gospel. A heart filled with love to Christ and the spirit of truth will seek no such results, but will thankfully say: ‘Abundant peace have they who love Thy law; and it is no stumbling block to them.' Psalms 119:165, Spurrill's Translation. See margin of A.V. “(June 1, 1896 WWP, BEST 165)

 

Ellen White adds:

 

 “The law of ten commandments is not to be looked upon as much from the prohibitory side, as from the mercy side. Its prohibitions are the sure guarantee of happiness in obedience. As received in Christ, it works in us the purity of character that will bring joy to us through eternal ages. To the obedient it is a wall of protection. We behold in it the goodness of God, who by revealing to men the immutable principles of righteousness, seeks to shield them from the evils that result from transgression.

 

“We are not to regard God as waiting to punish the sinner for his sin. The sinner brings the punishment upon himself. His own actions start a train of circumstances that bring the sure result. Every act of transgression reacts upon the sinner, works in him a change of character, and makes it more easy for him to transgress again. By choosing to sin, men separate themselves from God, cut themselves off from the channel of blessing, and the sure result is ruin and death.

 

“The law is an expression of God's idea. When we receive it in Christ, it becomes our idea. It lifts us above the power of natural desires and tendencies, above temptations that lead to sin. ‘Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them' (Psalms 119:165)-- cause them to stumble.

 

“There is no peace in unrighteousness; the wicked are at war with God. But he who receives the righteousness of the law in Christ is in harmony with heaven. ‘Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other’ (Psalms 85:10).” -- Letter 96, 1896.  (1SM 235)

 

 “The glory that shone on the face of Moses was a reflection of the righteousness of Christ in the law. The law itself would have no glory, only that in it Christ is embodied. It has no power to save. It is lusterless only as in it Christ is represented as full of righteousness and truth.” (1SM 237)

 

She also makes it clear that viewing the law apart from Christ was one of the major problems of the Minneapolis conference:

 

“Brethren, shall we not all of us leave our loads there? and when we leave this meeting, may it be with the truth burning in our souls like fire shut up in our bones. You will meet with those who will say, ‘You are too much excited over this matter. You are too much in earnest. You should not be reaching for the righteousness of Christ, and making so much of that. You should preach the law.’ As a people, we have preached the law until we are as dry as the hills of Gilboa that had neither dew nor rain. We must preach Christ in the law, and there will be sap and nourishment in the preaching that will be as food to the famishing flock of God. We must not trust in our own merits at all, but in the merits of Jesus of Nazareth. Our eyes must be anointed with eye-salve. We must draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to us, if we come in his own appointed way. O that you may go forth as the disciples did after the day of Pentecost, and then your testimony will have a living ring, and souls will be converted to God. (RH, March 11, 1890 par. 13)

 

“We felt deeply and solemnly grateful to God that minds were being stirred by the Spirit of God to see Christ in the living oracles and to represent Him to the world, but not in words merely. They see the Scripture requirements that all who claim to be followers of Christ are under obligation to walk in His footsteps, to be imbued with His Spirit, and thus to present to the world Jesus Christ, Who came to our world to represent the Father. In representing Christ, we represent God to our world. 'If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His’ (Romans 8:9). Let us inquire, Are we reflecting in the church and before the world the character of Jesus Christ? A great deal deeper study is required of us in searching the Scriptures. Placing the righteousness of Christ in the law distinctly reveals God in His true character and reveals the law as holy, just, and good, glorious indeed when seen in its true character.” (1888 214-15)

 

“Sabbath day Brother Porter was wonderfully exercised. He was in meeting. He said, ‘I thought I was going to faint. I felt that I was dying. I dropped my head on the seat before me (and) when I raised my head, I was revolutionized. Every point which had been clouded with darkness was clear as Elder A.T. Jones has presented it. I wrote it and as the Lord had presented it to me in a clear line from Adam down, the righteousness of Christ in the law.’” (1888 299;  Letter to J. Fargo May 2, 1889)

 

Waggoner continued to articulate this understanding in the years that followed:

 

“We overcome antichrist only by having Christ in us. It is Christ first and last and all the time; Christ in the law, and the law in Christ; Christ in the Sabbath, as Lord of the Sabbath, because He made it, and because the Sabbath simply shows the power of the word of Christ, by which the heavens were made, and by which they are upheld.

 

“The power of the word of Christ also works righteousness in us. The preaching of the cross of Christ presents life and immortality to men. It is the preaching of the cross of Christ that warns men of destruction. It delivers us from the snares of the world, and gives us access into the grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. The preaching of that cross of Christ makes known to us all Christ wants us to know. It lays before us the glories of the saints' inheritance, and it warns us of the perils of the last days.” (March 25, 1891 EJW, GCDB 245)

 

“From the words of the law of God we may know exactly what we should do, for it is a perfect form. But it is only in Christ that we find the living substance. The law in Christ is not only living, but it gives life. It performs itself in those who submit to it, because it is God's own life. It is not less than the letter; it is not something different from the letter; but it is simply the living thing which the letter perfectly describes.” (1897 EJW, LESP 6)

 

"Is there any difference between the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the law in Christ? No; for the Gospel proclaims life in Christ, and in Him was the law dwelling in all its fulness. Therefore, the proclamation of the Gospel is the proclamation of ‘the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus,’ making free from death. Romans 8:2.” (January 25, 1894 EJW, PTUK 52)

 

“Law of Life in Christ.  - The law without Christ is death. The law in Christ is life. His life is the law of God; for out of the heart are the issues of life, and the law was in His heart. The law of sin and death works in our members. But the law of the Spirit of life in Christ gives us freedom from this. Mark that it is the life in Christ that does this. It does not give us freedom from obedience to the law, for we had that before, and that was bondage, and not freedom. What He gives us freedom from is the transgression of the law.” (November 29, 1894 EJW, PTUK 757.49)

 

“Since a finished and perfect work stands, it follows that all who accept Christ must accept the law of God to be manifested in their lives. Let no one say that since Christ perfectly fulfilled the law, therefore we have no need to keep it. He finished the work in order that we might keep it. In Him the law exists in its perfection, and therefore whoever receives Him must also receive the perfect keeping of the law. ‘Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law.’ Romans 3:31. The law is the perfection of the character of Christ. Whoever finds it a hardship to keep the law, thereby proclaims his dissatisfaction with Christ; and whoever reviles and rejects the law, is at the same time reviling and rejecting Christ. Why should one wish to do so? If we ourselves were required to exhibit in our lives all the virtues of the law, then we might well complain, for they are not only contrary to the desires of the natural man, but impossible of performance. Romans 8:7. But ‘it is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do of His good pleasure.’ Philippians 2:13. By the blessed will power of Christ, we may be made both willing to do the law, and doers of it. He not only makes us able to do the will of God, but lovers of that will. Those words, ‘It is finished,’ contain for us all the blessedness and joy and power of the new Creation.” (May 25, 1899 EJW, PTUK 323)

 

May the following be true as we share the benefits of the law and the gospel properly understood this week.

 

“The end is near! We have not a moment to lose! Light is to shine forth from God's people in clear, distinct rays, bringing Jesus before the churches and before the world. Our work is not to be restricted to those who already know the truth; our field is the world. The instrumentalities to be used are those souls who gladly receive the light of truth which God communicates to them. These are God's agencies for communicating the knowledge of truth to the world. If through the grace of Christ His people will become new bottles, He will fill them with the new wine. God will give additional light, and old truths will be recovered, and replaced in the framework of truth; and wherever the laborers go, they will triumph. As Christ's ambassadors, they are to search the Scriptures, to seek for the truths that have been hidden beneath the rubbish of error. And every ray of light received is to be communicated to others. One interest will prevail, one subject will swallow up every other, --Christ our righteousness.”  (RH, December 23, 1890 par. 19)

 

~Todd Guthrie