We Will Never Truly Experience The Love Of God Until We Adhere To All The Requirements Of The Ten Commandments The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29) Hallelujah Praise The Lamb - youtube/watch?v=lzewtL2spMw Here we are again being reminded that only through the precious blood of Jesus will our sins be blotted out from the book of remembrance. Under the old covenant we are required to not only obey the commandments of God but we are also required to sacrifice the life of an innocent lamb in order to receive forgiveness. Can you image the number of animals that were killed each day? Can you image the amount of blood that was sprinkle in the sanctuary each day and how much it accumulated? Can you image the odour that came from the stain of blood in the Sanctuary? The place must have smelt like a slaughter house. Jesus instituted this ceremony the moment Adam sinned so that He could provide us with hope of full restoration from sin. This morning the Lord is reminding us that under the new covenant we are not required to sacrifice a lamb each day to gain forgiveness for our sin. Jesus, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, after His resurrection provided the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. Now we can come boldly before the throne of grace when we mess up and transgress the law. We no longer need the intervention of the High Priest to speak on our behalf to the Father. Now, because of the sacrifice of Jesus, we can approach the throne of God ourselves. What a wonder Saviour is Jesus our Lord. The writer of the lesson always reminded us that God expects us to adhere to the full requirements of the Law. We cannot expect to get to heaven by constantly disobeying the commandments of the Lord. God wants to remove our stony heart and replace it with a heart of flesh. God wants to transform our minds and renew His image within us. This morning God is reminding us to depend on the Lamb to take away our sins. Depend on the righteousness of Christ to cover us… and the Holy Spirit to work in our heart to remove all trace of sinfulness. The Godhead is doing everything possible to ensure that we make it to heaven. I pray that we will continue to surrender every area of our lives to the total control of the Holy Spirit so that God can recreate His image in us. Our eternal destiny depends of this action taking place in our lives. Gods people are justified through the administration of the better covenant, through Christs righteousness. A covenant is an agreement by which parties bind themselves and each other to the fulfillment of certain conditions. Thus the human agent enters into agreement with God to comply with the conditions specified in His Word. His conduct shows whether or not he respects these conditions. Man gains everything by obeying the covenant-keeping God. Gods attributes are imparted to man, enabling him to exercise mercy and compassion. Gods covenant assures us of His unchangeable character. Why, then, are those who claim to believe in God changeable, fickle, untrustworthy? Why do they not do service heartily, as under obligation to please and glorify God? It is not enough for us to have a general idea of Gods requirements. We must know for ourselves what His requirements and our obligations are. The terms of Gods covenant are, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. These are the conditions of life. This do, Christ said, and thou shalt live. Christs death and resurrection completed His covenant. Before this time, it was revealed through types and shadows, which pointed to the great offering to be made by the worlds Redeemer, offered in promise for the sins of the world. Anciently believers were saved by the same Saviour as now, but it was a God veiled. They saw Gods mercy in figures. The promise given to Adam and Eve in Eden was the gospel to a fallen race. The promise was made that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpents head, and it should bruise His heel. Christs sacrifice is the glorious fulfillment of the whole Jewish economy. The Sun of Righteousness has risen. Christ our righteousness is shining in brightness upon us. God did not lessen His claim upon men in order to save them. When as a sinless offering Christ bowed His head and died, when by the Almightys unseen hand the veil of the temple was rent in twain, a new and living way was opened. All can now approach God through the merits of Christ. It is because the veil has been rent that men can draw nigh to God. They need not depend on priest or ceremonial sacrifice. Liberty is given to all to go directly to God through a personal Saviour. It is Gods pleasure and will that the blessings bestowed on man shall be given in perfect completeness. He has made provision that every difficulty may be overcome, every want supplied through the Holy Spirit. Thus He designs that man shall perfect a Christian character. God would have us contemplate His love, His promises, given so freely to those who have no merit in themselves. He would have us depend fully, gratefully, rejoicingly, in the righteousness provided for us in Christ. To all who come to God in His appointed way, He freely listens (SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 9, pg. 932 – Ellen G. White)
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 10:54:41 +0000
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