Obedience by Faith OBEDIENCE--THE LAST GREAT ISSUE
He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 1 John 2:4.
Jesus is the greatest example of obedience that we have, and He did it all by faith, through dependence upon His Father, even as He now invites us to depend on Him and His Father. The example of Jesus is the greatest reason why we may understand that obedience comes only by faith. Jesus was never our example in justification. He didn't need any justification. But He was our example in sanctification, in living the Christian life, for He lived His entire life through faith in another power.
In the opening of the great controversy, Satan had declared that the law of God could not be obeyed. That's been his charge all along. He also claimed that should the law be broken, it would be impossible for the sinner to be pardoned. Please don't forget who it is that says that the law of God cannot be obeyed. When men broke the law of God, Satan exulted. But by His life and death, Jesus proved that God's justice did not destroy His mercy. He proved that sin could be forgiven and that the law could be obeyed perfectly. "It was because the law was changeless, because man could be saved only through obedience to its precepts, that Jesus was lifted up on the cross. Yet the very means by which Christ established the law [justification] Satan represented as destroying it. Here will come the last conflict of the great controversy between Christ and Satan."--The Desire of Ages, p. 763. There are even champions of the cross in our church today who say we can't obey the law of God.
Until the end of time, obedience or disobedience is the question to be decided by the whole world. So this is a pretty big issue. And it is very "Adventist." If we don't continue to maintain our understanding of why we are Seventh-day Adventists, we are going to lose out in the end.
Jesus came to die for us; He also came to give us an example of how to live. He said, "The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works" (John 14:10). Jesus was so surrendered to His Father's will that the Father alone appeared in His life. Jesus, who was God, lived as a man, through dependence upon His Father. By His example we see that we can live the same life of obedience, through dependence upon Him.
He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 1 John 2:4.
Jesus is the greatest example of obedience that we have, and He did it all by faith, through dependence upon His Father, even as He now invites us to depend on Him and His Father. The example of Jesus is the greatest reason why we may understand that obedience comes only by faith. Jesus was never our example in justification. He didn't need any justification. But He was our example in sanctification, in living the Christian life, for He lived His entire life through faith in another power.
In the opening of the great controversy, Satan had declared that the law of God could not be obeyed. That's been his charge all along. He also claimed that should the law be broken, it would be impossible for the sinner to be pardoned. Please don't forget who it is that says that the law of God cannot be obeyed. When men broke the law of God, Satan exulted. But by His life and death, Jesus proved that God's justice did not destroy His mercy. He proved that sin could be forgiven and that the law could be obeyed perfectly. "It was because the law was changeless, because man could be saved only through obedience to its precepts, that Jesus was lifted up on the cross. Yet the very means by which Christ established the law [justification] Satan represented as destroying it. Here will come the last conflict of the great controversy between Christ and Satan."--The Desire of Ages, p. 763. There are even champions of the cross in our church today who say we can't obey the law of God.
Until the end of time, obedience or disobedience is the question to be decided by the whole world. So this is a pretty big issue. And it is very "Adventist." If we don't continue to maintain our understanding of why we are Seventh-day Adventists, we are going to lose out in the end.
Jesus came to die for us; He also came to give us an example of how to live. He said, "The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works" (John 14:10). Jesus was so surrendered to His Father's will that the Father alone appeared in His life. Jesus, who was God, lived as a man, through dependence upon His Father. By His example we see that we can live the same life of obedience, through dependence upon Him.
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