Bible Study Guides – Obedience and Sanctification

February 9, 2014 – February 15, 2014

Key Text

“If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him.” John 14:23.

Study Help: Faith and Works, 85–90.

Introduction

“Through every device possible Satan has sought to make of none effect the sacrifice of the Son of God, to render His expiation useless and His mission a failure. He has claimed that the death of Christ made obedience to the law unnecessary and permitted the sinner to come into favor with a holy God without forsaking his sin. He has declared that the Old Testament standard was lowered in the gospel and that men can come to Christ, not to be saved from their sins but in their sins.” Faith and Works, 90.

1 ERRONEOUS IDEAS

  • What did Jesus say we would do if we love Him? John 14:23, 24.

Note: “Obedience to the law of God is sanctification. There are many who have erroneous ideas in regard to this work in the soul, but Jesus prayed that His disciples might be sanctified through the truth, and added, ‘Thy word is truth’ (John 17:17). Sanctification is not an instantaneous but a progressive work, as obedience is continuous. Just as long as Satan urges his temptations upon us, the battle for self-conquest will have to be fought over and over again; but by obedience, the truth will sanctify the soul. Those who are loyal to the truth will, through the merits of Christ, overcome all weakness of character that has led them to be molded by every varying circumstance of life.” Faith and Works, 85.

  • What counsel are we given in Isaiah 30:21?

Note: “When errors arise and are taught as Bible truth, those who have a connection with Christ will not trust to what the minister says, but like the noble Bereans, they will search the Scriptures daily to see if these things are so. When they discover what is the word of the Lord, they will take their stand on the side of the truth. They will hear the voice of the True Shepherd … Thus you will be educated to make the Bible the man of your counsel, and the voice of a stranger you will neither hear nor follow.” Faith and Works, 86.

2 SANCTIFIED

  • How are we sanctified? What is Jesus to us? John 17:17; I Corinthians 1:30.

Note: “If the soul is to be purified and ennobled, and made fit for the heavenly courts, there are two lessons to be learned—self-sacrifice and self-control. Some learn these important lessons more easily than do others, for they are exercised by the simple discipline the Lord gives them in gentleness and love. Others require the slow discipline of suffering, that the cleansing fire may purify their hearts of pride and self-reliance, of earthly passion and self-love, that the true gold of character may appear and that they may become victors through the grace of Christ.

“The love of God will strengthen the soul, and through the virtue of the merits of the blood of Christ we may stand unscathed amid the fire of temptation and trial; but no other help can avail to save but Christ, our righteousness, Who is made unto us wisdom and sanctification and redemption.” Faith and Works, 86, 87.

  • To what are we admonished to take diligent heed and what has this to do with sanctification? Joshua 22:5.

Note: “True sanctification is nothing more or less than to love God with all the heart, to walk in His commandments and ordinances blameless. Sanctification is not an emotion but a heaven-born principle that brings all the passions and desires under the control of the Spirit of God; and this work is done through our Lord and Saviour.

“Spurious sanctification does not glorify God but leads those who claim it to exalt and glorify themselves. Whatever comes in our experience, whether of joy or sorrow, that does not reflect Christ and point to Him as its author, bringing glory to Him and sinking self out of sight, is not true Christian experience.” Faith and Works, 87.

3 GRACE IMPLANTED

  • Explain Ephesians 2:8, 9 and II Corinthians 12:9. What is the result of grace in the life?

Note: “When the grace of Christ is implanted in the soul by the Holy Spirit, its possessor will become humble in spirit and will seek for the society of those whose conversation is upon heavenly things. Then the Spirit will take the things of Christ and show them unto us and will glorify, not the receiver, but the Giver. If, therefore, you have the sacred peace of Christ in your heart, your lips will be filled with praise and thanksgiving to God. Your prayers, the discharge of your duty, your benevolence, your self-denial, will not be the theme of your thought or conversation, but you will magnify Him who gave Himself for you when you were yet a sinner. You will say: ‘I give myself to Jesus. I have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write.’ As you praise Him you will have a precious blessing, and all the praise and glory for that which is done through your instrumentality will be given back to God.” Faith and Works, 87.

  • What did Jesus leave us that the world could not give? John 14:27.

Note: “The peace of Christ is not a boisterous, untamable element made manifest in loud voices and bodily exercises. The peace of Christ is an intelligent peace, and it does not make those who possess it bear the marks of fanaticism and extravagance. It is not a rambling impulse but an emanation from God.

“When the Saviour imparts His peace to the soul, the heart will be in perfect harmony with the word of God, for the Spirit and the Word agree. The Lord honors His word in all His dealings with men. It is His own will, His own voice, that is revealed to men, and He has no new will, no new truth, aside from His word, to unfold to His children. If you have a wonderful experience that is not in harmony with expressed directions of God’s word, you may well doubt it, for its origin is not from above. The peace of Christ comes through the knowledge of Jesus whom the Bible reveals.” Faith and Works, 87, 88.

4 REFUGE AND STRENGTH

  • Where do we find refuge and strength? Psalm 46:1–4.

Note: “If happiness is drawn from outside sources and not from the Divine Fount, it will be as changeable as varying circumstances can make it; but the peace of Christ is a constant and abiding peace. It does not depend on any circumstance in life, on the amount of worldly goods, or the number of earthly friends. Christ is the fountain of living waters, and happiness and peace drawn from Him will never fail, for He is a well-spring of life.” Faith and Works, 88.

  • Are there conditions to receiving the promised peace? Isaiah 26:3; 48:18.

Note: “He who walks in the way of God’s commandments is walking in company with Christ, and in His love the heart is at rest. When Moses prayed, ‘Show me now Thy way, that I may know Thee,’ the Lord answered him, ‘My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.’ And through the prophets the message was given, ‘Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls’ (Exodus 33:13, 14; Jeremiah 6:16). …

“Those who take Christ at His word, and surrender their souls to His keeping, their lives to His ordering, will find peace and quietude. Nothing of the world can make them sad when Jesus makes them glad by His presence. In perfect acquiescence there is perfect rest.” The Desire of Ages, 331.

  • What is the promise for all who are in Christ? I Corinthians 15:22.

Note: “We have reason for ceaseless gratitude to God that Christ, by His perfect obedience, has won back the heaven that Adam lost through disobedience. Adam sinned, and the children of Adam share his guilt and its consequences; but Jesus bore the guilt of Adam, and all the children of Adam that will flee to Christ, the second Adam, may escape the penalty of transgression. Jesus regained heaven for man by bearing the test that Adam failed to endure; for He obeyed the law perfectly, and all who have a right conception of the plan of redemption will see that they cannot be saved while in transgression of God’s holy precepts. They must cease to transgress the law and lay hold on the promises of God that are available for us through the merits of Christ.” Faith and Works, 88, 89.

5 WISE COUNSEL

  • What is the wise counsel given in Isaiah 2:22?

Note: “Our faith is not to stand in the ability of men but in the power of God. There is danger of trusting in men, even though they may have been used as instruments of God to do a great and good work. Christ must be our strength and our refuge. The best of men may fall from their steadfastness, and the best of religion, when corrupted, is ever the most dangerous in its influence upon minds. Pure, living religion is found in obedience to every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Righteousness exalts a nation, and the absence of it degrades and ruins man.” Faith and Works, 89.

  • What must follow hearing the Word to avoid being deceived? James 1:22.

Note: “From the pulpits of today the words are uttered: ‘Believe, only believe. Have faith in Christ; you have nothing to do with the old law, only trust in Christ.’ How different is this from the words of the apostle who declares that faith without works is dead. He says, ‘But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves’ (James 1:22). We must have that faith that works by love and purifies the soul. Many seek to substitute a superficial faith for uprightness of life and think through this to obtain salvation.

“The Lord requires at this time just what He required of Adam in Eden—perfect obedience to the law of God. We must have righteousness without a flaw, without a blemish. God gave His Son to die for the world, but He did not die to repeal the law which was holy and just and good. The sacrifice of Christ on Calvary is an unanswerable argument showing the immutability of the law. Its penalty was felt by the Son of God in behalf of guilty man, that through His merits the sinner might obtain the virtue of His spotless character by faith in His name.” Faith and Works, 89.