February 16, 2014 – February 22, 2014
Key Text
“Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Romans 6:4.
Study Help: Lift Him Up, 79, 109.
Introduction
“Christ declares that if we eat His flesh and drink His blood, we shall have eternal life. His word will be to us as the leaves of the tree of life if we will believe in Christ as our personal Saviour. If we eat the bread that came down from heaven, we shall have a live connection with God. We shall bring eternity into our reckoning. We shall live as in the presence of the whole heavenly host. The angels are watching and guarding us.” [Author’s italics.] Lift Him Up, 109.
1 REIGN THROUGH RIGHTEOUSNESS
- The law was written to increase the awareness of sin and our need for a Saviour. What provision was made available in abundance to counter the sin problem? Romans 5:20, 21.
Note: “The gifts of Jesus are ever fresh and new. … Each new gift increases the capacity of the receiver to appreciate and enjoy the blessings of the Lord. He gives grace for grace. There can be no failure of supply. If you abide in Him, the fact that you receive a rich gift today insures the reception of a richer gift tomorrow.
“The gift of Christ to the marriage feast was a symbol (John 2:1–11). The water represented baptism into His death; the wine, the shedding of His blood for the sins of the world. The water to fill the jars was brought by human hands, but the word of Christ alone could impart to it life-giving virtue.
“The word of Christ supplied ample provision for the feast. So abundant is the provision of His grace to blot out the iniquities of men, and to renew and sustain the soul.
“Our condition through sin is unnatural, and the power that restores us must be supernatural, else it has no value. There is but one power that can break the hold of evil from the hearts of men, and that is the power of God in Jesus Christ. Only through the blood of the Crucified One is there cleansing from sin. His grace alone can enable us to resist and subdue the tendencies of our fallen nature.” God’s Amazing Grace, 104.
2 PRICELESS GIFT
- What are we to fight and on what are we to lay hold? I Timothy 6:12, 19; Hebrews 6:18.
Note: “God has enriched the world in these last days proportionately with the increase of ungodliness, if His people will only lay hold of His priceless gift and bind up their every interest with Him. There should be no cherished idols, and we need not dread what will come, but commit the keeping of our souls to God, as unto our faithful Creator. He will keep that which is committed to His trust.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 339.
“Genuine faith always works by love. When you look to Calvary it is not to quiet your soul in the non-performance of duty, not to compose yourself to sleep, but to create faith in Jesus, faith that will work, purifying the soul from the slime of selfishness. When we lay hold of Christ by faith, our work has just begun. Every man has corrupt and sinful habits that must be overcome by vigorous warfare. Every soul is required to fight the fight of faith. If one is a follower of Christ, he cannot be sharp in deal, he cannot be hardhearted, devoid of sympathy. He cannot be coarse in his speech. He cannot be full of pomposity and self-esteem. He cannot be overbearing, nor can he use harsh words, and censure and condemn.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1111.
“Come to Jesus in faith. Ask, and ye shall receive. The forgiveness of sins is promised to him who repents, justification to him who believes, and the crown of life to him who is faithful unto death.” Ibid., vol. 7, 916.
- What counsel is given to us regarding sin and the Law? Romans 6:1, 2; 3:31.
Note: “The law reveals to man his sins, but it provides no remedy.
“While it promises life to the obedient, it declares that death is the portion of the transgressor. The gospel of Christ alone can free him from the condemnation or the defilement of sin. He must exercise repentance toward God, whose law has been transgressed; and faith in Christ, his atoning sacrifice. Thus he obtains ‘remission of sins that are past’ (Romans 3:25) and becomes a partaker of the divine nature. He is a child of God, having received the spirit of adoption, whereby he cries: ‘Abba, Father!’ ” The Great Controversy, 468.
3 BURIED AND THE OLD MAN
- What should happen to the old man when we have been buried with Christ in baptism? Romans 6:4-6; II Corinthians 6:17, 18.
Note: “Every opportunity, every advantage, every privilege, has been given to us to gain a rich Christian experience; but we do not learn everything all at once. There must be a growth. Many, having learned a little in school, think they are ready to graduate. They think they know about all that is worth knowing. We are not to think that as soon as we are baptized we are ready to graduate from the school of Christ. When we have accepted Christ, and in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit have pledged ourselves to serve God, the Father, Christ, and the Holy Spirit—the three dignitaries and powers of heaven—pledge themselves that every facility shall be given to us if we carry out our baptismal vows to ‘come out from among them, and be … separate, … and touch not the unclean thing.’ When we are true to our vows, He says, ‘I will receive you’ (II Corinthians 6:17).” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1075.
- What is the experience through which each person must go and why? John 3:3.
Note: “The new birth is a rare experience in this age of the world. This is the reason why there are so many perplexities in the churches. Many, so many, who assume the name of Christ are unsanctified and unholy. They have been baptized, but they were buried alive. Self did not die, and therefore they did not rise to newness of life in Christ.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1075.
- How are we to walk and why? Romans 6:4; Ephesians 5:8; I Peter 2:9.
Note: “To walk in the light means to resolve, to exercise thought, to exert will-power, in an earnest endeavor to represent Christ in sweetness of character. It means to put away all gloom. You are not to rest satisfied simply in saying, ‘I am a child of God.’ Are you beholding Jesus, and, by beholding, becoming changed into His likeness? To walk in the light means advancement and progress in spiritual attainments. Paul declared, ‘Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect; but … forgetting those things which are behind,’ constantly beholding the Pattern, I reach ‘forth unto those things which are before’ (Philippians 3:12, 13). To walk in the light means to ‘walk uprightly,’ to walk ‘in the way of the Lord,’ to ‘walk by faith,’ to ‘walk in the Spirit,’ to ‘walk in the truth,’ to ‘walk in love,’ to ‘walk in the newness of life.’ It is ‘perfecting holiness in the fear of God.’
“What a terrible thing it is to darken the pathway of others by bringing shadow and gloom upon ourselves! Let each one take heed to himself. Charge not upon others your defections of character. … Talk light; walk in the light. ‘God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all’ (I John 1:5). … Gather to your souls the courage that can come only from the Light of the world.” Sons and Daughters of God, 200.
4 PLAINLY MARKED OUT
- For what purpose was Jesus made to be sin for us? II Corinthians 5:21.
Note: “The steps in conversion, plainly marked out, are repentance, faith in Christ as the world’s Redeemer, faith in His death, burial, and resurrection, shown by baptism, and His ascension on high to plead in the sinner’s behalf. At the very commencement of His public ministry, He presents Himself in the character He sustains to man throughout His mediatorial work. He identifies Himself with sinners as their substitute, taking upon Himself their sins, numbering Himself with the transgressors, and doing the work the sinner is required to do in repentance, faith, and willing obedience. What an example is here given in the life of Christ for sinners to imitate! If they will not follow the example given them, they will be without excuse.” Lift Him Up, 79.
“We are raised from the water as an emblem of His resurrection. We are to live as newborn souls, that we may be raised at the last great day. … You are pledged to live in newness of life; for you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. ‘If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God’ (Colossians 3:1). This is where you are to place your treasure. Finite man cannot do your believing. Come to the great source of power for your strength.” [Author’s italics.] Ibid., 109.
5 OLD MAN CRUCIFIED
- When the old man is crucified, what is destroyed and what is it that is no longer served? Romans 6:6; Ephesians 4:22–24.
Note: “Those who have risen with Christ to walk in newness of life are the elect of God. They are holy unto the Lord, and are acknowledged by Him as His beloved. As such, they are under solemn covenant to distinguish themselves by showing humility of mind. They are to clothe themselves in garments of righteousness. They are separate from the world, from its spirit, its practises [sic], and they are to reveal that they are learning of Him. … If they realize that they have died with Christ, if they keep their baptismal vow, the world will have no power to draw them aside to deny Christ. If they live the life of Christ in this world, they are partakers of the divine nature.” Sons and Daughters of God, 133, 134.