THE L.I.F.E. PLAN GOD S LAW BLOCK 2 THEME 4 - THE WILDERNESS LESSON 2 (50 of 216)
BLOCK 2 THEME 4: THE WILDERNESS LESSON 2 (50 OF 216): GOD S LAW LESSON AIM: God gave his law to Moses for the people. SCRIPTURE: (Exodus 19:18-20; 31:18) 18 And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. 19 And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. 20 And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. (Exodus 19:18-20) 18 And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God. (Exodus 31:18) As God delivered Israel from Egypt and parted the Red Sea before them, he was in the process of establishing them as a theocratic nation. God himself would rule over them but he would have spokesmen through whom he would speak and lead the nation. As a first move to establish this kind of government among the Israelites, God gave them his standards of behavior for life under his rule. These standards were both religious and social. He told them how to behave in relation to him, and how they should behave in relation to each other. This standard is what we refer to as the law of God. It is also referred to at times as the law of Moses. By either title, the law was the standard of behavior for the people of God. It is that which God required of his people. The children of Israel were three months out of Egypt when they arrived through the wilderness at Mt. Sinai. It was upon this mountain that God spoke with Moses, giving him his law for the people. The story of the law has been both good and bad throughout history. On the good side, God had some great intentions for the law. He would use it to bring people to the knowledge of their sin, among many other things. On the bad side, the law became the cornerstone of a religion, and in itself, a false hope of salvation. To understand the place of the law in the purpose of God, let us consider three important truths. The law was never meant to be a means of salvation for the Hebrews or for anyone else. Salvation has always been by grace, through faith. The Bible declares this over and over. Writing to the Romans in Romans 3:28, Paul said, Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Even Abraham, the Father of the Hebrew race, was justified by faith, preceding the law by 600 years. The keeping of the law has never saved anyone, nor ever will. The Bible declares at least two reasons for this. There has never been a law given which could give life. And, righteousness comes only through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. God s
plan for salvation has always been through faith in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. His righteousness is imputed to the believing sinner. A second truth the Bible teaches about the law is that it was meant to show us God s ideal for relationships. The law of God was not meant to give life, but to guide life. We should not try to keep it to be saved but we should want to obey God because we are saved. It is like baptism in this way. Baptism saves no one. We are baptized because we have been saved. The 10 Commandments are the basic core of the law of God. Jesus summarized these commandments into two groups. The first four have to do with our relationship with God. The final six have to do with our relationship with others. When things are not right between us and God, or between us and others, we can go to these commandments and discover the reason why. Doing these things are good things to do, but it is not the doing of these things that brings salvation. These are the things we will want to do as a result of our salvation. We will want our relationships with God and others to be unhindered. Following God s Word will help keep our relationships intact. A final truth we learn about the law is that it reveals our need of a savior. One purpose for the law was to reveal sin until the Christ would come. The law exposed sin in the lives of those who lived before Christ. In this work, the Bible compares the law to things like a prison cell, a schoolmaster, and a tutor. In other words, the law was not meant to provide salvation but to reveal the need for it and point people to the person in whom they could find the salvation they needed. To be in need of a savior is true of all people. There is not even one person who is without sin, except the Christ. All others are fallen through the sin of Adam. We are all like a sheep that has deserted its shepherd and its fold, going off in its own direction. This is true of every person and of all people groups. Therefore, God s standards of the law reveal our sin and at the same time, show us our need for a savior to deliver us from our sin. Jesus Christ came to the earth to fulfill the law. He kept all of the law perfectly, and without any violation. His sinlessness is applied to our lives when we believe on him for salvation. He fulfilled the law on our behalf. It is in his righteousness that we are able to stand before a holy God as if we have never sinned at all. Apart from his doing this work for us, we would never be able to have this standing before God. Christ is the answer to our sin problem before God. The unfortunate thing for the Jews is that they failed to see Jesus as the fulfillment of the law. As a nation, they saw the law as a self-fulfilling way to righteousness and thus to their standing before God. They perverted the law by adding more to it so they could claim to keep it, thereby earning their salvation, at least in their minds, by their own works. Many people still try to do the same thing today. The truth is, however, that Jesus fulfilled the law and it is faith in him that provides our righteousness in God s eyes. By itself, the law could never do this. And, again, it was never meant to. As we have said, the law was meant to point us to Christ. It is in him, and only in him, that true salvation can be found.
LESSON OUTLINE BLOCK 2 THEME 4: THE WILDERNESS LESSON 2 (50 OF 216): GOD S LAW I THE LAW WAS NOT MEANT TO BE A MEANS OF SALVATION A. Salvation is by grace through faith B. Keeping the law could never save anyone II THE LAW SHOWED GOD S IDEAL FOR RELATIONSHIPS A. Between God and man B. Between men III THE LAW REVEALS OUR NEED FOR A SAVIOR A. The law revealed man s sin B. The law points man to Christ SCRIPTURES TO BROADEN YOUR UNDERSTANDING 1. The 10 commandments Exodus 20:1-17 2. An understanding of the law Romans Galatians 3. Salvation by grace through faith Ephesians 2:8-9 4. Man s righteousness Isaiah 64:6 LINES OF THEOLOGICAL CONNECTION 1. CHRISTOLOGY Righteousness comes through Christ 2. ANTHROPOLOGY Man has no righteousness
3. THE DOCTRINE OF SALVATION By grace through faith alone The law and its purpose QUESTIONS ANSWER KEY 1. Use the maps in your Bible or a Bible atlas and locate Mt. Sinai. Student response 2. For what two reasons can the law not save anyone? No law was given to bring life; Righteousness comes from Christ 3. What is God s intention for the law? To bring the people to the knowledge of their sin 4. What did the Jews do with the law? They used it to justify their own salvation 5. What three truths did we get about the law? The law was never meant to be a means of salvation; It was meant to show us God s ideal for relationships; The law reveals our need for a savior 6. Why did Jesus come to earth? To fulfill the law and save man 7. Why did the Jews not realize who Jesus was? They had perverted the law
BLOCK 2 THEME 4: THE WILDERNESS LESSON 2 (50 OF 216): GOD S LAW QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE THOUGHT 1. Use the maps in your Bible or a Bible atlas and locate Mt. Sinai. 2. For what two reasons can the law not save anyone? 3. What is God s intention for the law? 4. What did the Jews do with the law? 5. What three truths did we get about the law? 6. Why did Jesus come to earth? 7. Why did the Jews not realize who Jesus was?