The Book of James

The Everlasting Gospel

Lesson #13 for December 27, 2014

Scriptures: [Hebrews 4:2; 10:1-4; Psalm 103:3-4; Luke 15:11-32; Romans 3:24-26; Revelation 12:17; 14:12][i].

1.    We are now coming to the end of our discussion of the book of James. The authors of the lesson are stepping back from the text of the book of James itself to take an overall look at how James fits with Scripture as a whole. They have chosen to talk about the gospel throughout Scripture. It is interesting to note that the gospel is not mentioned at all in the book of James.

2.    Read Revelation 14:6ii. Seventh-day Adventists have claimed the three angels’ messages as our final message to the world. Those three angels’ messages begin with Revelation14:6 and “the everlasting gospel.” What is the everlasting/eternal gospel?

3.    Could you define the meaning of the gospel in a few words? How did Paul describe the gospel in Romans 1:16-17iii? Why do some translations sound so different from others? Why are we so prone to listen to the Devil instead of God?

Romans 1:17a:

“For the gospel reveals how God puts people right with himself. . . .” (GNB)

“God’s way of putting people right. . . .” (The Message)

“For therein is the righteousness of God revealed. . . .” (KJV)

“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed. . . .” (NASB:1995)

4.    Many Bible translators have struggled with how to interpret Romans 1:17. The Greek says simply, “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed.” But, without an understanding of the great controversy, they asked themselves, “Who would dare to question the righteousness of God?” And so, they choose a rather strange translation of this verse, “A righteousness of God.” And what is that righteousness of God? With their understanding of how the gospel works, that righteousness of God must mean how God justifies or makes human beings right. They think that it could not be about God’s own righteousness!

5.    But, Seventh-day Adventists recognize that in the very first pages of the Bible, in Genesis 3:1-5, Satan speaking through the serpent in the tree accused God of lying. And all through Scripture, we see a storyline which tells us how various individuals and groups-especially the children of Israel-have responded to Satan’s lies and how other individuals have responded to the truth about God.

6.    Read Hebrews 4:2iv. For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. (NIV)

For we have heard the Good News, just as they did. They heard the message, but it did them no good, because when they heard it, they did not accept it with faith. (GNB) [Bold type is added.]

7.    So, here we have two contrasting views of the gospel in this lesson. One view suggests that the good news is that when human beings sinned, God demanded that someone pay the price for that infraction. Jesus offered to pay that price by His death. As a result, God-perhaps reluctantly in some views-accepted the payment and agreed to save us.

8.    A second view suggests that from the beginning the question has been: Who is telling us the truth? Is it God? Or, His great adversary? God has said that sin is deadly. (Genesis 2:17) The Devil said, “That is a lie.” (See Genesis 3:1-4[v].) So, who is telling us the truth? Who can we trust? Surely, no Christian would openly choose the Devil! Jesus came not only to tell us the truth about the gospel but to live it out. He did not die of crucifixion; He died of sin; and He arose in His own power to prove His divinity.

9.    Are we convinced that sin is deadly? Do we really believe God’s words? Do we tend to believe the Devil when he suggests that God is requiring things of us which are unreasonable and unfair? Every time we sin, aren’t we suggesting that we do not believe that God’s ways are best? God is the only source of life. (See [Psalm 36:9; Acts 17:25,28]vi; [MB 74.3; Ed 197.3; RH, December 2, 1890 par. 15]vii.) If we are separated from Him, we die.

10.    So, which of these two versions of the gospel seems more important to you? And more truthful? That Jesus by assuaging the wrath of God paid the price for our sins and our salvation/healing? Or, that God is not the kind of Person His enemies have made Him out to be, and He is waiting with longing desire to welcome His children home? (COL 69.1viii)

11.    Read Jeremiah 31:31-34ix. Notice that when we get to know the Lord, it will transform/heal us. And as a result, when God welcomes us home, our past sins no longer matter. But, that is not all. By beholding we are changed to become like Him. (The Great Controversy 555[x])

12.    Is the best news of all that God has made some kind of legal arrangement to pay for your sins? Or, is it that we have discovered that God is totally and completely loving, and He can hardly wait to welcome us home? (1 John 4:8,16xi) But, is it safe for Him to save us?

13.    Our lesson suggests that some people have a hard time finding the gospel in the Gospels! Jesus came to a tithe-paying, health-reforming, Sabbathkeeping, law-abiding group of people awaiting the arrival of the Messiah. What more could they possibly need?

14.    But unfortunately, to the Pharisees and most of the Jews in Jesus day:

The law of Jehovah was burdened with needless exactions and traditions, and God was represented as severe, exacting, revengeful, and arbitrary.

He was pictured as one who could take pleasure in the sufferings of his creatures. The very attributes that belonged to the character of Satan, the evil one represented as belonging to the character of God. Jesus came to teach men of the Father, to correctly represent him before the fallen children of earth. Angels could not fully portray the character of God, but Christ, who was a living impersonation of God, could not fail to accomplish the work. The only way in which he could set [justify] and keep [sanctify] men right was to make himself visible and familiar to their eyes. . . .

Christ exalted the character of God, attributing to him the praise, and giving to him the credit, of the whole purpose of his own mission on earth,-to set men right through the revelation of God. In Christ was arrayed before men the paternal grace and the matchless perfections of the Father. In his prayer just before his crucifixion, he declared, “I have manifested thy name.” [John 17:6] “I have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” [John 17:4] When the object of his mission was attained,-the revelation of God to the world,-the Son of God announced that his work was accomplished, and that the character of the Father was made manifest to men. The Signs of the Times, January 20, 1890, par. 6,9. [Bold type and content in brackets are added.]

15.    Did Jesus come primarily to “pay the price for sin”? Or, did He come “to set men right through the revelation of God”? How are these two approaches different? Could both be true? What price needs to be paid to deal with sin? (Romans 8:3xii)

16.    Read [Luke 15:11-32; Luke 18:9-17xiii]. Who are the surprising characters in each of these stories? The actions of the prodigal were not really that surprising to an ancient Jew. The behavior of the Pharisee seemed obvious to the Jews of Jesus’s day. The surprising characters in the stories were the prodigal’s father and the tax collector. The story of the prodigal teaches us that God loves sinners even when they are covered with the “mud” of sin. And God loves traitors-for that is what the publican was thought to be-when they come humbly before Him. The prodigal’s re-exposure to the father was transformational for him. The tax collector’s prayer before God was transformational for him. But, the main character behind both of these stories is God the Father.

17.    Read Matthew 26:28xiv, NASB. Compare Mark 10:45xv. The Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide goes on to say: “Thus, salvation is free to us because He, Jesus, paid the full price for it.” When we read such a statement, shouldn’t we ask the questions: What was the price? And, to whom was it paid? Where do you think you would fit in these two parables?

18.    Read 2 Corinthians 3:14-16; 3:2-6xvi. What did Paul seem to suggest is required for salvation?

19.    We know that at the time of the Divine revelation on the Damascus road, Paul experienced a “fruit basket upset” in his thinking. It took him nearly three years to sort it all out.

20.    Read Romans 3:25-26xvii. We could spend a lot of time looking at these verses. But, it is important to notice that three times Paul said that God’s righteousness must be demonstrated before He talked about setting men right! There is nothing in the text about appeasing God’s wrath! Why do you think that is? Do we really need to see the truth about God demonstrated before we can come to fully trust Him? Are we ready to do that? How do we get to know God better?

21.    Read Hebrews 7:19; 8:1-2,6,9; 10:1-4xviii. It is very clear from Hebrews 10 that the sandbox demonstration of the gospel in the Old Testament could never be a full and complete portrayal of the gospel. Hebrews 10 suggests that while the blood of the animal sacrifices in the Old Testament could never take away sins, “The offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” does atone for sins including those committed under the old covenant. (Hebrews 10:10xix, NKJV; and Hebrews 9:15xx) Did sacrificing a lamb cause them to stop sinning?

22.    Was the author of Hebrews suggesting that the problem was that the people in the Old Testament brought the wrong blood? Is there something magical about the blood of Jesus Christ? Back in the Garden of Eden, God had said that sin leads to death. (Genesis 2:17xxi) The deaths of Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane (See DA 693.1xxii.) and again on the cross demonstrated that fact completely and finally.

23.    Could we ask for any clearer demonstration? That death and the subsequent resurrection on the third day proved unequivocally that Satan is the one who has lied and misrepresented God at every step of the way. Jesus was “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:8xxiii. See also Jeremiah 32:40; Hebrews 13:20-21;John 13:34xxiv.) Sin leads to death!

The covenant of grace is not a new truth, for it existed in the mind of God from all eternity. This is why it is called the everlasting covenant. The plan of redemption was not conceived after the fall of man to cure the dreadful evil; the apostle Paul speaks of the gospel, the preaching of Jesus Christ, as “the revelation of the mystery, which hath been kept in silence through times eternal, but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, is made known unto all the nations unto obedience of faith.” [Romans 16:25-26] (Revised Version)—Ellen G. White, Signs of the Times, August 24, 1891 par. 10; The Faith I Live By, p. 77.5. [Content in brackets is added.]

24.    We hope that it has been clear in our lesson so far that the questions which arose at the very opening of the great controversy on this earth were convincingly answered by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The covenant has been the same, the law has been the same, the gospel has been the same from Adam’s day to ours. (John 8:56; Romans 4:13; James 2:21-23)xxv

25.    Read Revelation 12:17; 14:12xxvi. Seventh-day Adventists have quoted these verses along with Revelation 19:10 to prove that we are the final, end-time people of God on this earth. Is that a valid claim? What is the testimony of Jesus? See #14 above. Could we be witnesses to the truth about God as He was? Are we so settled into the truth both intellectually and spiritually that we cannot be moved? (4SDABC 1161.6) Do we know for sure that we trust and obey God because He has proven that He can be trusted?

26.    Read Revelation 13-14xxvii. Are the fearsome words in the three angels’ messages recorded in Revelation 14 a new and distinct message? Or, are they a response to the enemy’s threats recorded in Revelation 13? Ultimately, they are a response to the Devil’s ongoing lies.

27.    Is it true-as has been suggested on many occasions-that to know God is to love Him? If we do not love Him as we should, is it because we do not know Him as we should? Do we believe that God the Father is just as happy and excited to welcome us home as the father was in the story of the prodigal?

28.    Review again the story of the prodigal, the father, and the older son. Try to imagine what was going on in the mind of each one at each phase of the story. Would your father have been willing to divide his estate and give the appropriate portion to a younger son so he could take it away and spend it in riotous living? What does this tell us about God the Father’s recognition of our freedom?

29.    The prodigal came to his senses when he found himself hungry and associating with pigs in the mud. When God looks down at our world today, does He see us wallowing in sin? Are we prepared to get up and return to Him? When the prodigal returned home, the father killed the fatted calf in his honor. Did the calf have to die for the father’s love to be manifested? Did that father in any way suggest that he could not accept the son back until a calf died? Or, even until the son repented and asked for forgiveness?

30.    Why did Jesus have to die? Was it to appease the wrath of an angry God? (See the sermons of Jonathan Edwards.) Or, did Jesus die to teach us the truth about the results of sin? What do you think happened in the prodigal’s family in the subsequent weeks and months? What will happen in God’s family?

© 2014, Kenneth Hart, MD, MA, MPH. Permission is hereby granted for any noncommercial use of these materials. Free distribution of all or of a portion of this material such as to a Bible study class is encouraged.

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i-Hebrews 4:2 For we have heard the Good News, just as they did. They heard the message, but it did them no good, because when they heard it, they did not accept it with faith.

10:1 The Jewish Law is not a full and faithful model of the real things; it is only a faint outline of the good things to come. The same sacrifices are offered forever, year after year. How can the Law, then, by means of these sacrifices make perfect the people who come to God? 2 If the people worshiping God had really been purified from their sins, they would not feel guilty of sin any more, and all sacrifices would stop. 3 As it is, however, the sacrifices serve year after year to remind people of their sins. 4 For the blood of bulls and goats can never take away sins.

Psalm 103:3 He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. 4 He keeps me from the grave and blesses me with love and mercy.

Luke 15:11 Jesus went on to say, "There was once a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to him, "Father, give me my share of the property now.' So the man divided his property between his two sons. 13 After a few days the younger son sold his part of the property and left home with the money. He went to a country far away, where he wasted his money in reckless living. 14 He spent everything he had. Then a severe famine spread over that country, and he was left without a thing. 15 So he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him out to his farm to take care of the pigs. 16 He wished he could fill himself with the bean pods the pigs ate, but no one gave him anything to eat. 17 At last he came to his senses and said, "All my father's hired workers have more than they can eat, and here I am about to starve! 18 I will get up and go to my father and say, "Father, I have sinned against God and against you. 19 I am no longer fit to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired workers." ' 20 So he got up and started back to his father. "He was still a long way from home when his father saw him; his heart was filled with pity, and he ran, threw his arms around his son, and kissed him. 21 "Father,' the son said, "I have sinned against God and against you. I am no longer fit to be called your son.' 22 But the father called to his servants. "Hurry!' he said. "Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet. 23 Then go and get the prize calf and kill it, and let us celebrate with a feast! 24 For this son of mine was dead, but now he is alive; he was lost, but now he has been found.' And so the feasting began. 25 "In the meantime the older son was out in the field. On his way back, when he came close to the house, he heard the music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him, "What's going on?' 27 "Your brother has come back home,' the servant answered, "and your father has killed the prize calf, because he got him back safe and sound.' 28 The older brother was so angry that he would not go into the house; so his father came out and begged him to come in. 29 But he spoke back to his father, "Look, all these years I have worked for you like a slave, and I have never disobeyed your orders. What have you given me? Not even a goat for me to have a feast with my friends! 30 But this son of yours wasted all your property on prostitutes, and when he comes back home, you kill the prize calf for him!' 31 "My son,' the father answered, "you are always here with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be happy, because your brother was dead, but now he is alive; he was lost, but now he has been found.' "

Romans 3:24 But by the free gift of God's grace all are put right with him through Christ Jesus, who sets them free. 25 God offered him, so that by his blood he should become the means by which people's sins are forgiven through their faith in him. God did this in order to demonstrate that he is righteous. In the past he was patient and overlooked people's sins; but in the present time he deals with their sins, in order to demonstrate his righteousness. In this way God shows that he himself is righteous and that he puts right everyone who believes in Jesus. 27 What, then, can we boast about? Nothing! And what is the reason for this? Is it that we obey the Law? No, but that we believe. 28 For we conclude that a person is put right with God only through faith, and not by doing what the Law commands. 29 Or is God the God of the Jews only? Is he not the God of the Gentiles also? Of course he is. 30 God is one, and he will put the Jews right with himself on the basis of their faith, and will put the Gentiles right through their faith.

Revelation 12:17 The dragon was furious with the woman and went off to fight against the rest of her descendants, all those who obey God's commandments and are faithful to the truth revealed by Jesus.

14:12 This calls for endurance on the part of God's people, those who obey God's commandments and are faithful to Jesus.

ii-Revelation 14:6 Then I saw another angel flying high in the air, with an eternal message of Good News to announce to the peoples of the earth, to every race, tribe, language, and nation.

iii-Romans 1:16 I have complete confidence in the gospel; it is God's power to save all who believe, first the Jews and also the Gentiles. 17 For the gospel reveals how God puts people right with himself: it is through faith from beginning to end. As the scripture says, "The person who is put right with God through faith shall live."

iv-Hebrews 4:2 For we have heard the Good News, just as they did. They heard the message, but it did them no good, because when they heard it, they did not accept it with faith.

v-Genesis 3:1 Now the snake was the most cunning animal that the Lord God had made. The snake asked the woman, "Did God really tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?" 2 "We may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden," the woman answered, 3 "except the tree in the middle of it. God told us not to eat the fruit of that tree or even touch it; if we do, we will die." 4 The snake replied, "That's not true; you will not die.

vi-Psalm 36:9 You are the source of all life, and because of your light we see the light.

Acts 17:25 Nor does he need anything that we can supply by working for him, since it is he himself who gives life and breath and everything else to everyone. 28 as someone has said, "In him we live and move and exist.' It is as some of your poets have said, "We too are his children.'

vii-MB 74.3; It is not because of inherent power that year by year the earth produces her bounties and continues her motion round the sun. The hand of God guides the planets and keeps them in position in their orderly march through the heavens. It is through His power that summer and winter, seedtime and harvest, day and night follow each other in their regular succession. It is by His word that vegetation flourishes, that the leaves appear and the flowers bloom. Every good thing we have, each ray of sunshine and shower of rain, every morsel of food, every moment of life, is a gift of love. {MB 74.3}

Ed 197.3; There is a physiological truth—truth that we need to consider—in the scripture, “A merry [rejoicing] heart doeth good like a medicine.” Proverbs 17:22.{Ed 197.3}

RH, December 2, 1890 par. 15 Parents, in wisdom and love teach your children the grand lesson that in God we live, and move, and have our being. Every pulsation of the heart is a rebound from the touch of the finger of God. He watches over us by day, and under his wings we find shelter by night. His preserving care is over us, whether we wake or sleep. He is as a sentinel to guard us from Satan’s power, or we should be taken captive by him. Jesus is our constant friend. We are to look to him moment by moment, and by looking to him we are to live. It will not pay for any one of us to become self-centered, to study our ease, or pleasure, or selfish indulgence in any respect. It is enough for us if our life is hid with Christ in God. If the life of Jesus is in us, we shall seek the glory of God in everything. We shall daily humble our hearts before God, and at the foot of the cross we shall have distinct views of the loveliness of Christ. We shall make Christ first, and last, and best in everything. We cannot glorify God if we place man where God should be. Not a word of praise should be diverted from God to sinful men. But if we walk humbly with God, working the works of Christ, our characters will become like that of our Lord; and when we most nearly reflect the likeness of Christ, we are giving the greatest honor to God.{RH December 2, 1890, par. 15}

viii-COL 69.1 “When the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.” Christ is waiting with longing desire for the manifestation of Himself in His church. When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own.{COL 69.1}

ix-Jeremiah 31:31 The Lord says, "The time is coming when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 32 It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. Although I was like a husband to them, they did not keep that covenant. 33 The new covenant that I will make with the people of Israel will be this: I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 None of them will have to teach a neighbor to know the Lord, because all will know me, from the least to the greatest. I will forgive their sins and I will no longer remember their wrongs. I, the Lord, have spoken."

x-The Great Controversy 555 It is a law both of the intellectual and the spiritual nature that by beholding we become changed. The mind gradually adapts itself to the subjects upon which it is allowed to dwell. It becomes assimilated to that which it is accustomed to love and reverence. Man will never rise higher than his standard of purity or goodness or truth. If self is his loftiest ideal, he will never attain to anything more exalted. Rather, he will constantly sink lower and lower. The grace of God alone has power to exalt man. Left to himself, his course must inevitably be downward.{GC 555.1}

xi-1 John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 16 And we ourselves know and believe the love which God has for us. God is love, and those who live in love live in union with God and God lives in union with them.

xii-Romans 8:3 What the Law could not do, because human nature was weak, God did. He condemned sin in human nature by sending his own Son, who came with a nature like our sinful nature, to do away with sin.

xiii-Luke 15:11 Jesus went on to say, "There was once a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to him, "Father, give me my share of the property now.' So the man divided his property between his two sons. 13 After a few days the younger son sold his part of the property and left home with the money. He went to a country far away, where he wasted his money in reckless living. 14 He spent everything he had. Then a severe famine spread over that country, and he was left without a thing. 15 So he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him out to his farm to take care of the pigs. 16 He wished he could fill himself with the bean pods the pigs ate, but no one gave him anything to eat. 17 At last he came to his senses and said, "All my father's hired workers have more than they can eat, and here I am about to starve! 18 I will get up and go to my father and say, "Father, I have sinned against God and against you. 19 I am no longer fit to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired workers." ' 20 So he got up and started back to his father. "He was still a long way from home when his father saw him; his heart was filled with pity, and he ran, threw his arms around his son, and kissed him. 21 "Father,' the son said, "I have sinned against God and against you. I am no longer fit to be called your son.' 22 But the father called to his servants. "Hurry!' he said. "Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet. 23 Then go and get the prize calf and kill it, and let us celebrate with a feast! 24 For this son of mine was dead, but now he is alive; he was lost, but now he has been found.' And so the feasting began. 25 "In the meantime the older son was out in the field. On his way back, when he came close to the house, he heard the music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him, "What's going on?' 27 "Your brother has come back home,' the servant answered, "and your father has killed the prize calf, because he got him back safe and sound.' 28 The older brother was so angry that he would not go into the house; so his father came out and begged him to come in. 29 But he spoke back to his father, "Look, all these years I have worked for you like a slave, and I have never disobeyed your orders. What have you given me? Not even a goat for me to have a feast with my friends! 30 But this son of yours wasted all your property on prostitutes, and when he comes back home, you kill the prize calf for him!' 31 "My son,' the father answered, "you are always here with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be happy, because your brother was dead, but now he is alive; he was lost, but now he has been found.' "

Luke 18:9 Jesus also told this parable to people who were sure of their own goodness and despised everybody else. 10 "Once there were two men who went up to the Temple to pray: one was a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood apart by himself and prayed, "I thank you, God, that I am not greedy, dishonest, or an adulterer, like everybody else. I thank you that I am not like that tax collector over there. 12 I fast two days a week, and I give you one tenth of all my income.' 13 But the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even raise his face to heaven, but beat on his breast and said, "God, have pity on me, a sinner!' 14 I tell you," said Jesus, "the tax collector, and not the Pharisee, was in the right with God when he went home. For those who make themselves great will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be made great." 15 Some people brought their babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. The disciples saw them and scolded them for doing so, 16 but Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the children come to me and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 Remember this! Whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it."

xiv-Matthew 26:28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.

xv-Mark 10:28 "this is my blood, which seals God's covenant, my blood poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

xvi-2 Corinthians 3:14 Their minds, indeed, were closed; and to this very day their minds are covered with the same veil as they read the books of the old covenant. The veil is removed only when a person is joined to Christ. 15 Even today, whenever they read the Law of Moses, the veil still covers their minds. 16 But it can be removed, as the scripture says about Moses: "His veil was removed when he turned to the Lord."

3:2 You yourselves are the letter we have, written on our hearts for everyone to know and read. 3 It is clear that Christ himself wrote this letter and sent it by us. It is written, not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, and not on stone tablets but on human hearts. 4 We say this because we have confidence in God through Christ. 5 There is nothing in us that allows us to claim that we are capable of doing this work. The capacity we have comes from God; 6 it is he who made us capable of serving the new covenant, which consists not of a written law but of the Spirit. The written law brings death, but the Spirit gives life.

xvii-Romans 3:25 God offered him, so that by his blood he should become the means by which people's sins are forgiven through their faith in him. God did this in order to demonstrate that he is righteous. In the past he was patient and overlooked people's sins; but in the present time he deals with their sins, in order to demonstrate his righteousness. In this way God shows that he himself is righteous and that he puts right everyone who believes in Jesus. 27 What, then, can we boast about? Nothing! And what is the reason for this? Is it that we obey the Law? No, but that we believe. 28 For we conclude that a person is put right with God only through faith, and not by doing what the Law commands. 29 Or is God the God of the Jews only? Is he not the God of the Gentiles also? Of course he is. 30 God is one, and he will put the Jews right with himself on the basis of their faith, and will put the Gentiles right through their faith. 31 Does this mean that by this faith we do away with the Law? No, not at all; instead, we uphold the Law.

xviii-Hebrews 7:19 For the Law of Moses could not make anything perfect. And now a better hope has been provided through which we come near to God.

8:1 The whole point of what we are saying is that we have such a High Priest, who sits at the right of the throne of the Divine Majesty in heaven. 2 He serves as high priest in the Most Holy Place, that is, in the real tent which was put up by the Lord, not by human hands. 6 But now, Jesus has been given priestly work which is superior to theirs, just as the covenant which he arranged between God and his people is a better one, because it is based on promises of better things. 9 It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. They were not faithful to the covenant I made with them, and so I paid no attention to them.

10:1 The Jewish Law is not a full and faithful model of the real things; it is only a faint outline of the good things to come. The same sacrifices are offered forever, year after year. How can the Law, then, by means of these sacrifices make perfect the people who come to God? 2 If the people worshiping God had really been purified from their sins, they would not feel guilty of sin any more, and all sacrifices would stop. 3 As it is, however, the sacrifices serve year after year to remind people of their sins. 4 For the blood of bulls and goats can never take away sins.

xix-Hebrews 10:10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

xx-Hebrews 9:15 For this reason Christ is the one who arranges a new covenant, so that those who have been called by God may receive the eternal blessings that God has promised. This can be done because there has been a death which sets people free from the wrongs they did while the first covenant was in effect.

xxi-Genesis 2:17 except the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad. You must not eat the fruit of that tree; if you do, you will die the same day."

xxii-DA 693.1 Having made the decision, He fell dying to the ground from which He had partially risen. Where now were His disciples, to place their hands tenderly beneath the head of their fainting Master, and bathe that brow, marred indeed more than the sons of men? The Saviour trod the wine press alone, and of the people there was none with Him.{DA 693.1}

xxiii-Revelation 13:8 All people living on earth will worship it, except those whose names were written before the creation of the world in the book of the living which belongs to the Lamb that was killed.

xxiv-Jeremiah 32:40 I will make an eternal covenant with them. I will never stop doing good things for them, and I will make them fear me with all their heart, so that they will never turn away from me.

Hebrews 13:20 God has raised from death our Lord Jesus, who is the Great Shepherd of the sheep as the result of his blood, by which the eternal covenant is sealed. May the God of peace provide you with every good thing you need in order to do his will, and may he, through Jesus Christ, do in us what pleases him. And to Christ be the glory forever and ever! Amen. 22 I beg you, my friends, to listen patiently to this message of encouragement; for this letter I have written you is not very long. 23 I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been let out of prison. If he comes soon enough, I will have him with me when I see you. 24 Give our greetings to all your leaders and to all God's people. The believers from Italy send you their greetings.

John 13:34 And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

xxv-John 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see the time of my coming; he saw it and was glad."

Romans 4:13 When God promised Abraham and his descendants that the world would belong to him, he did so, not because Abraham obeyed the Law, but because he believed and was accepted as righteous by God.

James 2:21 How was our ancestor Abraham put right with God? It was through his actions, when he offered his son Isaac on the altar. 22 Can't you see? His faith and his actions worked together; his faith was made perfect through his actions. 23 And the scripture came true that said, "Abraham believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous." And so Abraham was called God's friend.

xxvi-Revelation 12:17 The dragon was furious with the woman and went off to fight against the rest of her descendants, all those who obey God's commandments and are faithful to the truth revealed by Jesus.

14:12 This calls for endurance on the part of God's people, those who obey God's commandments and are faithful to Jesus.

xxvii-Revelation 13:1 Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads; on each of its horns there was a crown, and on each of its heads there was a name that was insulting to God. 2 The beast looked like a leopard, with feet like a bear's feet and a mouth like a lion's mouth. The dragon gave the beast his own power, his throne, and his vast authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have been fatally wounded, but the wound had healed. The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast. 4 Everyone worshiped the dragon because he had given his authority to the beast. They worshiped the beast also, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who can fight against it?" 5 The beast was allowed to make proud claims which were insulting to God, and it was permitted to have authority for forty-two months. 6 It began to curse God, his name, the place where he lives, and all those who live in heaven. 7 It was allowed to fight against God's people and to defeat them, and it was given authority over every tribe, nation, language, and race. 8 All people living on earth will worship it, except those whose names were written before the creation of the world in the book of the living which belongs to the Lamb that was killed. 9 "Listen, then, if you have ears! 10 Whoever is meant to be captured will surely be captured; whoever is meant to be killed by the sword will surely be killed by the sword. This calls for endurance and faith on the part of God's people." 11 Then I saw another beast, which came up out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb's horns, and it spoke like a dragon. 12 It used the vast authority of the first beast in its presence. It forced the earth and all who live on it to worship the first beast, whose wound had healed. 13 This second beast performed great miracles; it made fire come down out of heaven to earth in the sight of everyone. 14 And it deceived all the people living on earth by means of the miracles which it was allowed to perform in the presence of the first beast. The beast told them to build an image in honor of the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 The second beast was allowed to breathe life into the image of the first beast, so that the image could talk and put to death all those who would not worship it. 16 The beast forced all the people, small and great, rich and poor, slave and free, to have a mark placed on their right hands or on their foreheads. 17 No one could buy or sell without this mark, that is, the beast's name or the number that stands for the name. 18 This calls for wisdom. Whoever is intelligent can figure out the meaning of the number of the beast, because the number stands for the name of someone. Its number is 666.

14:1 Then I looked, and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion; with him were 144,000 people who have his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven that sounded like a roaring waterfall, like a loud peal of thunder. It sounded like the music made by musicians playing their harps. 3 The 144,000 people stood before the throne, the four living creatures, and the elders; they were singing a new song, which only they could learn. Of the whole human race they are the only ones who have been redeemed. 4 They are the men who have kept themselves pure by not having sexual relations with women; they are virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been redeemed from the rest of the human race and are the first ones to be offered to God and to the Lamb. 5 They have never been known to tell lies; they are faultless. 6 Then I saw another angel flying high in the air, with an eternal message of Good News to announce to the peoples of the earth, to every race, tribe, language, and nation. 7 He said in a loud voice, "Honor God and praise his greatness! For the time has come for him to judge all people. Worship him who made heaven, earth, sea, and the springs of water!" 8 A second angel followed the first one, saying, "She has fallen! Great Babylon has fallen! She made all peoples drink her wine - the strong wine of her immoral lust!" 9 A third angel followed the first two, saying in a loud voice, "Those who worship the beast and its image and receive the mark on their forehead or on their hand 10 will themselves drink God's wine, the wine of his fury, which he has poured at full strength into the cup of his anger! All who do this will be tormented in fire and sulfur before the holy angels and the Lamb. 11 The smoke of the fire that torments them goes up forever and ever. There is no relief day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, for anyone who has the mark of its name." 12 This calls for endurance on the part of God's people, those who obey God's commandments and are faithful to Jesus. 13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write this: Happy are those who from now on die in the service of the Lord!" "Yes indeed!" answers the Spirit. "They will enjoy rest from their hard work, because the results of their service go with them." 14 Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was what looked like a human being, with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 Then another angel came out from the temple and cried out in a loud voice to the one who was sitting on the cloud, "Use your sickle and reap the harvest, because the time has come; the earth is ripe for the harvest!" 16 Then the one who sat on the cloud swung his sickle on the earth, and the earth's harvest was reaped. 17 Then I saw another angel come out of the temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. 18 Then another angel, who is in charge of the fire, came from the altar. He shouted in a loud voice to the angel who had the sharp sickle, "Use your sickle, and cut the grapes from the vineyard of the earth, because the grapes are ripe!" 19 So the angel swung his sickle on the earth, cut the grapes from the vine, and threw them into the wine press of God's furious anger. 20 The grapes were squeezed out in the wine press outside the city, and blood came out of the wine press in a flood two hundred miles long and about five feet deep.

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