Psalm 119: 1-8

Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord! 2 Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, Who seek Him with the whole heart! 3 They also do no iniquity; They walk in His ways. 4 You have commanded us to keep Your precepts diligently. 5 Oh, that my ways were directed to keep Your statutes! 6 Then I would not be ashamed when I look into all Your commandments. 7 I will praise You with uprightness of heart when I learn Your righteous judgments. 8 I will keep Your statutes; Oh, do not forsake me utterly!

This past week I reread ch. 27 of Patriarchs and Prophets, which focuses on the events of Exodus 19 through 24.
Moses was called to the top of the mountain to meet with God who had a message for the people.
"You have seen what I did unto the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you unto Myself. Now, therefore, if you will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then you will be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people, for all the earth is Mine, and you will be unto Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."
Moses delivered this message to the elders. They said, "All that the Lord has spoken we will do."
Ellen White wrote, "Thus they entered into a solemn covenant with God, pledging themselves to accept Him as their ruler, by which they became in special sense, the subjects of His authority.
"God purposed to make the occasion of speaking His law a scene of awful grandeur, in keeping with its exalted character. The people were to be impressed that everything connected with the service of God must be regarded with the greatest reverence."
Two days were given for the people to prepare themselves to meet God. They were to bathe, wash their clothes, and examine themselves for any other impurities, as they were to devote themselves to humiliation, fasting, and prayer so that their hearts would be prepared for the Lord's visitation upon them on the third day.
On that day on Mt. Sinai, there were dark clouds, flashes of lightning, peals of thunder, and the sounds of approaching trumpets. It appeared as if the whole of the mountain was on fire, and all of Israel fell on their faces.
We have seen photos and videos of volcanos waking up, spewing forth dark clouds of ash and the lava flow that soon follows, leaving a trail of destruction when the fires eventually burn out. I am sure that the people of Israel thought that death was imminent because of what they saw on the burning mountaintop.
And then suddenly... all the earth grew silent. No more dreadful thunder. No more sound of blasting trumpets. No bird song, no insect hum or chirp. Total silence.
And then a voice speaks. It had to be the most beautiful sound the universe had ever heard. It was the voice of a loving Father opening His heart to His children as He made His will known to them.
"I am the Lord thy God..."
It was at this moment that God entrusted His will with the children of Israel, making them the guardians and keepers of His law. And it was to be through this kingdom of priests that the world was to learn about God's love, mercy, grace, and so much more. Ellen White stated that God honored Israel with this trust. It was to be an honor to take His words found in Exodus 20 to heart and mind and to bring them to life, not on hearts of stone, but on hearts of flesh.
This is part of our legacy. Today, living in this world of trouble, we have been given the honor of being called the children of God and as such have been entrusted with the knowledge of His will. We have been called upon to live according to His precepts, statutes, laws, and commandments.
And it is His love that is the foundation for all these things. "You will love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as you love yourself." (Luke 10:27)
As I look at how things are going on in our country, the way people, particularly Christians, have allowed themselves to be split along political lines, I see the need to remind us of Leviticus 19: 17 and 18: You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor and not bear sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as you love yourself. I am the Lord."
Our Father has laid down the law and expects us to play by His rules. Jesus prayed for our unity, and we must be united under His banner that proclaims His love for us. We need to stand united on His love. And we need to be taking this very seriously. If we need to stop and wonder about how serious this matter is, then we need to stop and wonder at the cross where Jesus died.
There are too many standing in the pulpit today who claim that we do not need to be keeping the law and then quote a passage of scripture to back up the claim. This past week I finally got a grasp on the Dispensationalist teachings and understand why they believe it. Growing up I heard the terms on rare occasions, but their meaning never sank in. It took a video featuring Walter Veith discussing the Third Temple to help me understand it. "The age of law" was for the Jews, but we are now in "the age of grace" and the law no longer has any meaning to us as Christians. Because of this, there is a lot in both the Old and New Testaments that never get brought up in a sermon. The issues are not studied because the issues are not important. But God said it, and that settles it, and what He said is not to be ignored. It was important enough for Him to bring up the matter. It should be important enough for all of us to take notice and listen.
Daniel wrote about the Little Horn that thought to changes times and laws, and it succeeded in doing so. And those Dispensationalists who teach that we are no longer "under the law" in their context have successfully avoided other teachings by Paul and John that suggest otherwise. It is probably why no one ever preaches from Psalm 119. The Dispensationalists don't even know they are teaching doctrines that originated with the Little Horn power. And it takes a love committed to God that comes from our heart and soul and strength and mind to rebuke them. God's love seeks to restore them, not drive them away.
To hear some teach on the subjects of law and grace, one could draw the conclusion that the kingdom of heaven is total anarchy. There are no laws governing the behavior of its subjects. People are free to do that which they will with no thought about the consequences. Sure, they believe in heaven and hell, but believe that all sins are forgiven in the past, present, and future, so anything goes. Not under law, but under grace. It shows belief in God but denies His power to change lives, and sin continues in the hopes that grace will abound. We know what Romans 8 has to say about that. "Do we sin so that grace may abound? God forbid!" David studied God's laws, precepts, statutes, and commandments so that he would not sin against God. Paul understood the freedom we have regarding the law, but knowing his character he chose to continue focusing on God's law so that he would not sin.
In the OT, God encouraged His children to study the law and to pass it on to the next generation. When a parent is asked by a child why the law is studied and practiced so diligently, the parent was to remind the child of how God delivered their people from bondage and slavery in Egypt. They were also taught that Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord and that "the just shall live by faith" is found in the OT. (Habbakuk 2:4)
Today we, too, should be diligent in teaching the next generation to regard God's law and be diligent in obedience. We share the heritage of our spiritual forefathers who were delivered from Pharaoh, but we also have been delivered from the power of sin in our lives. We no longer have to continue sinning. Sin need not dwell in our lives. Jesus died to save us from the penalty of our past sins, and His imputed righteousness covers us when we confess the sins of today. It is trusting God's word and obeying His laws that ensure that there are no future sins. And again it is God's grace that makes all of this possible. God's grace has always been there from the beginning. There is no dispensation of law or a dispensation of grace. They have worked together from the beginning. It is because of His grace that we are motivated to obedience to His law. I have heard it said by some people that we cannot know the will of God. This is not true. The ten commandments are the very will of God written by His own finger into tablets of stone. It is His will for them to be engraved into our hearts and minds so that we do His will with no second thoughts and our motivation being grounded in love.
How many times in the New Testament are we told to be "holy," "blameless," "spotless," or "perfect"? John, Paul, Peter, even Jesus gave the encouragement to be perfect as the Father is perfect, that is to love others as the Father has loved us. The implication of Paul's words in Romans 12 is that our living sacrifice is to be as holy as that Jesus made on the cross.
We are encouraged to study the Bible, to pray without ceasing, to focus on meeting the needs of those around us. Love is the motivation in doing all these things. If we do these things but there is no love, then where is the profit? Where is the gain?
Jesus asked, "What does a man profit if he should gain the whole world but lose his soul?" (Matt. 16:26) What good are the treasures of this world, knowing that one day those treasures will all be consumed in a world-cleansing fire? If we love the people around us, then witnessing their conversion to Christ is adding to the treasures of heaven above us that will be a blessing we share for eternity.
In 1 Corinthians 10, 23 and 24, the New King James version says that "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but each one the other's well-being. The NIV says, "I have the right to do anything," you say - but not everything is beneficial. "I have the right to do anything" - but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good but the good of others.
We can easily put into this passage the word "profit". Not all things are profitable, helpful, constructive, or edifying. However, when love is on the line, there are ten things we can do that guarantee a good profit because they are helpful, constructive, and edifying. It is profitable to honor God's law. As Christ fulfilled the law, so too we should allow the law to be fulfilled through us so that we, too, will be helpful, constructive, edifying to our neighbors. The profit for us is in finding them beside us before God on that day when we meet Him face to face and our knees bow and our tongues confess that Jesus is Lord.
There are many who dishonor God's law by breaking it, ignoring it, spreading misinformation about its role in contemporary life. We who know differently have been given a special place in our world, honored to be among those who are "repairers of the breach" and seek to restore honor to the law, for that law is a true reflection of the character of our God. It is a revelation of His honor that results in His promises being kept. And that character is what God seeks to build in our lives, and in the lives of those who do not as yet understand the implications of their false teachings.
The law that we keep is the perfect law of liberty that is holy, just, and good. The law cannot save us, as that is not its intention. However, when those who hunger and thirst after righteousness allow God to write His law into their hearts and minds, they will be filled. And they will be poured out. And they will come back for more. Of them, it will be said, "Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies and that seek Him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity; They walk in His ways." Ps. 119:1-3
Salvation is offered universally. All who come will find redemption, forgiveness, and a whole lot of love. But it comes with a calling to take up the cross and to follow wherever Jesus leads and to do whatever the Holy Spirit commands. As it was for the children of Israel to be given the honor of serving the human race through obedience to the law given to them at Sinai, so it is with us today, honored with the privilege to serve in this area, our mission field. It is an honor to be numbered among the saints who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus. (Rev. 14:12) It is an honor to prepare the way of the Lord. Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord.