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God's Law Is Eternal
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsGod's law expresses the expectations for the moral and spiritual conduct of Israel and the church, embodying the commands He has given to enable His people to live as He created us to live. This law is not temporary but remains a permanent, perpetual, and eternal guide. It is described through various terms such as testimonies, precepts, statutes, commandments, ordinances, ways, and word, all reflecting the assumption that God provides this law in a form by which people can order their lives. The law originates from God, is intended for human benefit, serves as a reliable guide to living, and illuminates one's mind and understanding. It is associated with delight, joy, and meditation, acting as a counselor, a song, an object of love, and a lamp to guide one's path. Obeying God's law is likened to walking a path that guards a person's life, bringing joy and something to be enjoyed forever. Jesus Christ confirms the eternal nature of God's law, declaring that not even the smallest part will pass away until heaven and earth are gone, emphasizing its unchangeable and perpetual authority. He did not come to abolish the law but to explain and fulfill it, showing how it must be kept in both letter and spirit. Christ amplified its meaning, revealing its far-reaching sovereignty and penetrating character, ensuring that it remains a vital standard for righteousness. The law of God is perfect, and if kept, it produces and maintains a peaceful and happy society. It defines sin and reveals human shortcomings, showing the need for grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Altering or abolishing the law undermines its power to convict and convert, leaving no true standard for righteousness. God's law stands fast forever, demanding obedience and revealing deviations from the way of righteousness, as it guides humanity toward holiness and conformity to His will.
God Has a Dream
'Ready Answer' by StaffGod's law is the written expression of His deepest reasoning and emotion, embodying His personal, holy way of life. It is so fundamental to His thinking that it may be the very reason He has a gospel to share with us. Before populating the universe with angelic and human beings, He made His chosen way of life a law by which His entire universe operates. Since He is good, His law is good, reflecting His holy, righteous, eternal, and never-changing nature, because He desires to live that way and sees it bear only good fruit. He commands us to switch from transgressing His commandments to honoring and keeping them, so we may live as He lives. When we meditate on God's law night and day, He succeeds in getting us to think His own thoughts. Pondering the beauty of commandments like the weekly Sabbath allows Christ's mind to be in us, letting us think thoughts dear to Him and endearing ourselves to Him in the process. God's spiritual law, alongside His gospel, forms the essence of His dreams, and He wishes for us to embrace these ideas above all else. If we open the doors of our hearts to adopt this mindset, His mind will be in us, though the choice to do so remains entirely ours.
Image and Likeness of God (Part Five)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe true nature of God differs greatly from the trinitarian concept. Having created us in His form and shape, God is developing us into His character image.
God's Will
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughPraying according to God's will is sometimes ambiguous. Yet as we respond positively to His covenant, He reveals more and more of His secret plans.
God's Rest (Part 2)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe two principal robbers of peace are pride and the drive to have complete control of our lives. Discontent and imagined victimization led Adam and Eve into sin.
What Does God Really Want? (Part 6)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughGod provides the gift before it is actually needed so that when it is needed, everything is prepared for the person to do as he has been commissioned to do.
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Fifteen)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThings written in the Old Testament were written for us. The differences in the covenants focus on justification and access to God, not doing away with the law.
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Seventeen)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe Law (including the judgments, ordinances, and statutes), far from being done away, shows us our faults and outlines the way of mercy and love—how to live.
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Five)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughUnder both the Old and New Covenants, refusal to keep to keep God's Law severs the relationship. God's law protects us and brings us quality life.
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Six)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughCircumcision is a token, sign, or seal that one was the heir of Abraham. No physical sign has the power to transfer righteousness to the doer.
Is it Salvational?
Sermonette by David C. GrabbeIt is easy to denigrate a matter as not being 'salvational,' but the real question to ask is, How will this action affect my relationship with God?
Our Part in the Sanctification Process (Part Three): Cultivating Joy
Sermon by David F. MaasStrategies for cultivating joy include developing contentment and gratitude, giving rather than getting, finding pleasure in work, and valuing God's law.
Elements of Judgment (Part Five)
Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)We dare not 'do away' anything that is part of God's mind, or we will not be in His image. Acts 15 did not give Gentiles exemption from keeping God's Law.
Hebrews (Part Eight)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughJesus Christ's priesthood is superior to the Aaronic priesthood because Christ tenure is eternal rather than temporal, guaranteeing both continuity and quality.
The Commandments (Part One)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughWhat have we accepted as our authority for permitting ourselves to do or behave as we do — our value system, our code of ethics or code of morality?
Elements of Motivation (Part One)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughFearing God leads to a determination not to bring shame on God's name or offending and hurting the relationship between God and us.