Wednesday's Lesson - Law and Faith

"The principle that man can save himself by his own works lay at the foundation of every heathen religion. . . . Wherever it is held, men have no barrier against sin."—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 35, 36. What does this mean? Why does the idea that we can save ourselves through our works leave us so open to sin?

The reality is that our own works will never be good enough. When we attempt to save ourselves by our own works we are left with no power to live righteous lives. When attempting to save ourselves by works it only leads us to more sinning.

This was illustrated in the garden of eden when Adam and Eve recognized they were naked they immediately created fig leaves. In this act we see how man after sin naturally wants to try and do something to save himself. What we do to try and save ourselves is useless because the bible tells us that without the shedding of blood there can be no remission of sins. Also the bible tells us that our righteousness is as filthy rags.

As with Adam and Eve and with us God must provide a lamb to cover our nakedness , to cover our sins. Jesus is the only one who can save us and to try to save ourselves is attempting an impossibility. Jesus is our only hope for glory. We must continue to look to Him the author and the finisher of our faith.


How did Paul explain the relationship between law and faith in Galatians? Gal. 3:21–23.

Paul here lets us know that the law is not contrary to the promises of God. The law has the function of pointing out that we are all sinners in need of a savior. It made way so that we could all that believe on Jesus might be saved.

How central is righteousness by faith to your walk with God? That is, what can you do to make sure it doesn't get blurred by other aspects of truth to the point where you lose sight of this crucial teaching? After all, what good are these other teachings without this one?

It should be central but often it is place in an obscure dark corner left for the "experts" to explain. It is not something which is really emphasized , where it should be central to our Christian experience. I believe that we must pray to God and simply ask for His help.

Prayer: Father we have long neglected the study of righteousness by faith and have failed to understand what it really means. Help us make this topic more central to our Christian experience. Teach us what it means truly. Thank you in Jesus name amen.