15-21 (1 Timothy 1:9, 10; 1:22-25; see EGW comment on 2 Corinthians 3:6-9). Not Obedient, but Transgressors, Under Bondage—Paul in his Epistle to Timothy describes the very men who are under the bondage of the law. They are the transgressors of the law. He names them “lawless, disobedient, sinners, unholy, profane, murderers, adulterers, liars, and all who depart from sound doctrine.”1 Timothy 1:9, 10.
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The law of God is the mirror to show man the defects in his character. But it is not pleasant to those who take pleasure in unrighteousness to see their moral deformity. They do not prize this faithful mirror, because it reveals to them their sins. Therefore, instead of instituting a war against their carnal minds, they war against the true and faithful mirror, given them by Jehovah for the very purpose that they may not be deceived, but that they may have revealed to them the defects in their character.
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Should the discovery of these defects lead them to hate the mirror, or to hate themselves? Should they put away the mirror which discovers these defects? No; the sins which they cherish, which the faithful mirror shows them as existing in their characters, will close before them the portals of heaven, unless they are put away, and they become perfect before God (The Review and Herald, March 8, 1870).
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(Galatians 4:24-31; 5:1.) Obedience Not Bondage—No one who believes in Jesus Christ is under bondage to the law of God; for His law is a law of life, not of death, to those who obey its precepts. All who comprehend the spirituality of the law, all who realize its power as a detector of sin, are in just as helpless a condition as is Satan himself, unless they accept the atonement provided for them in the remedial sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who is our atonement—at-one-ment with God.
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Through faith in Christ obedience to every principle of the law is made possible (Manuscript 122, 1901).
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(Galatians 3:6-9.) The Bondage of Legal Religion—The spirit of bondage is engendered by seeking to live in accordance with legal religion, through striving to fulfill the claims of the law in our own strength. There is hope for us only as we come under the Abrahamic covenant, which is the covenant of grace by faith in Christ Jesus. The gospel preached to Abraham, through which he had hope, was the same gospel that is preached to us today, through which we have hope. Abraham looked unto Jesus, who is also the Author and the Finisher of our faith (The Youth′s Instructor, September 22, 1892).
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17 (Galatians 4:7). Privileges for God′s Obedient Children—God loves His obedient children. He has a kingdom prepared, not for disloyal subjects, but for His children whom He has tested and tried in a world marred and corrupted by sin. As obedient children, we have the privilege of relationship with God. “If children,” He says, “then heirs”(Romans 8:17) to an immortal inheritance.... Christ and His people are one (Letter 119, 1897).
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26, 34 (Ephesians 5:2; Hebrews 7:24-28; 8:1, 2; Hebrews 9:24; 1 John 2:1; Revelation 8:3, 4; see EGW comment on Acts 1:11; Hebrews 7:25). Intercession of Christ and His Spirit—Christ Jesus is represented as continually standing at the altar, momentarily offering up the sacrifice for the sins of the world. He is “a minister of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man.”Hebrews 8:2. The typical shadows of the Jewish tabernacle no longer possess any virtue. A daily and yearly typical atonement is no longer to be made, but the atoning sacrifice through a mediator is essential because of the constant commission of sin. Jesus is officiating in the presence of God, offering up His shed blood, as it had been a lamb slain. Jesus presents the oblation offered for every offense and every shortcoming of the sinner.
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Christ, our Mediator, and the Holy Spirit are constantly interceding in man′s behalf, but the Spirit pleads not for us as does Christ who presents His blood, shed from the foundation of the world; the Spirit works upon our hearts, drawing out prayers and penitence, praise and thanksgiving. The gratitude which flows from our lips is the result of the Spirit striking the cords of the soul in holy memories, awakening the music of the heart.
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