The Adventist Way of Life

Today most people have developed their own standard of "right" and "wrong". This makes them feel justified when things happen. They call this "Christian freedom". Wow! Christianity with no incentive to be challenged or grow!

When we look at God's immutible standards, the Ten Commandments, they draw us to our need for a saviour. Without the Law pointing to our imperfections we receive a false sense of "freedom". We must remember that true freedom is found in Christ Jesus. Freedom from what? From guilt!

Nobody want's to live in constant guilt. This is the sad condition of most Christians who do not fully understand or appreciate what Jesus has truly done for us. God's Moral Law could never be changed. Thus, Jesus came to our rescue. We now can keep the Ten Commandments because of His perfection and His forgiveness. This is what delivers us from the guilt of sin and truly sets us free!

In the Garden of Eden, God gave Adam and Eve laws to live by. He loved them and cared for their moral development. We see that after they took the fruit they were told not to and lied to God they became sinners. They knew God's commandments. We see that God's fourth commandment, the Holy Sabbath, was given in Genesis chapter two.

We see Cain and Abel practicing sacrificial laws in Genesis but the sacrificial laws were not yet written out. Why was there already the shedding of blood in Genesis? Because the Moral Law had been broken. Sin is the transgression of the Ten Commandments and without the shedding of blood [sacrificial law] there is no atonement.

We see that even before all the commandments were written on stone after the Egyptian exile that God chose Abraham “Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, [God said] and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” [Genesis 26:5]

We see that even before the Ten Commandments were written out on stone God was reminding Israel after pulling them out of bondage of the Sacred Law. God said to them before they reached mount Sinai; "How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?" [Exodus 16:28] How could God charge them thus had they not known beforehand? "And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said, To-morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord; bake that which ye will bake to-day, and seeth that ye will seeth; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until morning." [Exodus 16:23]

Here we notice God telling them, or reminding them, of His Holy Sabbath before mount Sinai. Why did God ultimately have to remind them and re-write the commandments out for them on stone? Because during their bondage and 40 year wandering in the wilderness a generation had been lost.

"And the Lord's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the Lord, was consumed." [Numbers 32:13]

So here we are in the Church Age and a generation or so has again forgotten the Ten Commandments of our Lord. Let us learn from history!

Remember, Jesus only promised to build one church, therefore, the rest of the churches that are here today were started by men, not by God. The way we can be sure the church we are in is the church Jesus built is to look at the characteristics. We find the last-day characteristics of God's church listed in His word, the Holy Bible. Look at these two important and foundational characteristics:

Rev. 12:17: "And the dragon [the Devil] was wroth [angry] with the woman [church], and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."

Rev. 19:10 "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit [gift] of prophecy."

Written by, Eric W. King [January 17,2008]

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