Christ Our Example
 
        For even hereunto were ye called because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps.  1 Peter 2:21
 
    If we abide in Christ, if the love of God dwells in us, our feelings, our thoughts, our purposes, our actions, will be in harmony with the will of God as expressed in the precepts of His holy law.  "Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous" (1 John 3:7).  Righteousness is defined by the standard of God's holy law, as expressed in the ten precepts given on Sinai.
 
    That so-called faith in Christ which professes to release men from the obligation of obedience to God, is not faith, but presumption.  "By grace are ye saved through faith."  But "faith, if it hath not works, is dead" (Ephesians 2:8; James 2:17).  Jesus said of Himself before He came to earth, "I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart" (Psalm 40:8).  And just before He ascended again to heaven He declared, "I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love" (John 15:10).  The Scripture says, "Hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments....He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk even as He walked" (1 John 2:3-6).  "Because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps" (1 Peter 2:21). (Steps to Christ, 61)
 
Reflection:  In the life of Jesus we see Him drawing close to the most needy and the most hopeless.  As we draw nearer to Christ, we will draw nearer to those who suffer the most.

Lively Stones
 
        Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.  1 Peter 2:5
 
    Upon the foundation that Christ Himself had laid, the apostles built the church of God.  In the Scriptures the figure of the erection of a temple is frequently used to illustrate the building of the church.  Zechariah refers to Christ as the Branch that should build the temple of the Lord.  He speaks of the Gentiles as helping in the work: "They that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the Lord;" and Isaiah declares, "The sons of strangers shall build up thy walls" (Zechariah 6:12, 15; Isaiah 60:10).
 
    Writing of the building of the temple, Peter says, "To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:4, 5).
 
    In the quarry of the Jewish and the Gentile world the apostles labored, bringing out stones to lay upon the foundation.  In his letter to the believers at Ephesus, Paul said, "Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Cornerstone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit" (Ephesians 2:19-22). (The Acts of the Apostles, 595, 596)
 
Reflection:  For other foundation can no man lay then that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (The Acts of the Apostles, 596)

Christ-like Temper
 
        But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.  1 Peter 1:15, 16
 
    The apostle exhorts us, "As He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:15, 16).  The grace of Christ is to control the temper and the voice.  Its working will be seen in politeness and tender regard shown by brother for brother, in kind, encouraging words.  An angel presence is in the home.  The life breathes a sweet perfume, which ascends to God as holy incense.  Love is manifested in kindness, gentleness, forbearance, and long-suffering.
 
    The countenance is changed.  Christ abiding in the heart shines out in the faces of those who love Him and keep His commandments.  Truth is written there.  The sweet peace of heaven is revealed.  There is expressed a habitual gentleness, a more than human love.
 
    The leaven of truth works a change in the whole man, making the coarse refined, the rough gentle, the selfish generous.  By it the impure are cleansed, washed in the blood of the Lamb.  Through its life-giving power it brings all there is of mind and soul and strength into harmony with the divine life.  Man with his human nature becomes a partaker of divinity.  Christ is honored in excellence and perfection of character.  As these changes are effected, angels break forth in rapturous song, and God and Christ rejoice over souls fashioned after the divine similitude. (Christ's Object Lessons, 102)
 
Reflection:  Peter went from being a rough-spoken fisherman to being a well-spoken New Testament author for Christ.  When Christ abides in our hearts, He changes even our words and conversations. (see also James 1:26.)

Doers of God's Word
 
        But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.  James 1:22
 
    John and Judas are representatives of those who profess to be Christ's followers.  Both these disciples had the same opportunities to study and follow the divine Pattern.  Both were closely associated with Jesus and were privileged to listen to His teaching.  Each possessed serious defects of character; and each had access to the divine grace that transforms character.  But while one in humility was learning of Jesus, the other revealed that he was not a doer of the word, but a hearer only.  One, daily dying to self and overcoming sin, was sanctified through the truth; the other, resisting the transforming power of grace and indulging selfish desires, was brought into bondage to Satan.
 
    Such transformation of character as is seen in the life of John is ever the result of communion with Christ.  There may be marked defects in the character of an individual, yet when he becomes a true disciple of Christ, the power of divine grace transforms and sanctifies him.  Beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, he is changed from glory to glory, until he is like Him whom he adores.
 
    John was a teacher of holiness, and in his letters to the church he laid down unerring rules for the conduct of Christians.  "Every man that hath this hope in him," he wrote, "purifieth himself, even as He is pure."  "He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked" (1 John 3:3; 2:6). (The Acts of the Apostles, 558, 559)
 
Reflection:  The apostle Paul wrote, "This is the will of God, even your sanctification" (1 Thessalonians 4:3).  And true sanctification comes by receiving the love of Christ, which is then exemplified in the life.  Good works do not purchase the love of God, but they reveal that we possess that love.

 God Will Vindicate Us
 
        Let brotherly love continue.  Hebrews 13:1
 
    Even under false accusation those who are in the right can afford to be calm and considerate.  God is acquainted with all that is misunderstood and misinterpreted by men, and we can safely leave our case in His hands.  He will as surely vindicate the cause of those who put their trust in Him as He searched out the guilt of Achan.  Those who are actuated by the spirit of Christ will possess that charity which suffers long and is kind.
 
    It is the will of God that union and brotherly love should exist among His people.  The prayer of Christ just before His crucifixion was that His disciples might be one as He is one with the Father, that the world might believe that God had sent Him.  This most touching and wonderful prayer reaches down the ages, even to our day; for His words were, "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word" (John 17:20).  While we are not to sacrifice one principle of truth, it should be our constant aim to reach this state of unity.  This is the evidence of our discipleship.  Said Jesus, "By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another." (Patriarchs and Prophets, 520)
 
Reflection:  At the end of time just before our Lord returns, there will be such a demarcation between the true followers of God and those who profess to be His followers.  Today let us pray to love one another like Jesus loves us.

The Cross, Our Hope
 
        Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Hebrews 12:2
 
    If those who today are teaching the word of God, would uplift the cross of Christ higher and still higher, their ministry would be far more successful.  If sinners can be led to give one earnest look at the cross, if they can obtain a full view of the crucified Saviour, they will realize the depth of God's compassion and the sinfulness of sin.
 
    Christ's death proves God's great love for man.  It is our pledge of salvation.  To remove the cross from the Christian would be like blotting the sun from the sky.  The cross brings us near to God, reconciling us to Him.  With the relenting compassion of a father's love, Jehovah looks upon the suffering that His Son endured in order to save the race from eternal death, and accepts us in the Beloved.
 
    Without the cross, man could have no union with the Father.  On it depends our every hope.  From it shines the light of the Saviour's love, and when at the foot of the cross the sinner looks up to the One who died to save him, he may rejoice with fullness of joy, for his sins are pardoned.  Kneeling in faith at the cross, he has reached the highest place to which man can attain. (The Acts of the Apostles, 209, 210)
 
Reflection:  Look to the cross, and spend some time contemplating the story of our redemption.  As we do, we will be drawn closer to Jesus.  Let's try to understand what Christ has done for us.  Do you see Him there?  He is the Author and Finisher of our faith.  The more we contemplate the cross, the more we realize that we can never fully comprehend what Jesus did for us.  What can we do?  We can express our gratitude with all our heart, mind and soul.  As we do, our love for Him will grow.

Seeing Heaven by Faith
 
        For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.  Hebrews 11:10
 
    The lesson is for God's messengers today, when the cities of the nations are as verily in need of a knowledge of the attributes and purposes of the true God as were the Ninevites of old.  Christ's ambassadors are to point men to the nobler world, which has largely been lost sight of.  According to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, the only city that will endure is the city whose builder and maker is God.  With the eye of faith man may behold the threshold of heaven, flushed with God's living glory.  Through His ministering servants the Lord Jesus is calling upon men to strive with sanctified ambition to secure the immortal inheritance.  He urges them to lay up treasure beside the throne of God....
 
    Our God is a God of mercy.  With long-sufferance and tender compassion He deals with the transgressors of His law.  And yet, in this our day, when men and women have so many opportunities for becoming familiar with the divine law as revealed in Holy Writ, the great Ruler of the universe cannot behold with any satisfaction the wicked cities, where reign violence and crime.  The end of God's forbearance with those who persist in disobedience is approaching rapidly. (Prophet and Kings, 275)
 
Reflection:  The world is in chaos; and the cities, especially the large ones, are becoming more wicked.  It is past time for Christians to stand and share the everlasting gospel message.  We are not all teachers or preachers, but we can all share with others what God has done in our lives.

Through Faith
 
        Through faith we understand that the worlds were formed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.  Hebrews 11:3
 
    The deepest students of science are constrained to recognize in nature the working of infinite power.  But to man's unaided reason, nature's teaching cannot but be contradictory and disappointing.  Only in the light of revelation can it be read aright.  "Through faith we understand" (Hebrews 11:3).
 
    "In the beginning God" (Genesis 1:1).  Here alone can the mind in its eager questioning, fleeing as the dove to the ark, find rest.  Above, beneath, beyond, abides Infinite Love, working out all things to accomplish "the good pleasure of His goodness" (2 Thessalonians 1:11).
 
    The invisible things of Him since the creation of the world are...perceived through the things that are made, even His everlasting power and divinity" (Romans 1:20, R.V.).  But their testimony can be understood only through the aid of the divine Teacher.  "What man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God" (1 Corinthians 2:11).
 
    "When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13).  Only by the aid of the Spirit who in the beginning "was brooding upon the face of the waters," of that Word by whom "all things were made," of that "true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world," can the testimony of science be rightly interpreted.  Only by their guidance can its deepest truths be discerned. (Education, 134)
 
Reflection:  Nature points to an intelligent Designer as the Author of all that is.  Things didn't just happen, they had an eternal purpose.

Finally, Fully Cut Off from God
 
        For if we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.  Hebrews 10:26, 27
 
    "Whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man," said Christ, "it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him" (Matthew 12:32).  These words were spoken by our Saviour when the gracious works which He had performed through the power of God were attributed by the Jews to Beelzebub.  It is through the agency of the Holy Spirit that God communicates with man; and those who deliberately reject this agency as satanic, have cut off the channel of communication between the soul and Heaven.
 
    God works by the manifestation of His Spirit to reprove and convict the sinner; and if the Spirit's work is finally rejected, there is no more that God can do for the soul.  The last resource of divine mercy has been employed.  The transgressor has cut himself off from God, and sin has no remedy to cure itself.  There is no reserved power by which God can work to convict and convert the sinner.  "Let him alone" (Hosea 4:17) is the divine command. (Patriarchs and Prophets, 404, 405)
 
Reflection:  Oh the thought of committing the unpardonable sin.  It is through our own course of action day after day that we ourselves cut off our communication with the only One who can save us.  When the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, let's make the decided effort to obey.

The New Covenant
 
        For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.  Hebrews 8:10
 
    He who becomes a partaker of the divine nature will be in harmony with God's great standard of righteousness, His holy law.  This is the rule by which God measures the actions of men.  This will be the test of character in the judgment.
 
    There are many who claim that by the death of Christ the law was abrogated; but in this they contradict Christ's own words, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets....Till heaven and earth pass, not one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law" (Matthew 5:17, 18).  It was to atone for man's transgression of the law that Christ laid down His life.  Could the law have been changed or set aside, then Christ need not have died.  By His life on earth He honored the law of God.  By His death He established it.  He gave His life as a sacrifice, not to destroy God's law, not to create a lower standard, but that justice might be maintained, that the law might be shown to be immutable, that it might stand fast forever. (Christ Object Lessons, 314)
 
Reflection:  "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name" (John 1:22).  Under the new covenant the conditions by which eternal life may be gained are the same as under the old--perfect obedience.