The document discusses the balance between law and grace (gospel). It describes the gospel as the good news that through his death and resurrection, Christ has already accomplished salvation for all humanity. This is God's work in Christ for us (justification). It then discusses sanctification as God's ongoing work in believers by the Holy Spirit to conform them to Christ. Both aspects are necessary - justification is the basis of salvation, while sanctification is its outworking in our lives. The gospel presents God's initiative to save through Christ's finished work.

1. FINDING THE BALANCE:

2. Two Great Divisions of Scripture
Content:
• Law
• & Gospel (Grace)

3. What Law Is:
• Ten Commandments (Moral)
• Ceremonial
• Civil
• Dietary & Hygiene
• Christian ethics

4. What Is The Gospel?
• Euaggelion (Gk.) – Good News
• There is a difference between “Good
Instruction” and “Good News”.
• News - Something has already
happened.
• While Law instructs us as to what to do
and how to do it, and what not to do,…
• Gospel tells us that something has
already been done.
• It is about what God has done.

5. What is The Gospel?
• While there are different types of Laws, there
can only be one Gospel.
• “I marvel that you are so soon removed from
Him that called you into the grace of Christ,
into another gospel.
• (7) Which is not another, for there are some
that trouble you and would pervert the gospel
of Christ.
• The Gospel therefore, is the Gospel of Christ.

6. Gospel?
Good news creates a mental, emotional and
psychological response within us which
moves us to action.
Good news of of a great act of mercy and
blessing (grace) done for you, even though
you did not deserve mercy, inspires
thankfulness in the heart.
The only proper response to grace is
gratitude.
Gratitude expresses itself in works of
thankfulness.

7. • But notice that the gratitude is a response to
something which preceded it,… the Grace.
• None of our works then, even our works
which are motivated by the Spirit, even our
love motivated obedience to the law, even all
our reforms which we practice, can ever
contribute to the gracious gift of salvation.
• Everything we do can only be in response to
what God has already done.
• Therefore all our works, all our obedience
can only be a “Thank-offering” to God.

8. The Gospel:
• “Moreover brethren, I declare unto you the
gospel which I preached unto you, which also
you have received and wherein you stand.
• By which you also are saved, if you keep in
memory what I preached unto you, unless you
have believed in vain.

9. • “For I delivered unto you first of all, that which
I also received, how that Christ died for our
sins according to the scriptures.
• And that He was buried, and that He rose
again the third day, according to the
scriptures”.
• The Gospel therefore Concerns Christ, His
death, burial and resurrection, and all which
included in that great work for us.

10. TWO GREAT WORKS OF GOD:
• #1: God’s work in Christ for us.
• #2: God’s work in us by the Holy
Spirit.

11. #1: God’s Work in Christ for us:
• It is perfect and complete.
• We cannot add anything to it.
• It is what our salvation is based upon (alone).
• It includes the whole world, even
unbelievers.
• This has to do with our Justification.
• “We are Justified by his blood” Rom. 5:9.
• By this great work, God has saved the whole
race of humanity.

12. #1: God’s work in Christ for us.
• 1 John 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our
sins: and not for ours only, but also for [the sins
of] the whole world.
• 1 John 4:14 “And we have seen and do testify,
that the Father sent the Son, to be the Savior of
the world.
• 1 Tim. 4:10 For therefore we both labor and
suffer reproach, because we trust in the living
God, who is the Savior of all men, specially of
those that believe.

13. #1: God’s work in Christ for us.
• John 4:4:42And said unto the woman, Now
we believe, not because of thy saying: for we
have heard [him] ourselves, and know that
this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the
world.

14. Reconciliation: An Accomplished Fact:
• 2 Cor. 5:18 And all things [are] of God, who
hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ,
and hath given to us the ministry of
reconciliation;
• 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ,
reconciling the world unto himself, not
imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath
committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

15. The Spirit of Prophecy Confirms:
“He (Christ) took in his grasp the world
over which satan claimed to preside as
his lawful territory, and by his wonderful
work in giving his life, He restored the
whole race of men to favor with God.”
{7BC, 485}.
“Christ was tempted by satan in a
hundredfold severer manner than was
Adam, and under circumstances in every
way more trying. The deceiver presented
himself as an angel of light, but Christ
withstood His temptation. He redeemed
Adam’s disgraceful fall, and saved the
world ” {God’s Amazing Grace, 43; YI
June 2, 1898}

16. The Spirit of Prophecy Confirms:
• “The atonement for a lost world was to
be full, abundant, and complete.
Christ ’ s offering was exceedingly
abundant, reaching every soul that God
had created. It could not be restricted
nor measured so as not to exceed the
number who would accept the great
gift.” {Youth Instructor, July 19, 1900}.

17. The Spirit of Prophecy Confirms:
“With His own blood He has signed the
emancipation papers of the race”. {MH
89.3}
“Christ…redeemed Adam’s disgraceful
fall and saved the world. ” {My Life
Today, 323}

18. #2: God’s work in us by the Holy Spirit.
• This is an ongoing and incomplete work.
• You will never get to a point where you know for
a fact that it is fully completed in you.
• It is a progressive experience, and includes our
participation, which involves our obedience.
• We have to cooperate with God, in our daily
surrender.
• Our salvation is not based upon this work, but it
is because we have received salvation that this
work can take place within us.
• While Justification gives us a title for heaven, this
is fitting us to live in the presence of perfectly
holy beings.
• It is our Sanctification.

19. #2: God’s work in us by the Holy Spirit.
• Romans 8:9But ye are not in the flesh, but in
the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell
in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of
Christ, he is none of his.
• 8:10 And if Christ [be] in you, the body [is]
dead because of sin; but the Spirit [is] life
because of righteousness.

20. #2: God’s work in us by the Holy Spirit.
• Phil. 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you
both to will and to do of [his] good pleasure.
• Eph. 4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of
your mind;

21. Finding The Balance:
• “For if by one man’s offense, death reigned by
one, much more, they which receive abundance
of life and the gift of righteousness, shall reign by
One, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17.
• 1 Tim. 4:10 For therefore we both labor and
suffer reproach, because we trust in the living
God, who is the Savior of all men, specially of
those that believe.

22. • The Gospel presents to the world the good
news of #1, and when they respond in
accepting it, #2 is made possible.
• In order for a ship to find rest, it must cast its
anchor out and anchor upon a rock outside of
itself.
• If you put your trust in your own performance,
you are trusting in an imperfect, incomplete
work, and therefore will always be filled with
anxiety, and doubts. You will never know true
restfulness.

23. • #1: Is the work upon which our salvation
is based. [The root]
• #2: Witnesses to the reality of that
salvation. [The Fruit]

24. God Takes The Initiative:
• “When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw
none but the woman, he said unto her,
Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath
no man condemned thee?
• She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said
unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go,
and sin no more”. John 8:10-11.

25. God Takes The Initiative:
• ROM. 6:14: “Sin shall not have dominion over
you, for you are not under Law you are under
grace”.
• Exodus 20:1-2 “I AM the Lord thy God who has
brought you out of the land of Egypt, and out
of the house of bondage.
• Thou shalt have no other Gods before Me……”

26. Romans 8:
• 8:31 What shall we then say to these
things? If God [be] for us, who [can be]
against us?
• 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but
delivered him up for us all, how shall he
not with him also freely give us all
things?
• 8:33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge
of God's elect? [It is] God that justifieth.

27. Romans 8
• 8:34 Who [is] he that condemneth? [It is]
Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again,
who is even at the right hand of God, who also
maketh intercession for us.
• 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ? [shall] tribulation, or distress, or
persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or
peril, or sword?
• 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are
killed all the day long; we are accounted as
sheep for the slaughter.

28. Romans 8
• 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more
than conquerors through him that loved us.
• 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death,
nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor
powers, nor things present, nor things to
come,
• 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other
creature, shall be able to separate us from
the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord.

29. God Takes The Initiative:
• 8:31 What shall we then say to these
things? If God [be] for us, who [can be]
against us?
• 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but
delivered him up for us all, how shall he
not with him also freely give us all
things?
• 8:33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge
of God's elect? [It is] God that justifieth.