Sabbath School Lesson for May 23-29, 2026
Introduction of Lesson 9, Sin, the Gospel, and the Law
Memory Text: “I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have given me life. I am Yours, save me; for I have sought Your precepts.” Psalm 119:93, 94 NKJV
Three concepts concerning our relationship with God are included in these two verses, Psalm 119:93, 94. They are…
- Sin: We do need saved from something known as “sin” in the Bible. Even though the secular world is more familiar with terms like mistakes, crimes, or misbehaviors, followers of God are given a more expanded understanding of this very human tendency to “mess up”, as it were. This knowledge makes it easier to avoid sin, and thus our lives become easier to manage.
- Gospel: The benefits of the gospel become more evident as we get closer to God. The good news of God’s sacrifice for us fills us with a growing sense of love and devotion to Him, but also with the strength to root out sin and all its harmful effects on us and those around us.
- Law: The purpose of the law is to reveal sin; while the purpose of the gospel is to make it possible to avoid sin through that revelation. We need desperately God’s grace as found in the gospel story, but we also need the law to show us things that are displeasing to God.
This week, we will explore:
- Sunday: Distractions and Temptations
- Monday: Strongholds in My Relationship With God
- Tuesday: The Law
- Wednesday: The Law and the Gospel
- Thursday: Knowing and Doing
Sunday: Distractions and Temptations
The danger of temptation is particularly pointed out in chapters 14 and 16 of Judges. the dramatic story of Samson’s struggle with distracting temptations. God had given Samson enormous strength to fight the Philistines, but he was overly absorbed and confident in his abilities. He became so self-reliant that he stopped listening to God and instead sought to gratify his own sinful desires.
Satan is very good at drawing all of us away from God’s will by watching our individual weaknesses. He studies and knows what those weaknesses are and tailors our temptations to match them, just like he did in the case of Samson.
However, the good news is that Jesus knows and understands our weak spiritual natures too. He felt the pull and tug of them while He lived here on earth. The remedy He pursued is the same one we must embrace. By going away alone at times to pray to His Father He was able to survive the waves of temptation that threatened to lure Him from His heavenly mission of saving mankind–God’s will for Him.
Verses for reflection and discussion:
Judges 14 and Judges 16:1, 4, 16
- What does the outcome of Samson’s story teach us about temptation?
Matthew 14:23, Mark 1:35, and Luke 6:12
- What can we learn about fighting temptation from Jesus’ prayer life?
- How do you incorporate devotional habits in your own life? When and where do you find it easier to communicate with God?
Monday: Strongholds in My Relationship With God
Paul surely had people like Samson in mind when he penned the words to the Corinthians, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus enumerated many of the spiritual traps that become strongholds of temptation, impacting our relationship with God. These strongholds include: being arrogant and proud, full of lust, being critical and judgmental, not treating our enemies well, and being angry with others.
The offenses these temptations cause us to commit are so abhorrent to our holy God that Jesus made every effort to instill in us a desire to eliminate them. Speaking with heightened exaggeration, not to be taken literally, Jesus even suggested cutting off an arm or leg, or plucking out an eye, if these body parts were used to make us sin. He suggested that we are much better off being lame, maimed, or blind than continue to have any alluring distraction in our life that causes us to stumble. See Mark 9:42-48.
Verses for reflection and discussion:
Matthew 6:2, 5:28, 29, 7:1, 2, 5:44, and 5:22
- How are these warnings related to the Ten Commandments?
- In what ways do these warnings help us keep the Ten Commandments more faithfully?
Mark 9:42-48
- Why was such strong language used in this passage?
- How does this show us the seriousness of sin in our life?
- What does sin do to our relationship with God?
Tuesday: The Law
God showed the importance of the Ten Commandments by writing it in stone with His own finger. Being the only part of the Bible written directly by God this way shows its important and permanent nature.
Not only does the law reveal our sins and show us what pleases God, it also reveals God’s character of love. It’s all about vertical love (love for God), and horizontal love (love for others). Therefore, without the law we would not know what sin is, but we also would not know how to love.
Jesus used every tool at His disposal to expand our understanding of the law. He emphasized the love part, proclaiming there is nothing greater than love to be found in the Ten Commandments (Mark 12:31).
Many of the religious leaders had become so strict in its observance that the law had become a burden. The goal of Jesus was to revive our love for the law, by preaching that love should be in all we say and do–even in the way we think. Only then can we say we are obedient to God’s law of love.
Verses for reflection and discussion:
Romans 3:20 and 1 John 3:4
- How is the law related to sin?
Psalm 51:5 and Jeremiah 17:9
- Why is it so easy for us to sin?
Mark 12:30, 31 and Matthew 22:38-40
- What did Jesus teach us about the law?
1 John 5:3
- How do we know if we’re keeping the commandments the way God intended?
Wednesday: The Law and the Gospel
Jesus had the express purpose of showing us how the law is related to the gospel, or good news, of salvation. He said pointedly in Matthew 5:17 that He came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. In other words, not to do away with the commandments, but to show us how to obey them more fully. The New International Version says, “…I have come to give full meaning to what is written”.
Therefore, most of the famed Sermon on the Mount consisted of expanding the ways God expects us to keep the Ten Commandments in the robust, loving manner God intended.
Our love for Jesus is tied intricately with our obedience to the Ten Commandments. It is how we show our love for Him (John 14:15). Even though we don’t find forgiveness or salvation in the law, it does show us who God is and what is pleasing to Him. It provides a way for us to show our love and gratitude for Christ’s sacrificial death on our behalf, which is good news: the gospel.
Verses for reflection and discussion:
Matthew 5:17, 18
- What does fulfilling the law mean to you?
John 14:15
- Why do we keep the commandments of God?
Romans 3:28, 4:16-18, Galatians 2:16, 3:13, and Philippians 3:9
- What do these verses tell us about what the law can and cannot do for us?
- What is the purpose of the law?
Thursday: Knowing and Doing
Simply knowing something without acting on it is useless when it comes to God’s law. When we reach out to God, however, and begin knowing Him as a Friend, our love for Him grows, making the “doing” part possible, and never a burden.
As a matter of fact, the only way we can keep the law as God intended is by getting to know the Lawgiver. He has power to make us loving, obedient servants, and not just robots, devoid of human emotion. This is what many religious leaders had become in Jesus’ time–mere robots who legalistically obeyed the letter of the law, but were devoid of knowing God on a personal level.
Jesus described the person who both knows God and obeys the law as someone who has built his house on a solid, rock-filled foundation. This kind of house is well-suited to withstand the storms of life better than one built on a shifty, sandy foundation. Both knowing God and doing what He says is vital to our salvation. Jesus is the Rock that makes our obedience lasting and solid (1 Corinthians 10:4).
Verses for reflection and discussion:
Hosea 4:6, 10 and Matthew 7:21
- How do these verses show us the importance of both knowing God and doing what He says?
Matthew 7:24-29
- Why was this a fitting metaphor to leave with the crowd listening to Christ’s Sermon on the Mount?
- What ways have you found that have been helpful in building your family’s foundation of faith in God?
Friday: Final Thoughts
Although talking about sin and the law aren’t the best conversation-starters with our neighbors, we can’t effectively share the gospel without understanding and including these important truths. If we are to recommend the loving grace of our forgiving God, there must be a reason for our need of Him (our sin), and a way to recognize our sinful thoughts and actions (through the law).
Most of the preaching and ministry of Jesus consisted of tactfully pointing out sin and magnifying the meaning of God’s law. Even the Lord’s Prayer, given on what may have been two occasions (in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4), resembles the structure of the Ten Commandments. The first part of the prayer having a Godward reference, and the second part referring to the needs of man. Both love for God and our neighbor, who is made in the image of God, demand our best efforts to please and serve. See https://www.outlookmag.org/the-lords-prayer-and-the-ten-commandments/
The gospel is good news indeed, being the only way to eliminate sin and fulfill the law of God in our lives. Without including all three concepts, we are at risk of weakening our relationship with God and even losing our connection with Him altogether.
Next Week: Repentance and Forgiveness
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