THIEF ON THE CROSS

To Jesus in His agony on the cross there came one gleam of comfort. It was the prayer of the penitent thief. Both the men who were crucified with Jesus had at first railed upon Him; and one under his suffering only became more desperate and defiant. But not so with his companion. This man was not a hardened criminal; he had been led astray by evil associations, but he was less guilty than many of those who stood beside the cross reviling the Saviour. He had seen and heard Jesus, and had been convicted by His teaching, but he had been turned away from Him by the priests and rulers. Seeking to stifle conviction, he had plunged deeper and deeper into sin, until he was arrested, tried as a criminal, and condemned to die on the cross. In the judgment hall and on the way to Calvary he had been in company with Jesus. He had heard Pilate declare, "I find no fault in Him." John 19:4. He had marked His

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godlike bearing, and His pitying forgiveness of His tormentors. On the cross he sees the many great religionists shoot out the tongue with scorn, and ridicule the Lord Jesus. He sees the wagging heads. He hears the upbraiding speeches taken up by his companion in guilt: "If Thou be Christ, save Thyself and us." Among the passers-by he hears many defending Jesus. He hears them repeat His words, and tell of His works. The conviction comes back to him that this is the Christ. Turning to his fellow criminal he says, "Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?" The dying thieves have no longer anything to fear from man. But upon one of them presses the conviction that there is a God to fear, a future to cause him to tremble. And now, all sin-polluted as it is, his life history is about to close. "And we indeed justly," he moans; "for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this Man hath done nothing amiss."
There is no question now. There are no doubts, no reproaches. When condemned for his crime, the thief had become hopeless and despairing; but strange, tender thoughts now spring up. He calls to mind all he has heard of Jesus, how He has healed the sick and pardoned sin. He has heard the words of those who believed in Jesus and followed Him weeping. He has seen and read the title above the Saviour's head. He has heard the passers-by repeat it, some with grieved, quivering lips, others with jesting and mockery. The Holy Spirit illuminates his mind, and little by little the chain of evidence is joined together. In Jesus, bruised, mocked, and hanging upon the cross, he sees the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world. Hope is mingled with anguish in his voice as the helpless, dying soul casts himself upon a dying Saviour. "Lord, remember me," he cries, "when Thou comest into Thy kingdom."

Quickly the answer came. Soft and melodious the tone, full of love, compassion, and power the words: Verily I say unto thee today, Thou shalt be with Me in paradise.

For long hours of agony, reviling and mockery have fallen upon the ears of Jesus. As He hangs upon the cross, there floats up to Him still the sound of jeers and curses. With longing heart He has listened for some expression of faith from His disciples. He has heard only the mournful words, "We trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel." How grateful then to the Saviour was the utterance of faith and love from the dying thief! While the leading Jews deny Him, and even the disciples doubt His divinity, the poor thief, upon the

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brink of eternity, calls Jesus Lord.


CRIME AND CLERGY CONNECTION
TRICKLE DOWN IMMORALITY

Set Apart

"By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (Heb. 10:10).

In the Hebrew language, the word often translated "sanctify" (kadosh, or hakodesh) appears in various forms more than eight hundred times in the Old Testament. In the Greek, hagaizo or hagios, often translated as "to sanctify" and "holy" and "saint" appears about two hundred-forty times in the New Testament. In both cases, the words are translated not only as "sanctify" but also as "holiness," "to make holy," or "holy." Thus, through the original meanings alone, we are given a powerful indicator that sanctification is tied to the idea of holiness.

But what is holiness? In Hebrew, the basic meaning is "to set apart for holy use," or even "to be set apart from sin unto God." Thus, those who are sanctified belong to God and to His service.

With this understanding of the word in mind, read Leviticus 19:2; 20:7, 26. How do these texts help us understand the meaning of holiness?

It's interesting that in the Bible, not just people are sanctified, or made holy. The place where God manifests His presence is on "holy ground" (Exod. 3:5); the Sabbath is holy because it was a day set apart by God (Exod. 20:8-11); the sanctuary is called the "holy place" because it, too, was set apart by God for His use (Exod. 26:33).

It's important to note, however, that none of these things has holiness, or is sanctified, by anything internal to them. The seventh day, were it not deemed holy by the Lord, would be just any other day. Holiness, or sanctification, is something bestowed by a holy God; it's something that God Himself does, either to a person or to a thing. In the case of ancient Israel, for instance, He set them apart, called them away from slavery and even from the influence of the pagan nations around them in order that they could be a people that He could use in His service, that of teaching the world about the true God (Exod. 19:6).

In what sense is the church today sanctified (see 1 Cor. 12)? Also, look at your own experience with the Lord In what ways have you been set apart for holy use by God? How do you understand this idea in practical, everyday terms and experiences?




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TUESDAY March 15

The Sanctified State

Read 1 Corinthians 1:2. Notice that Paul calls the church "sanctified in Christ Jesus." The Greek word for "sanctified" appears in a tense that means a completed action in the past that has continuing results in the present. Yet, if you read about the Corinthian church, you discover that it struggled with many serious ethical and theological problems (see 1 Corinthians 5, 6). How, then, are we to understand that this church has been "sanctified"? How does the definition of sanctification we learned yesterday help answer this question?



In the Bible, there is no such thing as partial sanctification. We belong to Christ entirely from the moment we are born again, and we remain that way as long as we stay connected to Him by faith. Sanctification always signals a total experience of God's ownership. This ownership is complete at conversion and should continue this way throughout the Christian life.

How, then, do we understand the idea that "sanctification is the work of a lifetime"?—Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 560.


There are different facets to the idea of sanctification. In the relational sense, that of our being set apart by God, the work is complete. We belong to God. We have been sanctified by Him. Because of what Christ has done on the cross, the Lord has the right to claim us as His own.

But in a moral sense, in the sense of growing in grace, we are still in the process of being sanctified. In these two verses-"Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth" (John 17:17) and "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly" (1 Thess. 5:23)—the verb for "sanctify" appears in the present tense, as in a continuous process by which we partake of Christ's holiness in a distinct moral and practical sense. Through faith, and in total dependence upon God, we are changed by the power of God working in us, to cleanse us, to purge us of sin, so that the character of Christ is formed within us.

In the context of today's study, read Galatians 4:19. What is that text saying to you? [/]

Eph 3
"16": That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

There is nothing that says you can't peek ahead and read THURSDAY's section early..(IN YOUR OWN QUARTERLY)..

THURSDAY
THURSDAY
THURSDAY

Rom 7
"22": For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:

2 Cor 4
"16": For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

WEDNESDAY March 16

"Your Life Is Hid With God in Christ"

Read Colossians 3:1-4 and summarize in your own words what is being said about the Christian life.

These are such beautiful verses, and they so clearly capture the relational aspect of our new life in Christ. We are risen with Jesus, because we first died with Him. That is, at the moment of conversion, we died to our old self and now live a new life in Jesus, a life in which we, by faith, through the power of the Holy Spirit, manifest, in our own flesh, our own heart, our own words and deeds, the character of Christ, "who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption" (1 Cor 1:30).

Where do you see in these verses the hope of the Second Coming? How is that hope tied in with the basic theme of these verses? Why would it be mentioned there in this specific context?



Last week we looked at the concept of imputed righteousness, that is, a righteousness that is credited to us. But these texts are talking more about the experience of imparted righteousness; when the righteousness of Jesus is revealed in us. We're not talking here about a slavish obedience to rules or laws but the experience of having died to the old man in order that God can impart to us His own character. It's crucial to remember that we are fallen beings, and our fall included more than condemnation by God because of sin. Our fall included the degeneration of the race-morally, physically, and spiritually. Christ died and rose and is ministering in heaven in order to restore us to what we were before the Fall. Sanctification, which begins the moral restoration of the image of God in humans, is part of the process.

Read again Colossians 3:1-4. What does it mean that we should seek those things that are "above"? In what practical ways can we do this? How do what we read, watch, dwell upon, and talk about influence how well we will succeed in following this biblical admonition?




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THURSDAY March 17

The Law and the Gospel

We love God because of the salvation that is ours through the Cross. And, as a result, we want to follow the Lord in faith and obedience. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can do this, resulting in a new life in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).

Yet, the questions remain: How do we know if we really are obeying God? How do we know if the Spirit is leading us in a particular way or if we are being prompted by some other power? If we love God because we have been justified by faith and we want to obey Him (Matt. 7:24, Rom. 1:5, 16:26, Gal. 3:1, Heb. 5:9, 1 Pet. 4:17), we should know what God expects from us.

Read the following texts. What's the one clear message they have for us as Christians? John 8:11, 34; Gal. 2:17; John 8:34; Rom. 6:13; 1 John 2:1; 3:8; Heb. 3:13; 12:4.


How could there be all these admonitions against sin for the Christian, unless there was a law to define sin (Rom. 7:7, 1 John 3:4)? The existence of sin automatically means the existence of the law. You can't have sin without law, any more than you can have a crime without law. For the New Testament to demand that we refrain from sin, and yet to weaken or nullify the law, makes about as much sense as a nation demanding that citizens not steal cars while, at the same time, annulling or weakening laws against auto theft.

God's law is spiritual (Rom. 7:14), and it is made for spiritual beings, beings who are moved by the Holy Spirit to obey the Lord. The law was made not to save anyone but to frame, as it were, safe borders for us, to help us understand how we are to reveal in our lives the love for God that we profess. Anyone can profess that he or she loves God, and people through the years, claiming to be "led by the Spirit," have sought to express this "love" in some very strange and even hurtful ways. The Bible, however, without ambiguity, tells us how we are to reveal that love: "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous" (1 John 5:3). The Spirit is going to lead us, not contrary to the law but in a way that "the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Rom. 8:4).

Why do you think, based on your own walk with the Lord, that God wants us to keep His law? How is God's love revealed to us through His law?





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FRIDAY March 18

Further Study: Read Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 309-322; Faith and Works, pp. 29-32.
"In order to receive help from Christ, we must realize our need. We must have a true knowledge of ourselves. It is only he who knows himself to be a sinner that Christ can save. Only as we see our utter helplessness and renounce all self-trust, shall we lay hold on divine power.

"It is not only at the beginning of the Christian life that this renunciation of self is to be made. At every advance step heavenward it is to be renewed. All our good works are dependent on a power outside of ourselves; therefore there needs to be a continual reaching out of the heart after God, a constant, earnest confession of sin and humbling of the soul before Him. Perils surround us; and we are safe only as we feel our weakness and cling with the grasp of faith to our mighty Deliverer."—Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing, pp. 455, 456.

"With many, sanctification is only self-righteousness. And yet these persons boldly claim Jesus as their Saviour and Sanctifier. What a delusion! Will the Son of God sanctify the transgressor of the Father's law—that law which Christ came to exalt and make honorable?"—Faith and Works, p. 29.



Discussion Questions: A man (let's call him Stanley) said that a leader of a small religious group kept on trying to win him over to Jesus, but he refused to listen. Then the leader of the community gave Stanley his wife for the night. Stanley later gave his testimony, saying, "That night changed my life, for that was when I learned about God's love for me." Stanley and his pastor may have been sincere in their faith, but sincerity alone is no safeguard against error and presumption. The pastor's so-called generosity in sharing his wife undermines the very principle it claims to uphold: the sacrificial love of Christ. A true understanding of the gospel leaves no room for condoning or engaging in such a practice. In particular, what would the law of God say here to Stanley? How could the law have helped him form a better judgment about his experience? What does this story tell us about the importance of the law for all Christians?
Most Christians understand that justification is by faith. Why must sanctification be by faith, as well? See Acts 26:18.

Ellen White wrote that all our good works are dependent upon a power "outside of ourselves" (see above). What is the key we need in order to have this outside power work in our lives?

LAW


Want to find out the spiritual maturity of the class members?

Just bring up the law and see what the comments are.