Abraham kept the commandments before Sinai. – Genesis 26:5 – Because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statues, and My laws.

The Sabbath commandment before Sinai. – Exodus 16: 24-30 – ²⁴So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it. ²⁵Then Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. ²⁶Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.” ²⁷Now it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none. ²⁸And the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? ²⁹See! For the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” ³⁰So the people rested on the seventh day.

A Threefold Weekly Miracle
Every week during their long sojourn in the wilderness the Israelites witnessed a threefold miracle, designed to impress their minds with the sacredness of the Sabbath: a double quantity of manna fell on the sixth day, none on the seventh, and the portion needed for the Sabbath was preserved sweet and pure, when if any were kept over at any other time it became unfit for use. PP 296

God’s law is eternal. – Psalm 111:7-9 – ⁷The works of His hands are verity and justice; all His precepts are sure. ⁸They stand fast forever and ever and are done in truth and uprightness. ⁹He has sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever: Holy and awesome is His name.

Principles of Education Do Not Change
The great principles of education are unchanged. “They stand fast for ever and ever” (Psalm 11:8); for they are the principles of the character of God. To aid the student in comprehending these principles, and in entering into that relation with Christ which will make them a controlling power in the life, should be the teacher’s first effort and his constant aim. The teacher who accepts this aim is in truth a co-worker with Christ, a laborer together with God. Ed 30

Holiness of God and His Name
We are never in any manner to treat lightly the titles or appellation of the Deity. In prayer we enter the audience chamber of the Most High; and we should come before Him with holy awe. The angels veil their faces in His presence. The cherubim and the bright and holy seraphim approach His throne with solemn reverence. How much more should we, finite, sinful beings, come in a reverent manner before the Lord, our Maker! MB 106

Paul shows the law existed from Eden. – Romans 5:12-14 – ¹²Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned – ¹³For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. ¹⁴Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

The law as God gave it at Mt. Sinai. – Exodus 20:3-17 – ³”Thou shall have no other gods before Me.” ⁴”Thou shall not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” ⁵”Thou shall not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them who hate me; ⁶but showing mercy to thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.” ⁷”Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that who his name in vain.” ⁸Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹Six day you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, not your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. ¹¹For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” ¹²”Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” ¹³”Thou shall not murder.” ¹⁴”Thou shall not commit adultery.” ¹⁵”Thou shall not steal.” ¹⁶”Thou shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” ¹⁷”Thou shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, not his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

The Seal of God (Exodus 20:8-11)
The fourth commandment is the only of all the ten in which are found both the name and the title of the Lawgiver. It is the only one that shows by whose authority the law is given. Thus, it contains the seal of God, affixed to His law as evidence of its authenticity and binding force. PP 307

The Law for Our Happiness
God has given us His holy precepts because He loves mankind. To shield us from the results of transgression, He reveals the principles of righteousness… God desires us to be happy, and He gave us the precepts of the law that in obeying them we might have joy… Since “the law of the Lord is perfect,” every variation from it must be evil. Those who disobey the commandments of God, and teach others to do so, are condemned by Christ. The Savior’s life of obedience maintained the claims of the law; it proved that the law could be kept in humanity, and showed the excellence of character that obedience would develop. All who obey as He did are likewise declaring that the law is “holy, and just, and good” (Romans 7:12). On the other hand, all who break God’s commandments are sustaining Satan’s claim that the law is unjust, and cannot be obeyed. Thus they second the deceptions of the great adversary, and cast dishonor upon God. They are the children of the wicked one, who was the first rebel against God’s law. To admit them into heaven would again bring in the elements of discord and rebellion and imperil the well-being of the universe. No man who willfully disregards one principle of the law shall enter the kingdom of heaven. DA 308, 309

The law points out sin. – Romans 3:20 – Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Knowing to do right and not doing it is sin. James 4:17 – Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Sin is transgressing of the law. – 1 John 3:4 – Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.

Blessings of obeying God’s law. Deuteronomy 28:1 & 2 – ¹”Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. ²And all these blessing shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God.”

Psalmist describes God’s law as perfect and wonderful. – Psalm 19:7-11 – ⁷The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; ⁸The statues of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; ⁹The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgements of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. ¹⁰More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. ¹¹Moreover by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward.

The Law of the Lord is Perfect
Without the law, men have no just conception of the purity and holiness of God or of their own guilt and uncleanness. They have no true conviction of sin and feel no need of repentance. Not seeing their lost condition as violators of God’s law, they do not realize their need of the atoning blood of Christ. The hope of salvation is accepted without a radical change of heart or reformation of life. Thus, superficial conversions abound, and multitudes are joined to the church who have never been united to Christ. GC 498

God’s new covenant. Jeremiah 31:31-33 – ³¹”Behold the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah – ³²not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. ³³But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

The Law, Written on Our Hearts
The same law that was engraved upon the tables of stone is written by the Holy Spirit upon the tables of the heart. Instead of going about to establish our own righteousness we accept the righteousness of Christ. His blood atones for our sins. His obedience is accepted for us. Then the heart renewed by the Holy Spirit will bring forth “the fruits of the Spirit.” Through the grace of Christ, we shall live in obedience to the law of God written upon our hearts. PP 372

Summary of the law: love to God; love to man. – Matthew 22:36-40 – ³⁶”Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” ³⁷Jesus said unto him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

All or Nothing
Both these commandments [“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart… and your neighbor as yourself”] are an expression of the principle of love. The first cannot be kept and the second broken, not can the second be kept while the first is broken… Thus, Christ taught His hearers that the law of God is not so many separate precepts, some which are of great importance, while others are of small importance and may with impunity be ignored. Our Lord presents the first four and the last six commandments as a divine whole and teaches that love to God will be shown by obedience to all His commandments. DA 607

God’s law is not a burden. 1 John 5:3 – For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

Jesus came not to destroy, but to fulfill the law. – Matthew 5:17 & 18 – ¹⁷”Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. ¹⁸For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.”

The Great Law of Life
“Till heaven and earth pass,” said Jesus, “one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” [Matthew 5:18]. By His own obedience to the law, Christ testified to its immutable character and proved that through His grace it could be perfectly obeyed by every son and daughter of Adam… Because the law of the Lord if perfect, and therefore changeless, it is impossible for sinful men, in themselves, to meet the standard of its requirement. This was why Jesus came as our Redeemer. It was His mission, by making men partakers of the divine nature, to bring them into harmony with the principles of the law of heaven. When we forsake our sins and receive Christ as our Savior, the law is exalted. The apostle Paul asks, “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law” (Romans 3:31). The new-covenant promise is, “I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them” (Hebrews 10:16). While the system of types which pointed to Christ as the Lamb of God that should take away the sin of the world was to pass away at His death, the principles of righteousness embodied in the Decalogue are as immutable as the eternal throne. Not one command has been annulled, not a jot or tittle has been changed. Those principles that were made known to man in Paradise as the great law of life will exist unchanged in Paradise restored. When Eden shall bloom on earth again, God’s law of love will be obeyed by all beneath the sun. MB 49-51

If we love Jesus, we will keep His commandments. – John 14:15 – “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”

True Love Is the Key
Those who bring their petitions to God, claiming His promise while they do not comply with the conditions, insult Jehovah. They bring the name of Christ as their authority for the fulfillment of the promise, but they do not those things that would show faith in Christ and love for Him… We present to God His promises and ask Him to fulfill them, when by so doing He would dishonor His own name. COL 143

Jesus kept the commandments. – John 15:10 – If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

Paul indicated it was still in effect. Romans 7:12 – Therefore the law is holy, and the commandments holy and just and good.

God’s Law His Character
The Law of God, from its very nature, is unchangeable. It is a revelation of the will and the character of its Author. God is love, and His law is love. Its two great principles are love to God and love to man… The character of God is righteousness and truth; such is the nature of His law… Such a law, being an expression of the mind and will of God, must be as enduring as its Author. GC 467

John indicated it was still in effect. – 1 John 2:3-6 – ³Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. ⁴He who says “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that was are in Him. ⁶He who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk just as He walked.

When Belief is Presumption
A belief that does not lead to obedience is presumption… Let none cherish the idea that special providences of miraculous manifestations are to be the proof of the genuineness of their work or of the ideas they advocate. When persons will speak lightly of the word of God, and set their impressions, feelings, and exercises above the divine standard, we may know that they have no light in them. MB 146

Law not made void by faith in God’s grace. – Romans 3:31 – Do we then make void the laws through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

The Perfect Law of Love
Because the law of the Lord is perfect, and therefore changeless, it is impossible for sinful men, in themselves to meet the standard of its requirements. This was why Jesus came as our Redeemer. It was His mission, by making men partakers of the divine nature, to bring them into harmony with the principles of the law of heaven. When we forsake our sins and receive Christ as our Savior, the law is exalted. The apostle Paul asks, “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law” (Romans 3:31). The new-covenant promise is, “I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them” (Hebrews 10:16). While the system of types which pointed to Christ as the Lamb of God that should take away the sin of the world was to pass away at His death, the principles of righteousness embodied in the Decalogue are as immutable as the eternal throne. Not one command has been annulled, not a jot or tittle has been changed. Those principles that were made known to man in Paradise as the great law of life will exist unchanged in Paradise restored. When Eden shall bloom on earth again, God’s law of love will be obeyed by all beneath the sun. “Forever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven.” “All His commandments are sure. They stand fast forever and ever and are done in truth and uprightness.” “Concerning Thy testimonies, I have known of old that Thou hast founded them forever” (Psalm 119:89; 111:7, 8; 119:152) MB 50, 51

We’re not under law, but under grace. – Romans 6:14 & 15 – ¹⁴For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. ¹⁵What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!

Humanity United With Divinity
Christ’s humanity was united with divinity; He was fitted for the conflict by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And He came to make us partakers of the divine nature. So long as we are united to Him by faith, win has no more dominion over us. God reaches for the hand of faith in us to direct it to lay fast hold upon the divinity of Christ, that we may attain to perfection of character. DA 123

Paul delights in the law. – Romans 7:22 – For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.

How the law can be kept. – Hebrews 8:10 – For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

The Process of Transformation
The cross reveals the love of God… If we do not resist… we shall be led to the foot of the cross in repentance for the sins that have crucified the Savior. Then the Spirit of God through faith produces a new life in the soul. The thoughts and desires are brought into obedience to the will of Christ. The heart, the mind, are created anew in the image of Him who works in us to subdue all things to Himself. Then the law of God is written in the mind and heart. DA 176

The function of the law to reveal sin did not change after the Cross. – James 1:22-25 – ²²But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; ²⁴for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. ²⁵But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

The Perfect Law of God
The tendency of the modern pulpit is to strain out the divine justice from the divine benevolence, to sink benevolence into a sentiment rather than exalt it into a principle. The new theological prism puts asunder what God has joined together. Is the divine law a good or an evil? It is a good. Then justice is good; for it is a disposition to execute the law. From the habit of underrating the divine law justice, the extent and demerit of human disobedience, men easily slide into the habit of underestimating the grace which has provided an atonement for sin.” Thus the gospel loses its value and importance int eh minds of men, and soon they are ready practically to cast aside the Bible itself. Many religious teachers asserts that Christ by His death abolished the law, and men are henceforth free from its requirements. There are some who represent it as a grievous yoke, and in contrast to the bondage of the law they present the liberty to be enjoyed under the gospel… The claim that Christ by His death abolished His Father’s law is without foundation. Had it been possible for the law to be changed or set aside, the Christ need not have died to save man from the penalty of sin. The death of Christ, so far from abolishing the law, proves that it is immutable… The law of God, from its very nature, is unchangeable. It is a revelation of the will and the character of its Author. God is love, and His law is love. Its two great principles are love to God and love to man. “Love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10)… Such a law, being an expression of the mind and will of God, must be as enduring as its Author. GC 465-467