FOUR ADVENTIST ERRORS ABOUT LAW.
1. Law and grace are not opposing systems, but work together for man's salvation; law has a greater place in salvation than merely to lead men to Christ.
"The fact that all who are redeemed are saved by grace does not dispense with the law of God any more in the one dispensation than in the other. The law is not against grace, and grace is not against the law ... Grace is not something that exists apart from the law, but by reason of the law. It is, therefore, foolishness to talk of one age as the dispensation of the law, and the other as the dispensation of grace, as if each existed at a different period of time from the other. Law and grace have existed side by side from the time man first sinned, and will stand together until man's probation closes" (Charles T. Everson, Saved By Grace, pp. 11,17).
2. Salvation is attained by faith and grace working together to enable a man to build a character according to the law.
"Christ says to every man in this world what He said to the rich young ruler: `If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.' Matthew 18:17. In other words, the standard for admission into heaven is a character built according to the ten specifications, or commandments, of God's law. ... The Master Builder will stand right with you, and see to it personally that your life comes up to the requirements of God's law" (Saved By Grace, pp. 45-46).
"The question that decides destinies for eternity is, `Have you by the grace of Christ done the will of the Father-have you kept His word?'" (The Great Judgment Day, p. 114).
3. The law is the standard by which God shall judge believers.
"The Ten Commandments are heaven's balances of justice and righteousness, in which the great Judge will weigh the life of each person ... nine points of obedience in our lives will not meet the ten requirements in God's law. The law of Ten Commandments is the standard by which the characters and the lives of men will be tested in the judgment. It is important, therefore, that we obey it. In order to be prepared for the judgment, it is necessary that men be obedient to God's holy law" (The Great Judgment Day, p. 114).
"So in the great day of final atonement and investigative judgment the only cases considered are those of the professed people of God. ... The law of God is the standard by which the characters and the lives of men will be tested in the judgment. ... Those who in the judgment are `accounted worthy' will have a part in the resurrection of the just" (Ellen White, The Great Controversy, pp. 423-425).
4. The law is the believer's way of life. The law was given as a rule of life, as well as a revealer of sin.
"Instead of being free to ignore and break the law because he is saved by grace, he is now doubly obligated to keep it. . In other words, the one who forsakes, or gives up, sinning, or breaking God's law, to him will be given mercy, or grace. ... And if we make the effort to walk in the commandments of God, Christ will supply us with the power needed. ... In other words, if you fully surrender to Christ, He not only pardons your past transgression of the law, but comes into your life as you go forward with Him. ... It is very evident, then, that in the new covenant we do not see the law a thing of no consequence, but we find it occupying the center of the covenant" (Saved By Grace, pp. 23, 26-27, 30-31, 36).
"Upon these two `tables,' or tablets, of stone were Ten Commandments, divinely designed for man's well-being, to direct him in paths of righteousness and preserve him from evil" (Arthur S. Maxwell, Your Bible and You, p. 95).
"The Ten Commandments are the only perfect rule of conduct in this world today. God gave man the Decalogue as a rule of life" (The Great Judgment Day, pp. 113-114).