Study: Read 2 Peter 1:16-21. What assurance does the apostle give us regarding prophecy? What illustration does he use to show the importance of God’s prophetic Word?
Apply: “We have not followed “cunningly devised fables.” The prophecies of God’s Word light up the road ahead. They help us distinguish truth from error. Without the Bible, we would be left to the whims of human opinion and easily be deceived. “The people of God are directed to the Scriptures as their safeguard against the influence of false teachers and the delusive power of spirits of darkness. Satan employs every possible device to prevent men from obtaining a knowledge of the Bible; for its plain utterances reveal his deceptions. . . . The last great delusion is soon to open before us. Antichrist is to perform his marvelous works in our sight. So closely will the counterfeit resemble the true that it will be impossible to distinguish between them except by the Holy Scriptures. . . . None but those who have fortified the mind with the truths of the Bible will stand through the last great conflict. To every soul will come the searching test: Shall I obey God rather than men? The decisive hour is even now at hand. Are our feet planted on the rock of God’s immutable word? Are we prepared to stand firm in defense of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus?”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 593, 594.
Consider the questions in the quote above. What will enable us to stand in the final crisis? What distracts us from studying God’s Word? How might we be compromising truth for personal pleasure?
Share: Your friend says that she hopes to be laid to rest before earth’s final events, so she does not have to endure them? What do you tell your friend?
Study: What elements of a seal are contained in the Sabbath commandment? Where are the seal of God and the mark of the beast received? Why do you think there is a difference?
Apply: Why is day-by-day faithfulness to the Lord the key to being prepared when the final crisis arrives?
Share: Your friend says. “The world is becoming more and more secular and wicked every day. What do you see going om in the world today that makes you think any kind of a Sunday law or any kind of religous law could ever be passed in such a wicked society?” What do you tell your friend?
Study: How do these verses say God’s work on earth will be finished?
Apply: What is holding back the mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the latter rain, and the loud cry? However small our role as individuals might be, what role can we fill in being open and receptive to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit?
Share: Can you think of someone who you can share the Gospel with this week?
Study: How does worshiping the Creator find its final expression?
Apply: Read Daniel 6:4-5. On what basis was Daniel accused and persecuted? Have you ever seen anyone being persecuted for being loyal to God’s law? Have you ever been persecuted for remaining loyal to God’s law?
Share: Your friend quits keeping the Sabbath to avoid conflict with his wife and her family. He says God understands he has to keep peace in the family. What do you tell your friend? See Matthew 10:34-39 and Revelation 2:10.
Read in Class: Revelation13:1-10. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: Where does the beast rise from and who gives itauthority?
Apply: How do we live in expectation of the second coming without becoming alarmists every time something happens?
Share: Your friend asks what this beast does to commit blasphemy? Why was Jesus accused of blasphemy? Is the beast committing blasphemy by claiming to be God? What do you tell your friend?
Study: How does this beast differ from the first beast in Revelation13?
Apply: What change do you see in this beast, and how does it speak? Think about the political instability in America today. How might that one day lead to the fulfillment of this prophecy?
Share: Your friend says there is no way a country based on religious freedom could ever turn around and persecute its own people for religious reasons. What do you tell your friend? What instances in both Biblical and secular history might you base your answer on?
According to Time, Read in Class: Daniel 3:4-24 or portions of this passage.
Apply: What specific things happen in Daniel 3 that encourage you to be faithful to God when Revelation 13 plays out.
Share: Can you think of someone who may be suffering persecution in one way or another who could use some encouragement? How can you encourage them this week?
It is time for You to act, O LORD, For they have regarded Your law as void. Psalm 119:126 KJV
The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 NKJV
Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 1 John 3:4 NKJV
A vast majority of the Christian world celebrates the overthrow of God’s law, not realizing that it is not Jesus who did away with the law, but rather Satan, who wants to create the illusion that the law was done away with. Paul makes it clear that the coming of the lawless one is the work of Satan. Meanwhile Jesus says,
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For 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. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:17-19 NKJV
….But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments. Matthew 19:17 NKJV
But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ Matthew 7:23 NLT
For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition. Mark 7:8 NLT
But that doesn’t mean that the law has lost its force. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest point of God’s law to be overturned. Luke 16:17 NLT
Clearly Jesus did not come to do away with or change the moral law. It is clearly the anti-Christ or the lawless man of sin who “thinks to change times and laws.” See Daniel 7:25.
Isaiah 14:12-14 gives us the crux of the great controversy where Lucifer wants to usurp God’s authority. By voiding out God’s law and changing it, Lucifer hopes to make void God’s authority, so he can overthrow God and set up his own dictatorship. I say dictatorship because while in Genesis 1 we have the Heavenly Trio working as a community using pronouns “us” and “our,” as in let us make man in our own image. Yet Lucifer’s idea of government in Isaiah 14:12-14 gives no hint of community leadership. The only pronoun used is, “I” which exposes Lucifer’s attempt to become a dictator.
Again, the crux of the great controversy centers around Lucifer, or Satan’s attempt to set up his own government and secure our loyalty and worship. For Satan to secure our loyalty and worship he must overthrow God’s law and substitute his own laws. This is why the mark of the beast offers a day of worship totally contrary to God’s day of worship, just as the tree of knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life tested the loyalty of Adam and Eve. Satan wants us to ignore God’s law, because by ignoring His law we are ignoring His authority, and His right to reign over us. By accepting another day of worship other than the one offered at creation and all of Scripture we are ignoring God as our Creator and Ruler. By accepting another law, or another day of worship we would be ignoring God as our Creator and giving our loyalty and worship to Lucifer.
Thos who do not fall for a false law, false day of worship or a false government stay loyal to Jesus and His commandments.
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Revelation 14:12 NKJV
You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.
Do the Scriptures teach that we go to heaven the moment we die? Let’s look.
Did the angel tell Daniel he would die and go straight to heaven? No, he told Daniel he would rest and then rise again at the end of the days, at the second coming.
As for you, go your way until the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days, you will rise again to receive the inheritance set aside for you.” Daniel 12:13 NLT
Did Peter say that David went to heaven when he died? No. He says David never ascended into heaven.
For David himself never ascended into heaven, Acts 2:34 NLT
Did Jesus tell the repentant thief that they both would be in paradise that day? No. The original manuscripts had no punctuation. When the Bible was being translated man put the comma in the wrong place. With the comma in the right place the passage makes total sense with the rest of Scripture about the state of the dead. With the comma in the right place Jesus says, “I assure you today, you will be with me in paradise.” With the comma which was placed there by man and not inspiration it makes total sense with Jesus’ statement in John 20:17.
““Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father.” John 20:17 NLT
Did Paul say we die and go straight to heaven? No. He explained it this way.
“And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NLT
Someone once told me that there may be more to life after death than the Scripture explains, but Paul is saying he wants us to know what happens when we die. In the KJV he says I don’t want you to be ignorant. If he left out some mystery about our souls going to heaven while we are dead, then we would still be ignorant after Paul’s explanation but we are not ignorant because he just told us about the resurrection.
Also, Paul tells us to comfort each other with these words. These words are about the second coming. None of these words mention dying and immediately going home to be with the Lord. Nowhere in Scripture does Paul or anyone else say “They went home to be with the Lord.” Does Paul talk about going to heaven when we die? No. He explains it this way.
But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back. 1 Corinthians 15:23 NLT
But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 NLT
Didn’t Paul teach that when we die, we go to be with Jesus? No.
And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:8 NLT
Did Jesus tell the disciples they would be with him as soon as they died, or did He teach them He would have to come again so they could be with him again? He taught them that He would come again and get them so they could be together.
When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. John 14:3 NLT
….But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell. Matthew 10:28 NKJV
Without a single shred of Bible evidence why do so many teach and preach that we go straight to heaven when we die?
For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths. 2 Timothy 4:3-4 NLT
Jesus, Peter and Paul never taught the immortality of the soul but the serpent did!
“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. Genesis 3:4 NLT
You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.
Main Theme: Our only safeguard against Satan’s last-day delusions is a personal relationship with Christ and a solid grounding in the teachings of the Bible. This includes its teaching about death, regardless of what our eyes and ears and hearts might try to tell us.
Study: What do these Bible passages teach us about death and communication with the dead?
Apply: What has been your experience with trying to explain the state of the dead to other Christians? What, if anything, have you found effective?
Share: Your friend says that her late husband appeared to her in her home the other night and even embraced her. She says she knows it was her husband because she saw and felt him, and they talked about things only the two of them knew about. What do you tell your friend? More importantly, what do you share with them from the Bible?
Study: What do these New Testament passages teach us about death?
Apply: Why is the resurrection such a powerful hope for the Christian faith? What if we had the cross but no resurrection? What hope would we have? Why, then, is the resurrection such an important part of our faith?
Share: Your friend says that it is comforting to think that her late husband is in heaven right now with thier child they both lost. She says it is comforting to know they are both watching her from heaven. What do you tell your friend? How does 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 tell us to comfort each other?
“The sacrifice of Christ as an atonement for sin is the great truth around which all other truths cluster. In order to be rightly understood and appreciated, every truth in the Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation, must be studied in the light that streams from the cross of Calvary. I present before you the great, grand monument of mercy and regeneration, salvation and redemption—the Son of God uplifted on the cross. This is to be the foundation of every discourse given by our ministers.”- Ellen White, Gospel Workers, 315 (1915).
With this thought in mind, I would like to share a study from the “In Light Of The Cross Bible Study Guides,” which I prepared so that people can see our sacred truths in the light of God’s love as opposed to the legalistic view we are often accused of.
The Sabbath Brief overview: The seventh day of the week, Saturday, is God’s holy Sabbath on which we are to rest from all secular work and activity. God sanctified the Sabbath day and made it holy. See Genesis 2:1-3, Exodus, 20:8-11, Exodus 31:13, John 14:15, Revelation 14:12
Why it is important to understand the truth about the Sabbath: The Sabbath is the only commandment that begins with “remember” while it is also the one commandment man has forgotten. While many agnostics believe that God created us and then left us on our own, the Sabbath tells us that our Creator wants to have a relationship with us. The Sabbath also tells us who our God is. You can keep the other nine commandments and worship any god you choose. You can have no other gods before you besides television and not bow to any other god than television and so forth. The Sabbath commandment is the only commandment that tells us who the Lord is. He is the Creator. This is why Satan wants us to forget this commandment. He wants us to forget God. He wants to be our god instead!
The Sabbath is a sign that we belong to the true God, the one who created us and died for us.
Why it is important to understand the Sabbath in light of the cross: Satan does not want us to forget the Sabbath in order for us to forget the law. Satan knows we are not saved by the works of the law but by grace. The Sabbath is a sign of God’s grace. We do no work on that day, demonstrating that it is not our works that sustain or save us but rather God’s work, both at creation and the cross, that sustain and save us. We rest on the Sabbath, showing that we are resting our faith in the only One who can save us, Jesus Christ. I can imagine God walking with Adam and Eve through the garden, as He showed them all He had made for them, and the wonders of not their works but His works. Adam and Eve realized that day with God, “it is] He [that] hath made us, and not we ourselves.” (Psalms 100:3) Before and after the cross, the Sabbath is a sign that it is God’s work that creates and sustains us.
The Sabbath commandment reminds us that God is our Creator and we refrain from work and worldly activities on the Sabbath day as we rest our faith in God’s power to save and provide for us, instead of our own works and ability to do business and make money.
The same principle is seen in the story of Cain and Abel. In Genesis 4 we read about Abel worshiping the way God had commanded in bringing a lamb as a sacrifice. God accepted Abel’s sacrifice because the lamb God instructed him to bring pointed to Jesus – the Lamb of God who would be sacrificed for our sins. Abel, beyond just worshiping as God had instructed, was saying he trusted in Jesus to save him, rather than his own works. He was looking to the cross. Cain’s sacrifice was refused because he did not worship the way God had instructed, and he brought his own fruit, the work of his own hands. God cannot accept our works and could not accept Cain’s works either. Only the Christ can save us.
Today, many people like Cain, try to be saved by worshiping their own way. Jesus says about them, “But in vain they do worship me, teaching [for] doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9). Our own works and man-made ways of worship will never save us.
There’s a story of a little boy years ago who had built his own wooden sailboat. After tying it to a string he set the boat out to sail in a nearby creek, and then would use the string to reel it back in. One day the string broke and the little boat fell victim to the rapids and sailed away. Several days later the boy was window shopping downtown when he saw his boat in a toy store window. He went inside told the owner, “That’s my boat in the window.” The owner of the store, not sure if he should believe the young lad, told the boy he would have to purchase the boat if he wants it back.
The boy did chores around the home and neighborhood to earn the few dollars the boat cost. He returned to the store and purchased his own boat. Walking home, holding his boat close to his chest he was overheard saying, “Little boat, you are twice mine. First I made you, and then I bought you.” That is what Jesus is telling us through the Sabbath today. As we rest from our works on the Sabbath and put our faith in Him, He tells us, “You are twice mine. First, at creation I made you, and then at the cross I bought you.”
Further study on the Sabbath:
Which day is the Sabbath? But the seventh day [is] the sabbath of the LORD thy God: [in it] thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that [is] within thy gates: For [in] six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them [is], and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. Exodus 20:10, 11
How can we know which day is the seventh day? Some reject the seventh-day Sabbath over the belief that we cannot know which day it falls on today, so picking any day should be okay. But this is fallacy.
According to Scripture, Christ died on Friday and rose on Sunday, the first day of the week. Practically all churches acknowledge this by observing Easter Sunday and Good Friday.
“This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on. The women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment” (Luke 23:52–56).
This is clear evidence that Jesus died the day before the Sabbath. The day of His death was a “preparation day” because it was the time to get ready for the Sabbath. Notice, then, that the women rested over the Sabbath “according to the commandment.” The commandment says, “The seventh day is the Sabbath,” so we know they were resting on Saturday. The very next verse says, “Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared. … And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre” (Luke 24:1, 2).
Hasn’t the calendar been changed since the time of Christ? The calendar has not been changed so as to confuse the days of the week. Just as we know that Jesus and His followers observed the same day as Moses, we can be positive that our seventh day is the same day Jesus observed.
Pope Gregory XIII did make a calendar change in 1582, but it did not interfere with the weekly cycle. What did Gregory do to the calendar? He changed Friday, October 5, 1582, to be Friday, October 15, 1582. He did not affect the weekly cycle of days.
The Jews have observed the seventh day from the time of Abraham, and they still keep it today. An entire nation of people, all around the world, continue to observe a Sabbath they have known for more than 4,000 years.
Over 100 languages on earth use the word “Sabbath” for Saturday. For example, the Spanish word for Saturday is “Sabado,” meaning Sabbath. What does this prove? It proves that when those languages originated long ago, Saturday was recognized as the Sabbath day and was incorporated into the very name of the day.” -Joe Crews, Seven Facts About the 7th Day.
Who was the Sabbath made for?
And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Mark 2:27
Whose day is the Sabbath?
Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. Mark 2:28
What does God call the Sabbath?
If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, [from] doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking [thine own] words: Isaiah 58:13
When is the Sabbath to be observed?
From even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath. Leviticus 23:32
What marks the beginning of a day?
And the evening and the morning were the first day. Genesis 1:5
What did Jesus do on the Sabbath?
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. Luke 4:16
What else should be done on the Sabbath?
And, behold, there was a man which had [his] hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift [it] out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. Matthew 12:10-12
What are we to “remember” to do?
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Exodus 20:8
What are we to refrain from on the Sabbath?
Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day [is] the sabbath of the LORD thy God: [in it] thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that [is] within thy gates: For [in] six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them [is], and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. Exodus 20:9-11
Why were the Jews carried into captivity?
In those days saw I in Judah [some] treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all [manner of] burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified [against them] in the day wherein they sold victuals.There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing [is] this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day? Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath. Nehemiah 13:15-18
What are we to learn from this?
There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God [did] from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. Hebrews 4:9-11
What does God want us to be?
And [they that shall be] of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. Isaiah 58:12
How only is this possible?
If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, [from] doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking [thine own] words: Isaiah 58:13
What is God’s promise?
Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken [it]. Isaiah 58:14
You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.
Main Theme: The aim of this lesson is to show the link between the sanctuary, God’s law, the Sabbath, and the coming crisis over the mark of the beast. We also will explore the relevance of the Sabbath to an end-time generation.
Study: What was in the ark of the covenant in the Most Holy Place of the sanctuary? Who does the dragon make war with and why?
Apply: When you became a Seventh-day Adventist Christian, did you experience any opposition from family or friends? If so, why did they oppose you becoming a Seventh-day Adventist Christian?
Share: Your friend asks you exactly what is the testimony of Jesus? What do you tell your friend? See Revelation 19:10.
Study: What is the relationship between Creation, the Sabbath, and the law of God?
Apply: Most Seventh-day Adventists have faced the charge of being legalistic, and that charge is usually connected with our keeping the Sabbath. Discuss the Sabbath as a symbol of Redemption and righteousness by faith. Why would obeying God’s command to rest lead people to think we are trying to work our way to heaven?
Read in Class: Revelation 14:6-8. Define the main idea of these passages.
Study: What events do the first and second angels tell us about? Why are they so important to God’s people in the last days?
Apply: The world is changing so quickly, so dramatically. Why must we always be vigilant so that last-day events don’t catch us unprepared?
Share: Your friend asks, “How does an understanding of the judgment and the law of God harmonize with the fact that we are saved by grace alone?” What do you tell your friend?
Study: How are those who take the mark of the beast trying to be saved by thier works? How are those who keep the commandments showing their faith in Jesus.
Apply: When you rest on the Sabbath how are you demonstrating grace? How would working on the Sabbath demonstrate legalism?
Share: How can you share the three angel’s message with your friends this week?
Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16 NKJV)
While working on the sort isle at UPS, I was working alongside a Baptist seminary student named David. David was always cool, calm, and collected. One day I was overwhelmed with the high volume of packages on the sort isle belt, and our supervisor was pressuring us. Under the stress and the pressure I broke and lashed out in a very un-Christlike way. After regaining my composure, there I was sorting packages next to David, who of course remained calm. cool, and collected. I was embarrassed by my behavior, especially since everyone knew I was a Seventh-day Adventist Christian. I told David I was very sorry for the way I acted and how terrible I felt. He sighed in sympathy with my feelings, and said, “It’s really difficult to keep your Christianity around this place. It is so hard with all the stress and pressure we face every day.” I was so comforted by David’s understanding, but then I also realized David had never lost his composure. He kept his Christian composure together while sympathizing with my weakness, and embarrassing outburst.
This is where my High Priest gives me hope.
While enduring all the temptations we endure, Jesus sympathizes with our weakness and forgives our sin, even though He never gave in to the same temptations. When we sin we can come boldly before the throne of grace and receive mercy and forgiveness. How quick our Savior is to forgive!
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 NKJV
Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.” Luke 17:3-4 NKJV
Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do… Luke 23:34 NKJV
If someone sinned against me, told me they repented, and then sinned again against me seven times in one day, I would be prone to tell them they are not genuinely repenting. After all, repenting is turning away from sin, right? It seems to me if my brother told me seven times in one day that he repented I would not believe him. Instead, I would give him a lecture on what true repentance means. But it appears to me that in Luke 17:3-4 Jesus is acknowledging that one can truly fall and repent and fall and repent 7 times in one day? And must be forgiven? How quickly and freely Jesus forgives us when we come boldly to the throne of grace asking for mercy!
I know to some of you this seems like cheap grace and a license to sin, but it is not. First of all, historically, I think many Adventists have accused their brothers and sisters of wanting cheap grace and forgiveness, instead of seeking true repentance and turning from sin. The more I live the more I understand my brothers and sisters are not looking for cheap grace at all. My brothers and sisters are actually very discouraged by their sinful addictions and are tired of hurting Jesus and others. They don’t want to continue their addictions. They just don’t believe they can truly ever have victory. Cheap grace is not their desire, but in deep, dark despair they see it as the only solution.
This is where my High Priest gives me more hope.
Cody was a recovering drug addict with whom I had been studying for several weeks. One night I came to his home for our weekly Bible study and found that Cody was very discouraged because earlier in the week he had a weak moment and did drugs again. He was so disappointed because he thought he had the victory. Now he was doubting God could ever forgive him again after falling so low after so many weeks of victory. Immediately I shared with Cody Psalm 51:17.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise. (Psalm 51:17 NKJV)
I shared with Cody that his heart was broken and contrite. God can never despise a broken and contrite heart no matter how many times that heart has already been broken for the same sin. If a heart is broken and contrite God will never despise it. I shared with Cody, that while Satan was discouraging him from seeking God’s presence, that at this time God’s presence was the only safe place for him to be right now.
And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. (Exodus 25:8) NKJV
You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. (Psalm 32:7 NKJV)
While writing about his sin and need of forgiveness David says God is his hiding place. Did you know that the sanctuary is the only safe place for sinners to be? When you sin, Satan is not your friend. When you get lung cancer from smoking, the cigarette manufacturers are not your friends. Jesus is the only friend for people with lung cancer due to smoking. Jesus is the only friend for sinners! The sanctuary is the only safe place for sinners.
As we saw in Hebrews 4:14-16, we can come boldly before the throne of grace and find mercy and forgiveness. But wait. There is more hope. Hebrews 4:141-6 tells us we can also find grace to help us in time of need. What is grace?
Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, (Romans 1:5 NKJV )
Grace empowers our obedience.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10 NKJV)
Grace empowers us to do good works.
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, (Titus 2:11-12 NKJV)
Grace empowers us to live righteous godly lives right here and now in this present age.
“He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin… (Titus 2:14 NLT)
Several years ago I was walking through Al Lopez Park in Tampa. A section of the park is dedicated to cancer survivors and those still fighting cancer. It features a walking path that has different monuments along the way containing various inspirational quotes for people fighting cancer. One message especially caught my eye. It simply read, “There are people who have survived every form of cancer.” Some cancers are obviously more deadly than others. However, no matter what form of cancer someone has been diagnosed with, there is already someone who has survived it. Titus 2:14 tells us no matter what temptations we are facing, no matter what addictions we are fighting, there are already people Jesus has freed from those same temptations and addictions.
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16 NKJV)
When we fall into sin there is hope. We can go to Jesus and find mercy and forgiveness. But I know you do not want to keep hurting Jesus, others or even yourself, so there is more hope. You can go to Jesus and find grace to overcome. Jesus can forgive you and heal you, even if it means coming back for healing 7 times in one day. Remember Jesus is the only safe place for sinners! And I know you are not looking for cheap grace. You want actual healing, it’s just that you may have already fallen so many times you may doubt healing is actually possible. It is possible.
Cody stopped studying with me. However, a few years later he started studying with a new Bible Worker who replaced me after I left that area. Cody was rebaptized. I reached out recently. Cody is still active in his church family and has been drug free over 15 years now.
Paul tells us in Hebrews 4:14-16 we have hope and more hope. When we want to overcome there is hope. God’s grace can deliver us and free us from every kind of sin. However if we do sin, there is hope. God’s mercy gives us grace and forgiveness. Are you tempted? Look to Jesus. Have you already fallen again? Look to Jesus. Our High Priest gives us hope and then more hope. After all,
But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, Romans 5:20 NKJV
You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.
Main Theme: In the cleansing of the sanctuary, the sanctuary of the mind is cleansed from Satan’s lies about God’s character, so in the great controversy between God and Satan, people can see the true character of God, and the true nature of sin.
Study: What two sanctuaries are outlined in these verses?
Apply: What does it mean for you to know that Jesus is in heaven ministering in your behalf, meaning that He is there mediating for you? Why do you need a Mediator in your behalf? Why is this truth good news?
Share: Your friend says he was raised in a home where he saw God as a God who was waiting to strike you down every time you made a mistake. How can you use Christ’s intercession in the sanctuary to demonstrate the true character and love of God? See Was The Atonement to Appease an Angry God or an Angry Race?
Study: Why was the Day of Atonement so important in ancient Israel?
Apply: What is the significance of the Day of Atonement in our lives today? Why should it make a difference in how we live?
Share: Your friend asks you if the thought of living during the judgment and day of atonement is scary to you? What do you tell your friend? See 1 John 4:17-19.
Study: After the judgment, when Jesus returns, what is the fate of all humanity? What clear declaration is made?
Apply: In the judgment do you see God trying to condemn you or vindicate you?
Share: Your friend says, that we are called to be God’s witnesses. Does God need witnesses because He is on trial? While God is judging the world is the world judging God? In what ways might we as God’s wintess help vindicate His character, causing people to accept Him instead of rejecting Him? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Hebrews 10:9-14. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: What difference does this passage reveal between the priest’s ministry in the earthly sanctuary and Jesus’ ministry in the heavenly sanctuary?
Apply: How does Christ’s death on the cross relate to His intercession in the heavenly sanctuary, and why is the judgment so necessary to the plan of salvation?
Share: Can you think of someone who sees God as a vindictive God wanting to destroy him or her? What illustrations can you share from your study on the sanctuary and the cross to help them to see the love and goodness of God? Can you share with them this coming week?
In Light of The Cross 
