The Everlasting Gospel - Steps to Life

February 8 – 14, 2026

Key Text

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes, for the Jew first, and also for the Greek.” Romans 1:16

Study Help: The Great Controversy, 263, 264, 379; Selected Messages, Book 2, 104–106

Introduction

“The gospel is the revelation of God’s love to men and means everything that is essential to the happiness and well-being of humanity.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 186

Sunday

1 ONLY ONE TRUE GOSPEL

1. Ever since the fall of man, there has been only one true gospel. What does it teach? John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 1:16, 17

Note: “Not alone at the Saviour’s advent, but through all the ages after the Fall and the promise of redemption, ‘God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself.’ 2 Corinthians 5:19. Christ was the foundation and center of the sacrificial system in both the patriarchal and the Jewish age. Since the sin of our first parents there has been no direct communication between God and man. … All the communion between heaven and the fallen race has been through Christ.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 366

“As soon as there was sin, there was a Saviour. Christ knew that He would have to suffer, yet He became man’s Substitute. As soon as Adam sinned, the Son of God presented Himself as surety for the human race, with just as much power to avert the doom pronounced upon the guilty as when He died upon the cross of Calvary.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 1, 1084

Monday

2 THE FIRST HUMAN FAMILY

2.a. How did Christ present the gospel to our first parents? Genesis 3:15

Note: “Although gloom and darkness hung like the pall of death over the future, yet in the promise of the Redeemer, the Star of hope lighted up the dark future. The gospel was first preached to Adam by Christ.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 1, 1084

“It is the grace that Christ implants in the soul which creates in man enmity against Satan. Without this converting grace and renewing power, man would continue the captive of Satan, a servant ever ready to do his bidding. But the new principle in the soul creates conflict where hitherto had been peace. The power which Christ imparts enables man to resist the tyrant and usurper. Whoever is seen to abhor sin instead of loving it, whoever resists and conquers those passions that have held sway within, displays the operation of a principle wholly from above.” The Great Controversy, 506

2.b. What was the basis of Abel’s trust for salvation? Hebrews 11:4

Note: “The power of Christ, the crucified Saviour, to give eternal life should be presented to the people. We should show them that the Old Testament is as verily the gospel in types and shadows as the New Testament is in its unfolding power. The New Testament does not present a new religion; the Old Testament does not present a religion to be superseded by the New. The New Testament is only the advancement and unfolding of the Old. Abel was a believer in Christ, and was as verily saved by His power as was Peter or Paul.” Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 6, 392

Tuesday

3 THE FAITH OF THE PATRIARCHS

3.a. Why do we say that Enoch and Noah were Christians? Hebrews 11:5; Genesis 5:24; 6:9

Note: “That God who walked with Enoch was our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He was the light of the world then just as He is now. Those who lived then were not without teachers to instruct them in the path of life; for Noah and Enoch were Christians.” Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 6, 392

3.b. What should we realize about the Lord that revealed Himself to Abraham, Jacob, and Moses? Genesis 22:15–18; 32:30; Hebrews 11:24–26

Note: “Christ was as much man’s Redeemer in the beginning of the world as He is today. Before He clothed His divinity with humanity and came to our world, the gospel message was given by Adam, Seth, Enoch, Methuselah, and Noah. Abraham in Canaan and Lot in Sodom bore the message, and from generation to generation, faithful messengers proclaimed the Coming One.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 126

“There is no such contrast as is often claimed to exist between the Old and the New Testament, the law of God and the gospel of Christ, the requirements of the Jewish and those of the Christian dispensation. Every soul saved in the former dispensation was saved by Christ as verily as we are saved by Him today. Patriarchs and prophets were Christians. The gospel promise was given to the first pair in Eden, when they had by transgression separated themselves from God. The gospel was preached to Abraham. The Hebrews all drank of that spiritual Rock, which was Christ.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 6, 1061

Wednesday

4 THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO ISRAEL

4.a. What was the purpose of the sacrificial system entrusted to the people of Israel? Hebrews 10:1; 8:3–5; Colossians 2:17; John 5:39, 46

Note: “It was Christ who instituted the Jewish economy and the sacrificial service.” Gospel Workers, 118

“The types and shadows of the sacrificial service, with the prophecies, gave the Israelites a veiled, indistinct view of the mercy and grace to be brought to the world by the revelation of Christ. To Moses was unfolded the significance of the types and shadows pointing to Christ. He saw to the end of that which was to be done away when at the death of Christ type met antitype. He saw that only through Christ can man keep the moral law.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 6, 1096

“The Christian church … who profess the utmost faith in Christ, in despising the Jewish system virtually deny Christ, who was the originator of the entire Jewish economy.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 232

4.b. What should we learn from the fact that the people of Israel failed to understand the gospel? Hebrews 3:14–19; 4:1, 2

Note: “The unbelief and murmurings of the children of Israel illustrate the people of God now upon the earth. Many look back to them and marvel at their unbelief and continual murmurings after the Lord had done so much for them in giving them repeated evidences of His love and care for them. They think that they should not have proved thus ungrateful. But some who thus think murmur and repine at things of less consequence. They do not know themselves. God frequently proves them and tries their faith in small things, and they do not endure the trial any better than did ancient Israel.

“Many have their present wants supplied, yet they will not trust the Lord for the future. They manifest unbelief and sink into despondency and gloom at anticipated want. Some are in continual trouble lest they shall come to want and their children suffer. When difficulties arise, or when they are brought into strait places—when their faith and love to God is tested, they shrink from the trial and murmur at the process by which God has chosen to purify them. Their love does not prove pure and perfect to bear all things. The faith of the people of the God of Heaven should be strong, active, and enduring—the substance of things hoped for. Then the language of such will be, Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name; for He hath dealt bountifully with me. Self-denial is considered by some to be real suffering. Depraved appetites are indulged. And a restraint upon the unhealthy appetite would lead even many professed Christians to now start back, as though actual starvation would be the consequence of a plain diet. And, like the children of Israel, they would prefer slavery, diseased bodies, and even death, rather than to be deprived of the flesh-pots. Bread and water is all that is promised to the remnant in the time of trouble.” Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 3, 251, 252

Thursday

5 THE CLOSING WORK OF THE GOSPEL

5.a. What are the vital points in the proclamation of the everlasting gospel by the first angel of Revelation 14? Revelation 14:6, 7

Note: “That men may be prepared to stand in the judgment, the message commands them to ‘fear God and give glory to Him’ ‘and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.’ The result of an acceptance of these messages is given in the word: ‘Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus’ (verse 12). In order to be prepared for the judgment, it is necessary that men should keep the law of God. That law will be the standard of character in the judgment.” The Great Controversy (1888), 436

5.b. Why does this angel fly in the midst of heaven, and what happens when the everlasting gospel has been proclaimed all over the world? Matthew 24:14

Note: “The angel’s flight ‘in the midst of heaven,’ the ‘loud voice’ with which the warning is uttered, and its promulgation to all ‘that dwell on the earth’—‘to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people’—give evidence of the rapidity and worldwide extent of the movement.” The Great Controversy, 355

“By giving the gospel to the world, it is in our power to hasten our Lord’s return. We are not only to look for but to hasten the coming of the day of God. 2 Peter 3:12, margin. Had the church of Christ done her appointed work as the Lord ordained, the whole world would before this have been warned, and the Lord Jesus would have come to our earth in power and great glory.” The Desire of Ages, 633, 634

Friday

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

What common link binds our faith to that of the patriarchs?
How is the experience of Genesis 3:15 to continue in our lives?
Give examples of how the patriarchs showed faith in Christ.
In what areas may we tend to be guilty of unbelief?
Why should we hasten to share this message with others?