December 3, 2006 – December 9, 2006
Key Text
“But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.” 1 Peter 2:9.
Study Help: Steps to Christ, 60–64, Testimonies, vol. 6, 349–351.
Introduction
“The Sabbath given to the world as the sign of God as the Creator is also the sign of Him as the Sanctifier. The power that created all things is the power that re-creates the soul in His own likeness.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 350.
“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me [with thy] free spirit. [Then] will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: [and] my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give [it]: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God [are] a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” Psalm 51:10–17.
1 What is the biblical definition of eternal life? John 17:3; Deuteronomy 8:11–18.
note: “To know God is eternal life. Are you teaching this to your children, or are you teaching them to meet the world’s standard? Are you getting ready for the home that God is preparing for you? . . . Teach your children of the Saviour’s life, death, and resurrection. Teach them to study the Bible. . . . Teach them to form characters that will live through the eternal ages. We must pray as we never have before that God will keep and bless our children.” Child Guidance, 494.
“It is our privilege to know God experimentally, and in true knowledge of God is life eternal. The only begotten Son of God was God’s gift to the world, in whose character was revealed the character of him who gave the law to men and angels. He came to proclaim the fact, ‘The Lord our God is one Lord,’ [Mark 12:29] and him only shalt thou serve. He came to make it manifest that, ‘Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.’ [James 1:17.] That which proceeds from the mind of God is perfect, and needs not to be taken back, corrected, or altered in the least. We may ascribe all perfection to God. He holds in his hand the existence of every human being, and upholds all things by the word of his power.” Review and Herald, March 9, 1897.
2 What gift did the Father and the Son give to the human race that they may know them? Exodus 31:13; Ezekiel 20:20.
note: “God will more than fulfil the highest expectations of those who put their trust in him. He desires us to remember that when we are humble and contrite, we stand where he can and will manifest himself to us. He is well pleased when we urge past mercies and blessings as a reason why he should bestow on us higher and greater blessings. He is honored when we love him, and bear testimony to the genuineness of our love by keeping his commandments. He is honored when we set apart the seventh day as sacred and holy. To those who do this the Sabbath is a sign, ‘that they might know,’ God declares, ‘that I am the Lord that sanctify them.’ [Ezekiel 20:12.] Sanctification means habitual communion with God. There is nothing so great and powerful as God’s love for those who are his children.” Review and Herald, March 15, 1906.
3 Since the Sabbath is to be a sign of a perpetual covenant, to what is the covenant pointing us? Exodus 31:16, 17; Hebrews 8:10.
note: “Obedience is not a mere outward compliance, but the service of love. The law of God is an expression of His very nature; it is an embodiment of the great principle of love, and hence is the foundation of His government in heaven and earth. If our hearts are renewed in the likeness of God, if the divine love is implanted in the soul, will not the law of God be carried out in the life? When the principle of love is implanted in the heart, when man is renewed after the image of Him that created him, the new-covenant promise is fulfilled, ‘I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them.’ Hebrews 10:16. And if the law is written in the heart, will it not shape the life? Obedience—the service and allegiance of love—is the true sign of discipleship. Thus the Scripture says, ‘This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.’ ‘He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.’ 1 John 5:3; 2:4. Instead of releasing man from obedience, it is faith, and faith only, that makes us partakers of the grace of Christ, which enables us to render obedience.” Steps to Christ, 60, 61.
“God has declared in His Word that the seventh day is a sign between Him and His chosen people,—a sign of their loyalty. ‘I am the Lord your God,’ He says; ‘walk in My statutes, and keep My judgments, and do them; and hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.’ [Ezekiel 20:19, 20.] The day God set apart to be kept free from secular labor He designed should be respected in commemoration of His wisdom, power, and goodness in creating the world and man. The Sabbath was instituted before the Jews were distinguished as a people, and was given to all mankind to keep holy, ‘that ye may know,’ God declares, ‘that I am the Lord which do sanctify you.’ [Exodus 31:13.] If the Sabbath is accepted, the rest of the commands in the Decalogue will be obeyed; for no one can truly keep the Sabbath and disregard one precept of the law.” The Signs of the Times, March 31, 1898.
4 How does the Sabbath illustrate the “New Covenant”? Hebrews 4:10.
note: “God gave the Sabbath to his people to be a continual sign of his love and mercy and of their obedience. As he rested on this day and was refreshed, so he desired his people to rest and be refreshed. It was to be a constant reminder to them that they were included in his covenant of grace. Throughout your generations, he said, the Sabbath is to be my sign, my pledge, to you that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you, that I have chosen you and set you apart as my peculiar people. And as you keep the Sabbath holy, you will bear testimony to the nations of the earth that you are my chosen people.” Review and Herald, October 28, 1902.
“Let us remember that we are pilgrims and strangers on this earth, seeking a better country, even a heavenly. Let us work with such earnestness, such devotion, that sinners will be drawn to Christ. Those who have united with the Lord in the covenant of service are under bonds to unite with Him in the great, grand work of soul saving. Let church members, during the week, act their part faithfully, and on the Sabbath relate their experience. The meeting will then be as meat in due season, bringing to all present new life and fresh vigor. When God’s people see the great need of working as Christ worked for the conversion of sinners, the testimonies borne by them in the Sabbath service will be filled with power. With joy they will tell of the precious experience they have gained in working for others.” Testimonies, vol. 7, 19.
5 To enter into His rest we must cease then from our own works. What are our own works from which we must cease? Galatians 5:19–21.
6 What is the only way we may be released from these “works of the flesh”? John 3:3, 5; Ezekiel 36:25–27.
note: “If we have the love of Christ in our souls, it will be a natural consequence for us to have all the other graces,—joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; and ‘against such there is no law.’ [Galatians 5:23.] The law of God does not condemn and hold in bondage those who have these graces; because they are obeying the requirements of the law of God. They are law-keepers, and therefore they are not under the bondage of the law.” Review and Herald, January 4, 1887.
7 Why could Israel enter not into His rest? Hebrews 3:12, 19; 4:4–6; Romans 1:17; Galatians 2:20.
note: “Faith is essential in order to the keeping of the law of God; for ‘without faith it is impossible to please Him.’ And ‘whatsoever is not of faith is sin.’ Hebrews 11:6; Romans 14:23.” The Great Controversy, 436.
“We must exercise faith toward Jesus Christ because he had become our sacrifice and surety. He has died that we might have ‘remission of sins that are past,’ [Romans 3:25] and obtain grace and help so that we may keep the commandments of the Lord our God. Faith in Jesus does not make void the law, but establishes it, and will work the fruits of obedience in our lives. Faith in Christ means that you are to do whatsoever he commands; it means that you are to follow in his footsteps. ‘He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.’ ‘He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.’ [1 John 2:6, 4.]” Review and Herald, January 31, 1888.
8 How did Israel come to the point of unbelief? How may we do the same? Hebrews 3:8–11, 15–18; Psalm 95:6–11.
note: “God speaks to us today, in the warnings, counsels, and reproofs given to ancient Israel. If we depart from him, our condemnation will be greater than theirs; for we have their experience as a warning, and all the instruction which God has given since their time. Many and varied are the idols which we cherish; idols that engross the mind and harden the heart, so that sacred things are not rightly valued. Oh that the lessons given to ancient Israel might so impress our hearts and affect our lives that we would fully turn from idols, to serve the living God.” The Signs of the Times, August 18, 1881.
“And you that have not sanctified your souls by obeying the truth, do you expect that Christ at his appearing will make you ready? There will then be no atoning blood to wash away the stains of sins. It is while it is called today that you may, if you will, hear his voice, and harden not your heart, as in the day of provocation. It is today that the Spirit of God invites. It is today that the sweet voice of mercy is falling upon your ears.” Review and Herald, August 17, 1869.
9 How does the Holy Spirit work to sanctify us through the Sabbath? Ezekiel 20:12; 1 Thessalonians 4:3, 7.
note: “The fourth commandment alone of all the ten contains the seal of the great Lawgiver, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Those who obey this commandment take upon themselves His name, and all the blessings it involves are theirs. . . .
“Each sabbath institution bears the name of its author, an ineffaceable mark that shows the authority of each. It is our work to lead the people to understand this. We are to show them that it is of vital consequence whether they bear the mark of God’s kingdom or the mark of the kingdom of rebellion, for they acknowledge themselves subjects of the kingdom whose mark they bear.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 350, 352.
10 We must be free from sin upon entering the Sabbath: Nehemiah 13:22; 1 Peter 2:9, 10.
note: “This was the commandment of the great and mighty God. There was to be nothing slack and untidy about those who appeared before Him when they came into His holy presence. And why was this? What was the object of all this carefulness? Was it merely to recommend the people to God? Was it merely to gain His approbation? The reason that was given me was this, that a right impression might be made upon the people. If those who ministered in sacred office should fail to manifest care, and reverence for God, in their apparel and their deportment, the people would lose their awe and their reverence for God and His sacred service.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 612.
11 As the shewbread was prepared every Sabbath, so we should partake of the bread of life every Sabbath. 1 Chronicles 9:32; John 6:48, 53, 54, 63; Hebrews 4:11, 12.
12 Not only are we to rest on the Sabbath but we are to assemble together for worship. Leviticus 23:3; Hebrews 10:24, 25.
Personal Review
Encouraging Others—“As you meet from Sabbath to Sabbath, sing praises to Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. ‘Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood’ [Revelation 1:5] let the heart’s adoration be given. Let the love of Christ be the burden of the speaker’s utterance. Let it be expressed in simple language in every song of praise. Let the inspiration of the Spirit of God dictate your prayers. As the word of life is spoken, let your heartfelt response testify that you receive the message as from heaven. This is very old-fashioned, I know; but it will be a thank offering to God for the bread of life given to the hungry soul. This response to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit will be a strength to your own soul and an encouragement to others. It will give some evidence that there are in God’s building living stones that emit light.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 367.
Children of God—“In freeing out souls from the bondage of sin, God has wrought for us a deliverance greater than that of the Hebrews at the Red Sea. Like the Hebrew host, we should praise the Lord with heart and soul and voice for His ‘wonderful works to the children of men.’ [Psalm 107:8, 15, 21, 31.] Those who dwell upon God’s great mercies, and are not unmindful of His lesser gifts, will put on the girdle of gladness and make melody in their hearts to the Lord. The daily blessings that we receive from the hand of God, and above all else the death of Jesus to bring happiness and heaven within our reach, should be a theme for constant gratitude. What compassion, what matchless love, has God shown to us, lost sinners, in connecting us with Himself, to be to Him a peculiar treasure! What a sacrifice has been made by our Redeemer, that we may be called children of God!” Patriarchs and Prophets, 289.
Reprinted with permission, Reformation Herald Publishing Association, Roanoke Virginia, 2003.