Friday, June 9, 2017
Lesson 11. False Teachers
Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic
"Feed My Sheep": First and Second Peter
Lesson 11. False Teachers
In the Christian faith, there is a true principle: If false doctrine is proclaimed, people will believe it if no one refutes it with truth. When teachers came from the church headquarters in Jerusalem to the churches in Galatia teaching false doctrine, Paul the apostle vigorously refuted their error in his Letter to the Galatians. He was obeying the command of Jude who said: "I gave all diligence to write unto you ... and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (vs. 3). The reason Jude gives is that false teachers had corrupted the truth of the gospel, and he was saying, Speak up for the truth!
Today some Christians shy away from "contention" for the gospel, saying, "we want peace and quiet." The common saying is true: All that is needed for evil to triumph is for good men to say nothing. When the Son of God became incarnate on this earth, He had only a brief lifetime, but He spoke up so vigorously for the truth that He changed the world. We are rapidly approaching the final struggle of the "great controversy" between Christ and Satan. It's too late in the day for anyone who loves Jesus to be content to be a spiritual coward.
But can anyone follow Christ truly and not be involved in warfare? Christ, who is heavily engaged in "the great controversy" says to us, "The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. ... Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. ... He that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me is not worthy of Me" (Matt. 10:24, 34, 38). No room here for "couch potatoes"!
A current example of conflict that has raged in the minds and hearts for hundreds of years is "justification (or righteousness) by faith." The battle has been going on for most of the 2000 years since Christ. One entire book in the New Testament is devoted to the conflict--the Book of Galatians. There was no way one could be a Christian then and not take a side either for what Paul declared is "the truth of the gospel" or for the false teachers who came from "Jerusalem" to oppose him. And the battle has not subsided! Bring up the subject in almost any church or Bible class, and you will see the sparks fly. Must the conflict go on and on forever? Or can those who choose to believe in Christ resolve the conflict and come into genuine and lasting heart unity? Is the Bible clear? Or is the very source of our faith itself muddled and confused?
The rejection of the 1888 light opened the way for false ideas to enter under the guise of righteousness by faith. Indeed, if we turn from the genuine, nothing can prevent our grasping the counterfeit. A. T. Jones, at the 1893 General Conference Session showed how the mind devoted to self becomes the mind of Satan. He traced its development though paganism to the subtleties of Romanism. He said there are two kinds of justification by faith--a true and a counterfeit.
The counterfeit says that justification by faith is purely a legal pronouncement made millions of light years away that has no relation to our human heart; we verbally "accept Christ" and we start the heavenly machinery rolling. One's name is then entered in God's computer and our eternal social security benefits are then credited to our account. Our decision has initiated this process of legal acquittal. We were clever enough to put the coins in the washing machine. An element of pride can enter here; we initiated the process of our salvation. A perfect example of what Peter has told us: "While they promise [us] liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage" (2 Peter 2:19, NKJV).
Peter says that these false teachers smuggle in "destructive heresies" (2 Peter 2:1). One of the most distressing things about them was their denying the sovereign Lord who bought them. Christians are the property of Jesus because He bought them, as Peter says. The price He paid was His blood, His life (1 Peter 1:18, 19). The false teachers denied their Master by repudiating His ownership. This they did by their licentious conduct, returning to the slavery of sin.
The false teachers claimed to be liberated and enlightened. For them, Jesus was the messenger from the realm of light who came to awaken them to their true natures, to help them discover their true selves. He did not come to die but to inform, to reveal the great knowledge. He was not their Master, and they were not His slaves. Rather, they had the spark of divinity in themselves, just as Jesus did. They were not bound by any commands. Such was their gospel, and it was attractive. Peter says that they denied the Master who had bought them for the highest price imaginable and therefore owned them. The result of their impudence would be "swift destruction"--the judgment, even though they also denied that a judgment would take place (2 Peter 2:1).
The false teachers were popular--"Many will follow their destructive ways" (2 Peter 2:2)--and their immorality and that of their followers brought "the way of truth," meaning Christianity, "into disrepute."
Peter charges that an important motivation of the false teachers is greed--a covetousness for money, sex, and power (vs. 3). These teachers were especially adept at attracting women (2 Tim. 3:6), achieving control over their minds, their purses, their hearts, and their bodies.
How did they do it? With stories they made up (2 Peter 2:3), i.e., fabricated doctrines. Women and sensitive men were distressed and depressed by a harsh and oppressive world. The false teachers claimed to give the explanation of why things were as they were and how to be liberated from them. They claimed they had the real gospel, really good news that could restore the self-image and self-worth of people who felt devalued by the system. People were more than willing to pay to become one of the worthy.
But the 1888 messengers (E. J. Waggoner and A. T. Jones) counteracted these teachings with a new, liberating understanding of justification by faith:
(1) It makes the believer to become obedient to the law of God, not by eradicating his sinful nature but by enabling him to triumph over it: "God justifies the ungodly. ... It does not mean that He glosses over a man's faults, so that he is counted righteous, although he is really wicked; but it means that He makes that man a doer of the law. The moment God declares an ungodly man righteous, that instant that man is a doer of the law. ... It will be seen, therefore, that there can be no higher state than that of justification. It does everything that God can do for a man short of making him immortal, which is done only at the resurrection. ... Faith and submission to God must be exercised continually, in order to retain the righteousness--in order to remain a doer of the law." [1]
(2) Saving faith is a heart appreciation of the sacrifice of Christ: "In this blessed fact of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus, which was accomplished for every soul, there is not only laid the foundation of faith for every soul, but in it there is given the gift of faith to every soul. And thus the cross of Christ is ... the very power of God manifested to deliver us from all sin, and bring us to God." [2]
(3) Genuine justification by faith is meaningless apart from appreciating how close Christ has come to us: "There is no element of weakness in the law; the weakness is in the flesh. It is not the fault of a good tool that it cannot make a sound pillar out of a rotten stick. ... Poor, fallen man had no strength resting in his flesh to enable him to keep the law. And so God imputes to believers the righteousness of Christ, who was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, so that 'the righteousness of the law' might be fulfilled in their lives. ... Christ took upon Himself man's nature, and will impart of His own righteousness to those who accept His sacrifice." [3]
(4) This special, unique message was intended by the Lord to prepare His people for translation: What means, then, this special message of justification that God has been sending these [seven] years to the church and to the world? ... This special message of justification which God has been sending us is to prepare us for glorification at the coming of the Lord. In this, God is giving to us the strongest sign that it is possible for Him to give, that the next thing is the coming of the Lord. [4]
The 1888 message broke through centuries of fog into a clearer view of the sunlit New Testament truth.
God invites you to come to Him and get the issue settled once for all, so that your mind and heart are clear and your feet are set on the solid rock. David said, "I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings" (Psalm 40:1, 2).
Give God a day of your life (on your knees if possible), and prayerfully read in an authentic translation of the Bible itself (no paraphrases or commentaries), and let the fog be blown out of your mind and heart. Make your choice to believe how good the Good News is. Don't be proud and jump to conclusions; test and re-test your convictions. We can trust the Bible! Just read it with simple common sense.
--Mainly from the writings of Robert J. Wieland
Endnotes:
[1] E. J. Waggoner, Signs of the Times, May 1, 1893.
[2] A. T. Jones, Review and Herald, Oct. 24, 1899.
[3] E. J. Waggoner, Bible Echo, Feb. 15, 1892.
[4] A. T. Jones, 1895 General Conference Bulletin, p. 367.
Suggested supplementary reading:
1. Robert J. Wieland and Donald K. Short, 1888 Re-examined, chapter 9, "A False Righteousness by Faith: Sowing the Seed of Apostasy," p. 100ff.
2. Robert J. Wieland, Grace on Trial: The Heartwarming Message the Lord "Sent" to Us in 1888, chapter 6, "If You Can't Understand It, It's Not the Gospel," p. 65ff.
Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: https://youtu.be/YifHRmCpzM8
"Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: 1888message.org/sst.htm
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Friday, June 2, 2017
Thursday, June 1, 2017
Lesson 10. Prophecy and Scripture
Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic
"Feed My Sheep": First and Second Peter
Lesson 10. Prophecy and Scripture
For many faint-hearted Christians the second coming of Jesus is receding more and more into the background. For them the return of Jesus is being eclipsed by the darkness of the world.
The Apostle Peter sets forth two profound reasons why "the power and coming of our Lord" are not "cunningly devised fables" (2 Peter 1:16). The confirmation to Peter concerning the coming of Christ came when God spoke at the Mount of Transfiguration, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 17:5). This was a foreshadowing of Christ's coming in the glory of His Father. At the transfiguration the apostles saw with their eyes and heard with their ears in miniature, a prescient forecast of Christ's coming. "The transfiguration stands for us, as it did for the apostles, a sure pledge of Christ's second coming in power and great glory. ..." [1]
But there is another evidence of Christ's coming, and that is the "more sure word of prophecy" because it is spoken by the Spirit of God. "It is possible that a person's eyes or earsmight deceive him, but there is no possibility of doubt in regard to the prophecy. And why not? Because it did not come 'by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.' The prophecy, therefore, is as reliable as God Himself. There are very few things in this life upon which we can depend implicitly; how gladly, then, we ought to receive this sure word, and how eagerly we ought to search it." [2]
Peter uses the analogy of a light which shines in a dark place; we are in darkness until the day dawns. But we cannot understand the "sure word of prophecy" until it breaks through into our hearts like the dawning of the day when the morning star must arise in our hearts and illuminate God's character of glory to us.
The present age is called night. Paul says, "The night is far spent, the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light" (Rom. 13:12). And this he says in view of the fact that it is high time to wake out of sleep, because our salvation is near. "The dawning of the day, and the rising of the Day-star, refer to the coming of Christ, who is 'the bright and Morning Star' (Rev. 22:16)." [3]
Just before the coming of the Lord, His Word is to be proclaimed, and His life is to be manifested, to an extent and with a power never before known. This will be the shining of the Day-star, which will usher in the perfect day, when "the Sun of Righteousness" will shine over all the land, and "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Isa. 11:9).
Christ cannot come until the power and love of God have been demonstrated in the lives of His followers to the same degree as in His own life. God will show by means of the church,--that is, all true believers in Jesus,--His power to work perfect righteousness in sinful mortals, thus accomplishing a work even greater than that which Satan set himself to overthrow.
In his chapter 60, Isaiah is overjoyed to write about the time when the earth will be drenched with a special "light" of "the truth of the gospel." He says to God's people, "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee" (vs. 1). We have usually thought of this as the time when we will have more radio and television stations, greater technology for increased volume, so everybody in the world will at last hear what has been our traditional understanding of the message.
There is an identical "loud voice" in Revelation 14:9 and 18:1-4 that characterizes the last soul-winning ministry of all time. Will it be a greater noise level that will command the world's attention? We have talked, and prayed, and sung about it for generations. Have we assumed it will be a glorious and triumphant success for the church, to validate all our past labors? Millions who have gone to "sleep in Jesus" have dreamed of living in those awe-inspiring days when the earth will be "lighted."
But wait a moment: The Bible is not talking about an increased noise level, but of increased "light." It's to be a clearer grasp of what Paul repeatedly calls "the truth of the gospel" (Gal. 2:5, 14). Jesus said, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). Greater light in understanding the gospel of righteousness by faith brings that freedom.
But if someone feels "rich and increased with goods" in his understanding of the message, it could mean he has no "hunger and thirst after righteousness" (see Matt. 5:6). Emotionalism can easily be mistaken for truth. The "glory" spoken of in Isaiah 60:2 and Revelation 18:1-4 will be a clearer grasp of justification by faith. We don't want to be blind to the light when the Lord sends it as the Jews were blind to their Messiah when He came. You can "follow" Jesus only if you "take up [your] cross daily" to be "crucified with Him" (Luke 9:23, Gal. 2:20).
Scripture prophesies a worldwide proclamation of pure gospel truth. We know it as the 1888 message. "The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Hab. 2:14). "Living waters shall go out from Jerusalem" (Zech. 14:8). "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and ... Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising" (Isa. 60:1-3). "In the last days, saith God, ... on My servants and on My handmaidens I will pour out in those days of My Spirit" (Acts 2:17, 18). "I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory" (Rev. 18:1). It is great Good News!
--Paul E. Penno
Endnotes:
[1] E. J. Waggoner, Prophetic Lights (1888), p. 30.
[2] E. J. Waggoner, "The Sure Word," The Signs of the Times(Feb. 15, 1883), p. 77.
[3] E. J. Waggoner, "Testimony of the Centuries. The Sure Word," The Present Truth (Dec. 20, 1894), p. 803.
Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: https://youtu.be/Nzt2RcIi6Mc
"Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: 1888message.org/sst.htm
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Friday, May 26, 2017
Lesson 9. Be Who You Are
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Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic
"Feed My Sheep": First and Second Peter
Lesson 9. Be Who You Are
"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love" (2 Peter 1:5-7, New International Version, emphasis added).
Our memory verse this week can easily be misunderstood if we don't understand the special work of preparing a group of people who will stand through the end of time. People who are inclined to legalism see this text as instruction to try ever harder to do all the things in Peter's list "right," not realizing that it's impossible for sinful humans to do this. Those who realize that scoff at the impossibility and comfort themselves by thinking that a rational God would never expect perfection from sinful human beings.
A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner, the 1888 "messengers," saw that genuine righteousness by faith since 1844 is a special experience ministered by Jesus, our High Priest, from the Most Holy Apartment. This special ministry is not concerned primarily with preparing people to die, but preparing a corporate body of God's people for translation at the coming of Christ.
The great controversy between Christ and Satan cannot be concluded until such a demonstration develops. Thus it is evident that the views of popular churches that do not follow Christ by faith in His Most Holy Apartment ministry cannot be "present truth" righteousness by faith.
The message given to the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1888 has a special, unique understanding of the everlasting gospel entrusted to us. The world must know about the cleansing of the sanctuary and how it relates to practical godliness. It's not our job to cleanse and make ourselves righteous in the Day of Atonement. It is the responsibility of our High Priest. We choose, believe, or "let" Him do it.
After discussing the impossibility of achieving character through the earthly sacrificial system or the law, A. T. Jones explains, "This again shows that though perfection was the aim in all the ministry that was performed under the law, yet perfection was not attained by any of those performances. ... Therefore, since the will of God is the sanctification and the perfection of the worshipers; since the will of God is that His worshipers shall be so cleansed that they shall have no more conscience of sin; and since the service and the offerings in that earthly sanctuary could not do this; He took it all away that He may establish the will of God. "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." [1]
Perfection is attained only through Christ. "In His coming in the flesh--having been made in all things like unto us, and having been tempted in all points like as we are--He has identified Himself with every human soul just where that soul is. ... He, as one of us, in our human nature, weak as we, laden with the sins of the world, in our sinful flesh, in this world, a whole lifetime, lived a life 'holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners,' and 'was made' and ascended 'higher than the heavens.' ... Perfection, perfection of character, is the Christian goal--perfection attained in human flesh in this world. Christ attained it in human flesh in this world, and thus made and consecrated a way by which, in Him, every believer can attain it. He, having attained it, has become our great High Priest, by His priestly ministry in the true sanctuary to enable us to attain it. ... 'Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary.' Psalm 77:13." [2] Ibid, p. 87-8
What does that mean? If the sanctuary holds the key to Christian perfection, then it is important to understand. When God opened the sea, making a way for a disorderly group of slaves to leave the wickedness of Egypt, their only requirement was to believe and act on that belief. Clearly, they had misgivings, doubts, and complaints, but they left their slave quarters and followed Moses. Other than that, they had done nothing to earn God's attention or favor. God had not yet given them His law, so other than participate in a Passover meal and walk away from Egypt, they had no idea what God expected of them.
When God gave them His law, they believed God was making a bargain with them. They were to keep His law, and in return He would be their God and protect them. They overlooked the fact that just before speaking the law to them He reminded them "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery" (Ex. 20:2,New American Standard Bible). He was already their God. He had already worked miracles to rescue them out of their situation. He knew it was impossible for them to keep the law, but He used the law as a mirror to show how sinful they were. Since they could never keep the law in spirit and truth, He gave them the sanctuary service to show them His way of salvation.
In the sacrificial system of the sanctuary, the role of the sinner was to understand they had sinned. Because there is no remission for sin without shedding of blood, they were to bring a sacrifice to the tabernacle. There, they would confess their sins only to God, transferring them to the innocent victim. The sinner was required to take a knife and cut the throat of the animal. This violent act was to impress the sinner of God's abhorrence of sin, as well as to direct their minds to the ultimate Victim which was only typified by the animal sacrifices.
After the cut, the priest caught the blood in a bowl, and took it into the Holy Place and sprinkled it on the veil separating the two compartments, symbolically transferring the sin into the Most Holy Place. Note that the priest is the one who administers the blood. The sinner did not follow the priest into the tabernacle to see what the priest did with the blood. The sinner had to believe this process provided reconciling forgiveness so he was set right with God. It was by faith in the ancient tabernacle, just as it is entirely by faith now.
So is that it? Is that all there is to do, just believe? What about Peter telling us to "make every effort" to add good things to our character? Doesn't that mean our works count for something? The 11th chapter of Hebrews reminds us of people of faith, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and many others who began a long journey of choices and steps as God disciplined and refined them, settling them into their faith so they could not be moved. For most of them, a great deal of their journey was spent simply waiting, which is rarely easy. The problem happens when we resist God's voice, we give up faith because we don't understand why He is asking us to do this or that difficult thing, or why He waits.
Jesus told Nicodemus if He was "lifted up" He would draw all to Him. That includes us as we go through the discipline of trials that our heavenly Father brings to refine our characters. Just as the sinner who brought his lamb to the ancient tabernacle needed faith to believe the priest was carrying out his responsibilities, so we need to lift Jesus up in our lives when we go through trials. The timing of when Jesus is able to add the things in Peter's list to our characters is up to Him. Our job is not to resist.
--Arlene Hill
Endnotes:
[1] A. T. Jones, The Consecrated Way, pp. 84-86; Glad Tidings ed. (emphasis in original).
[2] Ibid, pp. 87-89.
Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: https://youtu.be/pWD9uRgJDHM
Friday, May 19, 2017
Thursday, May 18, 2017
Lesson 8. Jesus in the Writings of Peter
Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic
"Feed My Sheep": First and Second Peter
Lesson 8. Jesus in the Writings of Peter
The letters of Peter express the gospel in rich and powerful ways. They draw interesting implications and challenges for everyday Christian living, including how God reaches out to the brokenness of this sin-sick world, the fallen humanity. God is seeking and constantly knocking in each and every heart, including the lost soul, to save "that which was lost" (Luke 19:10).
Take a look at who Peter is: "an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia" (1 Peter 1:1) These strangers could be believers in Christ. Of all the places that Paul traveled and preached to the churches in Asia Minor, the Roman provinces, and Turkey, it appears that Peter is speaking directly to these same Pauline churches.
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, is also a reference to Simon Peter, the son of Jonah, and a leader of the first generation church. He is also known as a fisherman. Peter spent three years in the school of Jesus, and some of the lessons that Peter had to deal with were the great doctrines of election, foreknowledge, sanctification, obedience, the blood of Christ, the Trinity, the grace of God, salvation, revelation, glory, faith, and hope.
We see a changed life in Peter, being impetuous, but now patient. Here we learn that Peter's name means "rock." Our Lord told him in effect, "You are a pretty weak man now, but I am going to make you a Petros, a 'rock-man.' And you will build upon the foundation of Jesus Christ who is the Rock on which the church is built." He is emphasizing that all believers in Christ are small rocks also: "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house" (1 Peter 2:5). Actually, this means every believer is a Peter. Please note that Simon Peter never exalts himself in any position, other than referring himself as an apostle, chosen by the Lord to preach the first sermon on the Day of Pentecost. He did not feel that he was exalted above the others. Peter faces and suffers martyrdom through his experience in being a representative for Christ.
Peter explains Christ as our sacrifice through His death on the cross as the Redeemer and Savior for us in 1 Peter 1:18, 19: "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, ... but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."
What amazing love poured out through God in sending His Son to reveal the plan of salvation. Peter addresses Jesus as the Messiah when reading Matthew 16:16: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." (In Greek the word Christ is Christos, meaning "anointed, the "Messiah.")
Then we get to the divinity of Jesus in the relationship with God, as one. Let's take a look at some of the gospel writings by Ellet J. Waggoner, one of the 1888 "messengers," and Ellen White:
"The new birth completely supersedes the old. 'If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new; and all things are of God' (2 Cor. 5:17, 18). He who takes God for the portion of his inheritance, has a power working in him for righteousness, as much stronger than the power of inherited tendencies to evil, as our heavenly Father is greater than our earthly parents" (Waggoner, The Everlasting Covenant, p. 66; 1900 ed.).
"We need not try to improve on the Scriptures, and say that the goodness of God tends to lead men to repentance. The Bible says that it does lead them to repentance, and we may be sure that it is so. Every man is being led toward repentance as surely as God is good. But not all repent. Why? Because they despise the riches of the goodness and forbearance and long-suffering of God, and break away from the merciful leading of the Lord. But whoever does not resist the Lord, will surely be brought to repentance and salvation" (Waggoner on Romans, p. 42).
"Abiding in the Spirit, walking in the Sprit, the flesh with its lusts has no more power over us than if we were actually dead and in our graves. ...The flesh is still corruptible, still full of lusts, still ready to rebel against the Spirit; but as long as we yield our wills to God, the Spirit holds the flesh in check. ... This Spirit of life in Christ--the life of Christ--is given freely to all. 'Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely' (Rev. 22:17)." (Waggoner, The Glad Tidings, p. 123; CFI ed., 2016).
"Thank God for the blessed hope! The blessing has come upon all men. For 'as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of One the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life' (Rom. 5:18). God, who is no respecter of persons, 'has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places' (Eph. 1: 3). The gift is ours to keep. If anyone has not this blessing, it is because he has not recognized the gift, or has deliberately thrown it away" (ibid., p. 66).
"As Christ draws them to look upon His cross, to behold Him whom their sins have pierced, ... they begin to comprehend something of the righteousness of Christ. ... The sinner may resist this love, may refuse to be drawn to Christ; but if he does not resist he will be drawn to Jesus; a knowledge of the plan of salvation will lead him to the foot of the cross in repentance for his sins, which have caused the sufferings of God's dear Son" (Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 27).
There is an old hymn, "Wonderful Grace of Jesus," where the message of Scripture comes through clearly that no matter how great your guilt, God's forgiveness is greater. The words say it all.
Wonderful Grace of Jesus
Wonderful grace of Jesus,
Greater than all my sin;
How shall my tongue describe it,
Where shall its praise begin?
Taking away my burden,
Setting my spirit free;
For the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me.
Refrain:
Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus,
Deeper than the mighty rolling sea;
Higher than the mountain, sparkling like a fountain,
All sufficient grace for even me!
Broader than the scope of my transgressions,
Greater far than all my sin and shame;
O magnify the precious Name of Jesus,
Praise His name!
Wonderful grace of Jesus,
Reaching the most defiled,
By its transforming power,
Making him God's dear child,
Purchasing peace and heaven
For all eternity--
And the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me.
[By Haldor Lillenas, 1885-1959; for the complete hymn see Hymnary.org]
There was a very dear adopted Mother-like figure to me who has been a caring friend during my nursing career. Just several days before Mother's day, she passed away in her sleep. She was 99. She loved to pray for each encounter she came across. She reached me through a telephone ministry, and the relationship grew where I became part of her life and family.
That is how it is when you are in the Family of God. You are never alone in the walk in the newness of a converted life in Him. And just think, on the "graduation day" of leaving this world of strife, to have your diploma read, "Receive Eternal Life!" May the apostle Peter's experience speak to us out of his tremendous experience in bringing the gospel of hope and grace.
--Mary Chun
Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: https://youtu.be/3aywZCt20tA
"Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: 1888message.org/sst.htm
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