Sunday
August 14
1. GOD’S PROMISES
a. After the Fall, in what words was the work of redemption promised? Genesis 3:15.
“Ever since the first promise of redemption was spoken in Eden, the life, the character, and the mediatorial work of Christ have been the study of human minds. Yet every mind through whom the Holy Spirit has worked has presented these themes in a light that is fresh and new. The truths of redemption are capable of constant development and expansion. Though old, they are ever new, constantly revealing to the seeker for truth a greater glory and a mightier power.” –Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 127.
b. How sure can we be about God’s promises? 1 Corinthians 1:9; 10:13.
“The apostle adjured the Corinthians, ‘Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall’ (1 Corinthians 10:12). Should they become boastful and self-confident, neglecting to watch and pray, they would fall into grievous sin, calling down upon themselves the wrath of God. Yet Paul would not have them yield to despondency or discouragement. . . . [verse 13 quoted.]–The Acts of the Apostles, p. 316.
Monday
August 15
2. FORGIVENESS AND CLEANSING
a. What is promised to us if we fulfill some basic conditions? 1 John 1:9.
“Thank God that He who spilled His blood for us, lives to plead it, lives to make intercession for every soul who receives Him. ‘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). The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. It speaketh better things than the blood of Abel, for Christ ever liveth to make intercession for us. We need to keep ever before us the efficacy of the blood of Jesus. That life-cleansing, life-sustaining blood, appropriated by living faith, is our hope. We need to grow in appreciation of its inestimable value, for it speaks for us only as we by faith claim its virtue, keeping the conscience clean and at peace with God.
“This is represented as the pardoning blood, inseparably connected with the resurrection and life of our Redeemer, illustrated by the ever-flowing stream that proceeds from the throne of God, the water of the river of life.”–Our High Calling, p. 47.
b. What are the conditions upon which we are forgiven and cleansed by the blood of Christ? Psalm 32:5; Proverbs 28:13.
“The conditions of obtaining mercy from God are simple and reasonable. The Lord does not require us to do some grievous thing in order to gain forgiveness. We need not make long and wearisome pilgrimages, or perform painful penances, to commend our souls to the God of heaven or to expiate our transgression. He that ‘confesseth and forsaketh’ his sin ‘shall have mercy’ (Proverbs 28:13).
“In the courts above, Christ is pleading for His church–pleading for those for whom He has paid the redemption price of His blood. Centuries, ages, can never lessen the efficacy of His atoning sacrifice. Neither life nor death, height nor depth, can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus; not because we hold Him so firmly, but because He holds us so fast. If our salvation depended on our own efforts, we could not be saved; but it depends on the One who is behind all the promises. Our grasp on Him may seem feeble, but His love is that of an elder brother; so long as we maintain our union with Him, no one can pluck us out of His hand.”–The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 552, 553.
Tuesday
August 16
3. FREEDOM AND POWER
a. How can we be free from sinning? Matthew 1:21.
“God’s ideal for His children is higher than the highest human thought can reach. ‘Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect’ (Matthew 5:48). This command is a promise. The plan of redemption contemplates our complete recovery from the power of Satan. Christ always separates the contrite soul from sin. He came to destroy the works of the devil and He has made provision that the Holy Spirit shall be imparted to every repentant soul, to keep him from sinning.
“The tempter’s agency is not to be accounted an excuse for one wrong act. Satan is jubilant when he hears the professed followers of Christ making excuses for their deformity of character. It is these excuses that lead to sin. There is no excuse for sinning. A holy temper, a Christlike life, is accessible to every repenting, believing child of God.”–The Desire of Ages, p. 311.
b. What is promised to those who accept the gospel? Romans 1:16, 17.
“United with Christ, all the power you require will be given you. Abiding in Him, you can fight manfully. The more you believe and trust as a child in the Lord Jesus, the greater will be your capacity for believing. By faith you stand. Only by exercising faith can you conquer self. . . . Self is the ground where Satan always meets and manages those whom he wishes to deceive and conquer. But if the righteousness of Christ is revealed in you, you become strong. Looking beyond yourself to a crucified Saviour, a risen and ascended Lord, who is, as your Advocate, making intercession for you, taking hold of Christ’s power and efficiency, you can conquer.”–Our High Calling, p. 126.
c. How long did it take for Christ to cleanse the leper? Matthew 8:2, 3. How long will it take for Christ to forgive and cleanse us?
“In some instances of healing, Jesus did not at once grant the blessing sought. But in the case of leprosy, no sooner was the appeal made than it was granted. When we pray for earthly blessings, the answer to our prayer may be delayed, or God may give us something other than we ask, but not so when we ask for deliverance from sin. It is His will to cleanse us from sin, to make us His children, and to enable us to live a holy life.”–The Desire of Ages, p. 266.
Wednesday
August 17
4. POWER TO OVERCOME
a. What is promised to overcomers in the Laodicean period? Revelation 3:21.
“If Jesus resisted Satan’s temptations, He will help us to resist. He came to bring divine power to combine with human effort.
“Jesus was free from all sin and error; there was not a trace of imperfection in His life or character. He maintained spotless purity under circumstances the most trying. . . .
“Christ’s overcoming and obedience is that of a true human being. In our conclusions, we make many mistakes because of our erroneous views of the human nature of our Lord. When we give to His human nature a power that it is not possible for man to have in his conflicts with Satan, we destroy the completeness of His humanity. His imputed grace and power He gives to all who receive Him by faith.
“The obedience of Christ to His Father was the same obedience that is required of man. Man cannot overcome Satan’s temptations without divine power to combine with his instrumentality. So with Jesus Christ; He could lay hold of divine power. He came not to our world to give the obedience of a lesser God to a greater, but as a man to obey God’s holy law, and in this way He is our example. The Lord Jesus came to our world, not to reveal what a God could do, but what a man could do, through faith in God’s power to help in every emergency. Man is, through faith, to be a partaker in the divine nature, and to overcome every temptation wherewith he is beset.
“The Lord now demands that every son and daughter of Adam, through faith in Jesus Christ, serve Him in human nature which we now have. . . . Jesus, the world’s Redeemer, could only keep the commandments of God in the same way that humanity can keep them.”–The SDA Bible Commentary [E. G. White Comments], vol. 7, p. 929.
b. What is the only way we can be overcomers? 1 Corinthians 15:57.
“The followers of Christ are to become like Him–by the grace of God to form characters in harmony with the principles of His holy law. This is Bible sanctification.
“This work can be accomplished only through faith in Christ, by the power of the indwelling Spirit of God.”–The Great Controversy, p. 469.
Thursday
August 18
5. PARTAKERS OF THE DIVINE NATURE
a. In accepting God’s written promises, what happens to our life? 2 Peter 1:4.
“Through belief in [Christ] it is our privilege to be partakers of the divine nature, and so escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. Then we are cleansed from all sin, all defects of character. We need not retain one sinful propensity. . . .
“As we partake of the divine nature, hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong are cut away from the character, and we are made a living power for good. Ever learning of the divine Teacher, daily partaking of His nature, we cooperate with God in overcoming Satan’s temptations. God works, and man works, that man may be one with Christ as Christ is one with God. Then we sit together with Christ in heavenly places. The mind rests with peace and assurance in Jesus.”–The Review and Herald, April 24, 1900.
“It is God who gives us power to overcome. Those who hear His voice and obey His commandments are enabled to form righteous characters.”–The SDA Bible Commentary [E. G. White Comments], vol. 7, p. 943.
b. What does Revelation 12:11 say of the faithful believers?
“All who will can be overcomers. Let us strive earnestly to reach the standard set before us. Christ knows our weakness, and to Him we can go daily for help. It is not necessary for us to gain strength a month ahead. We are to conquer from day to day.
“We become overcomers by helping others to overcome, by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. The keeping of the commandments of God will yield in us an obedient spirit, and the service that is the offspring of such a spirit, God can accept.”–The SDA Bible Commentary [E. G. White Comments], vol. 7, p. 974.
Friday
August 19
PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. What was the first gospel message ever preached?
2. How can we be sure that our sins are forgiven?
3. Explain the expression: “He shall save His people from their sins.”
4. What is the only way we can be overcomers?
5. How many of us can be overcomers?