Read for This Week’s Study:

John 14:16-18; And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
John 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it sees him not, neither knows him: but you know him; for he dwells with you, and shall be in you.
John 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.


John 14:26; But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.


John 15:26; But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, he shall testify of me:

Matt. 12:31-32; Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
Matt. 12:32 And whosoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaks against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

John 16:8; And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

John 3:5-8; Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
John 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto you, You must be born again.
John 3:8 The wind blows where it listeth, and you hear the sound thereof, but canst not tell from where it comes, and whither it goes: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

Luke 11:9-13. And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
Luke 11:10 For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.
Luke 11:11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
Luke 11:12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
Luke 11:13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

Memory Text: "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
" (John 14:16, KJV).

The lesson asks: Salvation is a gift, which means that it’s free. At the same time, does it not cost something? What does it cost to accept this gift, and why-whatever that cost-is it more than worth it?

Salvation costs the renounciation of things humans naturally love, and which can give them some advantage or pleasure for some time, but which will eventually only hurt them.

I suppose it is something like being a drift in the ocean on a rickety little raft that's about to fall apart, and there's no means to steer or propel the raft.
A ship comes and freely offers to take the drifter on board, he doesn't have to pay anything and the ship will take him home. But the person on his makeshift rickety little raft thinks -- riding these waves is kind of thrilling, besides I've erected a bit of a shelter, I've even managed to catch a fish or two for food, I don't want to give all this up.
A totally foolish decision for he will not survive long out there in the ocean.

The offer of salvation was totally free,
but the man refused it because he thought the "cost" was too high.

In the same way -- salvation is free
yet we have to give up the refuge of sin which isn't a refuge at all but a deadly trap offering nothing but death.

I am reminded of the parables of the treasure in the field and the pearl of great price. To receive the gift, we must give up all.

But what are we giving up? A sin-polluted heart, a carnal mind. In exchange, Jesus gives us back our heart and mind, but molded like His character.

In the parable the pearl is not represented as a gift. The merchantman bought it at the price of all that he had. Many question the meaning of this, since Christ is represented in the Scriptures as a gift. He is a gift, but only to those who give themselves, soul, body, and spirit, to Him without reserve. We are to give ourselves to Christ, to live a life of willing obedience to all His requirements. All that we are, all the talents and capabilities we possess, are the Lord’s, to be consecrated to His service. When we thus give ourselves wholly to Him, Christ, with all the treasures of heaven, gives Himself to us. We obtain the pearl of great price. – {COL 116.2}

Ellen White never changed the doctrine of the Church from Arian to Trinitarian.
The pioneer knowledge that Christ was the Son of God before creation
is the foundation of the Church. Pillars stand upon this foundation.

If EGW had even thought to change any major doctrine,
she would have called a major conference for repentance & confession.
And published this widely for all to weigh and consider.
And she would admit to teaching or supporting error for fifty years.

But she was a true prophet, even a messenger from God.
She did not harbor the principal error of Catholicism,
she had no error to confess.

In 1904 she specifically wrote that the last 50 years had been
doctrinally pure:

"Let none seek to tear away the foundations of our faith -
the foundations that were laid at the beginning of our work by
prayerful study of the word and by revelation.
Upon these foundations we have been building
for the last fifty years."
8 Testimonies 297. (1904)

"The truth that has stood firm against the attacks of the enemy
for more than half a century must still be the confidence
and comfort of God's people."
9 Testimonies 70. (1907)

The Trinity doctrine was officially adopted
by the Seventh day Adventist Church in 1980 at the Dallas GC session.
_________________

http://www.ssnet.org/lessons/14c/less05.html

Lesson 5 *July 26-August 1

How to Be Saved


Sabbath Afternoon

Read for This Week’s Study: Luke 5:27-32; 13:1-5; Matt. 22:2-14; Zech. 3:1-5; John 8:30-31; Luke 14:25-27.

Memory Text: And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:14-15, NKJV).

As the Israelites were being bitten by snakes in the desert, God instructed Moses to make a bronze one and place it on a pole so that whoever was bitten could look at it and be saved.
What healing properties can a bronze snake have? None. Healing came only from God. By looking at the bronze statue, however, the Israelites demonstrated their faith in God as their only hope of life and salvation.
The Lord wanted to teach them a spiritual lesson. He transformed a symbol of death into a symbol of life. That bronze serpent was a symbol of Christ, who became the Bearer of our sins in order to save us. By faith, we can all look to Christ lifted up on the cross and find a cure from the deadly sting of the old serpent, Satan. Otherwise, we are fated to die in our sins. The Word of God expresses what should be painfully obvious: as human beings, we are sinners in need of grace. That grace has been offered to us in Christ Jesus.
This week we will look at Jesus’ teachings regarding the simple practical steps needed for salvation.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 2.

Sunday July 27

Recognize Your Need
Read Luke 5:27-32. How can you know which group you are in?
Many people are physically healthy and have no need of a physician. Who, though, is truly spiritually healthy? Of all human beings there is none who does good, no, not one (Ps. 14:3, NKJV); nobody is righteous by themselves (Rom. 3:10). We may do some morally good actions, but we cannot make ourselves righteous before God. Hence, by saying that He had not come to call the righteous’ (Luke 5:32, NKJV), Jesus was referring to the Pharisees, who thought they were righteous although they were not. Unfortunately, though they believed that they were in good standing before God, they were blind spiritually (John 9:40-41).
The first step, then, to receive the cure from sin is to recognize our state of sinfulness and our utter inability to heal ourselves. But how can we see our real need if we are blind? How can we acknowledge that we are sinners if it is precisely our sins that are preventing us from recognizing our true condition?
How can our spiritual eyes be opened so that we may recognize our desperate need of a Savior? See John 16:8.
The only eye salve that can make us see our real spiritual status is the Holy Spirit. Before any other work He may do for us, He has to convict us of sin. Persistently He calls to our conscience in order to produce in us an inescapable awareness of our sins and a deep sense of guilt, which leads us to long for a Savior. When we hear that call, we must listen and obey it; otherwise, sooner or later, we will be so hardened against the Holy Spirit that nothing can be done for us. What a scary thought!
Though guilt is often a bad thing, in what ways has the Holy Spirit been able to use guilt to your own spiritual advantage?
Monday July 28

Repent
Recognizing our sins is not enough; it must be accompanied by repentance. The biblical meaning of repentance includes three aspects: acknowledgment of one’s sin, sorrow for having sinned, and the desire not to sin any more. If one is lacking, there is no true repentance. For example, Judas admitted his sin, but he lacked grief for having betrayed the Master (Matt. 27:3-4). He was overwhelmed with remorse, not with repentance. His confession was generated by fear of the consequences, not by his love of Christ.
We can see the importance of repentance by the fact that John the Baptist and Jesus began their ministry by preaching, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand! (Matt. 3:2, 4:17, NKJV). Later, when Jesus sent the Twelve on their first missionary trip, they went out, preaching that people should repent (Mark 6:12, NKJV). And after Pentecost, Peter exhorted the crowd to do the same (Acts 2:38, 3:19).
Look at the strong words Jesus used to emphasize the universal need for repentance in order to be saved. What message is He giving us here? See Luke 13:1-5.
Jesus affirmed the sinfulness of all people. Therefore, He urged His hearers: unless you repent you will all likewise perish (vs. 5, NKJV). Without repentance, redemption is impossible, because the absence of repentance demonstrates that people refuse to surrender to the Lord.
Now, we have been told: the goodness of God leads you to repentance (Rom. 2:4, NKJV). What does that mean? A block of ice can be broken into small pieces, but the resulting pieces will still be ice. That same block of ice can be placed next to a heater, and it will melt away into water. The ice of our pride can be thawed only if we are exposed to the warmth of God’s goodness and love. Thus, how crucial for us to dwell, as much as we can, on all the evidences we have been given of God’s love for us.
We do not repent in order that God may love us, but He reveals to us His love in order that we may repent. — Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 189.
What are the evidences of God’s love? What have you seen and experienced and learned that gives you powerful reasons to trust in His goodness? Why is it so important always to dwell on those reasons, especially in bad times?
TuesdayJuly 29

Believe in Jesus
True repentance goes hand in hand with faith in Jesus as our only Savior. Jesus frequently talked about the need to believe in Him in order to receive His blessings. If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes (Mark 9:23, NKJV). Faith is essential if we are to be saved. Satan knows that, which is why He makes every effort to keep us from believing (Luke 8:12).
According to Jesus, what does it mean to believe ? It is more than a vague feeling that something will just happen. It is more than a mental exercise. Saving faith is not devoid of content. On the contrary, faith has a definite object: Jesus Christ. Faith is believing not only in something but, especially, in Someone. Faith is trusting in Jesus and His death for us. Believing in Jesus means knowing Him, understanding who He is (John 6:69), and receiving Him personally (John 1:12).
God so loved the world that He gave us Jesus, so that all who truly believe in Him will have eternal life. His death does not mean that everyone will be saved, however. We have to be covered by His righteousness. By believing in Him, we have righteousness, we have assurance, and we have the great promise that He will raise us up at the last day (John 6:40).
To a woman who had lived a sinful life, Jesus assured her: Your sins are forgiven. . . . Your faith has saved you (Luke 7:48,50, NKJV). What does that mean? Does our faith save us?
According to the Gospels, when Jesus healed some people, He said to them: Your faith has made you well (Matt. 9:22, Mark 10:52, Luke 17:19, NKJV). By saying these words, He was not assigning any healing power to their faith. Their faith was just a complete trust in Jesus’ power to heal them. The power of faith does not come from the person who believes but from the God in whom that person believes.
Why must we be very careful in how we understand the role of faith in regard to prayer, especially about healing? Why is it wrong to conclude from the above verses that if healing doesn’t come as we pray, it’s because we don’t have enough faith?
WednesdayJuly 30

The Wedding Garment
Jesus sat before the people and uttered what must have been to them shocking words: Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:20, NKJV). Few were more scrupulous in the observance of the letter of the law than were the Pharisees. Nevertheless, they failed because their behavior was intended to impress men more than to please God. Jesus warns us not to do likewise (Matt. 6:1).
How, then, can we be righteous before God? The parable of the marriage feast gives us the clue in finding the source of true righteousness.
Read Matthew 22:2-14. Why did the king want to be sure that every guest had the wedding garment for the feast? What did that garment represent? See Isa. 61:10, Zech. 3:1-5.
The king provided the wedding robes free of charge. Those present were invited randomly while traveling on the highways, and probably did not have the appropriate attire for the wedding, nor money to buy it. Both the invitation and the garment were gifts from the king. The only requirement needed to attend the feast was to accept both presents.
Since the Fall in the Garden of Eden, every human being is spiritually naked. Adam and Eve felt naked after disobeying, and they attempted to cover themselves by sewing fig leaves together, something utterly uncomfortable and ineffective (Gen. 3:7). The best righteousness that human effort can achieve is like filthy rags (Isa. 64:6, NKJV).
As in the parable, God provides the garment we need. He made garments for Adam and Eve and clothed them (Rev. 19:8), a symbol of His righteousness covering the sinner. The Lord also provides the garment of Christ’s righteousness for His church, so that she may be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright (Rev. 19:8, NKJV), not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing (Eph. 5:27, NKJV). This robe is the righteousness of Christ, His own unblemished character, that through faith is imparted to all who receive Him as their personal Saviour. — Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 310.
Above and beyond anything else we believe, why must we understand that our salvation comes only from the covering that Christ gives us as a gift? Why must we always remember this?
ThursdayJuly 31

Follow Jesus
When in faith we recognize our need, repent, confess our sins, and claim Christ’s righteousness for ourselves, we become His disciples. During His ministry, Jesus called different people, such as Peter and James and John, to be His disciples, a call that implied leaving everything in order to follow Him (Matt. 4:20, 22; Mark 10:28; Luke 5:28). In fact, in the Gospels the verb to follow practically became a synonym for disciple.
What two elements are essential in order to be a disciple of Jesus? See John 8:30-31.
Some people try to separate faith in Jesus from adherence to Jesus’ teachings, as if the first would be more important than the latter. But Jesus did not make such a distinction. For Him, both aspects are closely interrelated and fundamental for true discipleship. A disciple of Jesus is committed to His person, as well as to His words. Though there is always the danger of getting so caught up in doctrines and forms of faith that we lose sight of Jesus Himself, we must also be aware of the danger of thinking that all that matters in our walk with the Lord is to believe in Jesus.
What is the high cost of being a disciple of Jesus? See Luke 14:25-27.
Jesus used the verb to hate as a hyperbole meaning to love less. The parallel passage in Matthew clarifies the meaning of Jesus’ words: He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me (Matt. 10:37, NKJV). Jesus must have the first place in our lives if we want to be His disciples.
What has following Christ, being His disciple, cost you? What does your answer say about your walk with the Lord?
FridayAugust 1

Further Study: Ellen G. White, Repentance, pp. 23-32, in Steps to Christ.
We can no more repent without the Spirit of Christ to awaken the conscience than we can be pardoned without Christ. — Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 26.
As we behold the Lamb of God upon the cross of Calvary, the mystery of redemption begins to unfold to our minds and the goodness of God leads us to repentance. In dying for sinners, Christ manifested a love that is incomprehensible; and as the sinner beholds this love, it softens the heart, impresses the mind, and inspires contrition in the soul. -Pages 26, 27.
The humble and broken heart, subdued by genuine repentance, will appreciate something of the love of God and the cost of Calvary; and as a son confesses to a loving father, so will the truly penitent bring all his sins before God. And it is written, 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. -Page 41.
Discussion Questions:

Many try to drown their sense of guilt with alcohol, drugs, worldly pleasures, or by cramming their lives with frenzied activities. Why do none of these methods really work? How would you help someone who is in this condition to find the true solution for guilt?
It is possible to recognize our sins without bearing fruits worthy of repentance. Why isn’t that true repentance? What is the value of these fruits? Are they good works done in order to gain God’s favor? Explain your answer.
Discuss the fact that Christ’s righteousness is free, but not cheap. Although we do not have to pay for it, the Lord had to pay an infinite price at the cross. Think about how fallen we are, and how serious sin must be, that it took something as extreme as the death of the Son of God Himself in order to save us from the consequences of sin.

The householder, on seeing his invitation slighted, declared that none of the men who are bidden should taste of his supper. But for those who had done despite to the king, more than exclusion from his presence and his table is decreed. “He sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.” – {COL 307.3}