In times of crises, what do human beings long for more than anything else? When disaster strikes, what do we all seek? The one thing human beings desire more than anything else in times of uncertainty is safety. When a tornado, hurricane, typhoon, or some other natural disaster strikes, what do we desperately desire? We desire a place to be safe with our families. This desire for safety is also true in times of war or when violence rages in our streets.
In a chaotic, uncertain world, the Sabbath is an oasis of peace. It points us to our Creator, who gives us the assurance of security and safety in His presence. The Sabbath is a place of refuge, a sanctuary in time that descends from heaven to earth each week. It unites us in a common bond with our brothers and sisters in Christ. The Sabbath is the great equalizer. Worshiping together on Sabbath, we recognize anew, we understand afresh, that we are part of the great web of humanity, created by God, and that He has “made of one blood all nations” (Acts 17:26).
In this week’s lesson, we will probe more deeply the meaning of the Sabbath in our personal lives and discover how a proper understanding of the Sabbath influences our attitudes, our choices, and our actions. This week we will also study how the Sabbath will be the focal point of an end-time crisis over the law of God. Satan’s final attack will be on the Sabbath because the Sabbath is embedded in the heart of God’s law as the eternal symbol of His creative authority.
Part II: Commentary
Creation, the Sabbath, and the judgment are remarkably linked in a divine pattern. Creation speaks of the Christ who created all people. Thus, we have a common ancestry. When the apostle Paul was debating with the philosophers in Greece, he used this powerful argument: “ ‘God, who made the world and everything in it, . . . has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth’ ” (Acts 17:24, 26, NKJV). Paul’s point to the Athenian philosophers was simply this: the God of the Bible is the all-powerful Creator of all humankind; therefore, we are all part of one human family. Understanding this concept of Creation leads us to respect one another, appreciate one another, and treat one another with kindness, courtesy, and compassion. The Sabbath is the practical expression that we believe in God as Creator and that we value human life. Human life is sacred because it is a treasured gift given to us by our Creator. Our Sabbath worship testifies to this eternal truth. Our lesson this week discusses the Sabbath in the light of the judgment.
The Judgment, the Law, and Freedom of Choice
The fact that there is a judgment implies that human beings can make moral choices. If we merely evolved, there would be no real basis for free will. If everything were determined by our heredity or environment, we would not be capable of exercising our freedom of choice.
William Provine, professor of history of biology at Cornell University, acknowledges that evolution and free will are incompatible. In a lecture delivered on February 12, 1998, he made this remarkable statement: “Naturalistic evolution has clear consequences that Charles Darwin understood perfectly . . . [including the idea that] human free will is nonexistent. . . . Free will is a disastrous and mean social myth.”—William Provine, abstract for “Evolution: Free Will and Punishment and Meaning in Life,” talk delivered on Feb. 12, 1998, https:www.discovery.org/a/9581/.
Free will is certainly not a “mean social myth.” It is a inalienable gift, given by God to each one of us. If you do away with free will, there is no way to determine right and wrong. If there is a judgment, there must be a law that is the basis of that judgment.
The apostle James states an eternal truth when he says, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10, NKJV). What law is James speaking about? Verses 11 and 12 explain it clearly: “For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty” (NKJV).
In this passage from James, the Ten Commandment law, which is the basis of God’s end-time judgment, is referred to as the law of liberty. Ellen G. White’s comment on this passage is extremely helpful in understanding the depth of these scriptures: “The only condition upon which the freedom of man is possible is that of becoming one with Christ. ‘The truth shall make you free;’ and Christ is the truth. Sin can triumph only by enfeebling the mind, and destroying the liberty of the soul. Subjection to God is restoration to one’s self—to the true glory and dignity of man. The divine law, to which we are brought into subjection, is ‘the law of liberty.’ (James 2:12).”—The Desire of Ages, p. 466.
When we surrender our lives to Christ, we experience true freedom. Obedience to God becomes a delight. Because Sabbath worship is in the heart of God’s law, it is a symbol of our complete allegiance to Christ. Through His grace, we obey His commandments, not to be saved but because we are saved by His grace and desire to please Him in everything we do.
God never forces or coerces our will. He did not force Satan to serve Him in heaven. He did not coerce Adam and Eve to obey in Eden and will never coerce us to obey today. Once again: “In the work of redemption there is no compulsion. No external force is employed. Under the influence of the Spirit of God, man is left free to choose whom he will serve. In the change that takes place when the soul surrenders to Christ, there is the highest sense of freedom. The expulsion of sin is the act of the soul itself. True, we have no power to free ourselves from Satan’s control; but when we desire to be set free from sin, and in our great need cry out for a power out of and above ourselves, the powers of the soul are imbued with the divine energy of the Holy Spirit, and they obey the dictates of the will in fulfilling the will of God.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 466.
In the devil’s final deception, he will attempt to coerce God’s people to serve him. Through restricting their ability to buy or sell, through ridicule and slander, through persecution, imprisonment, and even death, he will pressure them to conform. While Revelation 14:7 invites us to worship the Creator, Revelation 14:9 warns against worshiping the beast. The final conflict between good and evil is over worship.
A similar conflict over worship occurred when Daniel and his friends were captives in Babylon. A counterfeit image was established on the plain of Dura. King Nebuchadnezzar commanded all his subjects to bow down and worship the golden idol. A decree was passed, condemning to death anyone who did not bow down and worship the golden image. The second commandment, forbidding the making and worshiping of idols, became a test for the Hebrew captives. They entrusted themselves to God completely. Because of their loyalty and trust, they were thrown into the fiery furnace. But God protected them. Jesus Christ, the Son of man, entered the flames with them and provided divine protection.
In the final days of earth’s history, the world will be brought to a test over the fourth commandment: “ ‘Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy’ ” (Exod. 20:8, NKJV). The commandment that leads all humanity to worship the Creator will be substituted by a counterfeit day of worship. Once again, God will have a people who are faithful to Him. Revelation 14:12 declares: “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (NKJV). God’s remnant, His last-day people, will endure to the end. By His grace and through His power, they will “keep His commandments.”
They will obey because the “faith of Jesus” fills their hearts and every aspect of their lives. The same quality of faith that Jesus had when He faced the cross, they, too, will experience. They will place absolute confidence in their heavenly Father. This trust relationship with God will take them through earth’s final conflict. The heart of this week’s lesson is understanding that the One who created us will care for us in earth’s final crisis. Keeping the Sabbath reveals our trust in Jesus, our Creator, Redeemer, Intercessor, and coming King. This is God’s appeal to each of us in the light of His final judgment. Obedience to His law is the fruit of our faith.
Part III: Life Application
For Reflection: John Oxenham was the pen name of William Arthur Dunkerley. Oxenham was an English poet and hymn writer. He wrote a poem entitled “The Ways,” which summarizes this week’s lesson well:
To every man there openeth a Way, and Ways, and a Way.
And the High Soul climbs the High way, and the Low Soul gropes the low,
And in between, on the misty flats, the rest drift to and fro.
But to every man there openeth a High Way, and a Low.
And every man decideth the Way his soul shall go.
The book of Revelation appeals to us to make eternal choices. There can be no neutrality in the earth’s last war. The tests we will face, of which Oxenham so eloquently writes, will cause “every man [to decide] the Way his soul shall go.”
Invite your class members to contemplate personally, in the coming week, the following questions:
1. Is Sabbath worship a day of delight for me, or is it a legalistic requirement? Why is this so?
2. Do I find my highest delight in doing God’s will? Why, or why not?
3. Are there things in my life that I have refused to give up for Christ’s sake? If yes, what are they? How can I learn to give them up?
The Cross calls us to a depth of spiritual experience that is much more than a mere mental ascent to truth. In the light of heaven’s final judgment, our Creator calls us to trust Him completely in these final, climactic hours of earth’s history.
Notes
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In times of crises, what do human beings long for more than anything else? When disaster strikes, what do we all seek? The one thing human beings desire more than anything else in times of uncertainty is safety. When a tornado, hurricane, typhoon, or some other natural disaster strikes, what do we desperately desire? We desire a place to be safe with our families. This desire for safety is also true in times of war or when violence rages in our streets.
In a chaotic, uncertain world, the Sabbath is an oasis of peace. It points us to our Creator, who gives us the assurance of security and safety in His presence. The Sabbath is a place of refuge, a sanctuary in time that descends from heaven to earth each week. It unites us in a common bond with our brothers and sisters in Christ. The Sabbath is the great equalizer. Worshiping together on Sabbath, we recognize anew, we understand afresh, that we are part of the great web of humanity, created by God, and that He has “made of one blood all nations” (Acts 17:26).
In this week’s lesson, we will probe more deeply the meaning of the Sabbath in our personal lives and discover how a proper understanding of the Sabbath influences our attitudes, our choices, and our actions. This week we will also study how the Sabbath will be the focal point of an end-time crisis over the law of God. Satan’s final attack will be on the Sabbath because the Sabbath is embedded in the heart of God’s law as the eternal symbol of His creative authority.
Part II: Commentary
Creation, the Sabbath, and the judgment are remarkably linked in a divine pattern. Creation speaks of the Christ who created all people. Thus, we have a common ancestry. When the apostle Paul was debating with the philosophers in Greece, he used this powerful argument: “ ‘God, who made the world and everything in it, . . . has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth’ ” (Acts 17:24, 26, NKJV). Paul’s point to the Athenian philosophers was simply this: the God of the Bible is the all-powerful Creator of all humankind; therefore, we are all part of one human family. Understanding this concept of Creation leads us to respect one another, appreciate one another, and treat one another with kindness, courtesy, and compassion. The Sabbath is the practical expression that we believe in God as Creator and that we value human life. Human life is sacred because it is a treasured gift given to us by our Creator. Our Sabbath worship testifies to this eternal truth. Our lesson this week discusses the Sabbath in the light of the judgment.
The Judgment, the Law, and Freedom of Choice
The fact that there is a judgment implies that human beings can make moral choices. If we merely evolved, there would be no real basis for free will. If everything were determined by our heredity or environment, we would not be capable of exercising our freedom of choice.
William Provine, professor of history of biology at Cornell University, acknowledges that evolution and free will are incompatible. In a lecture delivered on February 12, 1998, he made this remarkable statement: “Naturalistic evolution has clear consequences that Charles Darwin understood perfectly . . . [including the idea that] human free will is nonexistent. . . . Free will is a disastrous and mean social myth.”—William Provine, abstract for “Evolution: Free Will and Punishment and Meaning in Life,” talk delivered on Feb. 12, 1998, https:www.discovery.org/a/9581/.
Free will is certainly not a “mean social myth.” It is a inalienable gift, given by God to each one of us. If you do away with free will, there is no way to determine right and wrong. If there is a judgment, there must be a law that is the basis of that judgment.
The apostle James states an eternal truth when he says, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10, NKJV). What law is James speaking about? Verses 11 and 12 explain it clearly: “For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty” (NKJV).
In this passage from James, the Ten Commandment law, which is the basis of God’s end-time judgment, is referred to as the law of liberty. Ellen G. White’s comment on this passage is extremely helpful in understanding the depth of these scriptures: “The only condition upon which the freedom of man is possible is that of becoming one with Christ. ‘The truth shall make you free;’ and Christ is the truth. Sin can triumph only by enfeebling the mind, and destroying the liberty of the soul. Subjection to God is restoration to one’s self—to the true glory and dignity of man. The divine law, to which we are brought into subjection, is ‘the law of liberty.’ (James 2:12).”—The Desire of Ages, p. 466.
When we surrender our lives to Christ, we experience true freedom. Obedience to God becomes a delight. Because Sabbath worship is in the heart of God’s law, it is a symbol of our complete allegiance to Christ. Through His grace, we obey His commandments, not to be saved but because we are saved by His grace and desire to please Him in everything we do.
God never forces or coerces our will. He did not force Satan to serve Him in heaven. He did not coerce Adam and Eve to obey in Eden and will never coerce us to obey today. Once again: “In the work of redemption there is no compulsion. No external force is employed. Under the influence of the Spirit of God, man is left free to choose whom he will serve. In the change that takes place when the soul surrenders to Christ, there is the highest sense of freedom. The expulsion of sin is the act of the soul itself. True, we have no power to free ourselves from Satan’s control; but when we desire to be set free from sin, and in our great need cry out for a power out of and above ourselves, the powers of the soul are imbued with the divine energy of the Holy Spirit, and they obey the dictates of the will in fulfilling the will of God.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 466.
In the devil’s final deception, he will attempt to coerce God’s people to serve him. Through restricting their ability to buy or sell, through ridicule and slander, through persecution, imprisonment, and even death, he will pressure them to conform. While Revelation 14:7 invites us to worship the Creator, Revelation 14:9 warns against worshiping the beast. The final conflict between good and evil is over worship.
A similar conflict over worship occurred when Daniel and his friends were captives in Babylon. A counterfeit image was established on the plain of Dura. King Nebuchadnezzar commanded all his subjects to bow down and worship the golden idol. A decree was passed, condemning to death anyone who did not bow down and worship the golden image. The second commandment, forbidding the making and worshiping of idols, became a test for the Hebrew captives. They entrusted themselves to God completely. Because of their loyalty and trust, they were thrown into the fiery furnace. But God protected them. Jesus Christ, the Son of man, entered the flames with them and provided divine protection.
In the final days of earth’s history, the world will be brought to a test over the fourth commandment: “ ‘Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy’ ” (Exod. 20:8, NKJV). The commandment that leads all humanity to worship the Creator will be substituted by a counterfeit day of worship. Once again, God will have a people who are faithful to Him. Revelation 14:12 declares: “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (NKJV). God’s remnant, His last-day people, will endure to the end. By His grace and through His power, they will “keep His commandments.”
They will obey because the “faith of Jesus” fills their hearts and every aspect of their lives. The same quality of faith that Jesus had when He faced the cross, they, too, will experience. They will place absolute confidence in their heavenly Father. This trust relationship with God will take them through earth’s final conflict. The heart of this week’s lesson is understanding that the One who created us will care for us in earth’s final crisis. Keeping the Sabbath reveals our trust in Jesus, our Creator, Redeemer, Intercessor, and coming King. This is God’s appeal to each of us in the light of His final judgment. Obedience to His law is the fruit of our faith.
Part III: Life Application
For Reflection: John Oxenham was the pen name of William Arthur Dunkerley. Oxenham was an English poet and hymn writer. He wrote a poem entitled “The Ways,” which summarizes this week’s lesson well:
To every man there openeth a Way, and Ways, and a Way.
And the High Soul climbs the High way, and the Low Soul gropes the low,
And in between, on the misty flats, the rest drift to and fro.
But to every man there openeth a High Way, and a Low.
And every man decideth the Way his soul shall go.
The book of Revelation appeals to us to make eternal choices. There can be no neutrality in the earth’s last war. The tests we will face, of which Oxenham so eloquently writes, will cause “every man [to decide] the Way his soul shall go.”
Invite your class members to contemplate personally, in the coming week, the following questions:
1. Is Sabbath worship a day of delight for me, or is it a legalistic requirement? Why is this so?
2. Do I find my highest delight in doing God’s will? Why, or why not?
3. Are there things in my life that I have refused to give up for Christ’s sake? If yes, what are they? How can I learn to give them up?
The Cross calls us to a depth of spiritual experience that is much more than a mere mental ascent to truth. In the light of heaven’s final judgment, our Creator calls us to trust Him completely in these final, climactic hours of earth’s history.
Notes