August 8–14

This weekly feature is dedicated to Adventists who are looking for biblical insights into the topics discussed in the Sabbath School lesson quarterly. We post articles which address each lesson as presented in the Sabbath School Bible Study Guide, including biblical commentary on them. We hope you find this material helpful and that you will come to know Jesus and His revelation of Himself in His word in profound biblical ways.

 

Lesson 7: “Sharing the Word”

All through this week’s lesson, we continue with the idea of sharing Jesus with the world. And all through this week, we see the same subtle, and sometimes not-so-subtle, reliance on the words in the Bible as if they have some magic power in themselves, to the limiting of and even the exclusion of the work of the Holy Spirit. I refer to words such as these from the lesson:

“As we behold in Scripture the depth of His compassion and caring, our lives are changed. When we share His Word with others, they, too, are radically transformed.

Beholding Jesus in His Word, we become more like Him.”

and this:

“Still, without the Word of God to explain divine truth fully, the Holy Spirit’s revelation to our hearts is limited. The Written Word of God is the clearest and fullest revelation of Jesus, the Living Word.”

This assessment may sound good on the surface, but it depends entirely on the words of the Bible and leaves out the necessary work of the Holy Spirit. We are powerless to “become more like Him” without the transforming work of the Holy Spirit, and that second quote says that He is limited in His ability without the printed Word. 

Furthermore, the indwelling Holy Spirit is entirely conditional upon a person’s believing in the gospel of the Lord Jesus’ shed blood and resurrection and thus being born again.

As I have said before, the words printed on the page of the Bible will mean nothing to the reprobate heart without the working of the Holy Spirit. We could put a Bible in every home in the world, and it would not accomplish anything without the Holy Spirit working on the minds of those who read the words.

That isn’t to say that the Bible is not useful—far from it. Although the Bible does tell us about God, it is the Holy Spirit Who impresses it on minds and changes hearts. In fact, the Bible and the Holy Spirit are inseparable in effecting true change in a person. Merely hitting someone over the head with the Bible, or “a piece of literature”, however, will accomplish nothing of value unless that person is already being called and convicted by the Holy Spirit. Spiritual things are understood only through the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10-14).

There is some good discussion of things of value that can be learned from the Bible—things like the power of the God of creation and His love for us. But there is a very un-Biblical idea slipped in so casually that many won’t even notice it.

From the lesson:

“In fact, how much would we know about the great controversy, the love of God, and the birth, life, ministry, death, resurrection, and return of our Lord if we did not have the Scriptures?”

We have discussed the Great Controversy idea before, so it is probably not necessary to lay it all out again. But the idea that we, the created beings, have to prove that God is right, an idea which further implies that if we fail, God could lose this battle, is to take the focus off of God and put it back on us and our behavior. If we could actually live well enough that we could prove that God was just, we would have something to boast about (Ephesians 2:9). How arrogant we would be to think that God needs our help to prove that He is right and just.

And yet, the lesson also says:

“Through Christ’s death on the cross, and His victory over Satan and the principalities and powers of hell, He has provided everything necessary for us to live a godly, spiritual life.”

So which is it? Is there an ongoing war between Satan and God which implies that it could go either way? Or has the victory already been decided? 

Well, the good news is that, according to the Bible, the victory is already accomplished. 

“When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him” (Colossians 2:25).  

Notice how it is all past tense—something that had already happened at the time those words were written.

While there is an ongoing spiritual battle being waged, as addressed in Ephesians 6, it is a war that was won when Jesus was raised from the grave; but it wasn’t a war to prove that God is just. Those who are already saved are to use the spiritual armor of God to fight off the attacks of the devil as he tries to rob us of our joy in Christ; but once we are in Christ, the evil one cannot remove us from our secure place. He wants us to be discouraged and to doubt our place in God’s heart so that we will be robbed of our usefulness as witnesses of God to a fallen and dying world. 

As witnesses of Jesus to the world, we have a message that brings hope and life to a discouraged, distracted, and dying world. We know the Creator of everything Who loves us and dwells in our hearts. 

But what good is a witness if the message he gives is faulty? Only the truth can bring eternal life, and that is one way in which the Bible is invaluable—it is a source of information, instruction, truth, comfort and hope that not only settles in our hearts but also gives us words to tell others. 

So what is the Good News that we have to share? It is stated in many places and in many ways in the Bible; but perhaps the clearest, most succinct statement is found in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8.

It starts out with verifying the true source—that it was revealed from God and that it fulfilled prophecy:

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, Then, as proof of the resurrection, it lists the physical appearances of Jesus to His first witnesses: and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 

After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; Then, after listing the other witnesses, he moves on to his own first-hand witness: and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also (1 Corinthians 15:3-8).

That is the ‘Good News’ that we share with the world, in very simple terms that are not difficult to understand and yet are still profound. But what happens to that simple message when other things are added to it? In fact, can anything else be added to it and have it remain the truth?

Paul addressed that question very firmly in Galatians 1:6-9 in words that must not be qualified and should not be ignored:

I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! 

As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!

He says in verse 8, and then repeats in verse 9, that the simple message of the gospel that he gave them—the very verses quoted above from 1 Corinthinians 15—ARE the gospel, and anything else is contrary to that and not the gospel at all. Furthermore, he says, the one who tries to preach a “different gospel” is to be accursed.

Clearly, anything that is “shared” other than the simple gospel is not right; we cannot add to the gospel message without doing grave harm to the message of salvation. 

So I’m not saying that the Bible has no real use; on the contrary, it is full of things to learn. History, examples of good and bad behavior and their results, poetry to lift the spirits, prayers for the heart that is heavy, instructions on how to walk with Jesus after we came to Him and, of great importance to us in these last days, prophecies telling us what is to come.

As we see things happening and events lining up to happen, just as foretold in the Bible, we have the assurance that God knows the end from the beginning, and that none of it is out of His control.

Jesus said that that is the purpose of prophecy—so that when it happens, we will recognize it as the truth (John 13:19 and 14:29). How comforting to know that all of God’s promises to us are true, and that He can be trusted! †