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 12: ”The Biblical Worldview”
COLLEEN TINKER
Problems with this lesson:
- This lesson creates straw-man arguments against a biblical view of human nature.
- This lesson misrepresents what Christians believe and establishes its own arguments.
- This lesson actually demonstrates our argument that the Adventist view of the nature of man is the underlying heresy that distorts their entire worldview.
Saturday
The week’s lessons opens with these words in Saturday’s lesson:
“Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 588.
Until these final events unfold, we must remain firm in our belief in all the truth that we have, which includes the nature of humanity and of death, as we seek to be guided by the Holy Spirit with the purpose of being ready for Christ’s glorious appearing.
With this introduction, Adventism tips its hand: they NEED to keep their members convinced of the physicality of humanity in order to support their “gospel” of days, foods, Jesus-as-example, and the cross as a representative death. Their entire worldview—including the literal search for sins in heavenly books—depends upon PHYSICALITY.
Only this view of man’s nature keeps Adventists blinded to the reality of spiritual death and the need for being born again.
If they can keep their people deceived about their own natures and shamed into groveling enslavement to “obedience”, they can keep the tithes rolling in and their secrets intact. Believing in a false view of reality means people are blinded to truth.
Because Proclamation! has published many articles addressing worldview and the nature of death and humanity, we will handle this lesson a bit differently this week.
For each day’s lesson we will supply a link to an article that will show how the Adventist teaching is a deception and explain what the Bible actually says instead. We urge you to take some time each day to read an article!
Today’s article directly counters the author’s purpose: we will discuss and expose Adventism’s worldview and compare it to a biblical one:
Sunday
Today’s lesson states this:
If we recognize that a human being is an integrated and indivisible person, then we cannot restrict our religion to spiritual matters only. The truth actually embraces our whole being, covers our entire life span, and comprises all dimensions of our life. Our physical and spiritual elements are so powerfully integrated that they really cannot be separated. And though, as fallen beings, we will never be equal to the depiction of Jesus as presented above, we are by God’s grace to emulate it because “to restore in man the image of his Maker, to bring him back to the perfection in which he was created, to promote the development of body, mind, and soul” (Ellen G. White, Education, pp. 15, 16) is the work of redemption. This is what God seeks to do in His people as part of the process to prepare them for His return.
It is an egregious deception to insist that humans have no immaterial spirit. Scripture clearly shows that we have spirits that are born dead and must receive eternal life through believing in Jesus. This article examines Scripture’s teaching about the spirit of man and shows that Adventism is teaching a heresy:
Monday
This lesson argues that, because the human is “an indivisible entity”, the Adventist health message is necessary in order to honor God. It states this:
The apostle John wrote to his friend Gaius, “Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul” (3 John 1:2, NRSV).
If we recognize that a human being is an indivisible entity, and that religion embraces all aspects of human life, then we should consider the protection of our physical health also to be a religious duty. We should be guided by the inspired principle “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31, NKJV). But remember that we still live in a world where good people can do their best and yet suffer the consequences of a sinful human nature and a sinful environment. So, we should trust in God and do our best, and we leave the results with God.
- We urge you to read Cheryl Granger’s article, The Adventist Health Message: From Where Did It Come?
Tuesday
This lesson argues that having “the mind of Christ” is achieved by daily surrender and uniting with Christ. It lacks any idea of being made alive, of having passed from death to life. Here is a quote from the day’s lesson:
We will always have sinful natures until Jesus comes. But if we are in Christ, we are fully covered by His righteousness. Although we are not yet perfect, we are considered already perfect in Him (Phil. 3:12–15). “When we are united to Christ, we have the mind of Christ. Purity and love shine forth in the character, meekness and truth control the life. The very expression of the countenance is changed. Christ abiding in the soul exerts a transforming power, and the outward aspect bears witness to the peace and joy that reign within.”—Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 1, p. 337.
Only by a daily surrender, a daily death to self, a daily determined effort, by faith, to be obedient to Jesus can we have this kind of transformation in our lives.
Adventism, on the authority of its prophetess, sees sanctification as a “daily death to self” and “a daily determined effort…to be obedient”. Perfect obedience and right motives can never be achieved by determination or willpower. Furthermore, when one is born again, we don’t have to be born again every day, as some Adventists say. Being born again is a one-time event. Yet even saints sin because they still have mortal flesh with a “law of sin” in it (Rom. 7:24).
Our goal is not to become good and obedient; our need is to be made alive. This article explains our natural condition and how we receive eternal life through belief in the Lord Jesus:
Wednesday
Today’s lesson attempts to explain the ministry of the Holy Spirit in terms of His intervention in our lives as a consequence of our making conscious choices to do what is right and to avoid what is wrong. Once again, the Adventist physicalism is unavoidable.
Even the Holy Spirit is limited by human choice! Here is a quote from the lesson:
The same Holy Spirit that guides us into all the truth also empowers us in leading others into that wonderful truth (Matt. 28:18–20, Acts 1:8). While fulfilling our sacred mission, we have His special assistance. So, morning by morning, we must kneel before the Lord and renew our vows of consecration to Him. If we do this, He will grant us the presence of His Spirit, with His reviving, sanctifying power.
We must, however, be open to His leading by making conscious choices, every day, to do what we know is right and avoid what we know is wrong. That is, only by seeking, in our God-given strength, to live as we should will we be open to receiving that power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, which God promises us.
Please read Beverly Bessada’s article discussing the work of the Holy Spirit in a true believer’s life:
Thursday
This lesson promotes the Adventist idea of being ready for Jesus to come. Since Adventism cannot teach biblical new birth or the need for our dead spirits to be made alive, all they can do is to urge “ongoing preparation”, planning for the future by being ready everyday.
From their perspective, “being ready” means making right choices and being obedient. They have no understanding of receiving eternal life through faith in Jesus—a reality that is a gift from God and not at all on the basis of what we do.
Here is a quote from the day’s lesson:
From the biblical perspective, the time of salvation is always “today” and never tomorrow (see Ps. 95:7, 8; Heb. 3:7, 8, 15; Heb. 4:7). And further: unless a major conversion experience takes place, we will continue to be what we are right now. Time itself does not convert the unconverted. If anything, unless one is continually growing in grace, and pressing on ahead in faith, the tendency would be to fall away, to become hardened, skeptical, cynical, even disbelieving.
From this perspective we can say that every single day of our life is our life in miniature. So, by God’s grace, we should plan for the future but should live each day ready for the return of Jesus—especially because, given the contingencies of this life, today could be our last day.
The hopelessness and anxiety produced by this never-ending attempt to please God leaves people discouraged, weary, and helpless. The truth, however, is amazing!
- Please read Richard Foster’s article, Being Born Again Makes All the Difference.
Friday
Today’s lesson closes the week with Ellen White quotes. These quotes only emphasize the dreadful helplessness of any person to please God!
Scripture teaches us, however, that we cannot please God, that He must reach us and bring us to life—and the secret to this miracle is believing in Jesus. To believe in Jesus, we have to be willing to let go of our idea that the law is our key to pleasing God and instead embrace the Lord Jesus as the only One who could be sinless.
We have to let go of the law and embrace the Living Lord. Trusting Jesus is our only hope, and it is the one sure way to the Father.
We end this week’s Sabbath School commentary by bringing you 2 Corinthians 3. Read here that the law written on stone brought death, but the covenant of the Spirit brings life! We pray you will see Jesus and let go of the false beliefs that have blinded so many of us from the truth of our Lord Jesus.
Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.
Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3). †
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