Commentary on "The Election of Grace"

COLLEEN TINKER

 

Day 7: Friday, September 10, 2010 - Further Study

 

Overview

Friday’s lesson is a collection of quotes from Ellen White regarding the eventual conversion of Jews to Christ. It ends with three thought/discussion questions, including: “In the last days, as god’s law and especially the Sabbath come into sharp focus, is it not reasonable to think that the Jews—many of them as serious about the Ten Commandments as Adventists are—will have a role in helping to clarify some issues before the world? Discuss.”

 

Observations

Two things overwhelm me as I write this. First, the Sabbath School lessons are proclaimed to be the study of Scripture. Second, the plain meaning of the passage, Romans 11, is being completely overlooked.

Instead of poring over a collection of Ellen White quotations, I would like to suggest that the reader sit with a clear modern translation of the Bible such as the ESV, NASB, or the NIV—or even the NKJV—and just read Romans 11, from beginning to end, and ask the Lord Jesus to teach you what He wants you to know from it. What Paul is saying here is quite different from the rather generalized comments of the quarterly.

The questions at the end completely miss the faithful, sovereign promises of God that Paul reminds us to believe. God will bring the Jews to belief in Him at the right time. There is absolutely NO hint in the New Testament that the Sabbath will be an issue in the last days, much less in the experience of people coming to Christ.

Moreover, there is no hint in Scripture that Jews and Adventists will help the world understand and appreciate God’s law. Furthermore, the world will be convicted by the Lord Jesus. As Romans 14:11 says, in quoting Isaiah 45:23, “For it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shill bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.”

The Sabbath is not going to be the final test of loyalty or the mark between the saved and the lost, and it will not be the sign that one is on God’s side. The Lord Jesus will be the only focus and “test” for all humanity. Every person alive will bow before Him—both saved and unsaved—and acknowledge who He is.

All that matters is what you do with Jesus. Will you submit to Him and repent, placing your faith in Him to forgive all your sins, past, present, and future, and to give you His eternal life now in the Person of the indwelling Holy Spirit?

Take this opportunity to release your grip on the things you’ve thought were the marks of salvation. Cling to Jesus only. Let Him be your identity, your all-in-all. He desires to be your Lord, and your heart will be restless until you find your rest in Him.

Jesus is greater than the Sabbath. He calls you past the Sabbath into life in Him.

 

Summary

1. Bible studies should not be diverted by reading from a non-biblical “messenger”. Bible studies need to stick to the Bible.
2. Read Romans 11 and ask God to show you what you need to know.
3. The Sabbath is not in view anywhere in Romans 11.
4. Jews will not be helped to come to Christ by Adventists who understand the law.
5. Jesus is the only One we must have in order to be saved.
6. If you have not accepted Him as your Savior and Lord, do so now.

 

 

Copyright 2010 BibleStudiesForAdventists.com. All rights reserved. Revised September 9, 2010. This website is published by Life Assurance Ministries, Glendale, Arizona, USA, the publisher of Proclamation! Magazine. Contact email: BibleStudiesForAdventists@gmail.com.

The Sabbath School Bible Study Guide and the corresponding E.G. White Notes are published by Pacific Press Publishing Association, which is owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist church. The current quarter's editions are pictured above.

 

Official Adventist Resources

Standard Edition Study Guide Week 11

Teacher's Edition Study Guide Week 11

Easy Reading Edition Study Guide Wk 11

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