Sunday
June 5
1. GRACE
a. What is the meaning of grace, and to whom is it offered? Titus 2:11.
“Grace is an attribute of God exercised toward undeserving human beings. We did not seek for it, but it was sent in search of us.
Divine grace is the great element of saving power; without it all human effort is unavailing.”—The Faith I Live By, p. 94.
“Grace is unmerited favor. The angels, who know nothing of sin, do not understand what it is to have grace exercised toward them; but our sinfulness calls for the exercise of grace from a merciful God. It was grace that sent our Saviour to seek us as wanderers and bring us back to the fold.”—Selected Messages, bk. 1, pp. 331, 332.
b. What is the only way we can be saved? Ephesians 2:8, 9.
“Nothing but [Christ’s] righteousness can entitle us to one of the blessings of the covenant of grace. . . . We must not think that our own grace and merits will save us; the grace of Christ is our only hope of salvation.”—Ibid., p. 351.
Monday
June 6
2. JUSTIFYING GRACE
a. What is the basis of our justification before God? Romans 3:24–26.
“Are you in Christ? Not if you do not acknowledge yourselves erring, helpless, condemned sinners. Not if you are exalting and glorifying self. If there is any good in you, it is wholly attributable to the mercy of a compassionate Saviour. Your birth, your reputation, your wealth, your talents, your virtues, your piety, your philanthropy, or anything else in you or connected with you, will not form a bond of union between your soul and Christ. Your connection with the church, the manner in which your brethren regard you, will be of no avail unless you believe in Christ. It is not enough to believe about Him; you must believe in Him. You must rely wholly upon His saving grace.”—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, pp. 48, 49.
b. What is the immediate result of justification? Romans 5:1–3.
“As the penitent sinner, contrite before God, discerns Christ’s atonement in his behalf, and accepts this atonement as his only hope in this life and the future life, his sins are pardoned. This is justification by faith. Every believing soul is to conform his will entirely to God’s will, and keep in a state of repentance and contrition, exercising faith in the atoning merits of the Redeemer and advancing from strength to strength, from glory to glory.
“Pardon and justification are one and the same thing. Through faith, the believer passes from the position of a rebel, a child of sin and Satan, to the position of a loyal subject of Christ Jesus, not because of an inherent goodness, but because Christ receives him as His child by adoption. The sinner receives the forgiveness of his sins, because these sins are borne by his Substitute and Surety. The Lord speaks to His heavenly Father, saying: ‘This is My child. I reprieve him from the condemnation of death, giving him My life insurance policy—eternal life—because I have taken his place and have suffered for his sins. He is even My beloved son.’ Thus man, pardoned, and clothed with the beautiful garments of Christ’s righteousness, stands faultless before God. . . .
“Justification is the opposite of condemnation. God’s boundless mercy is exercised toward those who are wholly undeserving. He forgives transgressions and sins for the sake of Jesus, who has become the propitiation for our sins. Through faith in Christ, the guilty transgressor is brought into favor with God and into the strong hope of life eternal.”—The SDA Bible Commentary [E. G. White Comments], vol. 6, pp. 1070, 1071.
Tuesday
June 7
3. SANCTIFYING GRACE
a. How can a believer overcome sin? Romans 6:1, 2, 14.
“The atonement of Christ is not a mere skillful way to have our sins pardoned; it is a divine remedy for the cure of transgression and the restoration of spiritual health. It is the Heaven-ordained means by which the righteousness of Christ may be not only upon us but in our hearts and characters. . . .
“Our ransom has been paid by our Saviour. No one need be enslaved by Satan. Christ stands before us as our divine example, our all-powerful Helper. We have been bought with a price that it is impossible to compute. Who can measure the goodness and mercy of redeeming love? . . .
“Let those who received the imprint of God by baptism heed these words [2 Corinthians 6:14–18], remembering that upon them the Lord has placed His signature, declaring them to be His sons and daughters.
“The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, powers infinite and omniscient, receive those who truly enter into covenant relation with God. They are present at every baptism, to receive the candidates who have renounced the world and have received Christ into the soul temple. These candidates have entered into the family of God, and their names are inscribed in the Lamb’s book of life.”—The SDA Bible Commentary [E. G. White Comments], vol. 6, pp. 1074, 1075.
b. How can we be sure about victory in our spiritual life? 2 Corinthians 12:9.
“Without the grace of Christ, the sinner is in a hopeless condition; nothing can be done for him; but through divine grace, supernatural power is imparted. . . . It is through the impartation of the grace of Christ that sin is discerned in its hateful nature, and finally driven from the soul temple. It is through grace that we are brought into fellowship with Christ, to be associated with Him in the work of salvation.”—God’s Amazing Grace, p. 265.
“We need to trust in Jesus daily, hourly. He has promised that as our day is, our strength shall be. By His grace we may bear all the burdens of the present and perform its duties.”—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 200.
Wednesday
June 8
4. SELF-SURRENDER
a. What happens when we fully surrender ourselves to Christ? Matthew 11:28–30.
“Are you tempted? He will deliver. Are you weak? He will strengthen. Are you ignorant? He will enlighten. Are you wounded? He will heal. The Lord ‘telleth the number of the stars;’ and yet ‘He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.’ Psalm 147:4, 3. ‘Come unto Me,’ is His invitation. Whatever your anxieties and trials, spread out your case before the Lord. Your spirit will be braced for endurance. The way will be opened for you to disentangle yourself from embarrassment and difficulty. The weaker and more helpless you know yourself to be, the stronger will you become in His strength. The heavier your burdens, the more blessed the rest in casting them upon the Burden Bearer. The rest that Christ offers depends upon conditions, but these conditions are plainly specified. They are those with which all can comply. He tells us just how His rest is to be found.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 329.
b. How strong do we become when connected with Jesus? John 15:5.
“When the soul surrenders itself to Christ, a new power takes possession of the new heart. A change is wrought which man can never accomplish for himself. It is a supernatural work, bringing a supernatural element into human nature. The soul that is yielded to Christ becomes His own fortress, which He holds in a revolted world, and He intends that no authority shall be known in it but His own. A soul thus kept in possession by the heavenly agencies is impregnable to the assaults of Satan. But unless we do yield ourselves to the control of Christ, we shall be dominated by the wicked one. We must inevitably be under the control of the one or the other of the two great powers that are contending for the supremacy of the world. It is not necessary for us deliberately to choose the service of the kingdom of darkness in order to come under its dominion. We have only to neglect to ally ourselves with the kingdom of light. If we do not cooperate with the heavenly agencies, Satan will take possession of the heart, and will make it his abiding place. The only defense against evil is the indwelling of Christ in the heart through faith in His righteousness.”—Ibid., p. 324.
Thursday
June 9
5. VITAL CONNECTION
a. How can sinful people become righteous before God? John 15:5–8.
“The righteousness which Christ taught is conformity of heart and life to the revealed will of God. Sinful men can become righteous only as they have faith in God and maintain a vital connection with Him. Then true godliness will elevate the thoughts and ennoble the life. Then the external forms of religion accord with the Christian’s internal purity.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 310.
b. How can we remain in Christ? John 15:9–11.
“The connection of the branch with the vine, [Jesus] said, represents the relation you are to sustain to Me. The scion is engrafted into the living vine, and fiber by fiber, vein by vein, it grows into the vine stock. The life of the vine becomes the life of the branch. So, the soul dead in trespasses and sins receives life through connection with Christ. By faith in Him as a personal Saviour the union is formed. The sinner unites his weakness to Christ’s strength, his emptiness to Christ’s fullness, his frailty to Christ’s enduring might. Then he has the mind of Christ. . . . Through the agency of the Holy Spirit man becomes a partaker of the divine nature. He is accepted in the Beloved.
“This union with Christ, once formed, must be maintained. Christ said, ‘Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.’ This is no casual touch, no off-and-on connection. The branch becomes a part of the living vine. The communication of life, strength, and fruitfulness from the root to the branches is unobstructed and constant. Separated from the vine, the branch cannot live. No more, said Jesus, can you live apart from Me. The life you have received from Me can be preserved only by continual communion. Without Me you cannot overcome one sin or resist one temptation.”—Ibid., pp. 675, 676.
Friday
June 10
PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Why is it so important for us to appreciate God’s grace?
2. How do tribulations strengthen me in my Christian experience?
3. How does amazing grace lead me home to the heavenly Canaan?
4. Explain the power in wholehearted surrender to Christ.
5. Why does Jesus compare Himself to a vine?