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HopeLives365

Mark Finley

2nd Quarter Sabbath School 2023: Three Cosmic Messages

01 Jesus Wins- Satan Loses

02 A Moment of Destiny

03 The Everlasting Gospel

04 Fear God and Give Glory to Him

05 The Good News of the Judgment

06 The Hour of His Judgment

07 Worshiping the Creator

08 The Sabbath and the End

09 A City Called Confusion

10 Satan’s Final Deceptions

11 The Seal of God and Mark of the Beast: Part 1

12 The Seal of God and Mark of the Beast: Part 2


Welcome back to our summaries of the Sabbath School Lessons for the second quarter of 2023. The title of our series this quarter, of course, is 3 Cosmic Messages. We're on lesson number 5, titled The Good News of the Judgment. When many people think of the judgment, they don't think of good news, they think of bad news. How do you feel when you have to appear before a judge, usually with fear and trembling, knots in your stomach and your knees knocking?

But yet, there is some good news of the judgment. Our theme text is Revelation 14 verse 7, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, give glory to him for the hour of his judgment has come. Now notice it doesn't say it will come. This is a past tense. It has come.

The clock has struck the hour. There's an urgency about this. There's a sense that everything is not simply going on as normal or average, but that we're living in a unique time of Earth's history. Now, why is the judgment good news and not bad news? Here's the central theme of the lesson, that if you are studying it, that I want you to come away with.

If you are teaching it, I want you to come away with. If I were summarizing this entire lesson in 1 sentence, it would be this. In Christ, we need not fear the judgment. In Christ, we can pass the judgment. In Christ we can have confidence and security that he will stand for us in the judgment, that his righteousness will cover our unrighteousness.

We, In the introduction to the lesson, in page 38 in your quarterly, if you have the English edition, we talk about the fact that the judgment reveals the goodness and grace of God, that he's both just and merciful in how he deals with us. In the great controversy between good and evil in the universe, Satan has declared that God is unfair and God is unjust. On the cross of Calvary, Christ revealed his love. He revealed that justice demands the death of the sinner. Christ took upon himself the condemnation of our sins on the cross of Calvary.

He took upon himself our guilt, our shame on the cross of Calvary. And there before the whole universe, Jesus revealed that God is both just and merciful. But how does that play out in individual lives? How does that play out in your life and mine? In this lesson we point out that what Christ wrought out on the cross cosmically to show before the whole universe is justice and mercy is revealed in every single life.

We make a link though between the everlasting gospel and the judgment. The gospel is our only hope in the judgment. Remember in Revelation chapter 14, verse 6, it says, I saw another angel flying in the middle of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth, to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, fear God, give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment has come." So notice here very carefully that there is a linkage, the gospel and the judgment. The gospel reveals God's justice and mercy, the judgment reveals God's judgment and mercy. We point that out in Sunday's lesson.

When you come to Monday's lesson, we ask the question, what are we judged by? And of course in Revelation 20 verse 12 it says they'll be judged according to their works. But I thought we're saved by grace. We are. But salvation by grace leads us to live godly obedient lives.

Like it says in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8 through 10, for by grace are you saved through faith. It is the gift of God and you're not saved of yourselves. By grace you're saved through faith, not of yourselves, it's the gift of God. Then it goes on to say, but we are his workmanship. So Christ saves us not to disobedience, but Christ saves us to what?

Obedience. Ellen White makes a marvelous statement at the end of Monday's lesson, I've included it. It comes from Testimonies, Volume 5, page 471 and 472, the fact that the acknowledged people of God are represented as standing before the Lord in filthy garments should lead to humility and deep searching of heart on the part of all who profess his name. Those who are indeed purifying their souls by obeying the truth will have a most humble opinion of themselves. The more closely they view the spotless character of Christ, the stronger will be their desire to be conformed to his image, and the less will they see of purity or holiness in themselves.

But while we should realize our sinful condition, we have to rely on Christ, our righteousness, our sanctification, and our redemption. We cannot answer the charges of Satan against us. Christ alone can make an effectual plea on our behalf. He's able to silence the accuser with arguments founded not on our merits but on his own. Isn't that incredible?

The devil will condemn us in the judgment, but Jesus argues on his merits not on our merits. What role do our works play in the judgment? They reveal our faith. They reveal our commitment. They reveal our decision of the will to be loyal to Christ.

In Tuesday and Wednesday's lesson, we have this magnificent scene of the judgment, and it's in Daniel chapter 7, it talks about the fact that judgment is passed in favor of the saints of God. We come to the conclusion of this week's lesson in Revelation chapter 5, where the question is raised, who's able to open the book? And the answer is, John weeps. He doesn't say anybody worthy to open the book, but then the angels sing, worthy is the lamb that was slain, because Jesus, the slain lamb, comes forward to open the book of judgment to reveal his grace and love and goodness. In Christ, there is no possibility of our not passing the judgment.

In our own, There's no possibility of our passing the judgment in Jesus. We are secure in Jesus. Our lives can be confident that the judgment need not scare us because through Jesus and by Jesus and because of Jesus we're saved eternally. Leave that encouraging thought with your class this week. Let's pray.

Father in heaven, thank you that in Christ we stand secure in the judgment. We are so thankful that we have an advocate, an attorney to stand for us. We praise your name for that. In Jesus' name, Amen. This media was brought to you by Audioverse, a website dedicated to spreading God's Word through free sermon audio and much more.

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Series

2nd Quarter Sabbath School 2023: Three Cosmic Messages

05 The Good News of the Judgment

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

Other Teachings in Series

01 Jesus Wins- Satan Loses

10m

02 A Moment of Destiny

8m

03 The Everlasting Gospel

9m

04 Fear God and Give Glory to Him

11m

05 The Good News of the Judgment

7m

06 The Hour of His Judgment

11m

07 Worshiping the Creator

8m

08 The Sabbath and the End

10m

09 A City Called Confusion

13m

10 Satan’s Final Deceptions

13m

11 The Seal of God and Mark of the Beast: Part 1

15m

12 The Seal of God and Mark of the Beast: Part 2

12m

Sound Doctrine