Further Thought: “The plan of salvation does not offer believers a life free from suffering and trial this side of the kingdom. On the contrary, it calls upon them to follow Christ in the same path of self-denial and reproach. . . . It is through such trial and persecution that the character of Christ is reproduced and revealed in His people. . . . By sharing in the sufferings of Christ we are educated and disciplined and made ready to share in the glories of the hereafter.” - The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, pp. 568, 569.
“The chain that has been let down from the throne of God is long enough to reach to the lowest depths. Christ is able to lift the most sinful out of the pit of degradation, and to place them where they will be acknowledged as children of God, heirs with Christ to an immortal inheritance.” - Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 7, p. 229.
“One honored of all heaven came to this world to stand in human nature at the head of humanity, testifying to the fallen angels and to the inhabitants of the unfallen worlds that through the divine help which has been provided, every one may walk in the path of obedience to God’s commands. . . .
“Our ransom has been paid by our Saviour. No one need be enslaved by Satan. Christ stands before us as our all-powerful helper.” - Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 1, p. 309.
Discussion Questions:
Read again the quotes from Ellen G. White in Friday’s study. What hope can we take from them for ourselves? More important, how can we make these promises of victory real in our own lives? Why, with so much offered to us in Christ, do we keep on falling far short of what we really could be?
What are practical, daily ways you can have your mind “set . . . on the things of the Spirit” (Rom. 8:5, RSV). What does that mean? What does the Spirit desire? What do you watch, read, or think about that makes this difficult to achieve in your life?
Dwell more on this idea that we are either on one side or the other in the great controversy, with no middle ground. What are the implications of that stark, cold fact? How should the realization of this important truth impact the ways in which we live and the choices we make, even in the “small” things?
