The Bi ble and Hu man Emo tions

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4 Jesus Wept The Bi ble and Hu man Emo tions The Jan u ary, Feb ru ary, and March 2011 issue of the Adult Sab bath School Bible Study Guide (ASSBSG) is enti tled Jesus Wept: The Bible and Human Emo tions. The prin ci pal con trib u tor is Julián Melgosa who also wrote the com pan ion book for the quar ter, enti tled Men tal and Emo - tional Health. This com ments book let will dis cuss the first five les sons of the ASSBSG, cov er ing Decem ber 25 Jan u ary 28. Those read ing this book let will real ize that the time for the first les son will be past. This is unfortunate due to the late pub lish ing time of this book let, but we highly rec om mend that you do not skip the first sec tion, for it has valu able infor ma tion upon which many of the com ments fol low - ing it will be based. Les son 1 Emo tions Les son 1 is on the con cept of emo tions and strangely there is no direct attempt in the les son to define emo tion. Exam ples of emo tions are listed, but no clear def i ni tion is given. Per haps this is because the con cept of emo - tion is not easy to artic u late. Noah Web ster s 1828 dic tio nary gives the following definitions: EMO TION, n. [L. emotio; emoveo, to move from.] 1. Lit er ally, a mov ing of the mind or soul; hence, any ag i ta tion of mind or ex cite ment of sen si bil ity. 2. In a philo soph i cal sense, an in ter nal mo tion or ag i ta tion of the mind which passes away with out de sire; when de sire fol lows, the mo tion or ag i ta tion is called a pas sion. 3. Pas sion is the sen si ble ef fect, the feel ing to which the mind is sub - jected, when an ob ject of im por tance sud denly and im pe ri ously de mands its at ten tion. The state of ab so lute pas sive ness, in con se - quence of any sud den per cus sion of mind, is of short du ra tion. The strong im pres sion, or vivid sen sa tion, im me di ately pro duces a re ac tion cor re spon dent to its na ture, ei ther to ap pro pri ate and en joy, or avoid and

5 re pel the ex cit ing cause. This re ac tion is very prop erly dis tin guished by the term emo tion. Emo tions there fore, ac cord ing to the gen u ine sig ni fi ca tion of the word, are prin ci pally and pri mar ily ap pli ca ble to the sen si ble changes and vis i ble ef fects, which par tic u lar pas sions pro duce on the frame, in con se quence of this re ac tion, or par tic u lar ag i ta tion of mind. We quote from the 1828 edi tion because these mean ings would be the means used in the times of Ellen White, whose works we shall fre quently cite in this book let. The word emo tion comes from a Latin word that means to move. In its most basic sense, an emo tion is some thing that moves the mind or soul, caus ing an agi ta tion of mind or excite ment of sen si bil ity. Emo tions are closely con nected to feel ings. In fact, emo tion is a synonym for feel ings. Ellen White con nected emo tions and feel ings repeatedly in her writ ings with nei ther being rec om mended as a guide. For exam ple: God s chil dren are not to be sub ject to feel ings and emo tions. (Tes ti - mo nies to Min is ters, p. 518; all em pha sis sup plied un less oth er wise noted) To be sub ject to some one or some thing means that you are under its con - trol and it is rul ing over you. We are not to be ruled by our feel ings or emo tions. Feel ings are of ten de ceiv ing, emo tions are no sure safe guard; for they are vari able and sub ject to ex ter nal cir cum stances. Many are de luded by re ly ing on sen sa tional im pres sions. (Tes ti mo nies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 188) Your feel ings, your im pres sions, your emo tions, are not to be trusted, for they are not re li able. (Ibid., vol. 5, p. 513) You are not to wait for won der ful emo tions be fore you be lieve that God has heard you, feel ing is not to be your cri te rion, for emo tions are as change able as the clouds. (Se lected Mes sages, bk. 1, p. 328) A prin ci ple that will help us as we study this quar ter is to remem ber that Satan wants to use the flesh to con trol the mind, but God wants to use the mind to con trol the flesh. The intro duc tion to the quar terly states that the great est emo tion of all: [is] love. The les son for Mon day, Decem ber 27, states that love is the - 2 -

6 supreme emo tion. But is this really true? The Bible states that God is love (1 John 4:8,16). God is not an emo tion, but he is love. On a lower, super fi cial level, love may be con sid ered an emo tion, for Ellen White refers to this kind of love, say ing: How re pug nant to ev ery emo tion of love and mercy, and even to our sense of jus tice, is the doc trine that the wicked dead are tor mented with fire and brim stone in an eter nally burn ing hell; that for the sins of a brief earthly life they are to suf fer tor ture as long as God shall live. (The Great Con tro versy, p. 535) Yet, on the higher level, emo tions are not wor thy of being called love. Ellen White noted that love is not an emo tion or an impulse but a deci sion of a sanc ti fied will (Sev enth-day Adventist Bible Com men tary, vol. 6, p. 1101). She also writes that love is a prin ci ple: True love is a high and holy prin ci ple, al to gether dif fer ent in char ac - ter from that love which is awak ened by im pulse and which sud denly dies when se verely tested. (Pa tri archs and Proph ets, p. 176) Because love is more than an emo tion, the tired mother gets up at night to care for a cry ing child and the father works himself to exhaustion to care for his fam ily, even if they are unmind ful or unap pre cia tive of his efforts. The Bible teaches that the main prin ci ple of God s character is unself ish - ness love. Though human ity as a whole is not mind ful of God s care or appre ci ative of the gift of his Son, God still loves human ity. That is not to say that God is emo tion less or with out feel ings. Of course not; but even with God, prin ci ple, not emo tions, rule. Our expe ri ence is not to be tested or ruled by our emo tions but, rather, tested and ruled by faith in God s word. We have been told: Many judge of their re li gious state by their emo tions, but these are not a safe cri te rion. Our Chris tian life does not de pend upon our feel ings, but upon our hav ing a right hold from above. (The Re view and Her ald, March 8, 1892) At times we can not con trol the emo tions, but we can, by the grace of God, con trol the will, which over rides the emo tions. If you can not con trol your im pulses, your emo tions, as you may de - sire, you can con trol the will, and thus an en tire change will be wrought in your life. When you yield up your will to Christ, your life is hid with Christ in God. It is al lied to the power which is above all prin ci pal i ties and pow ers. You have a strength from God that holds you fast to his - 3 -

7 strength; and a new life, even the life of faith, is pos si ble to you. (Chris - tian Tem per ance and Bi ble Hy giene, p. 148) A par ent s only child may die and though the par ent is in great sor row, prin ci pled love holds him together, and the parent is able to praise God for his good ness, even amid the sor row. The will and the thoughts of the mind are to be above the emo tions. Sec ond Corin thi ans 10:5 tells us that we are to bring into cap tiv ity every thought to the obe di ence of Christ. We bring every thought into this obe di ence by yield ing the will to God. Our will is to be yielded to Him, that we may re ceive it again, pu ri fied and re fined, and so linked in sym pa thy with the Di vine that He can pour through us the tides of His love and power. How ever bit ter and pain ful this sur ren der may ap pear to the will ful, way ward heart, yet it is prof it - able for thee. (Thoughts from the Mount of Bless ings, p. 62) The first para graph of the les son s intro duc tion states, One could argue, jus ti fi ably, that emo tions rule our lives to a much greater extent than rea son does or ever could (empha sis sup plied). If the last three words were left out of this state ment, it could be jus ti fi ably argued as true, for most peo ple allow emo tions to rule over them; but this is not so for the true Chris tian! The reli gion of Christ brings the emo tions under the con trol of rea son (The Review and Her ald, Octo ber 31, 1907), and it does it all the time! I had heard it said for many years that thoughts pro duce feel ings, and feel ings pro duce actions, and actions pro duce hab its, and hab its pro duce char ac ter. But after read ing the prior state ments and the fol low ing state - ment, we can see that in our Chris tian expe ri ence, feel ings or emo tions are not to be a part of this char ac ter chain. Never for get that thoughts work out ac tions. Re peated ac tions form hab its, and hab its form character. (The Up ward Look, p. 89) Here we do not see the chain of thoughts feel ings hab its char ac ter, but rather the chain of thoughts hab its char ac ter. We also read that: Our thoughts pro duce our words and our words re act upon our thoughts. (That I May Know Him, p. 137) This is why it is so impor tant to keep our thoughts stayed upon Christ instead of our selves. It is not wise to look to our selves and study our emo - tions. If we do this, the enemy will pres ent dif fi cul ties and temp ta tions that weaken faith and destroy cour age (The Min is try of Heal ing, p. 249)

8 It is not wis dom to look at the emo tions, and try to test your spir i tu al - ity by your feel ings. Do not study your self; look away from self to Je sus. While you ac knowl edge your self as a sin ner, yet you may ap pro pri ate Christ as your sin-par don ing Re deemer. Je sus came not to call the righ - teous, but sin ners to re pen tance. Sa tan will not be slow in pre sent ing to the re pen tant soul sug ges tions and dif fi cul ties to weaken faith and de - stroy cour age. He has man i fold temp ta tions that he can send troop ing into the mind, one in suc ces sion of an other; but the Chris tian must not study his emo tions, and give way to his feel ings, or he will soon en ter - tain the evil guest, doubt, and be come en tan gled in the per plex i ties of de spair. Ex pel the sug ges tions of the en emy by con tem plat ing the match less depths of your Sav iour s love. (The Signs of the Times, De - cem ber 3, 1894) Negative and Positive Emotions The les sons for Sunday and Mon day deal with neg a tive and pos i tive emo - tions. Inter est ingly, though Sunday s les son is on neg a tive emo tions, we wait until Mon day s les son to learn that these include hatred, worry, fear, rage, and jeal ousy. The teacher s edi tion of the les son states that Christ expe ri enced both types of emo tions [neg a tive and pos i tive] (p. 7). Jesus had righ teous anger when he cleansed the tem ple, but was this hatred? John records the event: And the Jews pass over was at hand, and Je sus went up to Je ru sa lem, And found in the tem ple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the chang ers of money sit ting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the tem ple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the chang ers money, and over threw the ta bles; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Fa ther s house an house of mer chan dise. And his dis ci ples re mem - bered that it was writ ten, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. (John 2:13-17) The Greek word trans lated zeal is zelos (zh:lov). Zelos means an excite - ment of mind and is from the word zew, (zevw), which means to boil with heat. No ques tion that Jesus was moved in his spirit but his anger was against sin, not the sin ner. Let us always remem ber this dis tinc tion when deal ing with our emo tions. Jesus did not worry, for he was the one who said come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Mat thew 11:28) and Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you (John 14:27)

9 Through the spirit of proph ecy, Jesus also says: Worry is blind, and can - not dis cern the future; but Jesus sees the end from the begin ning (The Desire of Ages, p. 330). Jesus was not afraid or fear ful, for we read that when Jesus was awak ened to meet the storm, He was in per fect peace. There was no trace of fear in word or look, for no fear was in His heart (Ibid., p. 336). How could Jesus tell his lit tle flock to fear not if he had been fearful? Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Jesus was touched with the feel ing of our infir mi ties, but this does not mean that he was weak and sub ject to emo - tions but, rather, that he under stood by expe ri ence what it was like to be tempted to be fear ful, to be worried, to have hatred, and to be jeal ous; but the prin ci ple of love always over rode those emo tions and con trolled him rather than the emo tions hav ing con trol over him. Young s Lit eral Trans la - tion of Hebrews 4:15 says that Jesus could sym pa thise with our infirmities. But was Jesus ever frus trated as it is taught in Wednes day s les son? Much of Jesus suf fer ing had to do with feel ings of frus tra tion when His fol low ers did not grasp His mes sage. To many peo ple today, frus tra tion car ries a neg a tive con no ta tion of being upset and angry. But strictly speak - ing, this is not a part of the def i ni tion of frus tra tion. Frus tra tion is from frus trate which means to inter rupt; hence, to defeat; to dis ap point; to balk; to bring to noth ing. Jesus was sor row ful that every one who heard his words did not accept his gos pel mes sage and in this sense he would have been frus trated, but let us be care ful to not apply a fur ther mean ing to the word frus tra tion than proper lin guis tics afford it. We may not say that because Jesus was frus trated in the sense of being aggra vated, we cank be frus trated with other peo ple or events about us. Dealing with Pain Thurs day s les son is enti tled God s Plan for Pain ful Emo tions. The key text is John 16:20-24: Ver ily, ver ily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and la ment, but the world shall re joice: and ye shall be sor row ful, but your sor row shall be turned into joy. A woman when she is in tra vail hath sor row, be cause her hour is come: but as soon as she is de liv ered of the child, she remembereth no more the an guish, for joy that a man is born into the world. And ye now there fore have sor row: but I will see you again, and your heart shall re joice, and your joy no man tak eth from you. And in that day ye shall ask me noth ing. Ver ily, ver ily, I say unto you, What so

10 ever ye shall ask the Fa ther in my name, he will give it you. Hith erto have ye asked noth ing in my name: ask, and ye shall re ceive, that your joy may be full. In these verses we find five main points: The world seems to be full of joy. Grief, sor row, and an guish will turn to joy. Past pain will be for got ten. No one will take away our joy. There will be no needs. The con text of Jesus words cen ters around the events of Cal vary. The dis ci ples would be sor row ful while the world would be happy. But the con text for hap pi ness is after the res ur rec tion and not before eter nity future. In this world we will still have pains but God will help us to deal with pain. I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore com forts unto him and to his mourn ers (Isa iah 57:18) and I will turn their mourn ing into joy, and will com fort them, and make them rejoice from their sor row (Jer e miah 31:13). When we have pain, cares, and con cerns, we are to look to Jesus and cast our cares upon him. Cast - ing all your care upon him; for he careth for you (1 Peter 5:7). As we turn our cares over to Jesus, we learn: Worry is blind, and can not dis cern the fu ture; but Je sus sees the end from the be gin ning. In ev ery dif fi culty He has His way pre pared to bring re lief. Our heav enly Fa ther has a thou sand ways to pro vide for us, of which we know noth ing. Those who ac cept the one prin ci ple of mak ing the ser vice and honor of God su preme will find perplexities vanish, and a plain path be fore their feet. Learn of Me, says Je sus; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest. We are to en ter the school of Christ, to learn from Him meek ness and low li ness. Re demp tion is that pro cess by which the soul is trained for heaven. This train ing means a knowl edge of Christ. It means eman ci pa tion from ideas, hab its, and prac tices that have been gained in the school of the prince of dark ness. The soul must be de liv - ered from all that is op posed to loy alty to God. In the heart of Christ, where reigned per fect har mony with God, there was per fect peace. He was never elated by ap plause, nor de jected by cen sure or dis ap point ment. Amid the great est op po si tion and the most cruel treat ment, He was still of good cour age. But many who pro fess to - 7 -

11 be His fol low ers have an anx ious, trou bled heart, be cause they are afraid to trust them selves with God. They do not make a com plete sur - ren der to Him; for they shrink from the con se quences that such a sur ren der may in volve. Un less they do make this sur ren der, they can not find peace. It is the love of self that brings un rest. When we are born from above, the same mind will be in us that was in Je sus. (The De sire of Ages, p. 330) Notice the fol low ing steps of sur ren der that God requires for the Chris - tian to have peace: Ac cept the one prin ci ple of mak ing the ser vice and honor of God su preme. Learn of Je sus and trust in him mak ing a com plete sur ren der. Be born from above. Romans 5:1 says, There fore, hav ing been jus ti fied by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (NKJV). Peace clearly fol - lows, not proceeds, justification. Les son 2 Di vine Pro vi sion for Anx i ety This les son is on anx i ety. Anx i ety is defined in Sab bath after noon s sec - tion as fear about what may hap pen (empha sis in orig i nal). The next to last sen tence in the les son on this page states that This week s les son is about how, through divine power, we can have some relief from fear and anx i ety (empha sis sup plied). This is a ter ri ble state ment but a good exam - ple of how just one word can cast doubt upon God s word. Is it really true that we may have only some relief? What does the Bible say about this? David said, I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and deliv ered me from all my fears (Psalm 34:4). David did not claim to have deliv er ance from some of his fears but from all of his fears when he sought the Lord, and that is also the key for us. If we try to go it alone, our path will be filled with many fears, but with God we need not be afraid. In fact God tells us five rea sons we need not fear: Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dis mayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will up hold thee with the right hand of my righ teous ness. (Isa iah 41:10) Notice that the first rea son we need not fear is that God is with us. There is some thing very com fort ing about the pres ence of the omnip o tent God - 8 -

12 near us. The sec ond rea son we need not be afraid is that he is our God. He is not only near, but he cares and takes notice of us and our needs. The third rea son is that God will strengthen us. No mat ter what is caus ing our fear, he will more than strengthen us. The fourth rea son is that he has prom ised help, and we may claim this prom ise and hum bly ask him to honor his word. This is some thing that many Chris tians fail to do yet some thing that God longs for them to do. When we have faith fully met the con di tions of his prom ises, we may hum bly hold up God s own words and ask him to be faith ful to his word and hon our it, and he will be very pleased to do so. The last rea son Isa iah 41:10 tells us we need not fear is that God will uphold us with his righ teous right hand. John Gill notes the fol low ing in his com - men tary on this text.... his is ex pres sive of his sus ten ta tion of them, not merely in a prov i - den tial way, but in a way of spe cial grace; and of his pow er ful pro tec tion and pres er va tion of them, so as that they shall stand in the grace of God, go on in his ways, and not fall fi nally and to tally, but per se vere to the end, though their tri als and temp ta tions may be great and many. (John Gill s Ex pos i tor, Isa iah 41:10) John tells us the need for love in our expe ri ence to cast out fear when he writes: Herein is our love made per fect, that we may have bold ness in the day of judg ment: be cause as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but per fect love casteth out fear: be cause fear hath tor ment. He that feareth is not made per fect in love. We love him, be cause he first loved us. (1 John 4:17-19) John assures us that per fect love, our love made per fect, can cast out fear. But for this love to be per fect we must know and expe ri ence God s love as he reveals him self to human ity. John states that we love him, because he first loved us and the man i fes ta tion of that love is in the gift of his only begot ten Son (v. 9). Inter est ingly, the root Greek word trans lated fear in verse 18 is phobos (fovbov), from which we have the Eng lish word pho bia. Put away all doubt; dis miss your fears. Say with the apos tle Paul, I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Him - self for me. Galatians 2:20. Rest in God. He is able to keep that which you have com mit ted to Him. If you will leave your self in His hands, He - 9 -

13 will bring you off more than con queror through Him that has loved you. (Steps to Christ, p. 71) Some psy chol o gists say that fear is a learned response and it is not nat u - ral within human ity, but the expe ri ence of Adam and Eve in the Gar den of Eden after sin dis proves that idea. In fact, fear is the first emo tion that is men tioned in the Bible (Gen e sis 3:10). Les son 3 Stress I am typ ing at 9:29 p.m., and this book let is due for proofing in two days; my daugh ter, who has been overseas for three months is sup posed to be in the Orlando air port tonight, but I have no way to con tact her because she left her cell phone with a fam ily mem ber. I am won der ing if she made her flights, if is she okay, and if I can fin ish my pro ject in time. Am I under stress? That is a good ques tion for which I need to find an answer. Though the third les son is on stress, the con cept is not defined in the les son. Since it is such a uni ver sal expe ri ence, per haps it is assumed we know what it is. In the com pan ion book, Melgosa states that stress... is the organic reac tion to intense demands or alarms (Men tal and Emo tional Health, p. 26). Stress has also been defined as a phys i cal, chem i cal, or emo tional fac tor that causes bodily or men tal ten sion. It is not a sin to be under stress, but the Chris tian need not worry or be anx ious if he or she has God s pres ence with him or her. Even Jesus had to deal with stress: [Christ] had ap par ently no great ness or riches, in or der that the hum - blest be liever need not say that Christ never knew the stress of pinch ing pov erty. (Fun da men tals of Chris tian Ed u ca tion, p. 401) Ellen White wrote of the stress of temp ta tion (Ibid., p. 249), finan - cial stress (Gospel Workers, p. 452), the stress of cir cum stances (Youth s Instruc tor, Decem ber 23, 1897), but she also says that Love like Christ s will bear (Ibid.) this stress. Elijah The story of Eli jah dur ing his his tor i cal encoun ter with the proph ets of Baal and the after math is given in the les son as an exam ple of stress and as a pre scrip tion to han dle it. Let us first clear up an ambi gu ity in the les son. The top of Mon day s les - son implies that we do not know if Eli jah per son ally took part in the exe cu tions of the proph ets: Whether or not Eli jah took part him self in the kill ing of hun dreds of peo ple,... The Bible says, how ever: And Eli jah

14 said unto them, Take the proph ets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Eli jah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there (1 Kings 18:40). We need not cast doubt upon the Bib li - cal pic ture like is done in Mon day s les son. Ellen White is just as spe cific: Again the voice of Eli jah is heard in star tling words of com mand to the peo ple: Take the proph ets of Baal; let not one of them es cape. The peo ple are ready to obey his word. They seize the false proph ets who have de luded them, and bring them to the brook Kishon, and there, with his own hand, Eli jah slays these idol a trous priests. (Tes ti mo nies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 285) As Eli jah had stood seem ingly alone upon Car mel, he may have been under a lot of stress, but God was with him, and he stood faith ful. After the fire fell and the proph ets of Baal were slain, he prayed for rain. Rain came and not a lit tle. What does Eli jah choose to do now? As the rain comes and dark ness falls upon the land, he runs before the char iot of Ahab. The prophet of God had hu mil i ated Ahab be fore his peo ple. He had slain his idol a trous priests, and now he wished to show to Is rael that he acknowledged Ahab as his king. As an act of spe cial hom age he guided his char iot, run ning be fore it to the en trance of the gate of the city. (Ibid., p. 287) The record of what hap pened is cer tainly inspired, but was the action inspired? We are not told. It is about twenty miles from Car mel to Jezreel and this, after fast ing all day and fol lowed by a night sleep ing in the rain, could not have done much for the cour age of Eli jah. He was exhausted. When word reached him of Jezebel s inten tions, he fled for his life. How could the brave maximus prophet seem ingly sud denly become a cow ard and give way to despon dency (Ibid., p. 288)? Eli jah should have met this threat and oath of Jezebel with an ap peal for pro tec tion to the God of heaven, who had com mis sioned him to do the work he had done. He should have told the mes sen ger that the God in whom he trusted would be his pro tec tor against the ha tred and threats of Jezebel. But the faith and cour age of Eli jah seem to for sake him. He starts up from his slum bers be wil dered. The rain is pour ing from the heav ens, and dark ness is on ev ery side. He loses sight of God and flees for his life as though the avenger of blood were close be hind him. He leaves his ser vant be hind him on the way, and in the morn ing he is far from the hab i ta tions of men, upon a dreary desert alone. (Ibid., p. 289)

15 The key is that Eli jah lost his hold on God. The ques tion is: Why? We are not told spe cif i cally why here, but we are given sev eral pieces of the sur round ing puz zle. The rela tion that exists between the mind and the body is very inti mate. When one is affected, the other sym pa thizes (The Min is try of Heal ing, p. 241). While Ellen White lays great stress upon the body sym pa thiz ing with the mind, it is also true that the mind can sym pa - thize with the body. Jesus told his dis ci ples, Come ye your selves apart into a desert place, and rest a while (Mark 6:31). Rest is impor tant and get ting away from work can, at times, pro vide a needed reju ve na tion for the mind, as well as the soul. Je sus had of ten found the rest that his weary hu man na ture re quired at the house of Laz a rus, in Bethany. His first visit there was when he and his dis ci ples were weary from a toil some jour ney on foot from Je ri cho to Je ru sa lem. They tar ried as guests at the quiet home of Laz a rus, and were min is tered unto by his sis ters, Mar tha and Mary. (The Spirit of Proph - ecy, vol. 2, p. 358) While get ting good rest and the proper food can help with cer tain aspects of men tal health issues, the true key to deal ing with stress is a depend ance upon and a liv ing by the word of God. At the bot tom of Mon day s les son is a quo ta tion from The Desire of Ages. Only the mid dle of the para graph, how ever, is quoted and this fails to give as com plete a pic ture as is nec es sary. We quote the para graph in its entirely: It was in the time of great est weak ness that Christ was as sailed by the fierc est temp ta tions. Thus Sa tan thought to pre vail. By this pol icy he had gained the vic tory over men. When strength failed, and the will power weak ened, and faith ceased to re pose in God, then those who had stood long and val iantly for the right were over come. Mo ses was wea - ried with the forty years wan der ing of Is rael, when for the mo ment his faith let go its hold upon in fi nite power. He failed just upon the bor ders of the Prom ised Land. So with Eli jah, who had stood un daunted be fore King Ahab, who had faced the whole na tion of Is rael, with the four hun - dred and fifty proph ets of Baal at their head. Af ter that ter ri ble day upon Car mel, when the false proph ets had been slain, and the peo ple had de - clared their al le giance to God, Eli jah fled for his life be fore the threats of the idol a trous Jezebel. Thus Sa tan has taken ad van tage of the weak ness of hu man ity. And he will still work in the same way. When ever one is en com passed with clouds, per plexed by cir cum stances, or af flicted by

16 pov erty or dis tress, Sa tan is at hand to tempt and an noy. He at tacks our weak points of char ac ter. He seeks to shake our con fi dence in God, who suf fers such a con di tion of things to ex ist. We are tempted to dis trust God, to ques tion His love. Of ten the tempter co mes to us as he came to Christ, ar ray ing be fore us our weak ness and in fir mi ties. He hopes to dis - cour age the soul, and to break our hold on God. Then he is sure of his prey. If we would meet him as Je sus did, we should es cape many a de - feat. (The De sire of Ages, pp. 120, 121) How did Jesus meet the tempter? With It is writ ten. Jesus knew the word of God and had it in his heart. As we come to sit u a tions that can cause stress, if we have the prom ises of God stored in our hearts, we can claim those prom ises, and if we have met the con di tions, we may in faith ask God to hon our his word. Since there is power in God s word (Hebrews 4:12), the vic tory is sure, just as sure as is God s word. Lesson 4 Relationships This les son is on rela tion ships. A rela tion ship is defined as the state of being related by kin dred, affin ity or other alli ance (Web ster s 1828 Amer - i can Dic tio nary). Most Chris tians are not related by kin dred (in a close man ner, for we acknowl edge that all human ity is related as kin dred through Adam). There fore, most of our rela tion ships come through affin - ity or alli ance. For a rela tion ship to be pos i tive, the two par ties must be walk ing in the same path. Can two walk together, except they be agreed (Amos 3:3)? If we attempt to have a seri ous or deep rela tion ship with some one who does not wish to be a Chris tian, we will find this impos si ble unless the other party accepts Jesus or we reject Jesus. God s word will not be mocked. Within the fel low ship of believ ers, though, we should have pos i tive rela tion ships, and strife in the church or the home is sim ply an indi ca tion of a spir i tual prob lem between a mem ber, or per haps many mem bers, and God. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? (1 John 4:20) In Wednes day s les son, James 5:16 is dis cussed. Let us notice the first part of this verse as recorded in two dif fer ent trans la tions:

17 Con fess your faults one to an other, and pray one for an other, that ye may be healed. (James 5:16, KJV) There fore con fess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. (James 5:16, NIV) Notice a dif fer ence here? One verse says con fess your faults one to another and the other says con fess your sins to each other. These two words are dif fer ent because the two trans la tions use dif fer ent Greek manu - scripts, and you should be aware of this dif fer ence. The New Tes ta ment in the King James Ver sion is trans lated from the Textus Receptus or Received Text. The Greek word in this verse trans lated faults is paraptomata (paraptwmata) and means a trespass, an offense, or a fault. It is used twenty times in the New Tes ta ment and is usu ally trans lated tres pass or offense. Three times it is trans lated sin, but this is not the usual way it is under stood. The New Tes ta ment of the New Inter na tional Ver sion is mostly from manu scripts based on the Vaticanus codex. The Greek word trans lated sins is hamartias (amrtiav), the usual word that is trans lated sin in the New Tes ta ment. Why do we make an issue of this point? Because the two con cepts rep re - sent two dif fer ent paths of Chris tian expe ri ence in rela tion ships. The path of con fess ing faults means, for exam ple, that if a sis ter is given over to a bad tem per, she can hum bly con fess this prob lem to her broth ers and sis - ters and ask them to pray that God will help her to be kind and gen tle. If a brother is given to pride and van ity, he may ask his broth ers and sis ters to pray and ask God to help him have a hum ble and meek spirit. The other path is one of con fess ing sins to peo ple, and this is the way of the Cath o lic Church and their con fes sional. Of course, if we have spe cif i - cally sinned against a per son, we are to go to that per son first and make things right and then go to God (Mat thew 5:23, 24), but this verse is not teach ing that we con fess our sins to a priest or other peo ple. Through the true priest hood of Jesus Christ, we may have access to God and need no man to be a medi a tor For there is one God, and one medi a tor between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim o thy 2:5). Les son 5 Guilt Sunday s les son states that guilt was the first adverse emo tion felt by the human race. The first adverse emo tion that is recorded in the Bible, how - ever, is fear (Gen e sis 3:10), but we agree that guilt and fear many times keep one another s com pany

18 Guilt is a uni ver sal expe ri ence, for all have sinned (Romans 3:23). Some begin to under stand the sin ful ness of sin (Romans 7:13) and repent, while oth ers ignore the voice of the spirit and finally are able to indulge in sin with out feel ings of guilt and remorse, hav ing their con science seared with a hot iron (1 Tim o thy 4:2). The feel ing of guilt will be used of God to bring us to repen tance, if we will sur ren der to God, but Satan can use guilt to try to sep a rate us from God. He will try to con vince us that God has not been faith ful to his prom ises of for give ness and cleans ing. He will try to make us carry a load of guilt, to cause us to walk in shad ows of dark ness, and to finally become dis cour aged and ready to give up serving what we have come to con sider as an unfor giv ing god. The only true place that guilt can be dealt with is at the foot of the cross. Notice what the ser vant of the Lord writes about this expe ri ence: Peace co mes with de pend ence on di vine power. As fast as the soul re - solves to act in ac cor dance with the light given, the Holy Spirit gives more light and strength. The grace of the Spirit is sup plied to co op er ate with the soul s re solve, but it is not a sub sti tute for the in di vid ual ex er - cise of faith. Suc cess in the Chris tian life de pends upon the ap pro pri a tion of the light that God has given. It is not an abun dance of light and ev i dence that makes the soul free in Christ; it is the ris ing of the pow ers and the will and the en er gies of the soul to cry out sin cerely, Lord, I be lieve; help Thou mine unbe lief. I re joice in the bright pros pects of the fu ture, and so may you. Be cheer ful, and praise the Lord for His lov ing-kind ness. That which you can not un der stand, com mit to Him. He loves you and pit ies your ev ery weak ness. He hath blessed us with all spir i tual bless ings in heav enly places in Christ. It would not sat isfy the heart of the In fi nite One to give those who love His Son a lesser bless ing than He gives His Son. Sa tan seeks to draw our minds away from the mighty Helper, to lead us to pon der over our de gen er a tion of soul. But though Je sus sees the guilt of the past, He speaks par don; and we should not dis honor Him by doubt ing His love. The feel ing of guilt i ness must be laid at the foot of the cross, or it will poi son the springs of life. When Sa tan thrusts his threatenings upon you, turn from them, and com fort your soul with the prom ises of God. The cloud may be dark in it self, but when filled with the light of heaven, it turns to the bright ness of gold; for the glory of God rests upon it. (Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 518)

19 Helpful Materials What did Ellen White mean when she wrote that the Father and the Son alone are to be exalted (The Youth s Instruc tor, July 7, 1898)? This DVD dis cusses the his - tory of Ellen G. White and doc u ments her under stand ing about the Father, Son, and Holy Sprit. This pre sen ta tion con tains scores of state ments from Ellen White on the issue of God and answers to the com mon ques tions that arise con cern ing what some peo ple believe to be con flict ing state ments from her pen on this vital doc trine. This DVD has Eng lish, Span - ish, and French Sound tracks. The sug gested dona tion is $6.00, but we are sug gest ing a dona tion of only $4.00 from those who receive this study guide if you note that you are respond ing to the offer in the Sab bath School Les son Com ments Book let. The Foun da tion of Our Faith This vol ume explores the roots of Sev enth-day Adventism. Believ ing that the voice of Ellen G. White pres ents an inspired his tory of the Advent Move ment, this book explores Adven tist Chris tol ogy of the last 160 years and dem on strates the har mony between the Bible, the writ ings of Ellen G. White, and the writ ings of the Advent pio neers con cern ing the doc trine of God. This book con tains over 250 pages of vital infor ma tion. It has a descrip tive table of con tents and a com plete Scrip ture index. The sug gested dona tion is usu ally $7.50, but we are sug gest - ing a dona tion of only $4.00 if you note that you are respond ing to the offer in the Sab bath School Lesson Comments Booklet. For fur ther in for ma tion please con tact us at: Smyrna Gospel Ministries HC 64 Box 128B Welch, WV U.S.A. Phone: Fax: info@smyrna.org

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