Further Thought: Read the following pages from the document “Methods of Bible Study”: “2. Presuppositions Arising From the Claims of Scripture,” part a “Origin” and part b “Authority.” (“Methods of Bible Study” can be found at www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/materials/bible-interpretation-hermeneutics/methods-bible-study.)
As essential as the Bible is to our faith, it alone would be of no real spiritual value to us were it not for the influence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds as we read and study it.
“In His word, God has committed to men the knowledge necessary for salvation. The Holy Scriptures are to be accepted as an authoritative, infallible revelation of His will. They are the standard of character, the revealer of doctrines, and the test of experience. . . . Yet the fact that God has revealed His will to men through His word, has not rendered needless the continued presence and guiding of the Holy Spirit. On the contrary, the Spirit was promised by our Saviour, to open the word to His servants, to illuminate and apply its teachings. And since it was the Spirit of God that inspired the Bible, it is impossible that the teaching of the Spirit should ever be contrary to that of the word.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 9.
Discussion Questions:
Why does God reveal Himself and His will to us? Why do we need revelation?
How does God reveal Himself? God uses different means to reveal something about Himself. He does so in a more general way through nature—but more specifically through dreams (Dan. 7:1); visions (Gen. 15:1); signs (1 Kings 18:24, 38); and through His Son, Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:1, 2). Has God revealed Himself to you personally? Share your experience.
Some Bible scholars reject many of the teachings of the Bible, seeing them as mere myths. Teachings such as the Creation story, a literal Adam and Eve, the Exodus, and the stories of Daniel are just a few examples (from the Old Testament) of teachings that are dismissed as nothing but made-up stories designed to teach spiritual truths. This is what happens when humans pass judgment upon God’s Word. What should this tell us about how dangerous such an attitude clearly is?
God has revealed His will in a powerful way in the Bible. Yet, God desires your help in spreading His will and the good news of His salvation in Jesus Christ alone. When people observe you, what kind of God do they see in you and through your behavior?
Inside Story
Three Filipino Baptisms in Cyprus
By Andrew Mcchesney, Adventist Mission
Yolanda Malla, a Filipino domestic worker in Cyprus, saw that her friend Beatrise had tagged her in a Seventh-day Adventist sermon on Facebook.
Yolanda Malla, a Filipino domestic worker in Cyprus, saw that her friend Beatrise had tagged her in a Seventh-day Adventist sermon on Facebook.
Malla had met Beatrise, a Filipino domestic worker in Israel, several years earlier when they both worked as domestic helpers in Taiwan. Malla remembered that Beatrise had been baptized recently in Israel.
“Why did you become a Seventh-day Adventist?” she wrote on Facebook.“This is where I feel comfortable,” Beatrise replied. “Just watch the video that I sent you, and you’ll understand.”Malla clicked on the video and heard a sermon about God setting aside the seventh-day Sabbath at Creation, reminding His people to keep the Sabbath with the Ten Commandments, and calling for Sabbath observance throughout the New Testament. Malla was surprised and checked the sermon’s texts in the Bible. She saw that the Sabbath was on Saturday.
Why have I gone to so many churches and never heard a pastor preach about the Sabbath? she wondered. Why does no one else talk about the Sabbath?
She called Beatrise. “This has opened my mind!” she said. “I want to find this church that keeps the Sabbath, but where can I find it in Cyprus?”
Beatrise did some research and sent the telephone number of Branislav Mirilov, president of the Adventist Church in Cyprus. Malla called and received directions to the church in her town, Limassol.
Malla began attending the church’s Bible study group on Sundays. Soon she invited a cousin, Michelin, also a domestic worker in Cyprus, to accompany her. Then she invited another Filipino domestic worker, Maria, to attend as well. But Maria cared for an elderly woman who needed round-the-clock care, and she couldn’t get permission to leave the house.
“No problem,” said Marica Mirilov, who is married to the church president and works as a Bible worker. “We can do the Bible studies on Facebook Messenger.”
In a short time, Malla, Michelin, and Maria were baptized.
Leading friends to baptism is the natural result of knowing Jesus, said yolAndA MAllA, 42, a single mother, still working in Cyprus to support seven- and eight-year-old sons in the Philippines. “Even though I come from a broken home, I have strength because I have learned that I have hope,” she said.
Part of the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering this quarter will help construct a new church building and community center in Nicosia, Cyprus.
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