Friday: Further Study: The Sabbath
Further Study: Ellen G. White, The Sabbath,
p. 281-289, in The Desire of Ages.
Ezek. 20:12Wherefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.
These words are full of instruction and comfort. . . . It [the Sabbath] points to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier. It declares that He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the head of the church, and that by His power we are reconciled to God. For, speaking of Israel, He said, I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,
-make them holy . Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ’s power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God.
— Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 288, 289.
Discussion Questions:
- We are Christ’s, both by Creation and Redemption. How does the Sabbath especially remind us of these crucial truths?
- What is the problem with a legalistic obedience of the fourth commandment? On the other hand, why is a watered-down observance of the Sabbath not the solution to legalism? What is the key element that makes keeping the Sabbath a real blessing?
- Why should the Sabbath, and the opportunity to rest on the Sabbath day, be a special reminder to us of the crucial truth that we are not saved by our works, but by the merits of Christ in our behalf?
- What are ways that we can learn to have a deeper and richer experience with the Lord on the Sabbath?
- What lessons about how to keep the Sabbath can we learn from Christ’s example of Sabbath healings? How do these healings help us understand better what the Sabbath should be about?
- We are told to keep the Sabbath
holy.
Think through some of your Sabbath activities. How holy are they?
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Can you go over the questions of Friday's lesson? I am bit confused.
Thank you