| When we face the fundamental questions
of life and death, we realize how inadequate we are to find satisfying answers
without God. There is only one true solution-to turn to our Creator and Redeemer
so that we may discover what He is able to reveal to us about Himself and
His purposes for us. When we turn to Him for answers, we learn that God loves
us greatly and is eager to guide our lives.
Because it is impossible for us to discover what we need to know about God,
He reveals all that He knows we can grasp about His eternal nature and infinite
goodness. The fullest revelation of God is found in Jesus Christ, who is
the focus of the Scriptures. Indeed, the heart of God's revelation in the
Written Word centers in the Living Word.
But Satan does everything he can, especially in these last days, to lead
people to doubt, ignore, and reject God's revelations. He uses what some
call science to lead people to think that only that which is reasonable to
sin-perverted human minds is true. Thus the limited human intelligence becomes
the judge of whether the greatly superior revelations of the infinite God
are correct. Consequently, many have rejected basically every aspect of God's
self-revelation.
This quarter's guide is designed to deepen our appreciation of God's revelation
of and about Himself through His inspiration of the Bible writers. Inspiration
from God enabled them to grasp and communicate His revealed will in a trustworthy
manner. This guide is designed to help us gain a proper perspective on how
inspiration has produced and preserved the Scriptures and how God enables
us to understand best what He has revealed. A good deal of time and space
could be given to dealing with the questions and objections raised by skeptics.
Instead, the approach purposely focuses on reviewing the clear and definite
information God has given about understanding His revealed will.
"The Holy Scriptures, Old and New Testaments, are the written Word of God,
given by divine inspiration through holy men of God who spoke and wrote as
they were moved by the Holy Spirit. In this Word, God has committed to man
the knowledge necessary for salvation. The Holy Scriptures are the infallible
revelation of His will. They are the standard of character, the test of
experience, the authoritative revealer of doctrines, and the trustworthy
record of God's acts in history.-Fundamental Beliefs, 1."-Quoted in
Seventh-day Adventists Believe. . . , ed. The Ministerial Association
of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (Hagerstown, Md.: Review
and Herald Publishing Association, 1988), p. 4.
Contents: (no
frames)
Meet the Principal Contributor
to This Quarter's Lessons
 Leo
Van Dolson served on the editorial staff of the adult Sabbath School Bible
Study Guides (formerly known as the Adult Sabbath School Lessons). His career
has included pastoral work in the U.S. and Japan and teaching at Pacific
Union College and the Loma Linda University School of Health. He holds a
Ph.D. in educational administration from Claremont College. Dr. Van Dolson
has served as an editor on Ministry, Life and Health, and the Adventist Review
magazines. He has authored or co-authored 18 books and has written several
teachers' aids. He and his wife, Bobbie Jane, have two grown sons.
Giardina Sabbath School
Study Helps
Jerry Giardina of Houston, Texas, prepares a series of helps to accompany
the Sabbath School lesson. He includes all related scripture and most EGW
quotations. These are provided in three wordprocessing versions
Wordperfect;
Microsoft Word;
RFT for our MAC friends; and
HTML (Web Pages).
Last updated on November 28, 1998
Editorial Office: 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904.
Principal Contributor: Leo R.Van Dolson.
Editor: Philip G. Samaan.
Associate Editor: Lyndelle Brower Chiomenti.
Editorial Assistant: Soraya Homayouni Parish.
Art and Design: Lars Justinen.
Pacific Press Coordinator: Glen Robinson.
Copyright © 1998 General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist.
All Rights Reserved.
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