Overall Question: As Christians, what is our job on this earth?

Memory Text - 1 Peter 3:15 NIV “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”

Sunday – People Will Be Lost Unless
John 14:6 NRSV “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES To come to the Father is to obtain his favour, to have access to his throne by prayer, and finally to enter his kingdom. No man can obtain any of these things except by the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ. By coming by him is meant coming in his name and depending on his merits. We are ignorant, and he alone can guide us. We are sinful, and it is only by his merits that we can be pardoned. We are blind, and he only can enlighten us. God has appointed him as the Mediator, and has ordained that all blessings shall descend to this world through him.
Acts 4:12 NRSV “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved."”
1 John 5:11-12 NRSV “11 And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
1 John 5:12 SDA BIBLE COMMENTARY Since the Father chose to make eternal life available only through His Son (John 1:4; 3:16; 17:2), it follows that those who reject the Son reject the only source of true life. It will be noted that in the negative statement John adds to Christ’s title, and describes Him not only as “the Son” but as “the Son of God,” thus emphasizing the ultimate source of the life that the Son bestows—it comes from God.

Monday – The Great Commission
Matthew 28:19-20 KJV “19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Matthew 28:19 COMMENTARY FAMILY BIBLE NOTES The making of all nations the disciples of Christ should be the great object of all. Some should labor for it in one way, and some in another, as the Lord shall call them. But all should strive together that the Scriptures may be translated into every tongue, and the gospel be preached to every creature.
Mark 16:15-16 CEV “15 Then he told them: Go and preach the good news to everyone in the world. 16 Anyone who believes me and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe me will be condemned.”
Mark 16:16 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES A creature who has no confidence in God, who does not believe that he is true or worthy of his regard, and who never seeks his favour, must be wretched. He rejects God, and he must go into eternity without a Father and without a God. And he has no source of comfort in himself, and must die for ever. There is no being in eternity but God that can make man happy; and without his favour the sinner must be wretched.
Luke 24:46-47 “ESV 46 and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”
John 20:21 God’s Word to the Nations “Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you."”
Acts 1:8 NLT “But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."”

Tuesday – A Witnessing Church
Revelation 14:6-12 KJV “6 ¶ And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. 8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. 9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive [his] mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. 12 Here is the patience of the saints: here [are] they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”
Ellen White comment on Revelation 14:6-12 – Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 455 – “God has called His church in this day, as He called ancient Israel, to stand as a light in the earth. By the mighty cleaver of truth, the messages of the first, second, and third angels, He has separated them from the churches and from the world to bring them into a sacred nearness to Himself. He has made them the depositaries of His law and has committed to them the great truths of prophecy for this time. Like the holy oracles committed to ancient Israel, these are a sacred trust to be communicated to the world.”
Ellen White comment on Revelation 14:8 – Testimonies, Vol. 7, p. 141 – “This earth has almost reached the place where God will permit the destroyer to work his will upon it. The substitution of the laws of men for the law of God, the exaltation, by merely human authority, of Sunday in place of the Bible Sabbath, is the last act in the drama. When this substitution becomes universal, God will reveal Himself. He will arise in His majesty to shake terribly the earth. He will come out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the world for their iniquity, and the earth shall disclose her blood and shall no more cover her slain.”

Wednesday – Personal Witness
1 Corinthians 12:28 God’s Word to the Nations “In the church God has appointed first apostles, next prophets, third teachers, then those who perform miracles, then those who have the gift of healing, then those who help others, those who are managers, and those who can speak in a number of languages.”
Ephesians 4:11-15 God’s Word to the Nations “11 He also gave apostles, prophets, missionaries, as well as pastors and teachers as gifts to his church. 12 Their purpose is to prepare God’s people, to serve, and to build up the body of Christ. 13 This is to continue until all of us are united in our faith and in our knowledge about God’s Son, until we become mature, until we measure up to Christ, who is the standard. 14 Then we will no longer be little children, tossed and carried about by all kinds of teachings that change like the wind. We will no longer be influenced by people who use cunning and clever strategies to lead us astray. 15 Instead, as we lovingly speak the truth, we will grow up completely in our relationship to Christ, who is the head.”
John 14:26 Holman “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit—the Father will send Him in My name—will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.”
John 14:26 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE Christ promises them that inspiration of the Holy Spirit which enabled them not only to give a true history of his life and death, but also gave them the most perfect recollection of all the words which he had spoken to them, so that they have been able to transmit to posterity the identical words which Jesus uttered in his sermons, and in his different discourses with them, the Jews, and others.
Acts 1:4 Holman “While He was together with them, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise. “This,” He said, “is what you heard from Me;”
Ellen White comment on Acts 1:4 – Acts of the Apostles, p. 31 – “Christ told His disciples that they were to begin their work at Jerusalem. That city had been the scene of His amazing sacrifice for the human race. There, clad in the garb of humanity, He had walked and talked with men, and few had discerned how near heaven came to earth. There He had been condemned and crucified. In Jerusalem were many who secretly believed Jesus of Nazareth to be the Messiah, and many who had been deceived by priests and rulers. To these the gospel must be proclaimed. They were to be called to repentance.”
Acts 1:8 Holman “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.””
Acts 2:1-4 Holman “1 ¶ When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. 3 And tongues, like flames of fire that were divided, appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages, as the Spirit gave them ability for speech.”
2 Peter 3:18 NIV “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”

Thursday – Sharing the Lord
Titus 2:1 CEV “Titus, you must teach only what is correct.”
2 Peter 2:1-3 CEV “1 ¶ Sometimes false prophets spoke to the people of Israel. False teachers will also sneak in and speak harmful lies to you. But these teachers don’t really belong to the Master who paid a great price for them, and they will quickly destroy themselves. 2 Many people will follow their evil ways and cause others to tell lies about the true way. 3 ¶ They will be greedy and cheat you with smooth talk. But long ago God decided to punish them, and God doesn’t sleep.”
1 Corinthians 1:23 CEV “But we preach that Christ was nailed to a cross. Most Jews have problems with this, and most Gentiles think it is foolish.”
1 Corinthians 1:23 COMMENTARY BY JAMIESON, FAUSSET, AND BROWN The opposition of Jew and Gentile alike shows that a religion so seemingly contemptible in its origin could not have succeeded if it had not been divine.
1 Corinthians 2:2 CEV “In fact, while I was with you, I made up my mind to speak only about Jesus Christ, who had been nailed to a cross.”
1 Corinthians 2:2 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES It is to be recollected that Paul made this resolution, knowing the peculiar fondness of the Greeks for subtle disquisitions, and for graceful and finished elocution; that he formed it when his own mind, as we may judge from his writings, was strongly inclined by nature to an abstruse and metaphysical kind of discussion, which could not have failed to attract the attention of the acute and subtle reasoners of Greece; and that he made it when he must have been fully aware that the theme which he had chosen to dwell upon would be certain to excite derision and contempt.

I did not pick one of the choices from the list. The mission of the church is to fulfill the Great Commission and the Great Commandments. nearly everything else has to do with how to carry out this mission.

IMHO

I have for years had a problem with understanding the statement that the "destiny of people far and near is at stake". Please help me to understand this. I very much believe in EGW, but do not understand this comment.

It is my understanding that we are not saved based on what we know, but on whether we trust God or not.

What am I missing here?

Interesting statement lineman. Where is this statement found? I would like to read it in its context before I am willing to even make a comment. But maybe some else who knows more than I can comment. Thanks

pk

I'm with you pk. I've never heard this statement professed to be from Ellen White.

Well, that particular comment was not one of EGW's, as far as I can tell. After searching a few minutes, I uncovered it actually in the Sabbath School Lesson quarterly for the 2nd quarter of '09, lesson 13. The thread helped me a lot. It is just off only one year. Apparently that statement came from the major contributor to the study, which was Reinder Bruinsma. But if Ellen White didn't say it, and Reinder Bruinsma just wrote it for that paricular lesson, how would it have been a problem for years?

The lesson emphasized missions as the most important function of the church. And the function of missions is to spread the gospel.

You have posed a very interesting question. Since salvation is not based on how much we know, is there a basic knowledge required? Our salvation is based on our faith, so we must have some knowledge of God, in whom we can have this required faith. I would say yes, a basic knowledge of the gospel is required in order to have faith in it. And it is our privilege to assist God in spreading this basic knowledge. The destiny of people far and near does indeed depend upon their faith in this basic knowledge of the gospel.

A more careful reading of the Sabbath School Lesson quarterly will prevent you from mistaking the authorship of statements. Ellen White is always credited with the statements she made. But I do not see a problem with that statement, regardless of who made it. But I am still troubled because you said you have had a problem with this statement for years. If the editor quoted EGW without credit, I would like to see the reference. I mean, I don't have a problem with the statement per se, but if it has been a problem for years, I would also like to read the context.

I wasn't sure one way or the other Redwood, but I figure if it is, lets keep it in context, and read what it says before and after. That tells a whole lot more than just picking something out and wondering what is meant by that.

pk