Foreword

With so many voices in the world today, where can we turn to find truth? How can we know God’s will and guard against Satan’s deceptions? Does it really matter what we believe?

“‘To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them’ (Isaiah 8:20). The people of God are directed to the Scriptures as their safeguard against the influence of false teachers and the delusive power of spirits of darkness. Satan employs every possible device to prevent men from obtaining a knowledge of the Bible; for its plain utterances reveal his deceptions. At every revival of God’s work the prince of evil is aroused to more intense activity; he is now putting forth his utmost efforts for a final struggle against Christ and His followers. The last great delusion is soon to open before us. Antichrist is to perform his marvelous works in our sight. So closely will the counterfeit resemble the true that it will be impossible to distinguish between them except by the Holy Scriptures. By their testimony every statement and every miracle must be tested.

“Those who endeavor to obey all the commandments of God will be opposed and derided. They can stand only in God. In order to endure the trial before them, they must understand the will of God as revealed in His word; they can honor Him only as they have a right conception of His character, government, and purposes, and act in accordance with them. None but those who have fortified the mind with the truths of the Bible will stand through the last great conflict. To every soul will come the searching test: Shall I obey God rather than men? The decisive hour is even now at hand. Are our feet planted on the rock of God’s immutable word? Are we prepared to stand firm in defense of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus?”—The Great Controversy, pp. 593, 594.

“The voice of God is speaking to us through His Word, and there are many voices that we will hear; but Christ has said we should beware of them who will say, ‘Here is Christ, or there is Christ.’ Then how shall we know that they have not the truth unless we bring everything to the Scriptures?”—Faith and Works, p. 55.

“God will have a people upon the earth to maintain the Bible, and the Bible only, as the standard of all doctrines and the basis of all reforms.”—The Great Controversy, p. 595.

Our heritage as Protestant Christians in general and Seventh Day Adventist Reformers in particular is founded on a firm belief that God’s voice is to be respected above every other. It is our prayer that this series of lessons will be a means of helping our readers discern, understand, and follow the voice of God in every aspect of their life.

The General Conference Sabbath School Department