Foreword
When Adam and Eve sinned, God did not leave them without hope. Instead, He provided a ransom for them. He gave His only Son to die in their place, thus providing eternal deliverance for all who would accept the free gift of grace.
“Satan bruised Christ’s heel, but Christ bruised Satan’s head. Through death the Saviour destroyed him that had the power of death. In the very act of grasping his prey, death was vanquished; for by dying, Christ brought to light life and immortality through the gospel.”—The SDA Bible Commentary [E. G. White Comments], vol. 7, p. 924.
“The whole heavenly force is enlisted in the great work of elevating, refining, and sanctifying the human soul. Divine power is exercised to save rather than to destroy the work of God’s hands. All this stupendous machinery is set in motion to save men from Satan’s army, from the slavery of sin, and to lead them to enlist in the work of salvation.”—The Bible Echo, March 8, 1897.
God desires us to have deliverance from sin today and then help others find this deliverance as well. As we study through this quarter’s lessons, we will see some of the practical ways of bringing deliverance to others, as Jesus did when He walked on this earth. One thing to consider about Jesus’ ministry was that “His will was put into active exercise to save the souls of men, but He waited and lived and worked in dependence upon God. In everything He moved in perfect harmony with the Father.”—The Signs of the Times, December 20, 1899.
As we see evidences today of the nearness of Jesus’ coming, with strife and commotion on every hand, let us look forward to the final deliverance of God’s people. Let us take courage from the many promises of Scripture and wait for our great Deliverer to take us home.
“In the Psalms David speaks of God’s being a refuge and a strong tower, a refuge and a fortress; unto Him we can run and we can be saved. How precious is the thought that God is our refuge and that He will be our helper in all times and in all places, and that in every emergency we have God with us. He says that He will give His angels charge over us to keep us in all our ways. . . .
“When Christ engaged to fight the battles for man on this little speck of a world, He engaged to stand as our substitute and surety, and God put all heaven into His hands, with all the facilities and all the powers that heaven could afford.”—Sermons and Talks, vol. 2, pp. 58, 59.
May God help us to avail ourselves of this power and thus find deliverance for ourselves and those we meet each day.
The General Conference Sabbath School Department
