Overall Question: What role does God's nature play in our salvation? How does this view differ from false religions?

Isaiah 46:10 NIV “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.”

[font:Arial Black]Sunday – Eternal God
Genesis 1:1 KJ21 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
Genesis 1:1 COMMENTARY BY JAMIESON, FAUSSET, AND BROWN In the beginning--a period of remote and unknown antiquity, hid in the depths of eternal ages; and so the phrase is used in Pr 8:22,23. God--the name of the Supreme Being, signifying in Hebrew, "Strong," "Mighty." It is expressive of omnipotent power.
Genesis 21:33 KJ21 “And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.”
Psalm 90:2 KJ21 “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God.”
Psalm 102:25-27 Holman “25 Long ago You established the earth,and the heavens are the work of Your hands. 26 They will perish, but You will endure;all of them will wear out like clothing. You will change them like a garment,and they will pass away. 27 But You are the same,and Your years will never end.”
Hebrews 1:10-12 CEV “10 The Scriptures also say, "In the beginning, Lord, you were the one who laid the foundation of the earth and created the heavens. 11 They will all disappear and wear out like clothes, but you will last forever. 12 You will roll them up like a robe and change them like a garment. But you are always the same, and you will live forever."”

Monday – A Loving God
Psalm 118:1-4 God’s Word to the Nations “1 ¶ Give thanks to the LORD because he is good, because his mercy endures forever. 2 Israel should say, "His mercy endures forever." 3 The descendants of Aaron should say, "His mercy endures forever." 4 Those who fear the LORD should say, "His mercy endures forever."”
Romans 5:8 God’s Word to the Nations “Christ died for us while we were still sinners. This demonstrates God’s love for us.”
Romans 8:37-39 God’s Word to the Nations “37 The one who loves us gives us an overwhelming victory in all these difficulties. 38 I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love which Christ Jesus our Lord shows us. We can’t be separated by death or life, by angels or rulers, by anything in the present or anything in the future, by forces 39 or powers in the world above or in the world below, or by anything else in creation.”
1 John 4:8-9 God’s Word to the Nations “8 The person who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, because God is love. 9 God has shown us his love by sending his only Son into the world so that we could have life through him.” 1 John 4:16 God’s Word to the Nations “We have known and believed that God loves us. God is love. Those who live in God’s love live in God, and God lives in them.”

Tuesday – God as Creator
Psalm 100:3 ESV “Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”
Psalm 100:3 COMMENTARY TREASURY OF DAVID Some men live as if they made themselves; they call themselves "self-made men," and they adore their supposed creators; but Christians recognize the origin of their being and their well-being, and take no honor to themselves either for being, or for being what they are.
Isaiah 65:17 CEV “I am creating new heavens and a new earth; everything of the past will be forgotten.”
Revelation 21:1 MKJV “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. And the sea no longer is.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 NRSV “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!”

Wednesday – Holy God
Isaiah 40:25 NRSV “To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One.”
Isaiah 57:15 NRSV “For thus says the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with those who are contrite and humble in spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Thursday – Omniscient God
Psalm 139:1-4 CEV “1 ¶ You have looked deep into my heart, LORD, and you know all about me. 2 You know when I am resting or when I am working, and from heaven you discover my thoughts. 3 You notice everything I do and everywhere I go. 4 Before I even speak a word, you know what I will say,”
Psalm 139:15-16 CEV “15 Nothing about me is hidden from you! I was secretly woven together deep in the earth below, 16 but with your own eyes you saw my body being formed. Even before I was born, you had written in your book everything I would do.”
Psalm 139:16 COMMENTARY TREASURY OF DAVID While as yet the vessel was upon the wheel the Potter saw it all. The Lord knows not only our shape, but our substance: this is substantial knowledge indeed.
Isaiah 46:10 CEV “From the very beginning, I told what would happen long before it took place. I kept my word”
Matthew 10:30 CEV “Even the hairs on your head are counted.”
1 Peter 1:19-20 God’s Word to the Nations “19 Rather, the payment that freed you was the precious blood of Christ, the lamb with no defects or imperfections. 20 He is the lamb who was known long ago before the world existed, but for your good he became publicly known in the last period of time.”

I am so looking forward to this quarter's lessons. Before I joined Adventist Forum I was in another forum (whose name shall remain anonymous, because I would not want to be responsible for anyone going to that site!!). The whole theme of that site was that the reason Jesus came to this earth was to show His love for us (OK!!) but NOT to die in our place, not for the pardoning of our sins. The sacrificial system since the exit from the Garden of Eden had nothing to do with the death of Christ, and the whole sanctuary system was a "metaphor" -- as was the entire Old Testament -- just stories which may or may not have really happened. Of course, in line with everything else, the Ten Commandments were just 10 "suggestions" as how we should live. Which meant that it was quite OK to watch pornographic films, etc. Needless to say, I would not have won a popularity vote! In fact, I was told to leave. I was upsetting the "love" that was the theme of the site. The sad part is that they were led by an Adventist minister who came from an excellent family background.

If Christ did not die in our stead, then, we are forever in the hands of Satan. and we are "of all people, most miserable".

God bless,

Beryl

Welcome - and I do hope this lessons reinforce the idea that God is love and wants the best for us, but He also wants us to order our lives to line up with him.