1. Lesson 11 for December 15, 2012

2. The Christian life involves several
areas:
1. Stewardship.
2. Tithes and offerings.
3. Caring for oneself.
4. Marriage.
5. Labor relations.
6. Civic duties.
7. Social responsibility.
“The Lord now calls upon Seventh-day
Adventists in every locality to consecrate
themselves to Him and to do their very
best, according to their circumstances, to assist
in His work. By their liberality in making gifts
and offerings, He desires them to reveal their
appreciation of His blessings and their
gratitude for His mercy”
E.G.W. (Last Day Events, cp. 6, pg. 78)

3. “We are God's stewards, entrusted by Him with time and opportunities, abilities and
possessions, and the blessings of the earth and its resources. We are responsible to
Him for their proper use. We acknowledge God's ownership by faithful service to Him
and our fellow men, and by returning tithes and giving offerings for the proclamation
of His gospel and the support and growth of His church. (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:15; 1 Chron.
29:14; Haggai 1:3-11; Mal. 3:8-12; 1 Cor. 9:9-14; Matt. 23:23; 2 Cor. 8:1-15; Rom.
15:26, 27.)” (21st fundamental belief)
Being God’s stewards involves “For you were bought at a
price; therefore glorify God
admitting that Jesus is Lord in your body and in your
over us and glorifying Him in spirit, which are God’s” (1
Corinthians 6:20)
with our lives.
Everything is His, and He has “The earth is the Lord’s, and
all its fullness, the world and
given us all things. those who dwell therein” (Psalm
We must manage them 24:1)
wisely by living a useful life
for Him, for ourselves and for
others. We must consistently
use our talents, time and
possessions.

4. The North-American Division Stewardship Department suggested
the next steps to cheerfully give our tithes, since “God loves a
cheerful giver” (2Co. 9:7):
Step 1: Accepting our relationship with God. True
worship only arises from the heart that is in
harmony with God. Therefore, the first step is to
accept our relationship with God.
Step 2: Accepting God as our Creator. The Creator
provides us for our needs and that’s something
we admit when we give our tithe back. When
we seek His Kingdom and His Justice first, we
choose to live a new life. Tithing helps us to
change our priorities.
Step 3: Renouncing our ownership and accepting His.
We worship God with our tithe so we remember
that everything belongs to Him and that we
need His help to manage it. By giving our tithe
we accept the responsibility of carefully
managing all the gifts He has given us to care for.

5. The North-American Division Stewardship Department suggested
the next steps to cheerfully give our tithes, since “God loves a
cheerful giver” (2Co. 9:7):
Step 4: Admitting God’s care, direction and love. The tithe we give God back remind us about
how He cares about us; because He has already provided for all our daily needs before
we tithe.
Step 5: Accepting that we must be holy for God. He is our Owner and He makes us holy, putting
us aside for a special use.
When we tithe, we admit that
every part of our lives belongs
to Him. Therefore, tithing is
saying that we are also “put
aside” for God.
Step 6: Reconsecrating our lives to God.
If we accept that the tithe is
holy and it belongs to God, we
also admit that we are blessed
to handle what is holy. Tithing
is a chance to completely
reconsecrating our lives to God.

6. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself”
(Mt. 22:39)
When we read this words Jesus quoted from
Leviticus 19:18, we understand that the first
step to love our neighbors is to love ourselves.
But, why must we love ourselves? Because Christ loves us first (1Jn.
4:9). He gives us life (Jn. 20:31) and loves each one of us as the most
precious thing (Zech. 2:8)
We are high valuable treasures and we must
respect and love ourselves.
If you love yourself, you want what’s best for you; and what’s best
for you is a life that is committed to God, a life that reflects the
character and love of God, a life that is lived not for self but for the
good of others.
“but as He who called you is holy, you also be
holy in all your conduct” (1 Peter 1:15)

7. “And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh
of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was
taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father
and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall
become one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and
his wife, and were not ashamed” (Genesis 2:23-25)
According to the Bible, marriage is an
institution put in place by God, in
which two adults of different gender
covenant to share an intimate and
lasting personal relationship. Biblical
marriage is marked by an appreciation
of the equality of the male and
female, a deep bond of unity where
goals are blended and a sense of
permanence and faithfulness and
trust. As with a relationship with
God, the relationship between a
husband and a wife should be sacredly

8. How must the believer treat his/her
manager or employees?
1. As employer or manager:
 We must treat our employees with love and respect. “And
you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up
threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in
heaven, and there is no partiality with Him” (Ephesians 6:9)
 Our employees must be fairly paid. “Indeed the wages of
the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back
by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached
the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth” (James 5:4)
2. As an employee:
 Do our job as if we were working for Jesus.
“Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your
masters according to the flesh, with fear and
trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; not with
eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of
Christ, doing the will of God from the heart” (Ephesians
6:5-6)

9. “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For
there is no authority except from God, and the authorities
that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists
the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who
resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a
terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be
unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will
have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you
for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear
the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to
execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must
be subject, not only because of wrath but also for
conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for
they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very
thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom
taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom
fear, honor to whom honor” (Romans 13:1-7)

10. Regarding the civic
duties, Christians…
Submit to Pay taxes Take part Respect Respect the Cooperate
and in the the traffic property with the
respect civic code laws civil
the civil duties authorities
authority on
stopping or
controlling
crime and
violence

11. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to
preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to
proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are
bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of
our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give
them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for
the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the
planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified”
(Isaiah 61:1-3)
“It is through the social relations that Christianity
comes in contact with the world. Every man or
woman who has received the divine illumination is
to shed light on the dark pathway of those who are
unacquainted with the better way. Social
power, sanctified by the Spirit of Christ, must be
improved in bringing souls to the Saviour. Christ is
not to be hid away in the heart as a coveted
treasure, sacred and sweet, to be enjoyed solely by
the possessor. We are to have Christ in us as a well of
water, springing up into everlasting life, refreshing
all who come in contact with us”
E.G.W. (The Ministry of Healing, cp. 41 “In contact with others”, pg. 496)