06/06/2026
_*Sabbath School Summary*_
*Repentance and Forgiveness*
_*Lesson 10*_
_*Memory Text: 1 John 1:9*_
*Introduction*
*SABBATH*: People sin & God forgives. It’s said that if you take forgiveness out of the Bible, you don’t really have much Bible left. The Israelites sinned a lot of times, but God forgave them when they repented. When Moses went atop Sinai to meet God, the Israelites en route to the Promised Land could not wait any more & asked for an idol from Aaron. He agreed out of fear (Exod. 32-24). The Israelites had just said that *“All that the Lord has spoken we will do”* but went on to sin. Thanks to Jesus’ death/salvation, there’s forgiveness for the repentant.
*The Rush of Life*
*SUNDAY*: The good part of our walk with Jesus is spending time at His feet daily like Mary (Luke 10:40-42). Sometimes, we let the urgent things consume the important. Our rush life is like a woman who had a very busy week & before she knew it was Sabbath & had chores in the morning: cleaning, cooking, ironing, folding clothes, & taking out the trash. When she saw she was working on the day she loved the most, she justified her actions. Later, silent tears fell. We must avoid what draws us away from God (Ps. 52:2, Rev. 7:14, Isa. 64:6, 61:10, Zech. 3:4).
*Holy Spirit Promptings*
*MONDAY*: Sorry heals all wounds but it’s not easy to say it for most people. It’s like a husband who knew he had done her wife wrong; he’d been unkind, hash, & said things he regretted but justified it by saying: *“Didn’t she deserve it, even a little bit?”* The same is true in our walk with God. The Holy Spirit often prompts us about the sins we commit; our hearts are moved, but it can be easy to push away the *“still small voice”* & justify our ungodly act (John 16:8, Luke 11:13). The Holy Spirit connects us back to the Vine (Hosea 6, John 15:4, DA, p. 300, Eph. 4:30).
*Real Repentance*
*TUESDAY*: John the Baptist & Jesus first words recorded in the Bible are similar: they called for repentance (Matt. 3:1-2, Mark 1:14-15, Luke 24:46-47). Heaven is near. Could it be that the same call is equally relevant to us now? Repentance involves 2 steps: sincere sorrow for sin & an honest decision not to sin (Acts 3:18-19). Simply, we genuinely repent; God forgives (1 John 1:9, Rev. 3:19). He has given us time to repent (2 Pet. 3:9). The world tells us we’re okay just as we are but God bids us *“repent”* (Acts 20:21, 11:18, John 15:2, 8, Matt. 3:8, DA, pp. 555, 556).
*Sufficient Grace*
*WEDNESDAY*: Whenever you feel the weight of sin & allow the Holy Spirit to lead you to the foot of the cross & ask for forgiveness, God forgives your sins. God in Christ gave Himself for our sins at the cross. When Israel grieved Him, His unceasing love & mercy forgave the nation (Ps. 103:8, Exod. 34:6). For us to be right with God again, Jesus died on the cross. Jesus through the Holy Spirit lifts our burdens at Calvary when we confess our sins (Rom. 6:23, 5:20-21, 5:8, Luke 18:13, Rev. 3:20, Zech. 3:4).
*The Most Expensive Robe*
*THURSDAY*: We often hear people say, *“I dress this way to express who I am.”* But in heaven all that won’t matter, save our relationships. Hence, our personal identity must be wrapped up in the perfect robe & righteousness of Jesus (Matt. 6:19-21, 22:1-14). The white linen at the Parable of the Wedding Feast is righteousness of Christ (Rev. 19:8, Eph. 5:27, COL, p. 310, 311). God clothed Adam & Eve with His robe after sin. Jesus called the man without a robe a *“friend”.* Perhaps, he knew God & the robe but still chose not to wear it.
*Further Thought*
*FRIDAY*: The Bible uses agricultural metaphors to depict our spiritual state often, as seen in Hosea 10:12, which encourages us to *"sow for yourselves righteousness"* & seek the Lord. To get the Holy Spirit, we must prepare our hearts like soil ready for rain. That’s, our relationship with God is a collaborative effort. While God can instill in us the desire to cultivate this spiritual soil, we must actively turn to Him and maintain our connection. Those who cling to God are alive and sustained (Phil. 2:12-13, Deut. 4:3-4).
*Keywords*
_*DA-* The Desire of Ages._
_*COL-* Christ’s Object Lessons._
*Discussion Questions*
📌 “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matt. 6:13). Jesus specifically taught His disciples to pray this way, but do we keep this line of thought in our daily prayers? How regularly do you pray for protection against temptation and sin?
📌 How would you explain the precious gift of Christ’s robe of righteousness to a non-Christian or a new believer?
📌 How does Christ’s robe of righteousness connect to the message of the sanctuary, which is all about God forgiving and cleaning the repentant sinner? How well do you understand the beauty and richness of this message?
_For May 30-June 5. Happy Sabbath!_
*Entire Lesson Summary*
_Identifying our sins in response to the Holy Spirit’s promptings and surrendering self in repentance are vital parts of having a thriving relationship with God. Knowing that we are completely forgiven and covered by Jesus’ robe of righteousness is the most transformative experience for a human being. Not only do we feel the weight of sin lifted, but we feel the love of God surround us as we are drawn closer to Him. This binds us to God, strengthens us spiritually, and compels us to love Him with every fiber of our being._
*Inside Story*
*Voice Speaks at a Cooking Pot*
Miriam, a 41-year-old mother in Zambia, felt unwell and attended an evangelistic meeting where she met Majorie, who prayed for her. The next day, while cooking, Miriam felt compelled to read the Bible and discovered messages that felt personal and uplifting. After reading, her physical pain vanished, and she felt joy fill her heart. Since then, Miriam has been reading the Bible and praying daily, experiencing a transformation in her life and a strong desire to live for God.
*10 Talking Points on SS Lesson 10: Repentance and Forgiveness*
*1.* Last week, we learnt that while not all sin is simply lawlessness, every transgression of the law is sin. Lack of faith in Christ could also be described as sin (Rom 14 v.23), resulting in a broken relationship with God. Recognizing and responding to this separation and seeking to restore fellowship with God involves both repentance and forgiveness.
*2.* The Cambridge Dictionary defines *“repentance”* as the act of showing that you are very sorry for something bad you have done and wishing that you had not done it. While this definition captures modern understanding of repentance, it falls short of the deeper Biblical meaning, which includes the idea of *“turning back”* and *“returning”* to God as well as away from sin.
*3.* This concept of turning back and returning to God is central because it seeks to restore the relationship that was damaged by sin (Luke 15). Repentance is therefore more than simply feeling regret for wrongdoing and wishing things had been different. It involves actively seeking reconciliation and restoration. Whether a person remains passive in their regret or actively pursues restoration often depends on one important factor – the Holy Spirit.
*4.* In the absence of the Holy Spirit’s prompting, self-generated guilt may lead to despair without making any effort to restore the broken relationship. The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin not to shame us but to draw us back into fellowship with God (John 15 v.4; 16 v.8), leading us beyond remorse toward restoration and healing.
*5.* Judas Iscariot and Peter provide great examples of passive and active repentance, respectively. Judas experienced intense remorse after betraying Jesus (Matt 27 v.3). He was overwhelmed with guilt, yet his sorrow did not lead him back to God. On the other hand, Peter, too, was deeply grieved after denying Jesus (Luke 24 vs.54-62), but allowed his sorrow to lead him toward renewed fellowship with God.
*6.* The Cambridge Dictionary defines forgiveness as the act of no longer feeling angry with someone for something they did. Biblically, forgiveness is rooted in God’s character and goes beyond the judicial act of cancelling sinner’s debt (Col 2 v.14). Notably, neither definition suggests that forgiveness is dependent on the apology of the offender.
*7.* God did not wait for humanity to repent before demonstrating His love and providing forgiveness (Rom 5 v.8). So, the biblical basis for repentance is God’s love, not His wrath (Rom 2 vs.4). Through Christ’s sacrifice, the penalty for past, present, and future sins has already been paid in full. This is a profound demonstration of both the sufficiency of God’s grace and its nature as unmerited favour.
*8.* What, then, is the purpose of confession and repentance if God has already provided forgiveness? How do we reconcile this with passages such as 1 John 1 v.9, which encourages believers to confess their sins because God forgives? Confession does not inform God of something He does not already know but is a relational mechanism through which we acknowledge sin and break down the spiritual distance.
*9.* In the busyness of life, Christians may at times feel distant from God, whether because of wrongful deeds, neglected spiritual disciplines, or simple losing focus on their relationship with Him. In this context, confession is not about repeatedly losing and regaining salvation. Instead, it is about restoring honesty and openness within a relationship that already exists.
*10.* For Christians, the relationship between repentance and forgiveness is not primarily about cause and effect, where confession earns grace. Rather, they are part of the ongoing process of nurturing our relationship with God, despite our *setbacks,* which we will study in detail next week. For those coming to faith for the first time, confession is a response to grace rather than a condition for earning it.
