FIRST QUARTER 2026
SABBATH SCHOOL INSIGHT #6
FEBRUARY 7, 2026
"CONFIDENCE ONLY IN CHRIST"

 

As I was contemplating our topic for this week, I realized that anything other than a confidence that was only in Christ was self-confidence, since that is where our sinful natures will lead us. A confidence that is based in Christ represents our faith in what He has done and has promised to do for the entire human race.

Wednesday’s study on “The Faith of Christ” is at the core of our lesson as the author points out the following thought: “‘You are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.’ (1 Cor. 1:30,NKJV). Being 'in Christ' comprehends everything that the plan of salvation encompasses, from the dawning of our spiritual intelligence(wisdom), to justification by faith (righteousness), to preparation for heaven (sanctification), and finally to glorification at the Second Advent (redemption). Salvation is Christ’s work from start to finish—for us and in us.”

The “in Christ” concept was a dominant theme throughout Paul’s writings and he uses it more than 60 times, several of which we see in our study this week.

It is important to note, however, that Jesus focuses on this same “in Christ” theme in John Chapter 15 as He teaches His disciples.  Here, multiple times Jesus used the phrase “Abide in me, and I in you.” The word abide means “remain,” and so Christ is saying if we, the entire human race, choose to remain in Him, He promises to us that He will remain in us. Verse 5 tells us that He is the true Vine and we are the branches. Should, we choose not to abide in Him (and choose the world), we will wither and die.

However, He also promises us that if we remain “in Christ” we will bear much fruit.

The following Ellen G. White quotation from Signs of the Times bears witness to this:

  “The sap that nourishes the Vine must nourish the branch and this will be evident in the life of him who is abiding in Christ; for the joy of Christ will be fulfilled in him who walks not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Our professions are worthless unless we abide in Christ; for we cannot be living branches unless the vital qualities of the Vine abound in us. In the genuine Christian, the characteristics of his Master will appear, and when we reflect the graces of Christ in our lives and characters, the Father loves us as He loves His Son. When this condition is fulfilled in those who profess to believe the present truth, we shall see a prosperous church; for its members will not live unto themselves, but onto Him who died for them, and they will be flourishing branches of the living Vine.”— April 18, 1892.

Now, as we continue our study this week with a more complete understanding of “in Christ,”, let us focus on the confidence/faith that we all need as we abide in Christ.

Our next quote, also from Ellen White, provides us with some valuable insights in this regard:

“Faith works by love and purifies the soul. Through faith the Holy Spirit works in the heart to create holiness therein; but this cannot be done unless the human agent will work with Christ. We can be fitted for heaven only through the work of the Holy Spirit upon the heart; for we must have Christ's righteousness as our credentials if we would find access to the Father. In order that we may have the righteousness of Christ, we need daily to be transformed by the influence of the Spirit, to be a partaker of the divine nature. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to elevate the taste, to sanctify the heart, to ennoble the whole man. 

“Let the soul look to Jesus. ‘Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world’ (John 1:29). No one will be forced to look to Christ; but the voice of invitation is sounding in yearning entreaty, ‘Look and live.' In looking to Christ, we shall see that His love is without a parallel, that He has taken the place of the guilty sinner, and has imputed unto him His spotless righteousness. 

“When the sinner sees his Saviour dying upon the cross under the curse of sin in his stead, beholding His pardoning love, love awakes in his heart. The sinner loves Christ, because Christ has first loved him, and love is the fulfilling of the law. The repenting soul realizes that God ‘is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’ (1 John 1:9). The Spirit of God works in the believer's soul, enabling him to advance from one line of obedience to another, reaching on from strength to greater strength, from grace to grace in Christ Jesus.” —The Review and Herald, November 1, 1892, emphasis supplied here and onward.

Here is another selection from Sister White published in Present Truth which has some important thoughts for us to consider:

“In this life we shall be tempted and tried… Friends may prove treacherous while enemies may be inspired by Satan to cause sadness. In these trials let us turn to the strong for strength. There we may find comfort, consolation, and tender sympathy. God says, ‘Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me, and he shall make peace with Me.’ Isa. xxvii. 3. 

“Christ interposes between us and the difficulties that appear so formidable. The flame and the flood are behind Him. Then lift up the Man of Calvary with voice and song, and let the melody of thanksgiving and praise ascend to heaven in life-service to God. Keep cheerful, full of faith and courage and hope. Elijah was subject to like passions as we are, yet the Lord was his strength. He prayed most earnestly, and the Lord heard his prayer. Let us, under all circumstances, preserve our confidence in Christ. He is to be everything to us, the first, the last, the best in everything. Let our tongues be educated to speak forth His praise, not only when we feel gladness and joy, but at all times, because He is our Redeemer, and deserving of our praise and thanksgiving. 

“Let us keep the heart full of God's precious promises, that we may speak words which will be a comfort and a strength to others. Thus, we may learn the language of the heavenly angels, who, if we are faithful, will be our companions through the eternal ages. Thus, we may be brought into partnership with the heavenly firm. Our cold hearts will be warmed by the contemplation of our Redeemer's love. 

“Every day we should make advancement in gaining perfection of character, and this we shall certainly do if we press toward the mark of the prize of our high calling in Christ Jesus. We who are the least of all the saints may be obtaining a fitness for standing before the Son of man at His appearing. We shall be one with Christ. His abiding presence will enable us to glorify God.  

“Let us not talk of the great power of Satan, but of the great power of God. We are to speak even as Christ spoke, allowing no harsh, impatient words to fall from our lips. Thus, we shall be a savor of life to all with whom we come in contact. 

“If you will surrender yourself to Him, He who has begun a good work in you will through His grace perfect it unto the day of His appearing. His honor is concerned in the perfection of your character. You are members of His body, a part of Himself. That you might have a probation in which to form a perfect character, that His glory might be your glory, that when He appears you may also appear, pure and undefiled, He suffered on the cross of Calvary.” —Present Truth, June 30, 1904.

In the previous quote, note that it is our faith in Christ that preserves our confidence in Christ. E.J. Waggoner now has some important thoughts for us concerning our need for the faith of Jesus in our lives:I 

“‘By Faith of Jesus Christ.’ —In another place Paul expresses his desire when the Lord comes to be found ‘not having mine own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.’ Phil. 3:9. Here again we have ‘the faith of Christ.’ Still further, it is said of the saints, ‘Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.’ Revelation 14:12. God is faithful. 1 Corinthians 1:9. Christ is faithful, for ‘he abideth faithful.' 2 Timothy 2:13. God deals to every.one a measure of faith. Romans 12:3; Ephesians 2:8. He imparts to us His own faithfulness. This He does by giving us Himself. So that we do not have to get righteousness which we ourselves manufacture; but to make the matter doubly sure, the Lord imparts to us in Himself the faith by which we appropriate His righteousness. Thus, the faith of Christ must bring the righteousness of God, because the possession of that faith is the possession of the Lord Himself. This faith is dealt to every man, even as Christ gave Himself to every man. Do you ask what then can prevent every man from being saved? The answer is, Nothing, except the fact that all men will not keep the faith. If all would keep all that God gives them, all would be saved.

“Within and Without. -This righteousness of God, which is by the faith of Jesus Christ, is unto, literally into, and upon all them that believe. Man’s own righteousness, which is of the law, is only on the outside. Matthew 23:27, 28. But God desires truth in the inward parts. Psalm 51:6. ‘These words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart.’ Deuteronomy 6:6. And so, the promise of the new covenant is, ‘I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts.’ Jeremiah 31:33. He does it, because it is impossible for man to do it. The most that men can do is to make a fair show in the flesh, to gain the applause of their fellow men. God puts His glorious righteousness in the heart. But He does more than that, He covers men with it. ‘I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness.’ Isaiah 51:10. ‘He will beautify the meek with salvation.’ Psalm 149:4. Clothed with this glorious dress, which is not merely an outward covering, but the manifestation of that which is within, God’s people may go forth, ‘fair as the moon, clear as the sun; and terrible as an army with banners.’ —Signs of the Times, January 16,1896.

In the article above, we read that Christ imparts to us His own faithfulness by giving us Himself! Do we believe this and allow Him to change our lives? In closing, let us look at more of E. J. Waggoner’s thoughts from his book on Romans:

 “Sure to All. -Since the inheritance is through the righteousness of faith, it is equally sure to all the seed, and equally within the reach of all. Faith gives all an equal chance, because faith is just as easy for one person as for another. God has dealt to every man a measure of faith, and to all the same measure, for the measure of grace is the measure of faith, and ‘unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.’ Ephesians 4:7. Christ is given without reserve to every man. Hebrews 2:9. Therefore, as the same measure of faith and grace is given to all men, all have an equal opportunity to gain the inheritance. 

“Jesus Is the Surety.  -Faith makes the promise sure to all the seed, because it has Christ alone for its object, and he is the surety of the promises of God. 2 Corinthians 1:20. We read also of the oath of God, by which Jesus was made high priest, that ‘by so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament,’ or covenant. Hebrews 7:22. Now Jesus was not given for a certain class, but for all without distinction. ‘God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ John 3:16. Jesus by the grace of God tasted death for every man. Hebrews 2:9. He says, ‘Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.’ John 6:37. Christ dwells in the heart by faith. Ephesians 3:17. Therefore, since Christ is the surety of the promise, it must be sure to everyone who believes. 

“The Power of God’s Word. -God ‘calleth those things which be not as though they were.’ Sometimes men do the same thing, but we soon lose confidence in them. When men speak of things that are not as though they were, there is only one proper name for it. It is a lie. But God calls those things that be not as though they were, and it is the truth. What makes the difference? Simply this: Man’s word has no power to make a thing exist when it does not exist. He may say that it does, but that does not make it so. But when God names a thing, the very thing itself is in the word that names it. He speaks, and it is. It was by this power of God that Abraham was made the father of many nations, even of us, if we believe that Jesus died and rose again. 

“Righteousness and Resurrection. -The righteousness which was imputed to Abraham will be imputed to us also if we believe on him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead. Therefore, it follows that righteousness was imputed to Abraham because of his faith in the resurrection of the dead, which comes only through Jesus. Acts 4:2. That was what the apostles preached the promises to the fathers. The power by which a man is made righteous is the power of the resurrection. See Phil. 3: 9-11. This power of the resurrection, which works righteousness in a man, is the surety of the final resurrection to immortality at the last day by which he enters upon his inheritance.

“Not Weakened in Faith. -Some versions of Romans 4:19 give the idea, ‘Without being weakened in faith, he considered his own body now as good as dead.’ That is to say, after God had made the promise to him, a full consciousness of his weakness and of all the difficulties and seeming impossibilities in the way did not have any effect in weakening his faith. Nothing is impossible with God, and there are no difficulties for him. Whenever a person is inclined to doubt the possibility of his salvation, let him stop and consider that God made the world by his word, and that he raises the dead, and that it is by that same power that God will save him if he is willing. To doubt God’s promise to deliver us from all evil is to doubt the fact that he created all things by his word, and that he is able to raise the dead.” —Waggoner on Romans, pp. 79-83.

As we look back at our lesson this week, it becomes clear that our confidence in Christ is based on the faith of Christ and His infinite sacrifice for all mankind. He has given us the measure of His faith that we need and through the Holy Spirit, Christ wants to dwell in our hearts by faith. This is such good news that we will want nothing more than to share it with others and thus hasten His return to take us home!

Blessings,

~John Campbell