Title: “Memorials of Grace” — A Biblical Evaluation
I. Summary of the Lesson
The SDA lesson centers on Joshua 3–4, where Israel crosses the Jordan and builds memorial stones as reminders of God’s faithfulness. The theme is remembering divine grace through visible memorials. It also draws parallels to the Sabbath as a “sign” of God’s sanctifying power (Exod. 31:13, 17), implying that weekly Sabbath observance remains a divine memorial for New Covenant believers.
II. The Central Idea: God’s Power Remembered
The narrative rightly highlights God’s sovereignty in Israel’s entry into the Promised Land. Indeed, Joshua 4:23–24 says the miracle was meant so that “all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty.” That’s solid theology: God alone saves and leads. However, the lesson introduces a theological pivot: it connects the Jordan memorial stones to the Sabbath as a perpetual sign, hinting again that modern Sabbath-keeping serves as the memorial of grace today.
III. The SDA Misstep: Sabbath as a “Memorial of Grace”
While the lesson beautifully discusses divine remembrance and human forgetfulness, it subtly reinserts the Old Covenant Sabbath theology into the text. Let’s examine why that interpretation is flawed, both biblically and covenantally.
1. The Textual Context
Joshua 3–4 has zero reference to the Sabbath or law observance. The memorial stones were geographical, historical, and covenantal — not ceremonial. They pointed back to God’s faithfulness in bringing Israel across the Jordan, not to a weekly “rest day.” To impose Sabbath typology here is eisegesis — reading Adventist tradition into the passage rather than letting Scripture speak for itself.
2. The Covenant Context
The Sabbath was a sign of the Mosaic Covenant (Exod. 31:13; Ezek. 20:12), not a universal memorial of grace. That covenant ended with Christ’s death (Heb. 8:13; Col. 2:16–17). In the New Covenant, the memorials of grace are no longer ritual days but sacramental signs — Baptism and the Lord’s Supper both pointing directly to Christ’s finished work.
So yes, grace must be remembered, but not through a ceremonial calendar. The cross replaced Sinai. The tomb’s empty stone replaced the twelve stones of Joshua.
IV. The Biblical View of “Memorials of Grace”
From a Biblical (and New Covenant Theology) stance, grace is remembered through:
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The Word preached — “Faith comes by hearing” (Rom. 10:17).
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The ordinances — visible signs of an invisible grace (1 Cor. 11:26).
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Daily obedience in the Spirit — walking in the newness of life (Rom. 6:4).
We no longer live by types and shadows (Col. 2:17). The Sabbath, manna, and even the Jordan memorials all pointed forward to Christ, the true Rest (Heb. 4:8–10). To say the Sabbath today is the “memorial of grace” is to go backward, not forward, to re-erect shadows after the light has come.
V. The Real “Forgetfulness” Problem
The SDA commentary is correct that forgetting God leads to apostasy (Judg. 2:10). But it misses the point that the greatest forgetfulness is failing to remember the cross, not failing to keep the Sabbath. Israel’s idolatry stemmed from unbelief, not from neglecting a day (Heb. 3:19). That’s why the apostle Paul warns, “Do this in remembrance of Me” (1 Cor. 11:24) — not “keep the Sabbath,” but “remember the Savior.”
VI. The True Memorials under the New Covenant
| Old Covenant Symbol |
Fulfillment in Christ |
New Covenant Memorial |
| Twelve stones at Jordan |
Christ our true foundation (Eph. 2:20) |
Baptism — crossing from death to life (Rom. 6:3–4) |
| Passover meal |
Christ our Passover (1 Cor. 5:7) |
The Lord’s Supper — “in remembrance of Me” |
| Sabbath rest |
Jesus our rest (Matt. 11:28; Heb. 4:9–10) |
Sunday worship — celebration of the Resurrection |
Thus, the real “Memorials of Grace” are Christ-centered acts of remembrance, not covenantal rituals preserved from Sinai.
VII. Pastoral Application
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Remembering God’s grace means trusting Him daily, not clinging to old signs.
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Forgetfulness today isn’t about breaking a Saturday rule; it’s about drifting from the gospel.
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Every sermon, prayer, and communion table is a call to remember His mighty works, especially the work of redemption on the cross.
So, as Joshua’s stones pointed to deliverance from the Jordan, the empty tomb points to our deliverance from death. That’s the memorial we proclaim until He returns.
VIII. Conclusion
The SDA lesson starts with grace but ends with law. But biblical remembrance leads us not to Sinai, but to Calvary. The living memorial of grace today is not a shadow from the seventh day it is the risen Lord of the first day. As Paul declared:
“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come.” (2 Cor. 5:17)
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