Study Outline
The Cross unites Jews with
Gentiles
The Cross reconciles enemies
to God
The Cross - legal charges
dismissed
The Cross – Satanic powers
defeated
Jesus the resurrection of
life
Building a relationship with
Jesus
The
most important question we can ask ourselves is this; where do I go when I die? The Bible only gives
two options, heaven or hell, and each person chooses where they go. That was
the simple answer, but for more details, we will look at the big picture
explaining how each person determines their eternal destiny according to God's
plan. Our examination of God's plan for mankind begins with the first man and
woman, Adam and Eve.
In the beginning, God created the world, sun, moon, oceans, mountains, rivers, plants, animals, fish, and the first man Adam in six days. God formed man from the dust and breathed life into him, and Adam became a living soul. Interestingly, the scriptures did not say the body came to life, but that man became a living soul. God created man in his image, so man is a trinity with a body, soul, and spirit.
Genesis
2:7 And
the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
1
Thessalonians 5:23 Now
may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit,
soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
Hebrews
4:12
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged
sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints
and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
God
created Adam and Eve and gave them dominion over the world with absolute
freedom, or “free will,” to do whatever they wanted. All the animals were
friendly, the land was fruitful, and it was a beautiful paradise in a perfect
world. There were no laws or restrictions of any kind until God gave one
commandment, do not eat from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil. God also warned of the consequences if they ate the forbidden fruit,
which was immediate death that day.
Genesis
2:16-17 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying,
“Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil you shall
not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Here
is an outline of what we can conclude so far:
God created Adam a living soul.
God gave one commandment to Adam.
Breaking the command was punishable by death.
Adam and Eve had the freedom to obey or disobey.
Adam and Eve had a pure conscience up to this point.
The goal of the law is to guard and
protect the innocent and punish the lawbreakers. Adam and Eve only had one
commandment, obedience is rewarded with life, while disobedience would result
in death. The law is like a chain because if just one link gets broken, it
ruins the whole chain. The breaking of just one law makes someone completely
guilty. Ultimately, the law brings death.
James
2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and
yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.
Romans
7:7-10 What
shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would
not have known sin except through the law. … But sin, taking opportunity by
the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from
the law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when the
commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment, which was
to bring life, I found to bring death.
The first sign of evil influence came through a
talking serpent, who we can identify as Satan (Rev 12:9, 2 Cor 11:3). Satan
tempted Eve before she sinned, showing that temptation existed before sin, and
we know it will be around until the end of the world. God allows temptations to
exist to expose a person's inner character, separating those who choose to obey
him from those who do not. Notice how the serpent, aka Satan, knew the word of
God spoken to Adam and twisted those words to deceive Eve. Satan knows the
Bible so well that he tried but failed to trick Jesus by using the scriptures.
We will identify how Satan played on Eve's weakness and tempted her into
willful disobedience to God. Satan first questions the word of God, saying,
"has God said?" Then he twists God's words, saying "every
tree," when God only mentioned one tree.
Genesis 3:1 Now the
serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which
the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman,
"Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?"
Then Satan contradicts the word of God, saying you
will not die, inferring that God lied. Then Satan tempts her with the same sin
that caused him to fall, that being grasping after equality with God.
Genesis 3:4-5 Then
the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. "For God
knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be
like God, knowing good and evil."
When we examine how the serpent tempted and deceived
Eve, we can recognize a pattern that perpetually repeats with every sin. This
pattern reveals how we go from temptation to lust, lust to sin, and from sin to
death. The cycle feeds on three categories of human weakness coming through the
physical body, character, and pride.
The cycle of sin:
1. Temptation
2. Lust
3. Sin
4. Death
James 1:14-15 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn
away of his own lust, and enticed. Then
when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is
finished, bringeth forth death.
Mankind’s spiritual weakness:
1. Lust of the Flesh
2. Lust of the Eyes
3. Pride of Life
1 John 2:6 For all that is in
the world the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the
Father but is of the world
The serpent mesmerized Eve, and she took his bait,
hook, line, and sinker. Eve thought about Satan's
suggestions, contemplated the information, rationalized, and justified why she
should eat the fruit, and she willfully chose to sin. Let's diagnose Eve's temptation in the light
of the cycle of sin and mankind's spiritual weaknesses.
Genesis 3:6-7
Temptation,
So, when the woman saw
Lust of the flesh,
that the tree was
good for food
Lust of the eyes,
that it was pleasant
to the eyes
Lust,
and a tree desirable
Pride of life ,
to make one wise
Sin,
she took of its fruit and ate.
Death,
she gave to her husband and he
ate.
God told Adam the day you eat the fruit, you die.
Did Adam and Eve die immediately? Adam did not experience immediate physical
death but lived to the age of 930 years (Genesis 5:5).
Adam was a living soul, but the moment he sinned,
his soul died spiritually. The soul that sins shall die.
Ezekiel 18:4 [God speaking] "Behold,
all souls are Mine; The soul of the
father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; The
soul who sins shall die.
Ezekiel 18:20 "The
soul who sins shall die. The son shall not
bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The
righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the
wicked shall be upon himself.
God created man to be like children in a family
relationship with him as our Father, so spiritual death is to be separated or
cut off from his presence. This separation leaves Adam's children with lost,
empty souls that nothing physical can replace or satisfy. In Paul's letter to
the Ephesians, he describes those dead to God as sons of disobedience, children
of wrath, without Christ, aliens, and strangers from the covenants of God,
without hope, without God, and enemies far from God. Spiritual death is a great
gulf that separates souls from God's love, joy, peace, and comfort.
Ephesians 2:1-5 And you He made
alive, who were dead in
trespasses and sins, in which you
once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of
the power of the air [Satan], the
spirit who now works in the sons of
disobedience, among whom also we
all once conducted ourselves in the lusts
of our flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind, and
were by nature children of wrath
Ephesians 2:5 … even when we
were dead in trespasses, made us alive
together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
Ephesians 2:11-13 … at that time you
were without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having
no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ
Jesus you who once were far off have been brought
near by the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 2:17 … And He came and
preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who
were near.
Colossians 1:21-22 And you,
who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has
reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and
blameless, and above reproach in His sight.
God wants to reconcile all men to himself through
Christ and offers to give them eternal life. It is so sad that the people who
reject Christ and are separated from God now, at the time of death, their souls
will go to hell to experience eternal separation from God in the second death.
Revelation
21:8 "But
the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers,
idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with
fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
Revelation
20:14
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second
death.
When Adam and Eve sinned and realized their
nakedness, their conscience was stricken and defiled, innocence was lost, their
eyes were open to sin, and they hid, separating themselves and mankind from
God.
Genesis 3:7-10 Then the
eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed
fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of
the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam
and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of
the garden. Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are
you?" so he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and
I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself."
The fig leaf solution that Adam and Eve came up with
only superficially covered their outward physical appearance but was of zero
value for their spiritual condition. Human efforts and fig leaf religion cannot
save mankind. Only God can bring a dead soul back to life. Later God gave Adam
and Eve leather clothes, pointing to the fact that an animal had to be put to
death and shed its blood sacrificially to make a symbolic covering for the
nakedness of their sin.
Genesis 3:21 Also for Adam and
his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
God
confronted the guilty pair about their sin, starting with Adam. Then Adam
blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent, then God was finished asking questions.
Genesis 3:11-13 And He said,
"who told you that you were
naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I
commanded you that you should not eat?" Then the
man said, "The woman whom You gave to
be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." And the LORD God said to
the woman, "What is this you have done?"
The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I
ate."
God was not shocked or surprised by Adam's sin, and
his response was not a spur-of-the-moment reaction but was preplanned in
eternity past before the creation of the world. God knew what Adam would do and
was ready with the plan to redeem mankind. God also knew before creation who
would choose to obey and trust him for salvation and who would be lost. Not
because he had preassigned people to their eternal destiny, God did not create
robots. God knows who will be in the book of life because he is eternally
existent, unrestricted by time, almighty, all-powerful, all-knowing, and
all-wise beyond human comprehension, and he knows the future. On our part, the
only thing we can comprehend, and all that we need to know, is that God gives
an open invitation of salvation to everyone in the world.
John 3:16 "For God
so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
So, God knowing all things, wrote the names of those
who would believe in Christ in the book of life, and the plan that began in
eternity past will extend into eternity future.
Revelation 13:8 … written in the
Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world.
Ephesians 1:4 … just as He chose us in Him [Christ] before
the foundation of the world
1 Peter 1:18-20 … knowing that you
were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your
aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,
but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without
spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world
John 1:29 … John saw Jesus coming toward him,
and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away
the sin of the world!
Revelation 22:1 … [Speaking of
heaven] And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal,
proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
When God passed judgment on the guilty trio, he
started with the serpent and cursed him more than all the animals making him
crawl and eat dust. But in the midst of judgment, God did not leave mankind
without hope. God declared a prophecy to the three of them by saying that
"her seed," a singular seed, one person, would crush the head of the
serpent or Satan, but Satan would bruise his heel. That was the first gospel
message, the good news, the promise of the coming Messiah, Christ.
Genesis
3:14-15 So the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because
you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more
than every beast of the field; On your belly you
shall go, and you shall eat dust All the days of your life.
And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel."
The prophecies
about the promised "seed" that would crush Satan's head did not end
in the garden of Eden. God also promised Abraham that his seed, obtained by
faith, would make him the father of many nations, as numerous as the sand and
the stars. God also promised King David that his seed would have an everlasting
kingdom and would rule the nations with a rod of iron. Every time, and in each
promise and prophecy, the "seed" spoke of the same person, Christ.
Galatians
3:16, 29 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of
one, "And to your Seed," who is Christ. … And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's
seed, and heirs
according to the promise.
Romans
1:3-4 concerning His Son
Jesus
Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.
2
Timothy 2:8 Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel,
Adam and Eve received a perfect world, but when they
sinned, there were consequences. Adam caused a curse to come upon the earth,
producing thorns, and the animals became wild and dangerous. The curse brought
mankind under subjection to hard labor, difficulty in childbirth, and marital
issues. The curse also made man physically subject to corruption, sickness,
infirmities, deterioration, aging, and death of the body that decomposes into
dust.
Genesis
3:16-19 …
To the woman He said: "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your
conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for
your husband, and he shall rule over you." Then to Adam He
said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from
the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': "Cursed
is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your
life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall
eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face, you shall eat bread
till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; For dust you are,
and to dust you shall return."
The good news is that Jesus lived a life of perfect
obedience to God the Father in sinless perfection. Since Jesus was sinless when
he died on the cross, the curse of sin and death had no power over him, and it
was not possible for death and corruption to hold him. Jesus defeated sin,
death, and the Devil, and we are partakers of his victory by faith in him.
Acts 2:24, 30-32 [Speaking of
Jesus]. "whom God raised up, having
loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held
by it. "Therefore, [king David] being a prophet, and
knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body,
according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,
"he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the
resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His
flesh see corruption. "This Jesus
God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.
On the day Adam and Eve disobeyed God and fell under
the curse of sin and death, another earth-shattering change happened. Adam's
dominion over the earth was lost and forfeited to the devil. The scriptures
tell us that your master is who you obey (Romans 6:16), so when Adam and Eve
obeyed Satan's voice, they forfeited earth's dominion over to him.
God rules over everything, including Satan, but God
has allowed Satan to have limited power over the world for a predetermined
time. Satan is called the ruler or prince of this world, and he has a kingdom
system with a hierarchy of fallen angelic powers, principalities, rulers, and
demons. Satan tempted Jesus by offering to give him all the "kingdoms of the
world," and Jesus did not dispute his claim of rulership. When Jesus said
a kingdom divided cannot stand, he was referring to Satan's kingdom.
Matthew
4:8-9 Again,
the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him
all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, "All
these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."
Mark
3:23-24 So
He [Jesus] called them to Himself and said to them in parables: "How
can Satan cast out Satan? "If a kingdom is divided against itself, that
kingdom cannot stand.
John 12:31 [Jesus’ speaking]
"Now is the judgment of this world; now the
ruler of this world [Satan] will be cast out.
John 14:30 [Jesus’ speaking]
"I will no longer talk much with you, for the
ruler of this world [Satan] is coming,
and he has nothing in Me.
2
Corinthians 4:3,4 But if our gospel be
hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world
[Satan] hath blinded the minds of them which believe not (Amplified Version)
Ephesians 2:1-2 And you
He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once
walked according to the course of this world, according to [Satan] the
prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of
disobedience,
Because Satan assumed rulership, he has set up an
invisible evil kingdom that rules over the earth by influencing governments,
cultures, morals, philosophies, and individuals. The Bible refers to this as
"this world" or "worldliness," it is the sinful
governmental and social systems spiritually influenced by Satan which impacts the
physical planet.
Ephesians
6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and
blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers,
against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness,
against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural)
places. (Amplified Version)
The Devil's way of ruling is through the world's
cultures and appealing to the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the
pride of life to create a mindset that opposes and undermines everything that
honors God or his kingdom.
1
John 2:15-17 Do
not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the
world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the
world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the
boastful pride of life, is not from the Father,
but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also
its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. (NASB)
Romans
12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is his
good, pleasing and perfect will.
Previously we saw the two seeds mentioned in the
prophecy, and we focused on the promise of Christ, the Messiah. Now we will
look at Satan's seed who reject God and rebel against him and are called the
children of the Devil, children of wrath or disobedience.
God grants everyone free will, and each person
chooses to identify with God or the Devil by obedience and faith or by
rebellion and sin. The children's paternity is recognizable by their
resemblance to their father. Spiritually the father's likeness is recognizable
by manifesting the character of the spiritual father, God or Satan.
John 8:44 "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer
from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth
in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own
resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
Hebrews 12:6-8 For whom
the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives." If you
endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom
a father does not chasten? But if you are without
chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are bastards and not
sons.
Adam and Eve polluted the entire human race with the
knowledge of evil, sin, guilt, sickness, and death. The root of all human misery,
suffering, and torments can be traced back to Adam's sin, so just one sin
resulted in the avalanche of sins that continues to multiply. That is why Jesus
came, to be the second Adam and restore everything the first Adam lost.
Romans
5:12-19 Wherefore,
as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so, death
passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was
in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless, death
reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the
similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to
come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the
offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace,
which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it
was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one
to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto
justification. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much
more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness
shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore, as by the offence
of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness
of… one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For
as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one
shall many be made righteous.
Adam and Eve's sons had the promise regarding Eve's
seed that the future Messiah, Christ, would come to take their sins. And
somehow, Abel understood the principle of a substitute sacrifice, that the
penalty for sin is death, so putting an animal to death in his place would
symbolically pay the penalty for his sin, life for life. So, Abel sacrificed an
animal to God, and God was pleased with him. But Cain offered some plants as a
bloodless sacrifice, which did not gain any respect from God.
Genesis 4:3-5 And in the process
of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of
the fruit of the ground to the LORD. Abel
also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat.
And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, but He did not … Respect
Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance
fell.
Free
will, or the freedom to choose, was evident from the beginning with the first
brothers born in the world. God's warning to Cain to master his anger shows how
sin is our choice and that we either control sin or it will control us. Your
master is who you obey, God or sin.
Genesis 4:6-7 So, the LORD said
to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? "If
you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you
do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its
desire is for you, but you should rule over it."
Romans
6:16-18
Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are
that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience
leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves
of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you
were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of
righteousness.
With
Cain and Abel, we see the world's first two religions, the first produced a
murderer, and the second a martyr. Cain killed Abel over religious jealousy,
which shows another principle, the flesh wars against the Spirit.
Genesis
4:8
Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in
the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
Galatians
4:29 But,
as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born
according to the Spirit, even so it is now.
Galatians
5:17 For
the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these
are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you
wish.
As
we just saw, there are two types of people, and Cain exemplifies a lost soul
who lives without consideration for God or man. After he killed his brother,
God passed judgment and gave him his sentence to be a fugitive and a vagabond,
and Cain said his punishment would be unbearable. That again points to separation
from God and others as the worst possible punishment, also known as hell.
Genesis
4:13-16 And
Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is greater than I can bear!
"Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I
shall be hidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the
earth, and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me." … And
the LORD set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him. Then Cain
went out from the presence of the LORD and dwelt in the land of Nod on the
east of Eden.
The
Apostle John confirmed that Cain was a child of the wicked one, and makes a
distinction between the children of God and the Devil.
1
John 3:8-14.
He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning.
For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the
works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for
His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
In this the children of God and the children of the devil are
manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who
… does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the
beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain who was of the
wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his
works were evil and his brothers righteous. … We know that we have passed
from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his
brother abides in death.
Years later, God looked to establish a people for
himself, making a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God gave Jacob the
name Israel, and he had 12 sons, which later became the nation of Israel. When
Moses became their leader, God made a covenant with Israel and gave them the
ten commandments with 613 laws. These laws distinguished Israel and set them
apart from the other nations because the Law instructed them on living a
healthy, moral life while serving only one God, the true and living God.
But, while Moses was on Mt. Sinai receiving the ten
commandments, written by the finger of God on stone tablets, the Israelites
were at the bottom of the mountain, dancing around a golden calf worshipping
another god. Israel violated the covenant and broke the Law as Moses was
receiving it. So, when Moses came down the mountain, he smashed the stone
tablets into pieces and ground them to powder. Israel not only broke the Law
but completely obliterated it. Like Adam and Eve, with one Law and Israel with 613
Laws, the Law will always fail because it has a weak human partner. Nobody can
be righteous before God by keeping Laws, religious rules, and routines.
Galatians
3:10, 11 For as many as are of the works of the Law
are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not
abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.”
Romans 3:19-20 ... it speaks to those who are under the
Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become
accountable to God ... for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.
Galatians
3:23-24 Now
before faith came, we were kept in custody under the Law, [perpetually]
imprisoned [in preparation] for the faith that was destined to be revealed, with
the result that the Law has become our tutor and our disciplinarian to guide
us to Christ
Galatians
2:20 ... by the works of the Law no flesh will be
justified.
Those who are zealous about keeping the laws and
traditions of men become self-righteous, legalistic, judgmental, and full of
religious arrogance. Which only makes them worse sinners, more condemned, and
hypocritical fools, according to Jesus (Mathew 23). Jesus gave scorching
criticisms and loathed the pompous religious leaders but showed mercy and
compassion to the worst of sinners.
The most frightening thing for zealous law-keepers
is that they have self-inflicted blindness keeping them from seeing faults in
themselves, with their pride, hypocrisy, sin, and how they fail to live up to
their own standards. Being religious can be destructive and dangerous because
the judgments we use in criticizing others testify against us, making us guilty
before God. The bottom line is that keeping the Ten Commandments, laws,
traditions, and church attendance cannot save anyone. Salvation is only by
faith in Christ, who alone was perfect in obedience to the Law, so he alone
cancels the curse and judgments of the Law against us.
Mark 7:6-9, 13 He answered and
said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
'This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in
vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' "For
laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men … He said to them,
"All too well you reject the commandment
of God, that you may keep your tradition. … "making the word of God of no
effect through your tradition which you have
handed down. And many such things you do."
Colossians
2:8
Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according
to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and
not according to Christ.
Galatians 3:11-13 But that no
one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for
"the just shall live by faith." Yet
the law is not of faith, but "the man
who does them shall live by them." Christ
has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is
written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"),
Some may think they can earn entrance into heaven as
payback for all the good deeds done in their lifetime. The Almighty God, who
created the heavens and the earth, is not astonished or impressed by our
service or works, but He is concerned about our motives. Doing religious
activities thinking that we can earn righteousness by our goodness before a
holy God is a big deception and arrogance. Only the work of Christ makes anyone
righteous before God, and all of our most noble feats of righteousness are like
filthy rags before an infinitely holy God.
Isaiah
64:6 For we all have become like one who is
[ceremonially] unclean [like a leper], And all our deeds of righteousness are
like filthy rags; We all wither and decay like a leaf, and our wickedness [our
sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing], like the wind, takes us away [carrying us
far from God's favor, toward destruction].
Matthew
7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in
heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied
in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your
name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you
who practice lawlessness!’
1
Corinthians 13:1-3 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic
ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I
speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything
plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump,"
and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. If I give everything I own to
the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love,
I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do,
I'm bankrupt without love. (The Message)
It’s popular to say we are all children of God, but
that’s not true. We look like our spiritual father, so if you lie, cheat,
steal, or sin even one time, guess what? The Devil is your spiritual father!
Except if you have been born again, and God the Father has adopted you into his
family. Even if you profess to be a child of God, you must form the character
of Christ in your life and accept correction when you do wrong. And if you
reject his discipline, you are not his child.
Ephesian 5:1-6 Therefore become imitators of God [copy
Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father];
... the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience [those who
habitually sin].
Hebrews
12:3-11 Endure hardship as discipline; God is
treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their
father? If you are not disciplined
and everyone undergoes discipline then you are not legitimate, not true sons
and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who
disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to
the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they
thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness
John
8:44 You are of your father the devil, and it
is your will to practice the desires [which are characteristic] of your father.
He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because
there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks what it natural to him, for he
is a liar and the father of lies and half-truths. (Ephesians 4:17-19)
1 John 3:10 In this the children of God and the
children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness
is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.
Everything up to
this point reveals how all mankind has sinned and is spiritually dead to God;
until they experience a spiritual new birth. The worst part is that most people
are spiritually blind or have chosen to enjoy sin rather than have a
relationship with God. Here are the facts one more time:
We are born under the curse of
sin and death.
We are spiritually dead,
needing to be born again.
This world system is under
Satan’s influence
We cannot keep the law without
sinning.
Our good works cannot earn
salvation.
All have sinned and cannot save
themselves.
After reading that
list, you might think that salvation is impossible and out of reach for
everyone! You would be right! The disciples of Jesus felt the same thing and
asked Jesus about it.
Matthew 19:25, 26 When
His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who
then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men
this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Salvation is impossible for all men because
all have sinned, all will die, and all will be judged guilty and sent to hell,
with only one way of obtaining mercy, forgiveness, and salvation. Jesus is the
way, the truth, and life, and no one goes to heaven apart from him.
John 14:6 Jesus
said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Acts 4:12 [speaking
of Jesus] "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other
name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
From eternity God planned the perfect solution for
the fallen race of Adam, he would humble himself, taking the form of a man, and
God would become their Savior. Then Christ would restore everything Adam lost
while defeating sin, death, and the Devil.
John 1:1-3, 14 In
the beginning was the Word [Jesus], and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were
made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. And
the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His
glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and
truth.
Philippians 2:5-8 Let this mind be
in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in
the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
but made Himself of no reputation,
taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in
appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the
point of death, even the death of the cross.
1
Corinthians15:45-47 So it is written [in Scripture], "The
first man, Adam, became a living soul (an individual);" the last Adam
(Christ) became a life-giving spirit [restoring the dead to life].
Jesus
is the second Adam, born without sin, and he lived a life of perfect obedience
and therefore became the perfect sacrifice for sin. And by His death, burial,
and resurrection, he fulfilled the law, and prophecies, then he defeated sin
and death to give the gift of eternal life to those who believe in him. His one
sacrifice was sufficient to redeem all mankind, by faith in Him.
Hebrews 10:10-14 By that will we
have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for
all. … after He had offered one
sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the
right hand of God, … For by one offering He has
perfected forever those who are being sanctified
Acts 4:10-12 "let it be known to you all, and to all
the people of Israel, that by the name
of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man
stands here before you whole ... "Nor is there salvation in any other,
for there is no other name under
heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
.
When Jesus walked among us, he was truly man and
truly God and was the exact representation of God the Father to man. He could
empathize with humanity sharing in all of life's experiences. Jesus
demonstrated contempt for the hypocritical religious leaders from God's
perspective while showing mercy and compassion to the despised and afflicted
from a human perspective. He felt hunger, rejection, love, pain, and every
human feeling and emotion, so he has compassion, sympathy, and understands our
troubles.
Hebrews 1:2-3 … but in these
last days he (God) has spoken to us by his Son (Jesus), whom he appointed heir
of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is
the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being,
sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had
provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in
heaven.
Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have
a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our
weaknesses, but we have one (Jesus) who has been tempted in every way, just as
we are yet was without sin.
Hebrews 2:14-15 Since the children
have flesh and blood, he (Jesus) too shared in their humanity so
that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death that is,
the devil and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of
death.
Many people look at the cross superstitiously
without appreciating how powerful the eternal impact and consequences were for
all creation. First, all men are sinners, so what can men do for the
forgiveness of sins?
In the Old Testament, they would offer animal
sacrifices as a symbolic gesture to appeal for forgiveness and a clear
conscience before God. The priest would sacrifice an innocent animal to pay the
sin debt as a substitute for the guilty people, life for life. Whenever Israel
made animal sacrifices, it reminded them that they were sinners. They could
never forget that they had sinned. Animal sacrifices of bulls, goats, and sheep
could never purge someone's conscience of sin or cancel Adam's curse of sin and
death.
To pay the penalty for the sins of all mankind would
require a totally innocent man that has lived in sinless perfection, who had
fulfilled over 100 Messianic prophecies for the first coming of Christ as the
Son of God and Son of man, the Lamb of God who came to redeem mankind. That
narrows it down to one man, the man, Christ Jesus. With one sacrifice on the
cross, he redeemed humanity, forgiving all our sins and giving eternal life to
those who believe and are born again.
Hebrews 10:5-7 Therefore, when He
came into the world, He said: "Sacrifice and offering
You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. ... In burnt
offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, 'Behold,
I have come in the volume of the book it is written of Me to do Your will, O
God.'"
Hebrews
9:9-14 [speaking
of Old Testament sacrifices] It was symbolic for the present time in
which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who
performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience, (but Jesus as
High Priest) Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood
He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal
redemption. how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal
Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead
works to serve the living God?
Nobody could forcibly take Jesus' life, but he
voluntarily laid it down as our sacrificial lamb, taking our punishment as our
scapegoat. Jesus tasted death for every man, and the price he paid goes beyond
human comprehension.
Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus,
who was made a little lower than the angels, for
the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of
God, might taste death for everyone.
John 10:14-18 "I am the good shepherd; and I know My
sheep, and am known by My own. "As the Father knows Me, even so I know the
Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep … "Therefore,
My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it
again. "No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power
to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I
have received from My Father."
Of Course, that was all part of God's eternal plan,
and he spoke through the Old Testament prophets King David, Hosea, and others
that Christ would destroy sin and death.
Psalms 16:9-10 [David speaking]
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in
hope. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol
(Hell), nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
Hosea 13:14 "I will ransom them from the
power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your
plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction! Pity is hidden from
My eyes.
The cross was a hidden mystery, like a trap, Satan
ignorantly thought he would destroy Christ, but the cross was like a nuclear
bomb that exploded in his face.
1 Corinthians 2:7-8 But we speak
the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God
ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age
knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
Absent
from sin, death has no power. Since Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life of
obedience and flawlessly fulfilled all the law, death did not have a rightful
claim on him. So, when Jesus was crucified and died on the cross, death could
not hold him, and he conquered sin and death.
After
the resurrection and on the day of Pentecost, Peter preached to 3,000 people and
quoted from King David’s prophecy regarding the resurrection of Christ.
Acts
2:27–31
For You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to
see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make
me full of joy in Your presence.' "Men and brethren, let me speak freely
to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his
tomb is with us to this day. "Therefore, being a prophet, and
knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body,
according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,
"he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ,
that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.
Acts
2:23-24
"Him (Jesus), being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge
of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;
"whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not
possible that He should be held by it.
Jesus' victory is universal for all who believe and
He is the only salvation, redemption, justification, righteousness, and
resurrection to eternal life.
1 Peter 2:24 …
who Himself bore our sins in His
own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for
righteousness by whose stripes you were healed.
.
1 Corinthians 15:55-57 "O
Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" The sting of
death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to
God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
2
Timothy 1:9-10
(Jesus) who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was
given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by
the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and
brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,
The spiritually dead and blinded unbelievers are
unaware of the spiritual realities of the cross and the consequences of
rejecting what Jesus did on the cross. They think the cross is foolishness. But
when Jesus hung on the cross and cried out, "it is finished," He
fulfilled every scripture, took all our sins, removed the curse of the law,
bore all our infirmities, and nailed everything that was against us to the
cross, where he destroyed all the works of the Devil. Then three days later, he
rose from the dead by the power of God.
1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is
foolishness [absurd and illogical] to those who are perishing and
spiritually dead [because they reject it], but to us who are being saved
[by God's grace] it is [the manifestation of] the power of God.
1
John 3:8-9 He
who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For
this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He
might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not
sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been
born of God.
Salvation
is of the Jews (John 4:22), and the Jewish people were very strict about
staying separate from the nations that could draw them into worshipping foreign
gods. Only after the resurrection of Christ and 8 years after the outpouring of
the Holy Spirit did the Apostles receive the revelation that Gentiles
(non-Jews) could receive salvation like Jews. And even more shocking to
orthodox Jews was that Gentiles would be unified with Jews in one assembly and
be fellow heirs of the promises of God. Removing that wall between Jews and
Gentiles was only possible through Christ' death on the cross.
Ephesians
2:14-16 For
He (Jesus) Himself is our peace, who made both groups (Jews & Gentiles)
into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by
abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained
in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man,
thus establishing peace, and might … reconcile them both in one body to
God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.
God
knows everything about us, the good, the bad, and the ugly, what we have done,
and what we will do. And even when we were enemies of God, Jesus loved us and
died for us. Jesus offers total forgiveness to everyone if they believe he paid
the penalty for their sins on the cross and trust in Him.
Colossians
1:19-23 For
God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to
reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven,
by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated
from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But
now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to
present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.
Romans
5:8-10 But
God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by
His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were
enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more,
having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
The
law contained curses for law breakers, which includes all humanity. Since Jesus
fulfilled the letter of the law, the curse was nailed to the cross by his
death. When we relate to his death, considering ourselves crucified with
Christ, we are dead to the law and free from its curse.
Colossians
2:13-15 When
you were dead in your sins God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us
all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which
stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the
cross.
Galatians
3:13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the
law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who
hangs on a tree”
(the cross) that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ
Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Because
Jesus never sinned, death had no power over him, so when Jesus died, he took
the keys of death and Hell and defeated the entire realm of Satanic powers and
authority.
Hebrews
2:9, 14-15 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than
the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor,
that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. … Since the children have flesh and blood, he
too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power
of him who holds the power of death that is, the devil and free those who all
their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
Colossians
2:13-15 … And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them,
triumphing over them by the cross.
The
blood that Jesus shed in giving his life for us enacted a new spiritual law
that overrides the previous legal system, granting us freedom from sin, guilt,
and condemnation. Jesus' death on the
cross is our Declaration of Independence from the Devil or our Emancipation
Proclamation from slavery to sin, which brought into force the new covenant,
his last will, and testament that took effect after his death. Christ left an
inheritance of mercy, forgiveness, and a pure conscience free from condemnation
and guilt.
Luke 22:20 Likewise He also
took the cup after supper, saying, "This
cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for
you.
1 John 1:7-9 But if
we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have
fellowship with one another, and the
blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we
have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If
we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Romans
8:1, 2 There is therefore now no condemnation to
those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but
according to
the
Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ
Jesus
has made me free from the law of sin and death.
Hebrews 9:14-18 How much more,
then, will the blood of Christ, who through the
eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse
our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may
serve the living God! For this reason, Christ
is the mediator of a new covenant (testament), that
those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance now that he
has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins
committed under the first covenant. In
the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it,
because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect
while the one who made it is living …
Jesus has provided forgiveness and eternal life, but
He has given everyone the free will to choose whether they receive Christ by
faith with the gift of salvation and eternal life. Or if they reject Christ
choosing to go to Hell. So, why would anyone reject Christ and eternal life?
The reason for most people is that they don't want to give up their sins! We
must question that rationale, what could be more important than where you spend
eternity?
John 1:10-13 He was in the
world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He
came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But
as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God,
to those who believe in His name: who were born, not
of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 3:16-19 "For God so
loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. "For God did
not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world
through Him might be saved. "He who
believes in Him is not condemned; but he
who does not believe is condemned already, because he has
not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. "And
this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved
darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Here
is where God’s master plan comes into play. God will have a kingdom free from
rebellion because he will screen everyone who enters it. Man has a “free will”
to make his own decisions and is allowed to choose to accept or reject God. So,
everything is ONE GREAT BIG TEST!!!
It’s like the world is a giant amphitheater, and our
lives are the show. There is a myriad of unseen eyes from heaven and earth that
never cease from watching us. Mankind daily endures sickness, suffering,
sorrow, hunger, injustice, and the like, and each situation reveals character
while showing the contrast between God’s children and the Devil’s. And when
this life is over, each one will stand before God to give an account for their
life. The courtroom will be filled with multitudes of witnesses, and every
thought, word, and action will be called into account before the Judge, God
Almighty. Then God will reward or punish each one according to what they have
done.
Hebrews
12:1, 2 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded
by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the
sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is
set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
Revelations 20:11-15 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand
before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which
is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were
written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the
dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in
them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death
and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of
fire.
1
Corinthians 4:9 For, I think, God has exhibited us
apostles at the end of the line, like men sentenced to death [and paraded
as prisoners in a procession], because we have become a spectacle to the
world [a show in the world's amphitheater], both to angels and to men.
We just read about the Second Death, hell, and the
Lake of Fire, which leads to another big question. What prevents you from
following Jesus? Whatever it is, is it worth going to hell for? What would it
profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? Now is the best
time to dedicate your life to Jesus. You don’t know what tomorrow will bring,
or even if you will have a tomorrow.
2 Corinthians 6:1 “In an acceptable time I have heard you, and
in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
James 4:13 … you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go
to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make
a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are
just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.
Luke 12:19-21 I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many
goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be
merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool!
This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you
have prepared?’ So is the man who stores up treasure for
himself,
and is not rich toward God.”
Mark 8:36-38 "For what will it profit a
man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? "Or what will a
man give in exchange for his soul? "For whoever
is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him
the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father
with the holy angels."
Repentance is always the first step to approach God.
John the Baptist, Jesus, and all the Apostles preached repentance as essential
to turn to God, (Matthew 3:1, Mark 2:17). Repentance is acknowledging that you
have sinned, turning away from that sin, and then making things right.
Repentance brings healing, forgiveness, a clear conscience, and draws us closer
to God.
2
Corinthians 7:9-11 I now rejoice, not that you were made
sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance .
. . for the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a
repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the
world produces death. For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly
sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation,
what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything
you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.
2 Timothy 2:24-26 ... if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that
they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the
snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.
God
wants us to acknowledge our wrong doing and confess it to him. If you confess your sins to God, he is faithful
to forgive and cleanse us, because of what Jesus did on the cross.
1 John 1:7-9 But if we walk in the light
as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of
Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no
sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our
sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have
been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
not of works, lest anyone should boast.
For we are His
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand that we should walk in them.
Scripture tells us to “be transformed” by renewing our minds.
The word transformed comes from the Greek word metamorphoo, where we get our
word metamorphosis. An example would
be how caterpillars become changed into butterflies. We change our character
and lifestyle, from darkness to light, from rebellion to obedience, from Satan
to God.
Romans 12:1‑2 Do not conform to the
pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind.
II Corinthians 5:17, Therefore, if anyone is in
Christ, he is a new creation; old things
have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
If you follow Jesus, your lifestyle will change, and you will
develop a hunger for Bible reading and a growing need to talk to God in prayer.
Your family and friends should see the difference in you, which will be your
opportunity to share Jesus with them. Jesus is with you; he is faithful to
finish the work he begins in your life to present you blameless in God's
presence.
Jude 24, Now to Him who is able to
keep you from stumbling or falling into sin, and to present you unblemished
[blameless and faultless] in the presence of His glory with triumphant joy and
unspeakable delight, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our
Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and power, before all time and now and
forever. Amen.
Building a relationship with God requires time, commitment,
and discipline. We are not suggesting rules or laws, and that's not how you get
to know someone. Jesus is the word of God who became flesh, so reading the
Bible is one way to spend time with Jesus. Prayer is talking to God, so the
more you talk to him, the more you will know him. The book of Psalms in the
Bible has many great examples of prayers, and you can use Bible verses as a
prayer script. As far as Christian friends go, pray for wisdom and discernment
to have godly friends who are serious about Christ and are grounded in the
scriptures. Then live by faith in God.
We are in the end times; our world is changing quickly to
line up with Bible prophecy. Jesus said the signs of his return would be like
birth pangs, growing globally in intensity and frequency. We are seeing those
signs happening weekly in real-time with wars, food shortages, pandemics,
shutdowns, and natural disasters, all leading to global tyranny. There will be
global persecution of Christians and Jews, and it's not a question of if, but
when. There will also be a great falling away from Christ, and we can see it
happening already. So-called churches are already becoming sexually immoral,
politically woke, and in bed with the government. As more churches go apostate
or get shut down, true believers may have to find or create small groups for
fellowship. While we have time and freedom, we should study the scriptures,
share the gospel, and watch for Jesus to return.
This book
is part of a series of studies that all Christians should know and teach. We
call it the "toolbox series" because these studies are tools to equip
you to share your faith with others. For free resources and study materials,
visit our website at Ears2Hear.online.