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Lesson 4: Why We Need a Savior
In a previous lesson we saw that God’s great promise and power to change lives happens through receiving His Holy Spirit. But why did Jesus have to die for us to be able to receive the life transformation from the Holy Spirit? How does Jesus’ death and resurrection affect my standing with God? And why and how did it affect the standing of the entire human race? In this lesson we will find answers to these questions straight from the Bible.
Q1. What did God do after He formed man out of the dust of the ground? Read Genesis 2:7.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
The word ”life” in this text is in the plural form in the original Hebrew Bible. It has led some to translate it, "God breathed into man “the breath of lives,” thus indicating that God created all men in that one man. The plural form of the word actually may be a plural of intensity expressing the fullness of life. Regardless, the question does remind us that the whole of mankind (Adam means man and mankind) is linked together by a common life and is considered a unit. Think about it, if your great great great grandfather had died at birth, where would you be? You, in some fashion, were in him! See Hebrews 7:9, 10. The human race, to which we all belong, is the multiplication of Adam’s one life. Acts 17:26 stresses this idea when it says, "He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth." Thus we see that God created all humanity in Adam and we are the extension of that life.
Q2. What was Adam forbidden to eat after God had placed him and his wife in the Garden of Eden? Read Genesis 2:16, 17.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
Because God created man with a free will, He would not force him to comply with the rules. He does not force or coerce. God’s laws are boundaries established for our own mental and moral safety from sin. It is important to keep in mind that people who “break God’s laws” aren’t in any way destroying the law, rather they really are really destroying themselves. Just as Adam and Eve soon learned that their neglect of God’s law brought pain and death, so we should be alert that our disobedience to God will only bring us pain. God’s laws are good and worthy of full acceptance.
Here is how the Bible defines sin:
“Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.” 1 John 3:4.
The law isn’t bad, rather its function is to protect us from evil. Like a fence between good and evil, it protects those who choose to live on the right side of the fence! For those who find themselves condemned by the law, the law stands as a mighty boundary keeping them from God and holiness.
Q3. Since all humanity was created in Adam, how many were affected by Adam’s sin? Read Romans 5:12.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
When Adam sinned, he actually invited death into his being, and all the generations that were in him also received this death. Adam separated himself from God. When he did this, the tendency of his nature turned selfish and was defiled. As much as cancer can be passed through the DNA to the unborn child, so too can the tendency to sin. While we were still “in Adam” when he sinned, our natures changed as well! We were selfish and defiled the day we were born.
Q4. What condition is ours from birth? Read Psalm 58:3.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
We are born separated from God. But although we may be sinners from birth God has given us the choice to escape this problem through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Q5. What does prophet David say about himself, which is also true of all of us? Read Psalm 51:5.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
Sin is certainly an action, something someone does. Adam was created perfect but chose to sin. Sin is more than simply an action for the children of Adam, it is also a condition or nature that we all inherit from birth, even the prophets. Thus, sin isn’t just a set of bad things that we have done. The bad things that we do grow from selfish traits we are born with because of Adam’s original sin. Therefore we can do nothing to escape it, in and of ourselves. This is not our fault and God does not blame us for being born sinners. However, for the happiness and goodness of all created beings, God’s law demands the condemnation and eradication of all sin and those people who cling to it. God will not permit sin to last forever.
Shining Star Series (Philippians 2:14-16)
Fatma was wrapping stuffed grape leaves when her cell phone rang. It was her cousin Reşat who attended Fatma’s Bible study fairly regularly. After a bit of small talk, Reşat got to his point. He asked if Fatma would keep his two and four year old boys for one night. The following week he and his wife would celebrate their tenth anniversary. Reşat had planned a Saturday night at a luxury hotel with a thermal spa as a surprise for his wife. Fatma laughed and said as if she were upset with him,
“And you planned a big surprise for me too! Two boys!”
Fatma loved Reşat’s children and called them “angels.” But she had learned that they were very active angels and a whole lot of work!
The next week when Reşat’s wife, Afife, came to drop the children off, it didn’t seem like she trusted Fatma with the children very much. In fact she was so particular in giving Fatma instruction that Fatma became somewhat irritated. Particularly because the boys’ mother didn’t seem the least bit grateful for Fatma’s help. Afife somewhat rudely scolded Fatma about some things that had happened the last time Fatma had watched the boys for her cousin.
When the two year old understood that his parents were leaving, he began to scream. He was crying and crying like he had been bitten by a dog. Over all this noise and crying the mother was giving Fatma detailed instructions about what the children would eat, and wouldn’t eat, and about the changing of their clothes, and about sleeping times, and waking times, etc. Fatma thought she would go crazy!
The situation became even more tense as the youngest boy began to hang on his mother’s legs and bite her. She began shouting at him and the other brother began hitting his little brother. Fatma was beginning to question why she called these kids “angels!” Reşat could see that things weren’t going to get any better. He peeled the screaming boy off his wife’s legs, closed the door and left the noise behind, both of them dashing off, Reşat with wife in hand.
The door latch clicked and suddenly the crying stopped. The two year old looked at Fatma and smiled. That was the end of it. The little boy turned off the tears, and immediately began playing with some toys! Fatma realized it had all been a show and the little guy had been trying to manipulate his mother! (To be Continued)
Q6. As a result of the sin of our forefathers, Adam and Eve, how many are righteous or good in God’s eyes? Read Romans 3:9-12; Ecclesiastes 7:20; Isaiah 64:6.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
All people have the “sin principle” living in them. This is why even small children sometimes lie or seek revenge. It is as easy for humans to sin as it is for a wolf to attack a goat. It is our “sinful nature.” But the Scriptures teach us that our sinful nature cannot participate in paradise.
Q7. Because of this universal sin problem, how many stand guilty or condemned under God’s law? Read Romans 3:19.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
Q8. Where can we possibly find hope? Read Romans 3:21-24.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
The problem with most of us is that we do not realize how sinful we are. We really have no understanding of our true condition. The problem is that we often compare ourselves with others to see how well we’re doing. Let’s say three of us were shooting arrows at a target in the sky. The first person shoots and his arrow goes up 45 meters. The next fellow shoots and his only goes up 28 meters and finally the third shoots it up and it goes an amazing l30 meters. We’d say that the third guy was the real winner. But what if the target…was the sun!? Would it really matter how far our arrows went up? In reality all three fell miserably short. There was no winner. Yes, some people may lead “seemingly good lives” doing numerous so-called good deeds. But the truth is that God’s standard is perfection and even the “good people” fall miserably short of God’s holiness, which burns like the sun. Nobody in their sinful inherited nature can “shoot” and hit God’s target.
Re-read Romans 3:24. Why does verse 24 use the word “justified,” a term from court?
Q9. What does Jesus teach us about our standing in the court of God? Do we enter this world innocent or guilty? Read John 3:18.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
Q10. When we commit sin, even against our wishes, what does it prove? Read John 8:34.
A.___________________________________________________________________________
We sin because it is our very nature to do so and we are slaves to this condition. Sinful deeds are what our natural heart and mind produce. A snake bites because it is its nature to do so. We commit sins because we are sinful. It comes out of a natural tendency that we are all born with. But just because sinning comes “easy” for us, doesn’t mean God can ignore our sins.
Q11. How can we be set free from our sin problem? Read John 8:31-32, 36.
A____________________________________________________________________________.
Q12. Why did Jesus come into this world? Read 1 Timothy 1:15.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
Q13. Why does Jesus’ death and resurrection change my fate? Read 1 Corinthians 15:21, 22, 45.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
Here is why Jesus’ virgin birth is so important. He entered into humanity, the same humanity as Adam. Jesus is the second Adam. How did Adam’s disobedience and sin affect you and the whole human race? That is right, it plunged us all into a hopeless pit of sin. But Jesus won the victory over Satan that Adam failed to achieve. What would be the implications if you could move your roots (ancestry) from the first sinful Adam to the second sinless Adam?
Q14. In order to save mankind, in whom did God put us? Read 1 Corinthians 1:30.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
Q15. Read Romans 5:18, 19. From this verse, who is the first and second man, and what did each accomplish for all people? The answer is in the text.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
By Jesus’ perfect life and sacrificial death He satisfied all the demands of the law that condemned all humanity. He actually received the punishment we deserved. His substitution for our death was an act of grace. In Christ, humanity has a new history that qualifies every believer for heaven.
Q16. At what point in your life can you experience being in Christ instead of being in Adam? Read Ephesians 1:13, 14.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
This is why Jesus said, “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24). As the first Adam lost paradise by doubt, paradise is regained by believing! Faith is everything.
Q17. What certainty and confidence is assured to the believer in Jesus? Read Romans 10:9-11.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
Many people believe salvation is like a great scale that weighs our bad deeds with our good deeds and if our good deeds are more than our bad, then we have won eternity. But this isn’t the way it works. The world religious systems that are “merit based” have left humans frustrated, fearful, and uncertain until the day they die.
The situation is actually much worse than weighing our good deeds against our bad deeds. The wages of all sin, no matter its size, is eternal death. Even one sin disqualifies us for heaven and no amount of good deeds can cancel sin. God says trusting in our good deeds is useless.
Q18. What are the conditions by which you and others can have certainty about your future with God in paradise? Read 1 John 5:9-13.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
Q19. By what good deed am I saved? Read Ephesians 2:6-10.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
Any good deeds that come after our belief are only evidence of God’s Spirit working in us. They are not motivated by a hope of gaining, earning, or meriting anything. We do good things because God’s mercy and kindness flows through us toward others.
So how does God’s promise give us certainty about our future? Because the promise is based on what God does, not what we do. The fact is, all He asks of us is to trust wholly in Him. God wants us to live in confidence by faith. God tells us we must trust that He will win our salvation. This faith in His goodness, just like the prophet Abraham’s faith, becomes “our righteousness.”
Q20. So what about the sinful nature that I inherited? How can I overcome it? Read Ephesians 4:22-24.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
Ezekiel 36:26 tells us that we can receive a “new heart” from God. John 3:3 tells us we must be “born again.” We have victory over our inherited sinful nature through the spiritual union with Christ. We must see our sinful self “in Christ” dying on the cross, and our new self resurrecting and stepping forth out of the tomb. As real as you were in the first Adam, you have power and victory in the second Adam, Christ! This is called the “Spirit filled life.”
Shining Stars Series (Philippians 2:14-16)
When Afife came to get the two boys on Sunday afternoon she was smiling from ear to ear. She was so happy. No longer was she irritable, bossy or ungrateful. The boys were busy playing at Fatma’s desk and the two women sat down for tea. Afife immediately began to speak,
“Thank you so much for watching the children. I feel so bad for the way I acted. I am sorry that I was a bit overprotective and rude.”
Fatma just smiled, and said, “You’re a mother, it’s your job to protect these little guys. We had a wonderful time together. They helped me roll salty pastries and we played on the playground together half the day!”
Afife took Fatma’s hand. “Fatma, when did you call the florist to have those red roses delivered to our hotel room?”
Fatma blushed, “I just wanted you to have the most wonderful anniversary possible.” Fatma began to cry, “I don’t have anniversaries anymore you know.”
Afife said, “You ordered those flowers after I had been so rude to you didn’t you?”
Fatma lifting a tear from her cheek with her finger smiled, “It doesn’t matter does it?”
Afife, “It matters to me. The weekend with Reşat was lovely, and the food was fine, and we enjoyed the spa. But when I saw those flowers and knew that you were left with those screaming boys after I had been rude to you, my heart melted. You made the weekend for me! I couldn’t even enjoy the food knowing we had walked out on you with those boys behaving like that! You are something else Fatma!”
Fatma smiled, and then she said something Afife didn’t expect. “Afife, it wasn’t me who sent the flowers. It was the Spirit of God living in me!” Afife stopped and looked with a curious expression. Then Fatma reached for her Bible and opened to this verse, Colossians 3:12 and 13,
“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience; forbearing one another and forgiving yourselves, if anyone should have a complaint against any; just as Christ forgave you, so you also do.”
“I can’t explain it all to you Afife, but I have been forgiven! Grace is God’s way and His Spirit whispered in my ear to give you grace too.” Fatma smiled and said, “Now you can pass forgiveness along when you get a chance.”
Just then the four year old walked in with scissors in one hand, and a big handful of hair in the other. The two ladies looked in amazement and Fatma laughed, “And you may get a chance to do it sooner than you think!”
Q21 How does the experience of salvation affect the way we live? Read Romans 8:9-11.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
God has given all of us a choice. We can either decide to be “in the first Adam” and inherit death or in the second Adam and inherit the Spirit and eternal life. There are no other options. It was not our fault that we were born “in Adam” but it is our fault if we decide not to be “in Christ.”
Q22. What is God pleading with us to do? Read Deuteronomy 30:19, 20.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
God is not in the business of trying to see how many people He can exclude from heaven or cast into hell. Because of His great love, He tried to make a way for everyone to get into paradise and live with Him forever. He knew that humans are not capable of achieving heaven’s level of holiness on their own because we are in a weakened, inherited nature of sin. However, it wouldn’t be just for God to permit a sinful person into paradise. To do so would make paradise like earth - sinful! And so God had to come up with a different plan. God is the best of planners. In accordance with the law Jesus entered our world through a unique way and became a “second Adam.” He resisted temptation, chose to die, and then broke death’s grip by resurrecting from the grave. By believing in Jesus we are able to experience the salvation He worked out with His perfect life, death and resurrection. He values our faith as precious. By faith we are united with Christ and His death for our sin counts as our death for sin. We then live “in Christ.” Our eternal life begins today. It is a gift for us to accept in Jesus. It is our certainty and our guarantee. We live a new life empowered by God’s Holy Spirit.
Call to commitment through prayer.
For more study read:
1 John 1:8-10; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Titus 3:3-8; Romans 8.
In a previous lesson we saw that God’s great promise and power to change lives happens through receiving His Holy Spirit. But why did Jesus have to die for us to be able to receive the life transformation from the Holy Spirit? How does Jesus’ death and resurrection affect my standing with God? And why and how did it affect the standing of the entire human race? In this lesson we will find answers to these questions straight from the Bible.
Q1. What did God do after He formed man out of the dust of the ground? Read Genesis 2:7.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
The word ”life” in this text is in the plural form in the original Hebrew Bible. It has led some to translate it, "God breathed into man “the breath of lives,” thus indicating that God created all men in that one man. The plural form of the word actually may be a plural of intensity expressing the fullness of life. Regardless, the question does remind us that the whole of mankind (Adam means man and mankind) is linked together by a common life and is considered a unit. Think about it, if your great great great grandfather had died at birth, where would you be? You, in some fashion, were in him! See Hebrews 7:9, 10. The human race, to which we all belong, is the multiplication of Adam’s one life. Acts 17:26 stresses this idea when it says, "He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth." Thus we see that God created all humanity in Adam and we are the extension of that life.
Q2. What was Adam forbidden to eat after God had placed him and his wife in the Garden of Eden? Read Genesis 2:16, 17.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
Because God created man with a free will, He would not force him to comply with the rules. He does not force or coerce. God’s laws are boundaries established for our own mental and moral safety from sin. It is important to keep in mind that people who “break God’s laws” aren’t in any way destroying the law, rather they really are really destroying themselves. Just as Adam and Eve soon learned that their neglect of God’s law brought pain and death, so we should be alert that our disobedience to God will only bring us pain. God’s laws are good and worthy of full acceptance.
Here is how the Bible defines sin:
“Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.” 1 John 3:4.
The law isn’t bad, rather its function is to protect us from evil. Like a fence between good and evil, it protects those who choose to live on the right side of the fence! For those who find themselves condemned by the law, the law stands as a mighty boundary keeping them from God and holiness.
Q3. Since all humanity was created in Adam, how many were affected by Adam’s sin? Read Romans 5:12.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
When Adam sinned, he actually invited death into his being, and all the generations that were in him also received this death. Adam separated himself from God. When he did this, the tendency of his nature turned selfish and was defiled. As much as cancer can be passed through the DNA to the unborn child, so too can the tendency to sin. While we were still “in Adam” when he sinned, our natures changed as well! We were selfish and defiled the day we were born.
Q4. What condition is ours from birth? Read Psalm 58:3.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
We are born separated from God. But although we may be sinners from birth God has given us the choice to escape this problem through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Q5. What does prophet David say about himself, which is also true of all of us? Read Psalm 51:5.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
Sin is certainly an action, something someone does. Adam was created perfect but chose to sin. Sin is more than simply an action for the children of Adam, it is also a condition or nature that we all inherit from birth, even the prophets. Thus, sin isn’t just a set of bad things that we have done. The bad things that we do grow from selfish traits we are born with because of Adam’s original sin. Therefore we can do nothing to escape it, in and of ourselves. This is not our fault and God does not blame us for being born sinners. However, for the happiness and goodness of all created beings, God’s law demands the condemnation and eradication of all sin and those people who cling to it. God will not permit sin to last forever.
Shining Star Series (Philippians 2:14-16)
Fatma was wrapping stuffed grape leaves when her cell phone rang. It was her cousin Reşat who attended Fatma’s Bible study fairly regularly. After a bit of small talk, Reşat got to his point. He asked if Fatma would keep his two and four year old boys for one night. The following week he and his wife would celebrate their tenth anniversary. Reşat had planned a Saturday night at a luxury hotel with a thermal spa as a surprise for his wife. Fatma laughed and said as if she were upset with him,
“And you planned a big surprise for me too! Two boys!”
Fatma loved Reşat’s children and called them “angels.” But she had learned that they were very active angels and a whole lot of work!
The next week when Reşat’s wife, Afife, came to drop the children off, it didn’t seem like she trusted Fatma with the children very much. In fact she was so particular in giving Fatma instruction that Fatma became somewhat irritated. Particularly because the boys’ mother didn’t seem the least bit grateful for Fatma’s help. Afife somewhat rudely scolded Fatma about some things that had happened the last time Fatma had watched the boys for her cousin.
When the two year old understood that his parents were leaving, he began to scream. He was crying and crying like he had been bitten by a dog. Over all this noise and crying the mother was giving Fatma detailed instructions about what the children would eat, and wouldn’t eat, and about the changing of their clothes, and about sleeping times, and waking times, etc. Fatma thought she would go crazy!
The situation became even more tense as the youngest boy began to hang on his mother’s legs and bite her. She began shouting at him and the other brother began hitting his little brother. Fatma was beginning to question why she called these kids “angels!” Reşat could see that things weren’t going to get any better. He peeled the screaming boy off his wife’s legs, closed the door and left the noise behind, both of them dashing off, Reşat with wife in hand.
The door latch clicked and suddenly the crying stopped. The two year old looked at Fatma and smiled. That was the end of it. The little boy turned off the tears, and immediately began playing with some toys! Fatma realized it had all been a show and the little guy had been trying to manipulate his mother! (To be Continued)
Q6. As a result of the sin of our forefathers, Adam and Eve, how many are righteous or good in God’s eyes? Read Romans 3:9-12; Ecclesiastes 7:20; Isaiah 64:6.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
All people have the “sin principle” living in them. This is why even small children sometimes lie or seek revenge. It is as easy for humans to sin as it is for a wolf to attack a goat. It is our “sinful nature.” But the Scriptures teach us that our sinful nature cannot participate in paradise.
Q7. Because of this universal sin problem, how many stand guilty or condemned under God’s law? Read Romans 3:19.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
Q8. Where can we possibly find hope? Read Romans 3:21-24.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
The problem with most of us is that we do not realize how sinful we are. We really have no understanding of our true condition. The problem is that we often compare ourselves with others to see how well we’re doing. Let’s say three of us were shooting arrows at a target in the sky. The first person shoots and his arrow goes up 45 meters. The next fellow shoots and his only goes up 28 meters and finally the third shoots it up and it goes an amazing l30 meters. We’d say that the third guy was the real winner. But what if the target…was the sun!? Would it really matter how far our arrows went up? In reality all three fell miserably short. There was no winner. Yes, some people may lead “seemingly good lives” doing numerous so-called good deeds. But the truth is that God’s standard is perfection and even the “good people” fall miserably short of God’s holiness, which burns like the sun. Nobody in their sinful inherited nature can “shoot” and hit God’s target.
Re-read Romans 3:24. Why does verse 24 use the word “justified,” a term from court?
Q9. What does Jesus teach us about our standing in the court of God? Do we enter this world innocent or guilty? Read John 3:18.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
Q10. When we commit sin, even against our wishes, what does it prove? Read John 8:34.
A.___________________________________________________________________________
We sin because it is our very nature to do so and we are slaves to this condition. Sinful deeds are what our natural heart and mind produce. A snake bites because it is its nature to do so. We commit sins because we are sinful. It comes out of a natural tendency that we are all born with. But just because sinning comes “easy” for us, doesn’t mean God can ignore our sins.
Q11. How can we be set free from our sin problem? Read John 8:31-32, 36.
A____________________________________________________________________________.
Q12. Why did Jesus come into this world? Read 1 Timothy 1:15.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
Q13. Why does Jesus’ death and resurrection change my fate? Read 1 Corinthians 15:21, 22, 45.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
Here is why Jesus’ virgin birth is so important. He entered into humanity, the same humanity as Adam. Jesus is the second Adam. How did Adam’s disobedience and sin affect you and the whole human race? That is right, it plunged us all into a hopeless pit of sin. But Jesus won the victory over Satan that Adam failed to achieve. What would be the implications if you could move your roots (ancestry) from the first sinful Adam to the second sinless Adam?
Q14. In order to save mankind, in whom did God put us? Read 1 Corinthians 1:30.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
Q15. Read Romans 5:18, 19. From this verse, who is the first and second man, and what did each accomplish for all people? The answer is in the text.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
By Jesus’ perfect life and sacrificial death He satisfied all the demands of the law that condemned all humanity. He actually received the punishment we deserved. His substitution for our death was an act of grace. In Christ, humanity has a new history that qualifies every believer for heaven.
Q16. At what point in your life can you experience being in Christ instead of being in Adam? Read Ephesians 1:13, 14.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
This is why Jesus said, “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24). As the first Adam lost paradise by doubt, paradise is regained by believing! Faith is everything.
Q17. What certainty and confidence is assured to the believer in Jesus? Read Romans 10:9-11.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
Many people believe salvation is like a great scale that weighs our bad deeds with our good deeds and if our good deeds are more than our bad, then we have won eternity. But this isn’t the way it works. The world religious systems that are “merit based” have left humans frustrated, fearful, and uncertain until the day they die.
The situation is actually much worse than weighing our good deeds against our bad deeds. The wages of all sin, no matter its size, is eternal death. Even one sin disqualifies us for heaven and no amount of good deeds can cancel sin. God says trusting in our good deeds is useless.
Q18. What are the conditions by which you and others can have certainty about your future with God in paradise? Read 1 John 5:9-13.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
Q19. By what good deed am I saved? Read Ephesians 2:6-10.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
Any good deeds that come after our belief are only evidence of God’s Spirit working in us. They are not motivated by a hope of gaining, earning, or meriting anything. We do good things because God’s mercy and kindness flows through us toward others.
So how does God’s promise give us certainty about our future? Because the promise is based on what God does, not what we do. The fact is, all He asks of us is to trust wholly in Him. God wants us to live in confidence by faith. God tells us we must trust that He will win our salvation. This faith in His goodness, just like the prophet Abraham’s faith, becomes “our righteousness.”
Q20. So what about the sinful nature that I inherited? How can I overcome it? Read Ephesians 4:22-24.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
Ezekiel 36:26 tells us that we can receive a “new heart” from God. John 3:3 tells us we must be “born again.” We have victory over our inherited sinful nature through the spiritual union with Christ. We must see our sinful self “in Christ” dying on the cross, and our new self resurrecting and stepping forth out of the tomb. As real as you were in the first Adam, you have power and victory in the second Adam, Christ! This is called the “Spirit filled life.”
Shining Stars Series (Philippians 2:14-16)
When Afife came to get the two boys on Sunday afternoon she was smiling from ear to ear. She was so happy. No longer was she irritable, bossy or ungrateful. The boys were busy playing at Fatma’s desk and the two women sat down for tea. Afife immediately began to speak,
“Thank you so much for watching the children. I feel so bad for the way I acted. I am sorry that I was a bit overprotective and rude.”
Fatma just smiled, and said, “You’re a mother, it’s your job to protect these little guys. We had a wonderful time together. They helped me roll salty pastries and we played on the playground together half the day!”
Afife took Fatma’s hand. “Fatma, when did you call the florist to have those red roses delivered to our hotel room?”
Fatma blushed, “I just wanted you to have the most wonderful anniversary possible.” Fatma began to cry, “I don’t have anniversaries anymore you know.”
Afife said, “You ordered those flowers after I had been so rude to you didn’t you?”
Fatma lifting a tear from her cheek with her finger smiled, “It doesn’t matter does it?”
Afife, “It matters to me. The weekend with Reşat was lovely, and the food was fine, and we enjoyed the spa. But when I saw those flowers and knew that you were left with those screaming boys after I had been rude to you, my heart melted. You made the weekend for me! I couldn’t even enjoy the food knowing we had walked out on you with those boys behaving like that! You are something else Fatma!”
Fatma smiled, and then she said something Afife didn’t expect. “Afife, it wasn’t me who sent the flowers. It was the Spirit of God living in me!” Afife stopped and looked with a curious expression. Then Fatma reached for her Bible and opened to this verse, Colossians 3:12 and 13,
“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience; forbearing one another and forgiving yourselves, if anyone should have a complaint against any; just as Christ forgave you, so you also do.”
“I can’t explain it all to you Afife, but I have been forgiven! Grace is God’s way and His Spirit whispered in my ear to give you grace too.” Fatma smiled and said, “Now you can pass forgiveness along when you get a chance.”
Just then the four year old walked in with scissors in one hand, and a big handful of hair in the other. The two ladies looked in amazement and Fatma laughed, “And you may get a chance to do it sooner than you think!”
Q21 How does the experience of salvation affect the way we live? Read Romans 8:9-11.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
God has given all of us a choice. We can either decide to be “in the first Adam” and inherit death or in the second Adam and inherit the Spirit and eternal life. There are no other options. It was not our fault that we were born “in Adam” but it is our fault if we decide not to be “in Christ.”
Q22. What is God pleading with us to do? Read Deuteronomy 30:19, 20.
A.____________________________________________________________________________
God is not in the business of trying to see how many people He can exclude from heaven or cast into hell. Because of His great love, He tried to make a way for everyone to get into paradise and live with Him forever. He knew that humans are not capable of achieving heaven’s level of holiness on their own because we are in a weakened, inherited nature of sin. However, it wouldn’t be just for God to permit a sinful person into paradise. To do so would make paradise like earth - sinful! And so God had to come up with a different plan. God is the best of planners. In accordance with the law Jesus entered our world through a unique way and became a “second Adam.” He resisted temptation, chose to die, and then broke death’s grip by resurrecting from the grave. By believing in Jesus we are able to experience the salvation He worked out with His perfect life, death and resurrection. He values our faith as precious. By faith we are united with Christ and His death for our sin counts as our death for sin. We then live “in Christ.” Our eternal life begins today. It is a gift for us to accept in Jesus. It is our certainty and our guarantee. We live a new life empowered by God’s Holy Spirit.
Call to commitment through prayer.
For more study read:
1 John 1:8-10; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Titus 3:3-8; Romans 8.