• 30-minute explanation of the Bible •
NUMBERS MARK THE SAME TOPIC:
In: Shame & Fear & Guilt & Emptiness
• In: English & Japanese versions.
• In: Short and Long versions.
1, 2, 3, etc. – are along left margin.
These markers are not links.
0-1
WHAT WAS BEFORE THE BEGINNING?
初めに神は…
創世記 1:1（新共同訳）
the first words in the Bible
あなたが地と世界とを生み出す前から、まことに、とこしえからとこしえまであなたは神です。
詩篇 90:2（新改訳）
1
創造者なる神様とは、どのような方でしょうか？
Creator.
初めに神は天と地を創造された。
創世記 1:1（聖書協会共同訳）
Manga Vol. 1, page
「お前たちはわたしを誰に似せ、誰に比べようとするのか。」と聖なる神は言われる。目を高く上げ、誰が天の万象を創造したかを見よ。
イザヤ 40:25-26（新共同訳）
Only God.
（創造の神は言われる。）「わたしより前に造られた神はなく、わたしより後にもない。」
イザヤ 43:10（聖書協会共同訳）
Lord over everything.
（神は言われる。）「わたし、わたしが、主である。」
イザヤ 43:11（聖書協会共同訳）
Loving Father.
主（なる神）はあなたを造った父ではないか。
申命記 32:6（新改訳）
この世界とその中にあるすべてのものを御造りになった神は、天地の主です。…確かに、神は、私たちひとりひとりから遠く離れてはおられません。私たちは、神の中に生き、動き、また存在しているのです。…「私たちもまたその子孫である。」
使徒言行録・使徒の働き 17:24, 27-28
神は…人を創造された。…男と女に創造された。
創世記 1:27（新共同訳）
神は彼らを祝福（された）。
創世記 1:28（新共同訳）
主はすべてのものにいつくしみ深く、そのあわれみは、造られたすべてのものの上にあります。
詩篇 145:9（新改訳）
天の父（なる神）…は悪人にも善人にも太陽を昇らせ、正しい者にも正しくない者にも雨を降らせてくださる。
マタイ 5:45（新共同訳）
Only Savior.
（創造の神は言われる。）「わたしのほかに救い主はない。」
イザヤ 43:11（新共同訳）
All powerful.
主がお救いになるのを妨げるものは何もない。
１ サムエル記 14:6（新改訳 2017）
神にはどんなことでもできます。
マタイ 19:26（新改訳 2017）
Totally reliable.
（主）に信頼する者は、たれも恥じを見ることがない*。
ローマ 10:11（新改訳 2017）
* 新改訳 2017 Footnote
Judge of all.
（神は）…この世を正しく裁く日をお決めになった…（の）です。
使徒言行録・使徒の働き 17:31
1-God-in-3-Persons: or, the same essence in 3 forms –
• God the Father
In the Bible "God" usually refers to God the Father.
• God the Son
The Son of God – Jesus Christ
• God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit – God's Spirit / Christ's Spirit / the Spirit
They have the same:
Nature
Heart
Purpose
Character
神は愛…です。
１ ヨハネ 4:8（新共同訳）
「あなたたちの神、主であるわたしは聖なる者である。」
レビ記 19:2（新共同訳）
But they have different:
Roles
Functions
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are mentioned together in the Bible:
（神の子どもたちは）父なる神が予知されたことに従って、（聖）霊により聖なる者とされ、イエス・キリストに従い、また、その血の注ぎを受けるために選ばれた人たち（です）。
１ ペテロ 1:1-2（聖書協会共同訳）
（イエスは言われた。）「行って、すべての民を弟子としなさい。彼らに父と子と聖霊の名によって洗礼を授け…なさい。」
マタイ 28:19-20（聖書協会共同訳）
Does 1-God-in-3-persons make logical sense?
At first it may seem to be a logical impossibility.
But we all know a very common substance that is 1-essence-in-3-forms.
So, while amazing, something being of 1 essence in 3 forms is not outside our common experience.
1-5
WHAT IS THE BIBLE?
神の言葉（聖書）をきいたととき、あなたがたは、それを人の言葉 としてでわなく、神の言葉として受け入れた。
１ テサロニケ 2:13（新共同訳）
あなた（神）の言葉の一切が真実です。
詩篇 119:160（聖書協会共同訳）
（イエスは言われた。）「天地は消え去ります。わたしのことばは決して消え去ることがありません。」
マルコ 13:31（新改訳 2017）
（イエスは言われた。）まことに、あなたがたに言います。天地が消え去るまで、（神の）律法の一点一画も決して消え去ることはありません。すべてが実現します。」
マタイ 5:18（新改訳 2017）
2
人とは、どのような者でしょうか？
神は言われた。「我々にかたどり、我々に似せて、人を造ろう。 そして彼らに、…地のすべてのもの…を支配させよう。」神はご自分にかたどって人を創造された。…男と女に創造された。
創世記 1:26-27（新共同訳・新改訳）
Manga Vol. 1, page
私たち人間は、神様によって造られました。ですから、私たちが神ではないのは明らかです。
Anything that is created is inferior in status to the one who created it.
けれども、私たち人間は、神様に似た者として造られましたから…
• 私たちは、動物とは比べ物にならないほど複雑なコミュニケーションをし、洗練された創作活動を行い、高尚な愛を持つことができます。
そして、神様と深いつながりのある生き方ができます。
• 私たちは、天のお父様である神様と、比類なくすばらしい霊的関係を持つことができます。これは動物にはできないことです。
• 私たちは神様と共に、永遠に生きることができます。
神である主は、土地のちりで人を形造り、その鼻にいのちの息を吹き込まれた。そこで、人は、生きものとなった。
創世記 2:7（新改訳）
神である主は、エデンの園に人を連れて来て、そこに住まわせた。そこを耕し、守るためであった。
創世記 2:15（聖書協会共同訳）
Manga Vol. 1, page
神は、「…彼らに、海の魚、空の鳥、家畜、地のすべてのもの、地をはうすべてのものを支配させよう。」と仰せられた。
創世記 1:26（新改訳）
God gave us an honorable, important status:
• to rule over the earth.
God gave important responsibilities:
• to take care of the Garden and work it.
3
この世界は、初めは完全無欠なものでした。
神は、造ったすべてのものを御覧いなった。それは極めて良かった。
創世記 1:31（聖書協会共同訳）
人とその妻はふたりとも裸であったが、恥ずかしいとは思わなかった。
Genesis 2:25（新改訳 2017）
Sin and evil had not yet entered the world and drastically impacted it.
So, there was no:
Death.
Guilt.
Shame.
Fear.
Suffering.
4
神様は、人にただ一つだけ制限を与えました。
神である主は人に命じられた。「…園のどの木からでも思いのまま食べてよい。しかし、善悪の知識の木からは、食べてはならない。その木から食べると、あなたは必ず死ぬ。」
創世記 2:16（新改訳 2017）
Manga Vol. 1, page
（最初の）女（エバ）はその実を取って食べ、いっしょにいた夫（アダム）にも与えたので、夫も食べた。
創世記 3:6 (新改訳)
Manga Vol. 1, page
This resulted in the following disaster for the whole world.
5
この恐ろしい問題とは何でしょうか？
それは、「罪」と「死」です。
罪を犯す者は皆、（神の）法にも背くのです。罪とは、（神の）法に背くことです。
１ヨハネ 3:4（新共同訳）
That is what Adam did.
He did what God told him not to do.
このようなわけで、一人の人（アダム）によって罪が世に入り、罪によって死が入り込んだように、死はすべての人に及んだのです。すべての人が罪を犯したからです。
ローマ 5:12（新共同訳）
罪の報酬は死です。
ローマ 6:23（新改訳 2017）
Sin and death are our greatest problems.
All around us, it is evident that sin in people is the source of evil in the world.
And death is our enemy:
…敵である死…
１コリント 15:26（新改訳）
But aren't sin, evil and death just a natural part of our world?
We are so used to evil and death that we think they are just a natural part of life –
that they are unavoidable.
But, at the beginning God created the earth without these things.
As we already read:
一人の人（アダム）によって罪が世に入り、罪によって死が入り込んだ。
ローマ 5:12（新共同訳）
So, sin and death are not a natural part of our world.
They are the direct result of the first man's choice to disobey God.
6
罪を犯した後、アダムとエバはどうしましたか？
その日、…彼らは、神である主が園の中を歩き回る音を聞いた。そこで人とその妻は、神である主の顔を避け、園の木の間に身を隠した。
創世記 3:8（聖書協会共同訳）
Manga Vol. 1, page
Sin destroys the Father-child relationship we have with God.
お前たちの悪が神とお前たちとの間を隔て、お前たちの罪が神の御顔を隠させ、お前たちに耳を傾けられるのを妨げているのだ。
イザヤ 59:2（新共同訳）
私たちはアダムやエバとは違うと言えるでしょうか？
正しい者はいない。一人もいない。悟る者はいない。
ローマ 3:10-11（聖書協会共同訳）
神を探し求める者はいない。皆迷…った。
ローマ 3:11-12（聖書協会共同訳）
7
一方で、人が罪を犯した直後、神様が最初になさったことは何でしょうか？
主なる神はアダムを呼ばれた。「どこにいるのか。」
創世記 3:9（新共同訳）
Manga Vol. 1, page
Think how significant this is!
What did Adam deserve?
「…食べると必ず死んでしまう。」
創世記 2:16（新共同訳）
Manga Vol. 1, page
But what did God do?
God, because of his great love for us, took the initiative to come looking for man to call him back to himself:
「どこにいるのか。」
God did this on about page 4 of the approximately 2,000-page Bible!
What does this tell us about the message of the rest of the Bible?
Throughout the entire rest of the Bible, though we deserve death, God is calling us back to himself.
Unless God does this, we are doomed, because...
7-5
SIN HAS VERY SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES:
神はアダムに向かって言われた。「お前は…食べるなと命じた木から食べた。お前のゆえに、土は呪われるものとなった。お前は、生涯食べ物を得ようと苦しむ。…お前は顔に汗を流してパンを得る、土に返るときまで。お前がそこからとられた土に。塵（ちり）にすぎないお前は塵に返る。
創世記 3:17, 19（新共同訳）
Manga Vol. 1, page
主なる神は言われた。 「人は…善悪を知る者となった。今は、手を伸ばして命の木からも取って食べ、永遠に生きる者となるおそれがある。」主なる神は、彼をエデンの園から追い出し…た。
創世記 3:22-23（新共同訳）
Manga Vol. 1, page
It took just one sin to separate mankind from God.
What was the immediate spiritual result?
Spiritual death for Adam and Eve.
In time, what was the physical result?
Physical death for Adam and Eve.
So it is with us.
すべての人に死が及んだのです。すべての人が罪を犯したからです。
ローマ 5:12（聖書協会共同訳）
Sin separates all mankind from God for all eternity.
So what can God do to re-establish our relationship with him?
8
GOD PRESENTS OPTION #1 FOR OVERCOMING SIN:
First, God gave very general, logical instructions:
主はカイン（アダムとエバの息子）に言われた。 「…もしあなたが正しいことをしているのなら、顔を上げられるはずではないか。正しいことをしていないのなら、罪が戸口で待ち伏せている。…罪はあなたを恋い慕うが、あなたはそれを治めなければならない。」
創世記 4:6-7（聖書協会共同訳・新改訳 2017）
Manga Vol. 1, page
First, God told us to "do what is right."
He told us to "master" sin.
So, God's instructions were general and obvious:
It is your responsibility not to do bad things.
It is your responsibility to do good.
Illustration:
This is what parents and teachers teach children. So this makes perfect sense! Just do what is right. Do what you are supposed to do. Don't do what you shouldn't do.
But much later, God gave very specific instructions:
（創造の神は言われた、）「わたしの掟と法とを守りなさい。これらを行う人はそれによって命を得ることができる。わたしは主である。」
レビ記 18:5（新共同訳）
Manga Vol. 1, page
(It is said that God has given over 600 commands in the Old Testament!)
（掟は、）命をもたらすはずの掟「です」。
ローマ 7:10（新共同訳）
神様の律法を完璧に守り通せば、永遠の命をいただけるのです。
That was the original purpose of the Law.
So this is Option #1 for gaining eternal life:
Trying with all our power we must never sin and always do right.
神様がしなさいと言われることは、一つも残さず従わなければいけません。
完璧な人にならなければいけません。
That means that, in the end, we are judged for what we do:
In the Old Testament it says:
ああ、主なる神よ、…あなたの目は人の歩みをすべて御覧になり、各人の道、行いの実りに応じて報いられます。
エレミヤ 32:17, 19（新共同訳）
Finally, at the end of the Bible it says:
死者たちは、これらの（神の）書物に書かれていることに基づき、彼らの行いに応じて裁かれた。
黙示録 20:12（新共同訳）
And we are even judged for our motives, thoughts and words!
「わたし、主が心を探り、心の奥を試し、それぞれの生き方により、行いの身にしたがって報いる。」
エレミヤ 17:10（新改訳 2017）
人はうわべを見るが、主は心を見る。
１サムエル 16:7（新改訳 2017）
By taking even our motives into consideration, God judges our actions very fairly.
（イエスは言われた。）「人は自分の話したつまらない言葉についてもすべて、裁きの日には責任を問われる。あなたは、自分の言葉によって義とされ、また、自分の言葉によって罪ある者とされる。」
マタイ 12:36-37（聖書協会共同訳）
私をさばく方は主です。…主は、やみに隠れたことも明るみに出し、心の中のはかりごとも明らかにされます。
I コリント 4:4-5（新改訳 2017）
主がいとうのはすべての高慢な心。確かに罰を免れることはない。
箴言 16:5（聖書協会共同訳）
おくびょうな者、不信仰な者、忌まわしい者、人を殺す者、みだらな行いをする者、魔術を使う者、偶像を拝む者、すべてうそを言う者、このような者たちに対する報いは、火と硫黄の燃える池である。
黙示録 21:8（新共同訳）
So we get from God exactly what we deserve.
And God is so just that he even takes our thoughts and motives and words into consideration.
But is it good news that God is so just and fair?
Do you really want to get what you deserve?
9
私たちは罪に打ち勝つことができるでしょうか？
Did Cain, and the people who came after him, "do what is right?"
Did they "master" sin?
Answer:
Unfortunately, centuries after Cain during the time of Noah, Option #1 had already proven to be a failure.
地上に人の悪がはびこんだ。
創世記 6:5（聖書協会共同訳）
Yet even today, most people are still attempting to use Option #1 as their way to be good in God's eyes.
But, do they realize that God even judges motives, thoughts and words?
主は、地上に人の悪が増し、常に悪いことばかりを心に思い計っているのを御覧になっ…た。
創世記 6:5-6（新共同訳）
And, do they realize that God's heart is grieved?
主は、…地上に人を造ったことを悔やみ、心を痛められた。
創世記 6:5-6（聖書協会共同訳）
So, God decided to start over with Noah.
ノアは主の好意を得た。…ノアは正しい人で、彼の世代の中にあって全き人であった。ノアは神とともに歩んだ。
創世記 6:8（新共同訳）
創世記 6:9（新改訳 2017）
神はノアに言われた。「すべての肉なるもの（人々）の終わりが、わたしの前に来ている。彼らのゆえに地は暴虐で満ちているからである。今こそ、わたしは地とともに彼らを（洪水で）滅ぼす。あなたは…箱舟を造りなさい。…また、あらゆる生き物…の中から、二匹ずつを箱舟に入れなさい。あなたと共に生きるためである。それらは雄と雌でなければならない。
創世記 6:13-14,19（聖書協会共同訳）
Manga Vol. 1, page
主はノアに言われた。「さあ、あなたとあなたの家族は皆、箱舟に入りなさい。」
創世記 7:1（新共同訳）
Manga Vol. 1, page
彼らと共に、それぞれの種類のあらゆる獣、それぞれの種類のあらゆる家畜、それぞれの種類のあらゆる地を這うもの、それぞれの種類のあらゆる鳥…が、二匹ずつ、ノアのもとに来て箱舟に入った。・神が命じられたとおりに、すべて肉なるものの雄と雌とが来た。主は、ノアの後ろで戸を閉ざされた。洪水は四十日間地上を覆った。…天の下にある高い山はすべて覆われた。
創世記 7:14-15（聖書協会共同訳）
創世記 7:16−17, 19（新共同訳）
Manga Vol. 1, page
地の面にいた生き物はすべて…大地からぬぐい去られ、ノアと、彼と共に箱舟にいたものだけが残った。
創世記 7:23（新共同訳）
Manga Vol. 1, page
How many ways were there to be saved from the Great Flood?
Only one.
Only God's way.
Did human effort help anyone who was not on the ark?
No.
No matter how hard they tried, no one could save themselves by their own efforts.
Yet even today, most people are still attempting to save themselves –
so they use Option #1 to try to be good in God's eyes.
But what made Noah different from everyone else?
Only one thing:
信仰がなければ、神に喜ばれることはできません。…信仰によって、ノアは… 恐れかしこみながら、その家族を救うため箱舟を造り、その信仰によって世を罪に定め、信仰による義 （正しさ）を受け継ぐ者となりました。
ヘブライ 11:6-7（聖書協会共同訳）
（新改訳 2017は「ヘブル」）
So Noah earned nothing by his own efforts, but received a great gift from God because of his faith:
ノアは主の好意を得た。
創世記 7:23（新共同訳）
Manga Vol. 1, page
(We'll discuss this more in a little bit.)
Can we accuse God of being unfair in sending the Great Flood?
Actually, whose responsibility is it to "master sin?"
主は…言われた。 「…罪はあなたを恋い慕うが、あなたはそれを治めなければならない。」
創世記 4:6-7（新改訳 2017）
Manga Vol. 1, page
So the problem of sin belongs to us.
Sin is not God's responsibility. He has no obligation to solve our sin problem.
We know the consequences of not "mastering sin:"
罪の報酬は死です。
ローマ 6:23（新改訳 2017）
彼らは、そのような（悪い）ことを行えば、死罪に当たると言う神の定めを知っていながら、それを行なっているだけでなく、それを行う者に心から同意しているのです。
ローマ 1:32（新改訳）
So, even today, people do not take sin seriously.
悟る者はいない。神を探し求める者はいない。皆迷…った。
ローマ 3:11-12（聖書協会共同訳）
During the time of Noah, people did not take sin seriously either:
洪水になる前、ノアが箱舟に入る日まで、人々は食べたり飲んだり、めとったり嫁いだりしていた。・洪水が来て、すべての人をさらってしまうまで、彼らには分かりませんでした。
マタイ 24:38（聖書協会共同訳）
マタイ 24:39（新改訳 2017）
JESUS BELIEVED THE ACCOUNT OF THE FLOOD – AND OF CREATION (MARRIAGE).
But didn't God care?
Of course, he did!
主は、…悔やみ、心を痛められた。
創世記 6:5-6（聖書協会共同訳）
How did God show that he cared?
義を説いたノア…
２ ペテロ 2:5（聖書協会共同訳）
So, through Noah, people had the opportunity to turn from their evil ways.
ノアの時代に箱舟が造るられていた間、神が忍耐して待っておられた。
１ ペテロ 3:20
(God waited a long time. The ark likely took 60 to 80 years to build.)
(創世記 5:32; 6:18; 7:6)
私たちの主の忍耐は救いであると考えなさい。
２ ペテロ 3:15（新改訳 2017）
主は…一人も滅びないで、すべての人が悔い改めるように望み、あなたがたのために忍耐しておられるのです。
２ ペテロ 3:9（聖書協会共同訳）
Even more amazingly . . .
キリストは捕らわれていた霊たちのところへ行って宣教されました。この霊たちは、ノアの時代に箱舟が作られていた間、神が忍耐して待っておられたのに従わなかた者です。
１ ペテロ 3:18-20（新共同訳）
This is a mysterious statement – but one important point is very clear:
God provided clear opportunities for everyone living before the Flood to turn from evil and seek him.
Because of his great love, God went far beyond anything he was obligated to do.
Even so, do you think that God is serious about getting rid of sin?
（主よ、）あなたは不正を喜ぶ神ではなく、あなたのもとに悪がとどまることはありません。・誇り高ぶる者たちは・あなたの前に立つことはできません。あなたは、悪事を働く者すべてを憎み、偽りを語る者を滅ぼします。血を流す者と欺く者を主は忌み嫌います。
詩篇 5:5-7（聖書協会共同訳・新改訳 2017・） （新改訳 2017は詩篇5:4-6）
But did the terrible punishment of the Flood change people’s hearts?
（洪水の後、）主は…心の中で言われた。「…人が心に計ることは、・幼い時から悪いのだ。」
創世記 8:21（聖書協会共同訳・新共同訳）
Manga Vol. 1, page
Nothing had changed!
But, why not?
Because we, ourselves, are wrong – from the very beginning.
わたしは咎のうちに産み落とされ、母がわたしを身ごもったときもわたしは罪のうちにあったのです。
詩篇 51:7 （新改訳と新改訳2017は詩篇51:5）
We are wrong even before we do anything good or bad.
Our problem starts with what we are.
Our problem isn't simply what we do.
Then we all continue down the wrong path.
わたしたちは皆、汚れた者となり、正しい業もすべて汚れた着物のようになった。
イザヤ書 64:5（新共同訳）
（新改訳と新改訳2017はイザヤ書 64:6）
正しい者はいない。一人もいない。悟る者もなく、神を探し求める者もいない。皆迷（った）。
ローマ 3:10-12（新共同訳）
The threat of punishment ...
• May frighten us.
• May even get us to control our outward behavior to some degree.
• May cause us to conceal our inner thoughts and motives.
And God's Law ...
• May pressure us to do good and avoid evil.
But neither great punishment nor God's Law:
1. Can change who we are inside – can change our identity.
2. Can give us the power that we need:
To always do right.
To never do wrong.
律法が（私たちの）肉により弱くなっていたためになしえなかった。
ローマ 8:3（聖書協会共同訳）
But don't we get credit for doing some good things?
律法全体を守ったとしても、一つの点でおちどがあるなら、すべての点について有罪となるからです。
ヤコブ 2:10（新共同訳）
例：
God’s Law is like a priceless vase: If you drop it once, you completely shatter it.
The Law is not like an exam with a passing score of 51%.
The Law is not like a scale that balances the good against the bad.
律法の実行＜罪の解決策 その１＞に頼る者はだれでも、呪われています。「律法の書（旧約聖書）に書かれているすべての事を絶えず守らない者は皆、呪われている」と（旧約聖書に）書いてあるからです。
ガラテヤ 3:10（新共同訳）
God's Law is also based on a relationship:
「私は主、あなたがたの神である。…わたしの法を行ない、わたしの掟を守り、それに従って歩みなさい。私は主、あなたがたの神である。」
レビ記 18:2, 4（聖書協会共同訳）
律法全体を守ったとしても、一つの点でおちどがあるなら、すべての点について有罪となるからです。・なぜなら、「姦淫してはならない。」と言われた方は、「殺してはならない。」とも言われたからです。
ヤコブ 2:10（新共同訳）
ヤコブ 2:11（新改訳）
What matters is who said it!
Our Creator said it.
Our Father said it.
So our sin completely breaks our relationship with our Creator who made us –
it betrays our relationship with our Father who loves us.
This is true, even when we sin against other people, as in the incident being confessed below.
Our moral responsibility is first and foremost to our Father in heaven who created us.
神よ、わたしを憐れんでください…。あなたに、ただあなたに私は罪を犯しました。あなたの前に悪事を行いました。（ですから）あなたの言われることは正しく、あなたの裁きに誤りはありません。
詩篇 51:1, 4（聖書協会共同訳）
（新改訳と新改訳2017は詩篇 51:1, 4)
Question:
Since this is all true . . .
Do you really want to be judged by God, himself?
Do you want to be judged on what you have personally done to God?
And, do you want to be judged on whether you kept his Law perfectly?
So what is the end result?
人間にはただ一度死ぬことと、その後に裁きを受けることが定まっている。
ヘブライ／ヘブル 9:27（新共同訳）
We only get one chance at life.
So, please, don't waste it.
The Bible has sobering prophecies about the judgment that will come at the end of the world:
多くの者が地の塵の中の眠り（死）から目覚める。…あるものは永久に続く恥と憎悪の的となる。
ダニエル 12:2（新共同訳）
死者たちが、大きな者も小さな者も、（神の）玉座の前に立っている…。幾つかの書物が開かれた…。死者たちは、これらの書物に書かれていることに基づき、彼らの行いに応じて裁かれた。
黙示録 20:12（新共同訳）
（イエスは言われた：）「世の終わりに…人の子（イエス・キリスト）は天使たちを遣わし、つまずきとなるものすべてと不法を行う者どもを自分の国から集めさせ、燃え盛る炉の中に投げ込ませるのである。彼らは、そこで泣きわめいて歯ぎしりする。」
マタイ 13: 40-42（新共同訳）
First, God told us to "master" sin – but we couldn't do it.
Then, God told us to obey his specific Law – but we couldn't do that either.
BUT WHAT ABOUT RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES & RITUALS?
Can't they restore our purity? Our relationship to God?
Mastering sin is our responsibility – but we can't do it and only deserve death.
Yet even here God is loving and merciful to us.
Creator God actually gave Israel a yearly purification ceremony.
This happened in about 1440 BC during the time of the great leader Moses, and of Aaron the high priest.
It was about 1,400 years before the Messiah came to earth.
This ceremony was an important part of Option #1.
Option #1 is the great effort people must make – to always do right and to always keep all of God's Laws.
But the people of Israel could not avoid sinning.
So God put a temporary solution for sin into his Law.
律法は、約束を与えられたあの子孫（メシア）が来られるときまで、違犯…（の*）ために付け加えられたもの…です。
ガラテヤ 3:19（新共同訳）
* 原語のギリシャ語による
This solution was a crucial part of Option #1 – it covered people when they sinned.
The Day of Atonement – God's temporary solution for sin.
主はモーセに告げられた。「…年に一度、イスラエルの人々のために、あらゆる罪の贖いをしなさい。」
レビ記 16:1, 34（聖書協会共同訳）
主はモーセに言われた。「アロンに告げよ。・勝手な時に垂れ幕の内側の聖所にはいって…はならない。、
The Lord said to Moses: "Tell…Aaron [the High Priest] not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain [in God's sanctuary] …, or else he will die, because I appear [there]."
Leviticus 16:2
Creator God is holy – so no one is worthy to come into his presence.
Even the High Priest could not come freely into God's presence.
This is how Aaron is to enter the sanctuary area: with a young bull for a sin offering. …Aaron is to offer the bull [on the altar] for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household.
Leviticus 2:3, 6
Before going into Creator God's presence, even the High Priest's sins had to be paid for.
Something or someone must pay the penalty of death for sin.
From the Israelite community he is to take two males goats for a sin offering. …Aaron shall bring the [one] goat…and sacrifice it for a sin offering. But the [other] goat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the desert… . He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites––all their sins––and put them on the goat's head. He shall send the goat away into the desert... . The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a solitary place.
Leviticus 2:5, 9-10, 21-22
The first goat paid the penalty of death for all the people's sins.
The second goat carried all the people's sins far from them.
This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites.
Leviticus 16:34
Why were animals sacrificed?
Because –
The wages of sin is death.
Romans 6:23
The soul who sins is the one who will die.
Ezekiel 18:20
So, our life is on the line when we sin.
Unless something dies in our place, we forfeit our life for all eternity.
So God said to the Israelites:
"The life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life."
Leviticus 17:11
The animal that was sacrificed died in their place.
The animal's life becomes payment for their life – by shedding its life-blood.
So –
Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Hebrews 9:22
Is this not shocking?
This ceremony is shocking because it makes very clear that:
• Sin is a life and death matter for us.
• In fact, the payment for sin is extremely costly – it demands the payment of a life. And it can only be eliminated in a very horrific manner.
• So, the problem of sin cannot be dealt with lightly and casually.
But even this ceremony had major weaknesses:
This is also true of other ceremonies, sacrifices and gifts to God found in God's Law.
In fact, these weaknesses apply to any religious ceremony meant for spiritual purification.
1. People still couldn't enter directly into God's presence.
Only the High Priest entered the inner room [the Most Holy Place], and that only once a year. …The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been [made known].
Hebrews 9:7-8
So people's relationship to God was not truly restored by this ceremony.
2. People didn't feel cleansed from their sins.
The gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings––external regulations.
Hebrews 9:9-10
Religious ceremonies cannot purify us from our sins or change our hearts.
They are only external.
3. The sacrifices themselves were inadequate.
The Law…can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship… , because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Hebrews 10:1, 4
Even the sacrifice of animals (though commanded in the Old Testament) cannot remove our sins and make us perfect.
How do we know it is impossible?
If it could [remove sins], would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins.
Hebrews 10:2
The Bible asks a brilliant question!
If something has to be done again, it is proof that it was not effective in the first place.
And if it has to be done repeatedly, it is proof that it will never be effective.
Something to think about:
If any religious ceremony, meant for our purification, has to be repeated, why do we rely on it?
4. The High Priest was supposed to represent us to God – yet he was inadequate!
Every High Priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
Hebrews 5:1
This is because we are incapable of going into God's presence on our own.
Who can endure the day of his [the Lord"s] coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiners fire.
Malachi 3:2
So we need an intermediary – someone who can go between us and God.
• Yet even the High Priest, himself, lacks the status or ability to go directly into God's presence.
The Lord said to Moses: "Tell…Aaron not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain …, or else he will die, because I appear [there]."
Leviticus 16:2
• The High Priest, himself, is a sinner.
Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself.
Leviticus 2:6
• The High Priest can only go into God's presence because of the blood of another.
The High Priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood.
Hebrews 9:7
• The High Priest was powerless to bring us into God's presence.
The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been [made known].
Hebrews 9:8
• The High Priest cannot give us eternal life – because even he dies.
There have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office.
Hebrews 7:23
So, what do we need?
We need a High Priest who . . .
…lives forever… and has a permanent priesthood. …He is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
Hebrews 24-25
So, any priest who dies has no ability to purify us from our sins and give us eternal life.
Question:
Are you depending on a priest who will die?
Are you depending on someone who will die, or has died, for your . . .
• cleansing from sin?
• spiritual purity?
• eternal life?
So the Old Testament priesthood, itself, had to be changed.
If perfection could have been attained through the [Old Testament]…priesthood…, why was there still need for another priest to come––…not in the order of Aaron?
Hebrews 7:11
Those Old Testament priests were part of Option #1.
Option #1 cannot make us clean in God's sight.
So perfection was impossible through those priests and through those sacrifices.
The type of priesthood determines the type of law.
On the basis of it [the Old Testament priesthood] the Law was given to the people.
Hebrews 7:11
This Law was Option #1.
But this Law and this priesthood were ineffective.
The Law appoints as High Priest men who are weak.
Hebrews 7:28
So . . .
The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the Law made nothing perfect).
Hebrews 7:18
So Option #1 was set aside.
And a new High Priest was necessary.
Such a High Priest meets our need––one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.
Hebrews 7:26
But a new kind of priest means a new law – a new way to God.
When there is a change of the priesthood there must also be a change of the law.
Hebrews 7:12
So Option #1 must be changed:
• Its High Priest must be changed.
• Its sacrifices must be changed.
• Its Law must be changed.
What, then, is the benefit of the Day of Atonement?
It causes us to see ourselves as we really are.
Those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins.
Hebrews 10:3
The Day of Atonement, and all other purification ceremonies that must be repeated over and over, make one thing very clear:
We are sinners.
This should cause us to seek another solution for our sins.
So, it points us to a permanent solution.
A better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.
Hebrews 7:19
What is this better hope?
The Law was put in charge to lead us to Christ [the Messiah] .
Galatians 3:24
The Day of Atonement is one of the greatest symbols of what the Messiah will do.
It points us to:
• a new High Priest.
• his new sacrifice.
• a new law.
And it points us to a new solution for sin – Option #2.
"This is the covenant [Option #2] I will make with them after that time," says the Lord. "I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds." Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more."
Hebrews 10:16-17
So the Day of Atonement was unsuccessful in removing our sins.
But the Messiah would come and do everything the Day of Atonement could not do.
10
Then the Lord answered… "Who is this that [speaks]…words without knowledge? Brace yourself…and I will question you, and you shall answer me. Where were you when I laid the earth's foundations? Tell me if you understand. …Surely you know, for you were already born!
Job 38:1-4, 21
Question:
Does God only exist in our minds?
O God…even the highest…heaven cannot contain you.
1 Kings 8:26-27
So, isn't it the other way around?
In him we live and move and have our being. …We are his offspring.
Acts 17:28
If we are God's children, can we make him? Can we make our own god?
"To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?" say the Holy One. …Look to the heavens: Who created all these?
Isaiah 40:25-26
Do not worship any other god, for the Lord…is a jealous God. … Do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything…for the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
Exodus 34:14 … Deuteronomy 4:23-24
People who don't care, don't become jealous.
But the Heavenly Father cares passionately about you.
He cares deeply whether you love him or not.
God is our Father! If we are his children, can he be less than what we are?
[Since we are] God’s offspring, we ought not to think that …[God] is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.
Acts 17:29
How can we shame our Heavenly Father by trying to create him?
Can we think up God out of our own imagination?
Can children create their own father?
Can we make God with our own hands?
You are a person!
Can your Father be less than what you are?
Can your Father be made of wood, stone or bronze?
Or, can Creator God be only an animating spirit within nature?
O Lord…there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below. …The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you.
1 Kings 8:23, 27
How can Creator God be contained within nature?
Can the brilliant sun, a gorgeous tree, a thundering waterfall, or a majestic mountain contain God?
No! They are nothing more than God's amazing art work!
Can any of these things be our Father?
The Lord says: "…Disgraced…[are] they [who] say to wood, 'You are my father,' and to stone, 'You gave me birth.' They have turned their backs to me and not their faces."
Jeremiah 2:5, 26-27
WHO IS MAN? WHAT ARE WE REALLY?
The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground.
Genesis 2:7
Manga Vol. 1, page
God made us – as he made everything else.
So everything is divided into just 2 categories:
But the Heavenly Father gave us a magnificent identity.
God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over … all the earth.” …So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them.
Genesis 1:26-28
Manga Vol. 1, page
We are unlike all other created things!
We are far above animals and everything else that God has created.
Of course, we are not God, for we were created by God.
How has Creator God honored and blessed us?
We are similar to God in important ways:
• We can communicate, create, and love in very sophisticated ways –
far above animals.
• We can have a unique spiritual relationship with our Heavenly Father as his loved children –
which is something animals cannot do.
• We can live with God forever.
Creator God gave us great status and important responsibilities:
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
Genesis 2:15
Manga Vol. 1, page
God said, "…Let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over … every living creature that moves on the ground."
Genesis 1:26, 28
Creator God appointed us as his managers!
God was very generous with the first man and first woman.
The Lord God [said]… "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden."
Genesis 2:16
God is still generous with us today.
God…richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
1 Timothy 6:17
The world was perfect – so there was no evil in the world.
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.
Genesis 1:31
So, there was no:
Death.
Guilt.
Shame.
Fear.
Self-doubt.
Suffering.
Uncertainty about our identity.
Adam (the first man) & Eve (the first woman) were perfect.
The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
Genesis 2:25
They had nothing to be ashamed of.
They had nothing to hide:
~ from God
~ or from one another.
And God their Father came to spend time with them.
The Lord God…was walking in the garden…[and] the Lord God called to the man.
Genesis 3:8-9
IN THIS WONDERFUL WORLD, GOD GAVE ONLY ONE RESTRICTION
In the middle of the garden were [two trees:] the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. …God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”
Genesis 2:9, 16-17
Manga Vol. 1, page
The penalty is very serious…
…for disobeying God.
…for disrespecting our Heavenly Father.
Did they submit to their Creator? Did they honor their Father?
She [Eve] took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband [Adam], who was with her, and he ate it.
Genesis 3:6
Manga Vol. 1, page
This resulted in a great disaster for the whole world.
WHAT IS THIS GREAT DISASTER?
It is Sin & Death.
Adam was guilty of a sin.
Sin is the breaking of [God's] law.
I John 3:4
Holman Christian Standard Bible
[Adam] sinned by breaking a command.
Romans 5:14
And Adam betrayed his Heavenly Father.
Adam didn't just break a rule.
The Lord God…said [to Adam], "…I commanded you not to eat…"
Genesis 3:11
Adam rejected the Heavenly Father who made him.
So, we can say of Adam:
You forgot the God who gave you birth.
Deuteronomy 32:18
So sin and death entered the world.
Sin entered the world through one man [Adam], and death through sin.
Romans 5:12
And Adam's sin affected every person born after him.
In this way death came to all men, because all sinned.
Romans 5:12
Unfortunately, we are no different than Adam –
because we all make the same choice that Adam did.
Why did Adam's sin bring death into the world for everyone?
Because…
The wages of sin is death.
Romans 6:23
In the end, death is the terrible enemy that defeats everyone of us.
The last enemy...is death.
I Corinthians 15:26
But aren't sin and death just a natural part of our world?
No!
Sin entered the world through one man…
Romans 5:12
There was no sin in the world before Adam.
…and death through sin.
Romans 5:12
There was no death in the world before Adam.
And –
The…enemy...is death.
I Corinthians 15:26
So death is extremely unnatural –
it is not natural – it did not exist at the beginning.
HOW DID ADAM & EVE REACT TO THEIR SIN?
They felt shame.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Genesis 3:7
Their sin fundamentally degraded who they were as people.
Their innocence was lost.
They were disgracefully exposed.
They felt fear.
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden…, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
Genesis 3:8
Manga Vol. 1, page
Why did they hide from God?
[Adam said to God:] "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
They no longer felt safe with God –
rather, they felt very inadequate.
What happened to their relationship to God?
Your iniquities [sins] have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you.
Isaiah 59:2
The Father-child relationship that they enjoyed with God was destroyed.
Are we any different from Adam & Eve?
There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands.
Romans 3:10-11
There is...no one who seeks God. All have turned away.
Romans 3:11-12
BUT WHAT WAS GOD'S FIRST REACTION TO ADAM & EVE'S SIN?
They hid from the Lord God… But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
Genesis 3:9
Manga Vol. 1, page
Think how significant this is!
What did Adam deserve?
"...when you eat of it you will surely die.”
Genesis 2:16
He deserved instant death.
But what did God do?
God, because of his great love for us, took the initiative to come and look for man and call him back to himself:
“Where are you?”
Genesis 3:9
Then God was doubly gracious to Adam and Eve.
He covered their shame.
The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
Genesis 3:21
Instead of destroying them, God the Father covered their shame –
he covered their vulnerability.
When did God show them this double kindness?
God did this on about page 3 of the 1,000+ page Bible!
What does this tell us about God's intention throughout the whole rest of the Bible?
God is love.
1 John 4:8
Love covers over a multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4:8
So we…rely on the love God has for us.
1 John 4:16
Father God's purpose is to call us back to himself –
to restore us as his children.
So the Bible is the historical account of what Creator God had to do to bring us back to himself.
Did you notice what had to happen to cover Adam and Eve's shame?
God made garments of skin.
Genesis 3:21
So an animal's life was sacrificed in order for God to cover their shame.
(The Bible does not tell us what kind of animal it was.)
This is the beginning of a pattern throughout the whole Bible:
Sin can only be paid for by a loss of life –
either by the loss of our life, or by the loss of another's life.
Why? Because from the very beginning . . .
The wages of sin is death.
Romans 6:23
When we sin, we forfeit our lies.
So…
Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Hebrews 9:22
Only another's life can buy back our life.
HOW DID DEATH COME TO ADAM & EVE?
To Adam…[God] said, "Because you...ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,'...you will …return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."
Genesis 3:17, 19
So, after many years, Adam experienced physical death.
Adam lived…and had other sons and daughters…and then he died.
Genesis 5:4-5
He shamefully ended up in the dust of the ground.
And we experience the same shameful end.
Death came to all men, because all sinned.
Romans 5:12
What did God do to prevent sinful people from living forever?
The Lord God said, "The man has now [come to know]…good and evil. He must not be allowed to...take also from the Tree of Life, and live forever.” So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden.
Genesis 3:22-23
Manga Vol. 1, page
The Tree of Life was in the middle of the Garden of Eden.
So Adam and Eve were shamefully banished from God's wonderful garden.
So they were separated from the eternal life that only God can provide.
So Adam & Eve immediately experienced spiritual death?
You were [spiritually] dead in your…sins.
Ephesians 2:1
And we too are separated from God forever because of our sins –
so we also become spiritually dead.
But…God…is rich in mercy.
Ephesians 2:4
13:30
SO GOD GIVES US TWO OPTIONS FOR OVERCOMING SIN:
This is on page 4 of the 1000-page Bible.
What is Option #1?
Option #1 = Do good & live forever
What must we do?
We must:
• Always do right – and never do wrong.
• Try with all our might to be good enough for God.
• Try to earn eternal life by our own efforts.
First, God gave very simple, logical instructions:
After Adam and Eve were banished from the garden . . .
The Lord said to Cain [Adam & Eve’s son], “…If you do what is right will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”
Genesis 4:6-7
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So God said:
• "Do what is right."
• "Master" sin.
Hundreds of years later, God added this to Option #1:
The Lord said…"Keep my…laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them."
So Option #1 =
Obey God & live forever.
Do good & live forever.
Option #1 is very easy for us to understand:
This is what parents and teachers tell children –
and this is how we think our world should function:
• Do good, don't do bad –
and you will be rewarded.
• Study hard and you will get good grades.
• Work hard at your company and you will be promoted.
• Be nice to people, and they will be nice to you.
DID CAIN AND THE GENERATIONS AFTER HIM "MASTER" SIN?
Did they always . . .
"do what is right"?
Genesis 4:7
Unfortunately, Option #1 was a failure.
Many centuries after Cain, during the time of Noah . . .
The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become.
Genesis 6:5
How did the Heavenly Father feel about this?
The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.
Genesis 6:6
God knew from the beginning that people would not be able to master sin –
but it was still painful for him.
Option #1 always fails!
There is no one righteous, no not one.
Romans 3:10
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23
What is sin?
• It is bad thoughts, bad words and bad actions.
The word of God…judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12
[Jesus said:] "Men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken."
Matthew 12:36
• Everyone who sins breaks…[God's] law.
Why does Option #1 always fail?
I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Psalm 51:5
(same in Japanese: Shinkaiyaku - New Japanese Bible)
(Psalm 51:7 in Japanese: Shinkyodoyaku - New Interconfessional Translation)
Really? Little babies sin?
No. Our little babies do not sin.
But little babies have "sinning" in them.
Do baby birds fly?
No, baby birds do not fly.
But baby birds have "flying" in them.
And our human babies have "sinning" in them.
So when our babies are 2 years old, watch out! The sin comes pouring out of them.
So our problem starts with what we are.
We cannot help but sin.
If I do what I do not want to do…it is sin living in me that does it.
Romans 7:20
I am unspiritual, …a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do… I have the desire to do what is good but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do––this I keep on doing.
Romans 7:14-15, 18-19
Nothing in this world can change our hearts –
Nothing can change our identity.
Why are we born sinful?
Because we are . . .
. . . in Adam.
1 Corinthians 15:22
What does "in Adam" mean?
It means that Adam represents us –
he is our ancestor, so we are what Adam was.
We inherited Adam's sinful nature.
How can Adam affect who we are 1000s of years later?
Well, why do we each have the eye, skin and hair color that we have?
It is because of our ancestors –
we inherited our physical characteristics from them.
We could say that:
We were "in our ancestors" when they got their eye, skin and hair color –
so we get the physical characteristics that they got.
There is a direct connection from them to us.
From Adam we inherited our sinful nature – the old self.
Our old self…[makes us]…slaves to sin.
Romans 6:6
And from Adam we inherited a shameful condition.
We were by nature objects of [God's] wrath.
Ephesians 2:3
So it is impossible for us to follow God's logical, general instructions:
Because of our sinful nature we cannot follow God's general instruction to "do what is right" and "master" sin.
We need a much more focused solution for our sins –
we need a very specific solution to bring us back to our Heavenly Father.
So, Cain failed to "master" sin, but what about his brother Abel?
Is there any other way to please the Heavenly Father besides Option #1?
But God also said something very fearful:
The Lord said to Cain, "…Sin…desires to have you."
Genesis 4:7
It is a fearful thing not to "master" sin, because . . .
Everyone who sins is a slave of sin.
John 8:34
In other words, we can't help but sin.
And, even more fearful is the fact that . . .
Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning.
1 John 3:8
You are doing the things your own father does. …You belong to your father, the devil.
John 8:41, 44
So, God told us to "master" sin so that we could:
• Keep from becoming a slave of sin
• Keep from becoming a child of the devil
• Receive eternal life.
THE BEGINNING OF OPTION #2:
What did Abel know?
Abel knew that Option #1 was futile –
he could not win God's approval by his own efforts to be good.
Abel knew that . . .
The wages of sin is death.
Romans 6:23
So . . .
Without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness of sins.
Hebrews 9:22
(His parents' shame had been covered by the death of an animal.)
So what did Abel do?
Abel kept flocks [of sheep or goats]. …As an offering to the Lord…Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock.
Genesis 4:2-4
How did God respond to Abel's offering?
The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering.
Genesis 4:4
This was because God understood Abel's motivation in making this offering . . .
By faith Abel offered a better sacrifice.
Hebrews 11:4
Abel's motivation was his faith in God.
How does this relate to Option #2?
• Option #2 requires only our faith –
it gives us no credit for any effort on our part!
• But what is the most important part of Option #2?
The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering.
Genesis 4:4
[Abel] was commended as a righteous [good] man, when God spoke well of his offerings.
Hebrews 11:4
Abel's goodness (righteousness) was a gift from God.
To the man who does not work [to be good] but trusts God…, his faith is credited [to him by God] as righteous.
Romans 4:5
So, the most important thing about Option #2 is what God does for us!
So, what is Option #2?
1. We believe in and trust Creator God.
2. And Creator God gives us his righteousness (his goodness).
So Option #2 has nothing to do with what we do for ourselves (that is Option #1).
We just believe God.
Option #2 is completely about what God does for us –
God makes us good.
And God makes us his children forever.
By the way, how did Abel know about Option #2?
How did he know what kind of sacrifice he should offer God?
Thousands of years later Jesus called Abel a prophet:
He said, “…the prophet…Abel…”
Luke 11:46, 50-51
(English Standard Version)
In the Bible a prophet:
• Knows God's truth –
so Abel knew what God wanted.
• Often predicts what God will do in the future.
17:00
• Speaks God's truth to the people:
By [his] faith Abel…still speaks, even though he is dead.
Hebrew 11:5
DID PEOPLE AFTER ABEL HAVE FAITH IN CREATOR GOD?
Centuries after Abel . . .
The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.
Genesis 6:5-6
But Noah had faith in God.
Just like Abel . . .
Noah…by his faith…became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
Hebrews 11:8
Noah followed Option #2.
So God decided to start over with Noah.
God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people [with a great flood], for the earth is filled with violence. ...So make yourself an ark [a wooden ship]. ...You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures [animals], male and female, to keep them alive with you.”
Genesis 6:13-14, 19
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The Lord then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family.”
Genesis 7:1
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Then the Lord shut him in. …And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights… For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth...and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. ...Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out.
Genesis 7:14-16, 12, 17, 19, 23
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Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.
Genesis 7:23
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How many ways were there to be saved from the Great Flood?
Only one – only God's way.
And only Noah had the faith to follow God's way.
Only Noah and his family believed God and followed Option #2.
Did human effort help anyone who was not on the ark?
No.
The ark was the only method that Creator God provided for people to be saved from death.
No one could save themselves from the Great Flood by their own efforts.
Option #1 was a complete failure.
Yet, surprisingly today, many people still try to use Option #1 as the way to be good enough for God.
They try to "do what is right" and "master" sin by their own efforts.
What made Noah different from everyone else?
Only one thing:
Without faith it is impossible to please God.
Hebrews 11:6
Noah simply received the gift of righteousness (goodness) from God because of his faith.
So . . .
Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
WHAT HAPPENED TO MAN'S SIN AFTER THE GREAT FLOOD?
Did the terrible punishment of the Flood change people's hearts?
[God said after the flood:] “Every inclination of his [man’s] heart is evil from childhood.”
Genesis 8:21
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Nothing had changed!
But, why not?
Because we are born in a most shameful condition.
I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Psalm 51:5
(same in Japanese: Shinkaiyaku - New Japanese Bible)
(Psalm 51:7 in Japanese: Shinkyodoyaku - New Interconfessional Translation)
Our problem starts with what we are.
We, ourselves, are wrong even before we do anything good or bad.
So we cannot help but sin?
I am unspiritual, …a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do… I have the desire to do what is good but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do––this I keep on doing.
Romans 7:14-15, 18-19
Nothing in this world (not even the fear of great punishment) can change our hearts.
Why are we born sinful?
Because . . .
Sin entered the world through one man [Adam].
Romans 5:12
And we are . . .
. . . in Adam.
1 Corinthians 15:22
What does "in Adam" mean?
It means that Adam represents us –
he is our ancestor, so we are what Adam was.
Think about it this way:
Why do we each have the eye, skin and hair color that we have?
It is because of our ancestors –
we inherited our physical characteristics from them.
We could say that:
We were "in our ancestors" when they got their eye, skin and hair color –
so we got the physical characteristics that they did.
There is a direct connection from them to us.
From Adam we inherited our sinful nature – the old self.
Our old self…[makes us]…slaves to sin.
Romans 6:6
And from Adam we inherited a shameful condition.
We were by nature objects of [God's] wrath.
Ephesians 2:3
So it is impossible for us to follow God's logical, general instructions:
Because of our sinful nature we cannot follow God's general instruction to "do what is right" and "master" sin.
We need a much more focused solution for our sins –
we need a very specific solution to bring us back to our Heavenly Father.
SO CREATOR GOD SET UP THE ONLY PLAN THAT COULD SAVE THE WHOLE WORLD.
God started this plan by choosing one man – and one nation.
This happened centuries after Noah in about 2000 B.C.
Option #1 was still in operation.
And Option #2 was still a mystery to almost all people.
God chose Abraham – and gave Abraham a great promise.
[God said:] “I will make you [Abraham] into a great nation and I will bless you; …and you will be a blessing. …And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Genesis 12:2-3
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Think about this!
Who would be blessed?
4,000 years ago, in blessing Abraham, God was also arranging for great blessing to come to all people –
including you and your people.
What's more, this event happened on about page 10 of the 1,000+ page Bible.
So, who was Creator God thinking about and including in his plan from the very beginning?
It was your people!
How big was God's plan?
• It started with one man – Abraham.
• It will end with people from every group on earth joyfully standing in God's presence!
There…was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne [of God] and in front of the Lamb [Jesus Christ]. …And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.
Revelation 7:9-10
But at the very start Abraham, who was about 80 years old, had a big problem.
To make the problem worse –
his wife Sarah was about 70 years old with a serious problem of her own.
Now…[Sarah] was barren; she had no children.
Genesis 11:30
Abra[ha]m said, "O Sovereign Lord, ...You have given me no children."
Genesis 15:2-3
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How could Abraham become the father of a great nation without any children?
Then Creator God made Abraham a promise.
Then the word of the Lord came to him: "...A son coming from your own body will be your heir." He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars. ...So shall your offspring be."
Genesis 15:4-5
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Then comes one of the most important statements in the Bible!
Abra[ha]m believed the Lord, and he [God] credited it to him as righteousness.
Genesis 15:6
[And] Abraham…was called God's friend.
James 2:23
This is Option #2 again!
• Abraham believed Creator God –
he believed God's promise.
• God gave him a gift – this gift was righteousness [goodness].
What then shall we say that Abraham…discovered in this matter?
Romans 4:1
Answer:
God justifies the wicked.
Romans 4:5
justify = to make right / to make innocent of all wrong / to completely take away guilt
• So Abraham went from being an “object of [God's] wrath” to becoming “God's friend” !
Abraham's shameful status was replaced with a glorious status because he believed God.
No one is ever accepted by Creator God by following Option #1.
It is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep [God's] law.
Galatians 3:11
New Living Translation
So, it was not because Abraham tried to "do what is right" and tried to "master" sin that God made him good.
HOW WOULD GOD BLESS ALL PEOPLE THROUGH ABRAHAM?
First, Abraham shows everyone how to have a relationship with Creator God.
Abraham…is the father of all [non-Jews] who believe… And he is the father of [the Jews]…who walk in the footsteps of the faith…that Abraham had. …He is the father of us all…a father of many nations. He is our father in the sight of God.
Romans 4:1, 11-12, 16-17
Second, Abraham's descendant would be the one to actually save the world.
Jesus Christ… [was] the son [descendant] of Abraham.
Matthew 1:1
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son [Jesus Christ], that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
2000 years after Abraham (in about A.D. 1), Jesus Christ was born in the country of Israel.
So God's magnificent plan progressed over 2000 years down to one point – his Messiah.
He chose to speak to the whole world through:
one man Abraham
one country Israel
one Messiah Jesus Christ.
Only in this way could God accomplish his purpose for the entire world, that:
All peoples on earth will be blessed through [Abraham].
Genesis 12:2-3
But the world would not be ready for the Messiah to come for 2000 more years.
WHAT WOULD GOD DO UNTIL THE MESSIAH CAME?
God had to show that the Messiah was absolutely necessary.
And God had to prepare for the Messiah to actually come.
He did both these things through the nation of Israel.
First, God turned the one man Abraham into a nation – the nation of Israel.
By about 1400 B.C. Israel had become a nation of over 2 million people.
Because God's plan for the whole world was that . . .
salvation is from the Jews [from Israel].
John 4:22
In other words, the Messiah for the whole world would be born in Israel.
But the Messiah wasn't just for Israel
Did God's focus on Israel mean that other national groups were forgotten by God?
No! It is exactly the opposite.
In about 700 B.C., about 700 years before the Messiah would be born, God the Father said to him:
"It is too small a thing for you to [only]…bring back those of Israel [to me]… I will also make you a light for the Gentiles [non-Jews], that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth."
Isaiah 49:6
People completely failed to keep the general instruction of Option #1 to "do what is right" and "master" sin.
But first Creator God had to prepare the way for the Messiah
He had to show that we really need a Messiah – that there is no other way for us to come to God
So God gave Israel a very detailed version of Option #1 – based on human effort, humanly performed rituals , humanly offered sacrifices/gifts, humanly built places of worship
God had to show that Option #1 was a complete failure
If salvation could have come by the Law it would have.
If you keep the Law you live
This was a viable option – if we could keep it.
If we could be saved by the Law Christ died for nothing.
Nothing man does can succeed in bringing us to God – it all fails.
How did God prove this?
GOD GAVE ISRAEL A VERY DETAILED RELIGIOUS SYSTEM –
A VERY DETAILED VERSION OF OPTION #1.
This system is called THE LAW.
It had 2 purposes:
First, it gave a legitimate way for people to come to God and live forever –
it gave people another chance:
The general version of Option #1, the general instruction to "do what is right" and "master" sin, had failed.
But the new, detailed version of Option #1 had a clear purpose –
The Lord said… "Keep my…laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them."
Leviticus 18:5
The...commandment...was intended to bring life.
Romans 7:10
What then was the second purpose?
If people did sin, something had to be done about those sins.
What, then, was the purpose of the Law? It was added because of transgressions [sins] until the [Messiah]…had come.
Galatians 3:19
Until the Messiah would come 1400 years later, something needed to be done about all the sins of the people.
So the Law was a stop-gap measure.
What was wrong with the simple version of Option #1?
The simple version was:
Do what is right. …You must master [sin].
Genesis 4:7
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But no one carried out this general responsibility that God gave to people.
Now, Creator God told Israel exactly what he wanted them to do.
What does this detailed version of Option #1 require?
Perfection!
The Lord said…"I am the Lord your God; …be holy, because I am holy."
Leviticus 11:1, 44
Be perfect…as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:48
You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with you the wicked cannot dwell. The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong. You destroy those who tell lies; bloodthirsty and deceitful men the Lord abhors.
Psalm 5:4-5
What is in THE LAW?
What did God tell the people to do in order to please him.
THE LAW contains 4 important parts.
1. Commands or Rules – also called the Law.
2. A place of worship.
3. A High Priest.
4. Sacrifices.
Why are we talking about these 4 things? What do they have to do with us?
Because, even today, many people depend on one or more of these things to:
• Gain God's approval and earn eternal life.
• Persuade God to give them what they want or need in this life.
• Gain power over Satan and evil spirits.
So, we need to find out the answer to 2 big questions:
1. Can these 4 parts of THE LAW, given by Creator God himself, actually give us what we desperately need?
Are these 4 things actually effective, or not?
Can they bring us into Creator God's presence?
2. And, what does Creator God's religious system tell us about all other religious systems in the world?
THE LAW was given by the God who made heaven and earth.
There is no one greater than Creator God.
There are no religious rules or religious systems better than his.
So, no other religious system in the entire world can surpass this one.
But, could another religious system be as effective as this one?
If Creator God's religious system is effective, maybe other religious systems can also be effective.
Let's find out.
Let's look at the 4 things that are in THE LAW.
1. Commands or Rules.
Some of us today are trying hard to follow God's rules –
we are trying to be good enough for God –
we are trying to be a good person that God will accept.
The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain…and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction.”…And he wrote on the tablets the words of the…Ten Commandments.
Exodus 24:12; 34:1, 28
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Does God have only 10 rules?
No, it is said that there are about 600 other commands in God's Law!
God was very specific.
But the Ten Commandments summarize what God wants everyone to do.
These are the Ten Commandments:
But does God begin the Ten Commandments by listing the 10 rules?
Or does he begin with something completely different?
God spoke… "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery."
Exodus 20:1-2
God begins with his relationship to his people –
"I am…your God."
I am your Creator and Heavenly Father who loves you greatly – so . . .
"I…brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery."
For the Father in Heaven, everything is based on relationship –
He is looking for far more than outward performance.
Later, Moses explains to Israel:
The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath [promise]…to your forefathers that he brought you out [of Egypt] with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.
Deuteronomy 7:7-9
An Everyday Example:
Good parent-child relationships don't start with a list of rules.
Good parent-child relationships start with love –
with the love of parents for their children.
Then good parents teach their children –
and the relationship grows as the children are taught to respect their parents.
Healthy parent-child relationships are the result of parents providing a healthy balance of love and discipline.
So, based on his relationship to his people, Creator God goes on to tell them:
1. "You shall have no other gods besides me.
2. You shall not make for yourself an idol. …You shall not bow down to them or worship them…
3. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God…
4. Remember the Sabbath day [rest day] by keeping it holy [special for God]…
5. Honor your father and mother…
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not give false testimony…
10. You shall not covet…anything that belongs to your neighbor."
Exodus 20:1-17
In case we missed the main point of the Ten Commandments, God even summarized them!
[A man asked Jesus:] "Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
Matthew 22:36
Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul …and with all your strength… and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment.
Matthew 22:37-38 • Luke 10:27
"And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
Matthew 22:39
Jesus…[said], "Do this and you will live."
Luke 10:28
What is so important about this summary?
The Heavenly Father cares first and foremost about relationships –
Is he not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you?
Deuteronomy 32:6
God takes it very personally when we reject him –
when we reject what God says we are betraying our Heavenly Father who created us.
O God. …Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.
Psalm 51:1, 4
(Japan Bible Society Interconfessional Version – Psalm 51:3, 6)
We have also betrayed his Son Jesus.
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised . . .
. . . and we esteemed him not.
Isaiah 53:3
And God cares about our relationship with people.
Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Philippians 2:4
So the focus of God's Law is love –
Love for God
and love for people.
Love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:7-8
What did Jesus say was the purpose of God's commands?
[The] commandment…was intended to bring life.
Romans 7:9
[Creator God said,] “Keep my decrees and laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them. I am the Lord.”
Leviticus 18:5
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So following the Law perfectly results in eternal life.
Obey and live forever!
Love God and love people – and live forever.
In fact, The Law was God's preferred method for enabling us to live forever:
If a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness [goodness] would certainly have come by [obeying] The Law.
Galatians 3:22
Is this not obvious?
If we can always obey God's Law – if we never disobey it – we will always be good in God's eyes.
We will never sin.
God will never be angry with us.
We will never become children of Satan.
We will never go to hell
– and we will live with God forever.
But, can anyone do this? Can the Law actually give life?
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23
What is the result for us?
No one is declared righteous before him [God] by…[obeying] the Law.
Romans 3:20 (NET Bible)
Instead –
Through the Law we become conscious of sin.
Romans 3:20
And what is the final result?
The wages of sin is death.
Romans 6:23
Instead of helping us, the Law continually reminds us of how hopeless we are.
In fact, it is worse than that:
I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.
Romans 7:10
When the commandment came, sin came to life and I died.
Romans 7:9
Does this mean that there is something wrong with God's Law?
Certainly not! ...The Law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.
Romans 7:7, 12
So . . .
It is not as though God's word had failed.
Romans 9:6
Then, whose fault is it?
God found fault with the people and said: "... they did not remain faithful to my covenant [Option #1]."
Hebrews 8:8-9
The commandments fail because of us.
We betrayed the Heavenly Father and spurned his love for us.
We rejected his commands.
We are the problem!
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. …I have the desire to do what is right, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do––this I keep on doing.
Romans 7:15, 18-19
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me?
So, the first of the four things intended to bring us into God's presence results in failure.
God's commands (or Law) cannot make us acceptable to God.
The Law was powerless to do [it] because it was weakened by…[our] flesh[ly evil desires].
Romans 8:3
Trying to follow God's detailed commands and rules cannot help us –
because we fail to follow them.
Our fleshly evil desires don't even want to follow God's Law.
But it is actually worse than that –
we cannot do it!
The mind…set on…flesh[ly evil desires] is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s Law; indeed, it cannot.
Romans 8:7 (English Standard Version)
How then can anyone come into holy God's presence?
THE LAW added 3 more things for that purpose.
2. The Tabernacle – a tent for worship.
The first covenant [Option #1] had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. A Tabernacle was set up.
Hebrew 9:1-2
What was God's purpose in making this tabernacle?
The Lord said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites to…make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them."
Exodus 25:1-2, 8
God's purpose was to live with his people.
What an amazing purpose!
Throughout the whole Bible, from beginning to end, Creator God's desire is to be with his people.
God desires to be with you –
to have a personal relationship with you that lasts forever.
So he told the Israelites to build a tabernacle.
What was the Tabernacle?
The tabernacle was a beautiful tent –
it was a sanctuary or chapel where the Israelites could come to God.
But what does this have to do with us?
People everywhere in the world go to special buildings or places to try to meet God.
So the question is:
Can a special building or place bring us into Creator God's presence?
Let's find out.
What was in the Tabernacle?
Inside was the exact location where Creator God would come down to meet with his people.
The tabernacle was made of 2 rooms:
• the Holy Place
• the Most Holy Place
They were lined up end to end.
In its first room [in the Holy Place]…[was a] curtain.
Hebrews 9:2-3
What was hidden behind the curtain?
The curtain…separate[d] the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.
Exodus 26:33
Behind the…curtain was…the Most Holy Place.
Hebrews 9:3
The Most Holy Place was the most important place in all Israel –
it contained something extremely holy.
The Most Holy Place…had…the gold-covered Ark.
Hebrews 9:3-4
[The Lord said to Moses:] "There…I will meet with you."
Exodus 25:22
What was the Ark?
Ark = a chest or box
[On] the gold-covered Ark…[was an] atonement cover.
Hebrews 9:4-5
What does "atonement' mean?
Atonement =
to pay for sins –
to make up for being unholy or unclean or unworthy.
The atonement cover was the place where the sins of the people could be covered up.
Why was the atonement cover the most important place in all of Israel?
The Lord said to Moses, "Place the [atonement] cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the… [Ten Commandments] which I will give you."
Exodus 25:1, 21
What was under the atonement cover of the ark?
A copy of God's Law – the Ten Commandments.
What was above the cover?
[The Lord said to Moses:] "There, above the cover between the two cherubim… I will meet with you."
Exodus 25:22
This is why it was the most important place in Israel.
The holy Creator of the whole universe chose to come down and meet with Israel above the cover.
This is wonderful news!
Then, could all the people go into the Most Holy Place to meet with God?
Unfortunately – no.
The way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed [made clear].
Hebrews 9:8
The people still could not go in!
The Law couldn't open the way to God –
So the Most Holy Place was inaccessible to people –
And the Tabernacle failed to serve its ultimate purpose.
The Law that was under the atonement cover could not enable people to come directly into God's presence.
No one will be declared righteous [pure and good] in his [God's] sight by observing the Law. …For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:20, 23
The Law could not make people good enough to meet Creator God in the Most Holy Place.
So there is no holy place on earth that can bring us into God's presence.
Then, how could people, who couldn't keep The Law that was below the atonement cover, meet with Creator God who was above the atonement cover?
They needed someone to go into the Most Holy Place in their place.
They needed a High Priest.
Even today, all over the world, people look for someone else to bring them close to God.
We instinctively know that we are unworthy or incapable of coming directly into God's presence.
We look for a guru, or holy person, or priest, or pastor –
we hope that they can bring us into God's presence.
In the Old Testament God provided such a person.
3. The High Priest – the only person who could stand between the people and God.
Only the high priest entered the inner room [the Most Holy Place].
Hebrews 9:7
What was special about the High Priest?
A plate of pure gold…[saying] HOLY TO THE LORD…will be on Aaron's [the High Priest's] forehead…continually.
Exodus 28:38
The High Priest had to be holy in God's eyes.
Priests…must be holy to their God… Because they present the offerings made to the Lord by fire…they are to be holy.
Leviticus 21:6
What makes him holy?
The Lord said… “I am the Lord, who makes him holy."
Leviticus 21:1, 15
Why else did the High Priest need to be holy?
Because he had to stand between sinful people and holy God –
he had to carry the people's guilt –
the guilt of the people fell upon him.
As the holy High Priest, Aaron had this enormous responsibility:
Aaron…will bear the guilt involved in the sacred gifts [of] the Israelites…so that they will be acceptable to the Lord.
Exodus 28:28
Without a holy High Priest, the people's sacrifices would have been completely unacceptable to God.
Why should Creator God accept any gift or sacrifice from sinful people?
God only accepted sinful people's gifts and sacrifices because their High Priest was holy.
Since the High Priest was holy, could he go freely into the Most Holy Place?
The Lord said to Moses: "Tell…Aaron [the High Priest] not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover."
Leviticus 16:2
What?
He couldn't go into God's presence freely?
When could the High Priest enter the Most Holy Place?
The High Priest entered the inner room…only once a year.
Hebrews 9:7
Only one person in all Israel could go directly before God –
that was the High Priest.
But he could only go in once a year.
Question to think about:
Does this sound like a personal relationship with Creator God?
Is this the level of closeness that either God or we desire?
Was the High Priest able to go into God's presence once a year because the High Priest was good?
No.
It is true that in order to perform his duties . . .
The Lord said… “I…make…him holy."
Leviticus 21:1, 15
But the High Priest still had a great problem.
What did the High Priest need in order to enter the Most Holy Place?
The High Priest entered the inner room…never without blood, which he offered for himself.
Hebrews 9:7
He is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering.
Leviticus 16:11
He is to take some of the bull's blood and with his finger sprinkle it on the front of the atonement cover.
Leviticus16:14
The High Priest, too, was a sinner – like we are.
Even he could not go freely into Creator God's presence based on his own goodness.
Even he needed something that could make up for his sins!
But this wasn't the only problem that the High Priest had.
There have been many of those [High] Priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office. …For the Law appoints as High Priests men who are weak.
Hebrews 7:23
Something to think about:
Are you depending on someone who will die, to enable you to live forever?
Or – can a person who is dead give you eternal life?
Is there a spiritual guru, or holy person, or priest, or pastor, or ancestor who has the power to give us eternal life?
Are they not all weak and defeated by death just like we are?
But THE LAW provided one more thing – maybe this can bring us into God's presence.
What did the High Priest, and all the people, need in order to cover their sins?
4. Animal sacrifices.
The blood of animals was used to cover people's sins.
[The High Priest] shall…slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and take its blood behind the curtain [into the Most Holy Place] and…sprinkle it on the atonement cover.
Why is this?
Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Hebrews 9:22
Why must blood be shed for our sins to be forgiven? Isn't this very strange?
No. It is very understandable!
1. The wages of sin is death.
Romans 6:23
In fact, as soon as we sin, we die spiritually . . .
…dead in your transgressions and sins.
Ephesians 2:1
Death came to all men, because all sinned.
Romans 5:12
But God loves his people.
So he created a way for a person to buy his life back from death –
to atone for his life.
The sins that cause our spiritual and physical death must be forgiven.
This can only happen if something gives its life for us –
if something dies in our place.
2. Life is in the blood.
Leviticus 17:11
When something's blood is shed, it dies.
When something dies in our place . . .
our sins are forgiven
and our life is atoned for.
3. (So) without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Hebrews 9:22
Either we die for our own sins –
or something must die in our place, and we can be forgiven.
But only certain animals were acceptable to Creator God.
1. The sacrifice had to be holy (or "clean").
You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean.
Leviticus 10:10
You must …make a distinction between clean and unclean animals and between unclean and clean birds.
Leviticus 20:25
God said that only lambs (sheep), goats, cows, pigeons and doves could be offered to him –
only they could be a holy sacrifice.
2. The sacrifice had to be perfect.
When anyone brings…a[n] offering to the Lord…it must be without defect or blemish to be acceptable. Do not offer to the Lord the blind, the injured or the maimed, or anything with warts or…sores.
Leviticus 22:21-22
The Lord said…"The life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it [the blood of animals] to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life."
Leviticus 17:11
In this universe made by Creator God, only blood can make atonement for one's life.
It must be a life for a life.
What about foreigners? Could they also offer sacrifices to Creator God?
Did God love them too?
God said to Israel:
Whenever an alien [foreigner]…living among you presents an offering made by fire…to the Lord, he must do exactly as you do. The community is to have the same rules for you and for the alien living among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You and the alien shall be the same before the Lord.
Numbers 15:14-15
Are you Jewish? Or, are you not a Jew?
This is another reminder that in 1400 B.C. the Heavenly Father cared about you both.
Even though Creator God focused primarily on Jews [Israelites] in the Old Testament,
Creator God's concern for non-Jews was permanent –
this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.
Numbers 15:15
So, the love that God had for your people in 1400 B.C. continues to this day.
The love that the Heavenly Father had for his people Israel in the Old Testament
is a picture of the love the Heavenly Father has today for his people all around the world.
But were these animal sacrifices able to bring people into God's presence?
When Moses and the people finally finished building the tabernacle and the ark, what happened?
Do you remember God's purpose in making the tabernacle?
The Lord said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites to…make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them."
Exodus 25:1-2, 8
This is the Heavenly Father's desire throughout the entire Bible – to live with his people.
In fact, the very last pages of the Bible describe what eternity will be like on a new earth.
It says:
Now the dwelling of [Creator] God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. …They will see his face. …There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.
Revelation 21:3; 22:4; 21:4
What a wonderful future!
So Moses finished the work [on the tabernacle]. Then the cloud covered [it]…and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
Exodus 40:33-34
For Israel, this was the climax of a whole year in the desert receiving God's Law and building God's Tabernacle.
Were people then able to meet with God face to face?
Moses could not enter the Tent…because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
Exodus 40:35
Not even Moses was able to enter!
And, not even the High Priest could go into the Most Holy Place freely!
The Lord said to Moses: "Tell your brother Aaron [the High Priest] not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover."
Leviticus 16:2
If that is true, how could anyone come into Creator God's presence?
God's very next instructions sounds nothing like the wonderful scene at the end of the Bible that we just read:
Now…God…will live with them. …They will see his face.
Revelation 21:3; 22:4
It sounds sadly anticlimactic:
The Lord called to Moses…from the Tent…
Leviticus 1:1
Does this sound like a personal conversation?
God is on the inside.
And God calls to Moses – who is on the outside.
But God doesn't invite the people into the tent.
He said, "…When any of you brings an offering to the Lord…from the herd, …he must present it at the entrance to the Tent…so that it will be acceptable to the Lord. He is to lay his hand on the [animal's] head…and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him."
Leviticus 1:1-3
No one was pure enough to come directly before God.
They could come to the entrance of the Tent, but they could not go inside.
Each person needed to be atoned for.
Something fundamentally and shamefully wrong with them had to be paid for.
So each one needed to bring an animal sacrifice.
He is to slaughter the [animal]…before the Lord.
Leviticus 1:5
A bull, sheep, goat or pigeon had to die in the person's place before he could be accepted by God.
But that wasn't all he needed.
Aaron's sons the priests shall bring the blood and sprinkle it against the altar at the entrance to the Tent. …Then…the priests shall…burn all of it on the altar.
Leviticus 1:5, 9
He needed a priest to offer his sacrifice.
Even if he had a sacrifice, he could not approach God on his own.
He needed a priest to intercede for him before God.
He needed a priest to make his sacrifice acceptable to Creator God.
So, with the help of a priest and the blood of a sheep could a person go into God's presence inside the Tent?
No!
The person could not go inside the Tent, past the curtain, and into the Most Holy Place to meet face-to-face with Creator God.
The person could only come near . . .
the altar at the entrance to the Tent.
Leviticus 1:5
Because . . .
The way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed [made clear].
Hebrews 9:8
If that is true, was Creator God pleased with these offerings?
Yes . . . but . . .
[The person] must present it [the burnt offering] at the entrance to the Tent…, so that it will be acceptable to the Lord. He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.
Leviticus 1:3-4
It is a burnt offering, …an aroma pleasing to the Lord.
Leviticus 1:9
So, in a sense, God was pleased with these sacrifices.
These sacrifices allowed people limited access to God.
Yet it says . . .
"Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offers you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the Law required them to be made).
Hebrews 10:8
The aroma was pleasing to God.
And The Law required the sacrifices to be made.
Yet God was not pleased.
Why was God displeased with these animal sacrifices?
The gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. …Never [can]…the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship…because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin.
Hebrews 9:9; 10:1, 4
The blood of animals had only limited power.
It couldn't free people from their sins.
It couldn't remove their sense of being a sinner.
How do we know that the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin?
If it could, would they not have stopped being offered?
Hebrews 10:2
What an obvious question!
The fact that these sacrifices were offered year after year for 100s of years proved that the problem of sin was never solved.
Instead . . .
. . . those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins.
Hebrews 10:3
Instead of solving the problem of sin, these sacrifices kept reminding people how sinful they were.
The blood of goats and bulls…[only made worshipers] outwardly clean.
Hebrews 9:13
It didn't make the worshipers truly clean in God's eyes –
It only made the worshipers acceptable to God for the time being . . .
. . . external regulations applying until the time of the new order.
Hebrews 9:10
So, a permanent, totally effective solution was needed –
and Creator God already had one in mind.
So, THE LAW with its (1) commandments, (2) tabernacle, (3) High Priest and (4) sacrifices was inadequate –
as are all the world's spiritual commands, spiritual places, spiritual leaders, and spiritual sacrifices, gifts and ceremonies.
Jesus said… "What can a man give in exchange for his soul?"
Matthew 16:26
What can we offer Creator God?
Nothing!
This is what we learn from these sacrifices required by the Creator of the universe –
If what God specifically asked us to offer him was inadequate to bring us fully into his presence,
there is nothing in this world that we can offer to the Heavenly Father that can atone for:
Our shameful rejection of his love for us.
Our rebellion against his commands.
Our sinful thoughts, words and actions.
Why not?
For…[Jesus Christ] is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.
Matthew 16:27
This is the killer in Option #1 –
I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne [of God], and books were opened. …The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.
Revelation 20:12
We get judged according to what we have actually done – and . . .
The wages of sin is death.
Romans 6:23
If we rely on Option #1 there is no law, holy place, holy person, or sacrifice or gift to God that can erase our shameful sinfulness –
We will be held accountable for every one of our thoughts, words and actions.
But God keeps another book.
Another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. …I saw a new heaven and a new earth… I saw the Holy City…coming down out of heaven from God. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. …Nothing impure will ever enter it [the Holy City], nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's [Jesus Christ's] Book of Life.
Revelation 20:12; 21:1-2, 27
If anyone's name was not found written in the Book of Life he was thrown into the Lake of Fire.
Revelation 20:15
How can our names be written in the Book of Life?
THE LAW was only God's preparation for this wonderful solution.
Why was that necessary? What was wrong with these sacrifices?
In the Old Testament God gave amazing pictures of what the Messiah would do?
And God gave an amazing picture of Option #2.
Passover Lamb
What should God do about sins until the Messiah came?
God gave a a temporary solution.
Then God made Option #1 very specific/detailed/precise.
Option #1 was still based on "mastering" sin and always doing what was right –
But now God told Israel precisely what he wanted them to do.
In about 1400 B.C. when Abraham's descendants had finally become a nation, God gave them very detailed rules for living:
Though the general version of Option #1 (to "master" sin) had failed, God had a special purpose for this detailed version of Option #1.
[Creator God said:] “Keep my decrees and laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them. I am the Lord.”
Leviticus 18:5
Manga Vol. 1, page
God told people exactly what he wanted them to do.
(It is said that God gave as many as 600 commands in the Old Testament!)
The...commandment...was intended to bring life.
Romans 7:10
Keeping God's Law perfectly results in eternal life!
That was the original purpose of the Law.
The purpose of Option #1 was to gain eternal life:
Trying with all our power we must never do wrong and always do right.
We must obey everything God tells us to do.
We must be a perfect person.
So, we are judged for what we do:
In the Old Testament it says:
Ah, Sovereign Lord, ...your eyes are open to all the ways of men; you reward everyone according to his conduct and as his deeds deserve.
Jeremiah 32:17, 19
Finally, at the end of the Bible it says:
The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in [God's]...books.
Revelation 20:12
And we are even judged for our motives, thoughts and words!
[God says:] "I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve."
Jeremiah 17:10
Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
I Samuel 16:7
By taking even our motives into consideration, God judges our actions very fairly.
[Jesus said:] "I tell you that men will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."
Matthew 12:36-37
It is the Lord who judges me. ...He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts.
I Corinthians 4:4-5
The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.
Proverbs 16:5
The cowardly...their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
Revelation 21:8
So we get from God exactly what we deserve.
God is so just that he even takes our thoughts and motives and words into consideration.
But is it good news that God is so just and fair?
Do you really want to get what you deserve?
9
CAN WE REALLY OVERCOME SIN?
But, do they realize that God even judges motives, thoughts and words?
The Lord saw…that every inclination of the thoughts of his [man's] heart was only evil all the time.
Genesis 6:5
And, do they realize that God's heart is grieved?
The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.
Genesis 6:6
Can we accuse God of being unfair in sending the Great Flood?
Actually, whose responsibility is it to "master sin?"
The Lord said… "Sin…desires to have you, but you must master it.”
Genesis 4:6-7
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So the problem of sin belongs to us.
Sin is not God's responsibility. He has no obligation to solve our sin problem.
We know the consequences of not "mastering sin:"
The wages of sin is death.
Romans 6:23
Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
Romans 1:32
So, even today, people do not take sin seriously.
There is no one who understands. There is...no one who seeks God. All have turned away.
Romans 3:10-12
During the time of Noah, people did not take sin seriously either:
In those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away.
Matthew 24:38-39 (New American Standard)
JESUS BELIEVED THE ACCOUNT OF THE FLOOD – AND OF CREATION (MARRIAGE).
But didn't God care?
Of course, he did!
The Lord was grieved…, and his heart was filled with pain.
Genesis 6:6
How did God show that he cared for the people?
Noah [was] a preacher of righteousness.
2 Peter 2:5
So, through Noah, people had the opportunity to turn from their evil ways.
God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built.
1 Peter 3:20
(God waited a long time. The ark likely took 60 to 80 years to build.)
(Genesis 5:32; 6:18; 7:6)
Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation.
2 Peter 3:15
He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:9
Even more amazingly . . .
Christ…went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built.
1 Peter 3:18-20
This is a mysterious statement – but one important point is very clear:
God provided clear opportunities for everyone living before the Flood to turn from evil and seek him.
Because of his great love, God went far beyond anything he was obligated to do.
Even so, do you think that God is serious about getting rid of sin?
You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with you the wicked cannot dwell. The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong. You destroy those who tell lies; bloodthirsty and deceitful men the Lord abhors.
Psalm 5:4-6
And God's Law ...
• May pressure us to do good and avoid evil.
But neither great punishment nor God's Law:
1. Can change who we are inside – can change our identity.
2. Can give us the power that we need:
To always do right.
To never do wrong.
The Law was powerless to do [it] in that it was weakened by [our]…Flesh.
Romans 8:4
But, don't we get credit for doing some good things?
Whoever keeps the whole Law [of God] and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.
James 2:10
Illustration:
God’s Law is like a priceless vase: If you drop it once, you completely shatter it.
The Law is not like an exam with a passing score of 51%.
The Law is not like a scale that balances the good against the bad.
Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything [Option #1] written in the Book of the Law [the Old Testament].
Galatians 3:10
God's Law is based on a relationship:
"I am the Lord your God. ...Obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the Lord your God."
Leviticus 18:2, 4
Whoever keeps the whole Law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder."
James 2:10-11
What matters is who said it!
Our Creator said it.
Our Father in Heaven said it.
So our sin completely breaks our relationship with our Creator who made us –
it betrays our relationship with our Father who loves us.
Even when we sin against other people, our debt is first and foremost to our Father who created us.
Notice this prayer of confession for sins committed against other people:
Have mercy on me, O God. ...Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.
Psalm 51:1, 4
Question:
Since this is all true, do you really want to be judged by God, himself?
Do you want to be judged on the basis of what you have done to him?
Do you want to be judged on whether you kept his Law perfectly?
So what is the end result?
Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.
Hebrews 9:27
We only get one chance at life.
Please, don't waste it.
The Bible has sobering prophecies about the judgment that will come at the end of the world:
Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake...to shame and everlasting contempt.
Daniel 12:2
The dead, great and small, [were] standing before the throne [of God], and books were opened. ...The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.
Revelation 20:12
[Jesus said:] "At the end of the age...the Son of Man [Jesus Christ] will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Matthew 13: 40-42
First, God told us to "master" sin – but we couldn't do it.
Then, God told us to obey his specific Law – but we couldn't do that either.
BUT WHAT ABOUT RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES & RITUALS?
Can't they restore our purity? Our relationship to God?
Mastering sin is our responsibility – but we can't do it and only deserve death.
Yet even here God is loving and merciful to us.
Creator God actually gave Israel a yearly purification ceremony.
This happened in about 1440 BC during the time of the great leader Moses, and of Aaron the high priest.
It was about 1,400 years before the Messiah came to earth.
This ceremony was an important part of Option #1.
Option #1 is the great effort people must make – to always do right and to always keep all of God's Laws.
But the people of Israel could not avoid sinning.
So God put a temporary solution for sin into his Law.
The Law…was added because of transgressions until the Seed [Messiah]...had come.
Galatians 3:19
This solution was a crucial part of Option #1 – it covered people when they sinned.
The Day of Atonement – God's temporary solution for sin.
The Lord spoke to Moses…: "Atonement (payment) is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites."
Leviticus 16:2
The Lord said to Moses: "Tell…Aaron [the High Priest] not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain [in God's sanctuary] …, or else he will die, because I appear [there]."
Leviticus 16:2
Creator God is holy – so no one is worthy to come into his presence.
Even the High Priest could not come freely into God's presence.
This is how Aaron is to enter the sanctuary area: with a young bull for a sin offering. …Aaron is to offer the bull [on the altar] for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household.
Leviticus 2:3, 6
Before going into Creator God's presence, even the High Priest's sins had to be paid for.
Something or someone must pay the penalty of death for sin.
From the Israelite community he is to take two males goats for a sin offering. …Aaron shall bring the [one] goat…and sacrifice it for a sin offering. But the [other] goat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the desert… . He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites––all their sins––and put them on the goat's head. He shall send the goat away into the desert... . The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a solitary place.
Leviticus 2:5, 9-10, 21-22
The first goat paid the penalty of death for all the people's sins.
The second goat carried all the people's sins far from them.
This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites.
Leviticus 16:34
Why were animals sacrificed?
Because –
The wages of sin is death.
Romans 6:23
The soul who sins is the one who will die.
Ezekiel 18:20
So, our life is on the line when we sin.
Unless something dies in our place, we forfeit our life for all eternity.
So God said to the Israelites:
"The life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life."
Leviticus 17:11
The animal that was sacrificed died in their place.
The animal's life becomes payment for their life – by shedding its life-blood.
So –
Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Hebrews 9:22
Is this not shocking?
This ceremony is shocking because it makes very clear that:
• Sin is a life and death matter for us.
• In fact, the payment for sin is extremely costly – it demands the payment of a life. And it can only be eliminated in a very horrific manner.
• So, the problem of sin cannot be dealt with lightly and casually.
But even this ceremony had major weaknesses:
This is also true of other ceremonies, sacrifices and gifts to God found in God's Law.
In fact, these weaknesses apply to any religious ceremony meant for spiritual purification.
1. People still couldn't enter directly into God's presence.
Only the High Priest entered the inner room [the Most Holy Place], and that only once a year. …The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been [made known].
Hebrews 9:7-8
So people's relationship to God was not truly restored by this ceremony.
2. People didn't feel cleansed from their sins.
The gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings––external regulations.
Hebrews 9:9-10
Religious ceremonies cannot purify us from our sins or change our hearts.
They are only external.
3. The sacrifices themselves were inadequate.
The Law…can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship… , because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Hebrews 10:1, 4
Even the sacrifice of animals (though commanded in the Old Testament) cannot remove our sins and make us perfect.
How do we know it is impossible?
If it could [remove sins], would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins.
Hebrews 10:2
The Bible asks a brilliant question!
If something has to be done again, it is proof that it was not effective in the first place.
And if it has to be done repeatedly, it is proof that it will never be effective.
Something to think about:
If any religious ceremony, meant for our purification, has to be repeated, why do we rely on it?
4. The High Priest was supposed to represent us to God – yet he was inadequate!
Every High Priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
Hebrews 5:1
This is because we are incapable of going into God's presence on our own.
Who can endure the day of his [the Lord"s] coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiners fire.
Malachi 3:2
So we need an intermediary – someone who can go between us and God.
• Yet even the High Priest, himself, lacks the status or ability to go directly into God's presence.
The Lord said to Moses: "Tell…Aaron not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain …, or else he will die, because I appear [there]."
Leviticus 16:2
• The High Priest, himself, is a sinner.
Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself.
Leviticus 2:6
• The High Priest can only go into God's presence because of the blood of another.
The High Priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood.
Hebrews 9:7
• The High Priest was powerless to bring us into God's presence.
The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been [made known].
Hebrews 9:8
• The High Priest cannot give us eternal life – because even he dies.
There have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office.
Hebrews 7:23
So, what do we need?
We need a High Priest who . . .
…lives forever… and has a permanent priesthood. …He is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
Hebrews 24-25
So, any priest who dies has no ability to purify us from our sins and give us eternal life.
Question:
Are you depending on a priest who will die?
Are you depending on someone who will die, or has died, for your . . .
• cleansing from sin?
• spiritual purity?
• eternal life?
So the Old Testament priesthood, itself, had to be changed.
If perfection could have been attained through the [Old Testament]…priesthood…, why was there still need for another priest to come––…not in the order of Aaron?
Hebrews 7:11
Those Old Testament priests were part of Option #1.
Option #1 cannot make us clean in God's sight.
So perfection was impossible through those priests and through those sacrifices.
The type of priesthood determines the type of law.
On the basis of it [the Old Testament priesthood] the Law was given to the people.
Hebrews 7:11
This Law was Option #1.
But this Law and this priesthood were ineffective.
The Law appoints as High Priest men who are weak.
Hebrews 7:28
So . . .
The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the Law made nothing perfect).
Hebrews 7:18
So Option #1 was set aside.
And a new High Priest was necessary.
Such a High Priest meets our need––one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.
Hebrews 7:26
But a new kind of priest means a new law – a new way to God.
When there is a change of the priesthood there must also be a change of the law.
Hebrews 7:12
So Option #1 must be changed:
• Its High Priest must be changed.
• Its sacrifices must be changed.
• Its Law must be changed.
What, then, is the benefit of the Day of Atonement?
It causes us to see ourselves as we really are.
Those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins.
Hebrews 10:3
The Day of Atonement, and all other purification ceremonies that must be repeated over and over, make one thing very clear:
We are sinners.
This should cause us to seek another solution for purification from our sins.
So, it points us to a permanent solution.
A better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.
Hebrews 7:19
What is this better hope?
The Law was put in charge to lead us to Christ [the Messiah] .
Galatians 3:24
The Day of Atonement is one of the greatest symbols of what the Messiah will do.
It points us to:
• a new High Priest.
• his new sacrifice.
• a new law.
And it points us to a new solution for sin – Option #2.
"This is the covenant [Option #2] I will make with them after that time," says the Lord. "I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds." Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more."
Hebrews 10:16-17
So the Day of Atonement was unsuccessful in removing our sins.
But the Messiah would come and do everything that the Day of Atonement could not do.
SO OPTION #1 FAILED.
If there had been nothing wrong with the first covenant [Option #1], no place would have been sought for another [Option #2].
Hebrews 8:7
So the first covenant [Option #1] failed because:
• The Law failed.
• The sacrifices failed.
• The High Priests failed.
Whose fault is it?
God found fault with the people and said: "...They did not remain faithful to my covenant [Option #1]."
Hebrews 8:8-9
We failed.
Because of us, the Law (with its rules, sacrifices, and High Priests) failed.
For the Law:
• can tell us what to do.
• but cannot give power to do it.
• and cannot make us good.
The Law was powerless to do [it] in that it was weakened by our…Flesh.
Romans 8:3
And who have we offend?
Is he not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you.
Deuteronomy 32:6
Your iniquities [sins] have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you.
Isaiah 59:2
And his [God's] heart was filled with pain.
Genesis 6:6
There is…no one who seeks God. All have turned away.
Romans 3:10-12
So we are separated from God our Father forever.
And what are we enslaved to?
Sin & Death & the Devil.
[Jesus said:] "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin…
…Now a slave has no permanent place in the family."
John 8:34-35
[Jesus said:] "He who does what is sinful is of the Devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning."
I John 3:8
[Jesus said:] "You belong to your father, the Devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire."
John 8:44
The Devil...has the power over death.
Hebrews 2:14 (Good News Translation)
All their lives [people] were held in slavery by their fear of death.
Hebrews 2:15
So what is our situation?
[It is] without hope and without God in the world.
Ephesians 2:12
So we are eternally doomed.
BUT . . .
God is love.
I John 4:8
The wages of sin is death [Option #1], BUT the GIFT of God is eternal life [Option #2].
Romans 6:23
11
SO GOD PRESENTS OPTION #2 FOR OVERCOMING SIN:
While Option #1 was still in operation, God set in motion a long process that could save the whole world.
This plan is very specific.
So about 2000 BC, starting in one specific place on earth, God chose one man Abraham to become the father of one nation Israel.
The Lord...said to Abra[ha]m, “I will make you into a great nation, …and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Genesis 12:1-3
Manga Vol. 1, page
How would God bless all people through Abraham?
Jesus Christ [was]… the son [descendant] of Abraham.
Matthew 1:1
About AD 1, God would send the Messiah, Jesus Christ, to this earth to be born in the country of Israel.
But Abraham, who was about 80 years old, had a big problem:
Abra[ha]m said, "O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless. ...You have given me no children." ...Then the word of the Lord came to him: "...A son coming from your own body will be your heir." He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars. ...So shall your offspring be."
Genesis 15:2-5
Then comes one of the most important statements in the Old Testament!
Abra[ha]m believed the Lord, and he [God] credited it to him as righteousness.
Genesis 15:6
Manga Vol. 1, page
This is Option #2:
Abraham believed God, and God gave him a gift.
This gift was righteousness.
This gift only came to him because he believed God – because he had faith in God.
He did not earn it by working hard to be good or trying hard to obey God's Law (Option #1).
So Abraham was saved by Option #2 – not by Option #1.
What then shall we say that Abraham…discovered in this matter? …When a man works [for an employer], his wages are not credited as a gift, but as an obligation. However to the man who does not work [Option #1] but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness [Option #2].
Romans 4:1, 4-5
Instead of working to please God, Abraham had faith in God.
God credited Abraham's faith to him as righteousness.
And, the righteousness he received from God allowed him to receive eternal life.
And…Abraham…was called God's friend.
James 2:23
What is "faith"?
Faith = Believing / Trusting
What is "righteousness"?
Righteousness = Being clean, pure and good in God's eyes – as though we are without sin!
[The Bible] speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness [Option #2] apart from works [Option #1]: "Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him."
Romans 4:6-8
So, God forgiving all our sins is an important part of God making us righteous.
Is the gift of righteousness only for Abraham?
The words "it was credited to him [Abraham]" were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness––for us who believe.
Romans 4:23-24
Illustration:
You may have no money in your checking account. But if the bank decides to credit $1 million to your account, then you have it. In the same way, we have no righteousness of our own. But if God credits it to us, we have it!
So we too are made righteous by Option #2, believing God –
and not by trying hard to earn our own righteousness [Option #1].
What especially do we believe?
Abraham, who was about 80, had to wait about 20 more years before God fulfilled his promise to give him and his wife Sarah a son.
So, like Abraham, we believe that God can raise the dead –
He believed [in]...the God who gives life to the dead. ...Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed. ...Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead––since he was about a hundred years old––and that [his wife] Sarah's womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, ...being fully persuaded that God had the power to do what he had promised. ...The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness––for us who believe in him [God] who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.
Romans 4:17-21, 23-24
So Abraham is the father of everyone who has faith in God!
He is the father of all who believe. ...He is the father of us all. ...He is our father in the sight of God.
Romans 4:11(-12), 16-17
So, you too can be included!
But isn't Abraham just the father of the Jews?
No! Because Gentiles (non-Jews) are actually included in God's plan from the very beginning.
He [Abraham] is the father of all who believe. ...He is the father of us all. As it is written [in the Old Testament]: "I [God] have made you [Abraham] a father of many nations."
Romans 4:11, 16-17
God never thought of Abraham as the father of just one nation, Israel.
God always thought of him as the spiritual father of all nations.
So your country was already included in God's plan, through Abraham, 2,000 years before the Messiah came.
In fact, all God's children were actually chosen by God even long before that!
The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ...chose us in him [Christ] before the creation of the world.
Ephesians 1:3-4
Only those who have faith in God's promise are true children of Abraham:
Not all [Jews] who are [physically] descended from Israel are [true] Israel. Nor because they are his [Abraham's physical] descendants are they all Abraham's children. ...In other words, it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as...offspring.
Romans 9:6-8
In Creator God's eyes, there is something far more important than your physical ancestry.
Are you a Jew by birth?
There is something far more important than that in God's eyes.
Are you a non-Jew by birth?
There is something far more important than that in God's eyes.
No matter your ancestry...
Your faith in God's promise is what makes you a true child of Abraham – a true child of God!
This was God's plan for you from the beginning.
Remember, God chose his children before the creation of the world – before your country ever came into existence.
So don't miss God's plan because of your ancestry.
In God's eyes we are all one – if we have faith.
Because eternal life is a gift from God, God gives it to anyone who has faith:
[God's] promise [of eternal life] comes by [our] faith, so that it may be by [God's] grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring–– ...to those who are of the faith of Abraham.
Romans 4:16
[Abraham] is the father of all who believe but [are not Jews]..., in order that righteousness might be credited to them. And he is the father of the [Jews]...who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that...Abraham had.
Romans 4:11-12
[Now,] a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written [in the Old Testament]: "The righteous will live by faith."
Romans 1:17
And this gift of righteousness and eternal life comes to us only through the Messiah:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son [Jesus the Messiah], that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
Before believing in the Son of God ...
You were dead in your transgressions and sins. ...BUT because of his great love for us, God who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions. ...It is by [God's] grace you have been saved, through faith––and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God––not by [your] works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2:1, 4-5, 8-9
So Option #2 was completely based on what the Messiah would come to earth to do.
This was clearly predicted long before Christ's birth!
About 1300 years after Abraham and about 700 years before Jesus Christ was born, God's prophet Isaiah gave this description of what Jesus Christ would suffer on the cross. Isaiah foretold this about the Messiah:
He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all…have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him [the Messiah] the iniquity [sins] of us all.
Isaiah 53:5-6
Do you know when God actually planned to send his Son?
Creator God actually planned Option #2 before the creation of the world!
You were redeemed...with the precious blood of Christ...[who] was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.
I Peter 1:18-20
So God went to great effort over thousands of years of time to set up exactly the right circumstances to send his Son to us.
But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son...to redeem those under the Law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.
Galatians 4:4-5
Before Jesus Christ came, God's plan remained a mystery:
[Jesus said:] "I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men [in the Old Testament] longed to see what you see [today] but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it."
Matthew 13:17
But...
To you the word of God [comes] in its fullness––the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations.
Colossians 1:25-26
What is this mystery?
[Now] God has chosen to make known...the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Colossians 1:27
God's eternal plan (Option #2) is all based on one thing:
Christ in you.
He who has the Son has life.
I John 5:12
Today, in his great love, God the Heavenly Father offers you the opportunity to become part of his family forever.
Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.
Hebrews 3:15
HOW AMAZING IS GOD'S LOVE ...
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?
Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever. Amen!
Romans 11:33-36
We can't save ourselves [Option #1], so God gave us a gift [Option #2]:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son [Jesus the Messiah], that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
Why did Jesus come to this world?
Jesus said... "[I] came to seek and to save what was lost."
Luke 19:9-10
When he [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Matthew 9:36
[Jesus said:] Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ...Learn from me, ...and you will find rest for your souls.
Matthew 11:28-29
This is our only hope.
No matter how strong or self-sufficient you may think that you are...
• You will be defeated by death.
• You cannot overcome the sin and evil in your own heart.
There is no hope in Option #1 – which is the impossible task of trying hard to be good enough for God.
12
SO WHAT DID THE MESSIAH DO FOR US?
1. Christ took our death penalty on himself.
He [Christ] suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
Hebrews 2:9
Why did he have to die for us?
Because...
The wages of sin is death.
Romans 6:23
Therefore...
Without the shedding of blood [death] there is no forgiveness.
Hebrews 9:22
So there was no other way.
Someone has to die for our sins –
either we,
or Christ.
2. Christ took our sins on himself...
He [Christ] himself bore our sins in his body on the tree [cross].
I Peter 2:24
God made him [Christ] who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that ...
II Corinthians 5:21
3. ...We became God's righteousness!
... so that in him [Christ] we might become the righteousness of God.
II Corinthians 5:21
4. Jesus Christ frees us from our slavery to sin.
[Jesus said:] "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ...If the Son [of God, Jesus Christ] sets you free, you will be free indeed."
John 8:34, 36
We know that our Old Self [that we were born with] was crucified with him [Christ], so…that we should no longer be slaves to sin–because everyone who has died has been freed from sin.
Romans 6:6-7
5. So God forgives and forgets our sins.
（神は言われる、）「わたしは、彼らの不義を赦し、もはや彼らの罪を思い出しはしない。」
ヘブライ 8:12
6. We become God's children.
（イエス）は、自分を受け入れた人、その名を信じる人々には神の子となる資格を与えた。
ヨハネ 1:12
7. We become a new creation.
What were we before we believed?
あなたがたは、以前は自分の過ちと罪のために（霊的に）死んでいたのです。この世を支配する者（悪魔）…に従い、過ちと罪を犯して歩んでいました。
エフェソ・エペソ 2:1-2
わたしたちも皆、…生まれながら神の怒りを受けるべき者でした。
エフェソ・エペソ 2:3
わたしたちは皆、汚れたものとなり、正しい業もすべて汚れた着物のようになった。
イザヤ 64:5 （新改訳はイザヤ64:6)
肉にある者は神を喜ばせることができません。
Romans 8:8（新改訳）
肉の支配下にある者は、神に喜ばれるはずがありません。
Romans 8:8（新共同訳）
What is the Flesh?
Flesh seems to be a general term or over-arching label in the Bible for the strong pull within us to do evil.
It is definitely not our physical body – because we serve God with our bodies.
あなたがたの…五体を義のための道具として神に献げなさい。
ローマ 6:13
Flesh seems to include:
• The sin nature we are all born with.
• Our Old Self.
The Flesh does the following things:
• Uses our minds and bodies for evil purposes.
• Desires to rebel against God.
• Is controlled by Sin.
• Thinks evil thoughts.
• Has bad attitudes.
• Does evil deeds.
Our Flesh controls us before we believe in Jesus Christ.
But after we believe, we can and must control the Flesh, with the help of God's Spirit.
So we are able to have victory over our Flesh in this life.
But, our struggle against the Flesh will be difficult and continue until we see Jesus face to face.
For Bible references and more details see: How Do I Defeat My "Flesh?"
When we believe we get a new identity:
しかし、あわれめ豊かな神は、私たちを愛してくださったその大きな愛のゆえに、罪過の中に死んでいたこの私たちをキリストとともに生かし…てくださいました。
Ephesians 2:4-6
私たちが、この方（キリスト）にあって、神の義となるためです。
II コリント 5:21
だから、キリストと結ばれる人はだれでも、新しく創造された者なのです。古いものは過ぎ去り、新しいものが生じた。
II コリント 5:17
God transforms us into a new person in Christ.
Then we make a conscious choice regarding our new identity.
その教えとは、…あなたがたの…古い人（古い自分）を脱ぎ捨てるべきこと、またあなたがたが…、…神にかたどり造り出された、新しい人（新しい自分）を身に着るべきことでした。
エペソ・エフェソ 4:22, 24（新改訳）
Illustration:
When someone is chosen by the coach to be on a football team or soccer team, their identity changes: they become a football player or soccer player. And they receive a new uniform that represents their new identity.
Then they must make a choice. Will they choose to identify themselves by their new identity, or will they hold onto their old identity? Before they do anything else they must embrace their new identity.
So they take off their old clothes and put on their new uniform.
Then they go out to play the sport.
Illustration: Your identity matters.
ARE YOU A FAKE TREE OR A REAL TREE?
Before we believe in Jesus Christ, we are like an artificial Christmas tree.
An artificial Christmas tree has no life in it – it is dead.
No matter how much you decorate it to try to make it look good, it has no life within.
The decorations do not change its true identity – it is a dead tree.
Before believing in Jesus Christ we are spiritually dead.
No matter how many good deeds we do to make ourselves look good, they are no better than decorations on a fake tree. These deeds do not please God – in fact, they cannot please him.
This is because...
人はうわべを見るが、主は心を見る。
I サムエル 16:7
Good deeds do not change our true nature: We remain spiritually dead because of our sins.
After we believe in Jesus Christ we are like a living tree.
We receive the Spirit of Christ; we become a New Creation. We have God's life within us.
A living tree produces real fruit. And Christ's life in us produces real spiritual fruit.
その人は流れのほとりに植えられた木。ときが巡り来れば実を結び、葉もしおれることがない。その人のすることはすべて、繁栄をもたらす。
詩篇 1:3
So our good works flow out of the life of God's Spirit that is within us. They aren't just decorations attached to the outside. Just as the life within a living tree produces real fruit, God's Spirit in our lives produces genuine good works that are pleasing to him.
（聖）霊の結ぶ実は愛であり、喜び、平和、寛容、親切、善意、誠実、柔和、節制です。
ガラテヤ 5:22-23
All God's children should produce this fruit.
私たちは神の作品であって、良い行ないをするためにキリスト・イエスにあって造られたのです。神は、私たちが良い行ないに歩むように、その良い行ないをもあらかじめ備えてくださったのです。
エペソ・エフェソ 2:10（新改訳）
御霊（みたま）の賜物（霊的な才能）にはいろいろの種類がありますが、御霊は同じ御霊です。奉仕にはいろいろの種類がありますが、主は同じ主です。働きにはいろいろの種類がありますが、神はすべての人の中ですべての働きをなさる同じ神です。
I コリント 12:4-6
So our lives have great purpose here on earth:
For God gives each of us different things to do for him – things he has already planned for us to do!
We should do these things motivated by love for God and love for others.
（神は言われる。）「わたし、主が心を探り、思いを調べ、それぞれその生き方により、行ないの結ぶ実によって報いる。」
エレミヤ 17:10（新改訳）
So my heart and motives matter:
わたしは…愛がなければ、無に等しい。…愛がなければ、わたしに何の益もない。
I Corinthians 13:1-3
In this life we may not see the full results or prosperity of much of what we do for God.
But God does not forget.
（イエスは言われた。）「わたしの弟子だという理由で、この小さな者の一人に、冷たい水一杯でも飲ませてくれる人は、必ずその報いを受ける。」
マタイ 10:42
Some of the results will only be seen in the next life.
8. The Spirit of Christ lives in us.
神の霊があなたがたの内に宿っている…。キリストの霊を持たない者は、キリストに属していません。
ローマ 8:9
(Holy Spirit = Spirit of God = Spirit of Christ = Spirit)
9. Christ defeats Satan – now and eternally
He who is in you is stronger than he who is in the world
Fear not, I have overcome the world.
Satan thrown into the Lake of Fire
10. We receive an eternal reward – never put to shame
11. We receive eternal life and a resurrected body.
イエスは言われた。「わたしは復活であり、命である。わたしを信じる者は、死んでも生きる。生きていてわたしを信じる者はだれも、決して死ぬことはない。このことを信じるか。」
ヨハネ 11:25-26
私たちの住まいである地上の幕屋（体）がこわれても（死んでも）、神の下さる建物があることを、私たちは知っています。それは、人の手によらない、天にある永遠の家です。…むしろ肉体を離れて、主のみもとにいるほうがよいと思っています。
II コリント 5:1, 8
[The Bible's final prophecy about the future says:] 新しい天と新しい地を見た。最初の天と最初の地は去って行（った）。…わたしは（神の）玉座から語りかける大きな声を聞いた。「見よ、…神が人と共に住み、人は神の民となる。神は自ら人と共にいて、その神となり、彼らの目の涙をことごとくぬぐい取ってくださる。もはや死もなく、もはや悲しみも嘆きも労苦もない。最初のものは過ぎ去ったからである。」すると、玉座に座っておられる方が、…「書き記せ。これらの言葉は信頼でき、また真実である」と言われた。
黙示録 21:1, 3-5
13
SO WHAT SHOULD WE DO?
– a 5-minute response –
Believe:
The jailer…asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved––you and your household.” …Then immediately he and all his family were baptized. …He was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God––he and his whole family.
Acts 16:29-34
Acknowledge:
If you confess [acknowledge] with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess [acknowledge] and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trust in him will never be put to shame."
Romans 10:9-11
(NIV & Strong's Greek Dictionary)
Repent:
Repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his [Christ's] name to all the nations.
Luke 24:47
They must turn to God in repentance [for their sins] and have faith in our Lord Jesus.
Acts 20:21
Love:
“'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (and with all your strength).' And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law...hang[s] on these two commandments."
Matthew 22:37-40 / (Mark12:30)
The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
Galatians 5:6
Read the Bible:
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk [the Bible], so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.
I Peter 2:2
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.
Colossians 3:16
Pray:
This…is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven ...”
Matthew 6:9
Prayer is talking to your Father who loves you!
Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for the saints [God's children].
Ephesians 6:18
Don't worry • Be content • Be thankful:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
I Thessalonians 5:17-18
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
Hebrew 13:5
God's continual, loving presence with us is the foundation for all our attitudes!
Don't be afraid or timid • Be bold and full of faith:
works prepared for you to do
don't be afraid to testify about and suffer for Christ
Obey:
[Jesus said:] "If you love me, you will obey what I command."
John 14:15
Our motivation is:
love for God and others –
not trying with all our might to follow the letter of the Law.
The power comes from:
our cooperation with the Holy Spirit who is living and working in us.
We...call people...to the obedience that comes from faith.
Romans 1:5
This obedience is based on our faith in Christ, not on trying hard on our own to follow a list of rules.
Righteousness from God...is by faith from first to last, just as it is written [in the Old Testament]: "The righteous will live by faith."
Romans 1:17
We started out by faith in Christ – and we became a child of God.
Then, by faith in Christ we are to live each day in obedience to him.
And, by faith in Christ we will live for all eternity.
But "the obedience that comes from faith" isn't automatic:
God works,
And we work.
You...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Philippians 2:12-13
So learn to avoid the 2 extremes:
• Of trying to do it all in your own power;
• Of expecting God to do it all for you.
So, we please God by relying on his Holy Spirit...
...because we are not Sin's slaves any longer:
We know that our Old Self [that we were born with] was crucified with him [Christ], so…that we should no longer be slaves to sin–because everyone who has died has been freed from sin.
Romans 6:6-7
A very powerful truth:
1. Our Old Self was Sin's slave.
So, before we believed in Christ, we couldn't help but commit sins.
2. But our Old Self was crucified on the cross with Christ.
Illustration:
Obviously, when a slave dies, he is no longer under his master's control.
He's dead! So he doesn't have to listen to his master anymore.
3. So now we are free to serve another master – God.
(Visual Illustration: Old Self crucified with Christ)
Before we believed in Jesus Christ...
• Our Old Self made it impossible for us to please or obey God.
• Sin, as a force or slave master within us, made it impossible.
• Our Flesh, with its evil desires, made it impossible.
But our Old Self was crucified with Christ, and now we have Christ's Spirit living in us.
So now we have the ability and power to please God!
[Now] the righteous requirements of the Law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the Flesh but according to...[God's] Spirit.
Romans 8:4
"Righteous requirements" are God's lofty standards. Now we can meet them!
They are different from slavishly trying to follow a long list of commands that are part of "the Law's written code."
So…we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the [Law's] written code.
Romans 7:6
An Important Key: Our Minds.
[Don't have your] minds set on what the Flesh desires; but...have...[your] minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of the Flesh is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.
Romans 8:5-6
Where we focus our minds is crucial:
To please God each day we must focus on...
• Things of the Spirit.
• Not, things of the Flesh.
Our minds guide our words and actions.
Do not conform any longer 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.
Romans 12:2
Put Off & Put On:
With regard to your former way of life, ...put off your Old Self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires.
Ephesians 4:22
Put on the New Self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 4:24
Go to church with God’s children:
Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another.
Hebrews 10:24-25
In Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ...Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
Romans 12:5 / I Corinthians 12:27
There are different kinds of gifts (spiritually abilities)... There are different kinds of service... There are different kinds of working. ...All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines. ...Now to each one the manifestation [expression] of the Spirit is given for the common good.
I Corinthians 12:4-6, 11, 7
The Holy Spirit wants to bless you through God's other children.
But he can't, if you don't go to church!
The Holy Spirit wants to bless God's other children through you.
But he can't, if you don't go to church!
Greet Priscilla and Aquila. ...Greet also the church that meets at their house.
Romans 16:3, 5
... his [Christ's] body, which is the church ...
Colossians 1:24
Christ's church or body is not a building.
Christ church is made up of God's children – those who believe in Jesus Christ.
So it can meet anywhere.
Together we:
• Worship God.
• Learn about God through the Bible.
• Encourage one another in our relationship with Christ.
• Pray to God together – and pray for each other.
• Tell about Jesus to people who don't know him.
• Do God's work and serve each other.
How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!
Psalm 147:1
Be baptized:
Be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ.
Acts 2:38
Tell others about Jesus:
I am not ashamed of the gospel [of salvation], because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.
Romans 1:16
As Jesus was sitting…the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "...what will be the sign of your coming [back again] and of the end...? Jesus answered: "...This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."
Matthew 24:3-4, 14
Don't give up during hard times:
Consider it pure joy...when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
James 1:2-4
We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him. ...For...God...predestined [us] to be conformed to the likeness of his Son. ...If God is for us, who can be against us? ...Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ...No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convince that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:28-29, 31, 35, 37-39
In the midst of trials:
• Rejoice – God loves you. Nothing can keep you from his love!
• See it through to the end:
God's intention from the very beginning is to make you like Jesus!
Don't give up part way and miss out on the spiritual benefit.
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Hebrews 12:11
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, ...who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, ...so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Hebrews 12:2-3
You have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves..." ...God is treating you as sons.
Hebrews 12:5-7
Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
Hebrews 12:12-13
In the midst of trials:
God is working in you to make you grow spiritually.
It is also your responsibility to make the effort to grow spiritually.
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
James 1:12
It will be worth it!
Be prepared to face persecution for Jesus’ sake:
[Jesus said:] “Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of me. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven, ...for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Luke 6:22-23 & Matthew 5:12
[Jesus said about the end times:] "You will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. ...But he who stands firm to the end will be saved."
Matthew 24:9, 13
[Jesus said:] "Do not be afraid of those [people] who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One [God] who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ...Even the very hairs of your head are numbered [by your heavenly Father]. So don't be afraid."
Matthew 10:28, 30-31
Now if we are children [of God], then we are heirs––heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
Romans 8:17-18
Focus on the key:
With Christ!
• Now.
• Through all eternity.
[Jesus said:] "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
John 16:33
Rejoice!
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Philippians 4:4
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
Psalm 146:1-2
OUR UNAVOIDABLE DECISION.
We are given only 2 options!
Whoever believes in [Jesus] the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him.
John 3:36
What is God's heart toward you?
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise [to judge everyone], as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
II Peter 3:9
"As surely as I live," declares the Sovereign Lord, "I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live [eternally]. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die [eternally]?"
Ezekiel 33:11
But ...
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the [physical] death of his saints [those who believe in Jesus].
Psalms 116:15
God looks forward to being with his children forever!
Jesus says: First, consider the cost of following me.
"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man [Jesus] will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."
Mark 8:34-38
So God’s invitation to you on the last page of the Bible is: Come!
The Spirit…say[s], “Come!” …Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life [Option #2].
Revelation 22:17
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