MPGC28- HOW SIN AND THE POWER IT HAS OVER US WAS DEALT WITH
In the last study we learned that man lost four crucial things when Adam and Eve sinned. We first lost our right standing with God (or our righteousness). This led to the loss of our relationship with God. The loss of relationship led to our loss of rights as his children. Finally we lost our rulership over the earth to Satan who had deceived us.
Now, in the remainder of our studies we will see how God's plan of redemption restored these four losses. Man can truly be restored today to be what God originally intended for him.
God's plan of restoration began with an event in history. This event is what we studied in Part 1 of this course. The Cross represents the entire plan of God to give man back what he lost and restore him to the original creation.
In the next studies we'll look at how Jesus restored our right standing with God. He did this by dealing with the sins we have committed, and the power that our inherited sinful natures have over us to keep us sinning. God's perfect plan to restore man's right standing with Himself has been finished. But it remains for each of us to walk in it. How we do this is the topic for the remainder of our studies.
How Sin and the Power it has Over Us Has Been Dealt With
I. ACCEPT THE FACTS
Day 1- In our last study we learned one very important fact.
Romans 5:12
With the sin of our first parents, spiritual death became the consequence. All of us since Adam and Eve have inherited their sin nature. We all sin because it's our nature to sin. Therefore the consequence of spiritual death has spread to us all. Spiritual death means that our spirit (the deepest part of us) is dead and can no longer relate to God.
Day 2- Therefore our first need is to recognize that you and I are a part of the "all" in this verse.
Romans 3:23
We may claim that we are good people, trying hard to do right, but the verdict is still the same.
Psalm 53:3 / 1 John 1:8
Day 3- How does God see us?
Isaiah 64:6a
And what does he compare our righteous acts and good deeds to?
Isaiah 64:6b
Day 4- In this verse, what clearly separates us from having any kind of relationship with God?
Isaiah 59:2
(Iniquity is any kind of moral perversity, evil, mischief, fault or sin.)
This chapter in Isaiah then goes on to outline what some of these iniquities or sins are. Make a list of them as you read these verses.
Isaiah 59:3-8, 12-15
When man is left in his sin, what is the result for each of us personally and as a society?
Isaiah 59:9-11
Day 5- The heart of sin is that man prefers to do things in his own way. Sometimes he wants a little help from God but in essence he wants to be in control of his own life. Isaiah gives us a picture of man's independence.
Isaiah 53:6a
Sheep are very dumb and independent animals. Without a shepherd they will scatter in all directions aimlessly. And in their wanderings they will be harassed and helpless. This is exactly the picture that Jesus saw of men when he lived on earth.
Matthew 9:36
Day 6- Fortunately for us, Christ's attitude wasn't "let them go". How does God see each and everyone of us that He has created?
Matthew 18: 12-14
In summary the facts we must accept are:
1. All men are born with an inherited sin nature.
2. We all sin because it's our nature to do so. Essentially this means that we want to live independent from God and in control of our own life.
3. Sin always brings spiritual death. Since all of us sin, because of the nature we are born with, we are spiritually dead towards God.
4. Spiritual death means that our spirit (the deepest part of us) is dead and therefore we have no relationship with God.
5. In spite of this, God loves each of us and has gone to the extreme to bring us back to Himself.
II. LET GOD DEAL WITH YOUR SIN
Day 7- Sin is the basis for all our problems. If we fail to deal properly with sin then we'll only continue to struggle with unresolved problems. When our first parents sinned do you know that we were sold? To be sold means that we have become slaves. What have we become slaves to?
Romans 7:14
And how does this affect our living even today?
Romans 7:15
Day 8- The good news for EVERY PERSON that will accept what God has done for man is that we no longer need to live as slaves to sin.
Romans 6:17-18
Day 9- God has provided redemption (meaning "to buy back" or "ransom") for every man through the death of his Son.
1 Peter 1:18-19
Notice the phrase "through the precious blood of Christ." It is a divine truth that only through death can a truly consecrated life to God ever by possible. We see this over and over in the Old Testament with one of the most important examples being the Passover. God was about to "pass over" Egypt and kill the first born of every Egyptian family. (You can read the full story as to why in Exodus 11).
Day 10- Of course God's people, the Israelites, lived in Egypt as well. God gave them one way in which their families could be distinguished from the Egyptians and spared.
Exodus 12:7,12-13
Life was spared for these families because there was the death of a substitute (a perfect lamb) and life was appropriated by the sprinkling of that blood. Notice it didn't matter who the people were inside the houses. It didn't matter what they had done or not done. What mattered to God was that their homes had the blood sprinkled over the door. When he saw the blood he would "pass over" the home and spare the life of the first born.
Day 11- The slaying of a perfect lamb for the Passover was just a foretaste of THE perfect lamb being slain so that our lives on earth could be restored and Heaven's door to eternity would be open to us.
Hebrews 9:11-14 (especially verse 12)
THE BLOOD OF JESUS
The blood of Jesus is the reason that we can have right standing (or righteousness) with God. What did the blood of Jesus accomplish?
Day 12- We were RANSOMED. All men by nature are captives to sin and therefore they are .....
A. Under God's condemnation
Romans 1:18 / Romans 2:8 / Romans 3: 9-20, 23 / Ephesians 5:6
B. Under a curse
Galatians 3:10
C. Under sin's control and therefore will experience eternal death
Ezekiel 18:4 / Matthew 25:46 / Romans 2: 6-9
Therefore all men would perish unless a way was provided to be rescued.
Day 13- Christ's death was the ransom paid so that all men could be set free from the power that sin has over us.
Matthew 20:28 / 1 Timothy 2:5-6
And his death came by the complete shedding of His blood.
Acts 20:28 / 1 Peter 1:18-19
Note: 1 Peter 1:18a tells us what we were ransomed or redeemed from. The New Living Translation puts it this way, "For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors." This empty life comes because we are all under the power of sin.
Romans 3:9
Day 14- Who was the ransom paid to?
Ephesians 5:2 / Hebrews 9:14
The fact that it was paid to God might surprise you but there is nothing in the Bible that suggests a payment to Satan.
Day 15- Why was a ransom paid to God necessary?
A. God has declared that the sinner will die.
Reread Ezekiel 18:4
B. All men have sinned.
Romans 3:19, 23
Therefore, for justice to take its course all men will perish.
C. No one can atone for their own sin. Therefore God appointed his only Son to make the ransom.
John 1:29 / Hebrews 7:27 / 1 John 4:10
Day 16- When Christ gave Himself as the ransom we were saved from God's wrath so that we could live our life free from condemnation.
Romans 5:9 / Romans 8:1
Day 17-This plan for our ransom was made in eternity by an all knowing Father that knew his children would sin even before they did so.
Revelation 13:8b
Notice in the second half of Revelation 13:8 WHEN the lamb was slain.
Every part of the ransom paid was done FOR us. Man had nothing to do with anything that was done.
Day 18- We were CLEANSED. Before we can come close to God a cleansing must occur. We need to be cleansed from the pollution of sin. (i.e. the defilement and impurity that sin brings to our inner being). These verses were prophesies that cleansing would be possible when Jesus came.
Zechariah 13:1 / Malachi 3:2-3
Day 19- It is only the blood of Jesus that can purify us from all sin: original sin, intentional sin and unconscious sin. Only Christ's blood can change the black to white.
1 John 1:7 / Revelation 7:14
Day 20- It is only the blood of Jesus that can cleanse our conscience and heart from the guilt and shame that sin produces.
Hebrews 9:14 / Hebrews 10:22
Day 21- We were FORGIVEN. With our cleansing comes forgiveness of our sins by God.
Matthew 26:28 / Acts 13:38 / Ephesians 1:7 / 1 John 1:9
This news should be a great relief to us but it gets better. This verse tells us that God goes one step further in forgiveness. What does he do?
Jeremiah 31:34b
It isn't so much that God forgets as that He chooses not to remember! He isn't like men who may forgive but keep the memory of another's sin towards them.
Day 22- We were FREED. The blood does even more for us. It's one thing to be forgiven of sin but more is needed. What does this verse say we have been freed from?
Revelation 1:5b
The New Living Translation puts it like this, "All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us."
Day 23- Sin is not just about acts that we commit. Sin is about a power that gets hold of us and keeps us sinning. When Paul wrote these verses he was a man that genuinely loved the Lord and wanted to please him. But how does he describe himself? (Especially verse 24)
Romans 7:21-24
Day 24- For all who believe in what the Lord Jesus has done by shedding his blood what is true?
Romans 8:2 / Galatians 1:4
That means that while we live in this world we are no longer under Satan's power or authority. For a limited time Satan still acts "like he owns the place" but he is really like a toothless lion. We are not under his power or authority unless we choose to be.
Day 25- We were JUSTIFIED.
Some good friends of mine adopted a baby boy from another country. They flew to that country, paid a large sum of money and brought the child home. Once the money had been paid that boy was no longer under his parent's or country's authority. He had a new family, and a new country. He was now their chosen, adopted son and grew up under new parentage.
That is an example of how Jesus has freed us so that we can go back home. We can once again enjoy fellowship with God. Why? Because our righteousness has been restored. We have been justified -- absolved, let off the hook and vindicated. It is "just-as-if-I'd never sinned".
Acts 13:39 / Romans 5:8-9, 18 / 1 Corinthians 6:11
Day 26- And HOW can we once again go back into God's presence?
Ephesians 3:12 / Hebrews 4: 14-16 / Hebrews 10:19, 22
Day 27- As long as we are content to live with unconfessed, unforgiven sin in our life we will never be able to have peace with God and enjoy his presence. But when we accept what Christ has done on our behalf what becomes possible?
Romans 5:1
Day 28- We can be SANCTIFIED. Finally the blood of Jesus makes possible our sanctification. This is a big word that means we are set apart for God enabling us to share his life, conform to the image of his son and be a part of his will. Sanctification is always God's work. Jesus sanctified himself through His suffering and death and thus he sanctifies us.
John 17:19 / 1 Corinthians 1:2a
Day 29- If we are sanctified, it means that we are set apart for God. We have separated ourselves from sin and from the world so that we can share in God's holiness. This is man's highest destiny.
Ephesians 1:4-5
SUMMARY OF WHAT CHRIST'S BLOOD DOES FOR US:
1. We were ransomed by it. Christ gave himself as that ransom so that we could be saved from God's wrath and thus free to live without condemnation.
2. We are cleansed by His blood.
3. We were forgiven because God accepts Christ's blood as the payment for our sins.
4. We were freed from the power that sin holds over us. We might still sin but we no longer have to sin.
5. We were justified by Christ's blood so that it is "just-as-if-I'd-never-sinned".
6. We are sanctified or set apart for God's use because of Christ's blood.
THEN HOW COME MY LIFE DOESN'T LOOK HOLY?
If you are a Christian you might be thinking, "Wait a minute, my life doesn't seem to match up with this description of what Christ's blood has accomplished for me. Am I missing something?
You might be. So far we have looked at all that God in Christ has done FOR us. But, none of this becomes ours until we learn to appropriate it. God will never force anything upon us. It is our responsibility to appropriate it and that is the topic for our next study.
Next Study: MPGC#29