Participants: Pr. John Lomacang
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000157A
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00:19 Hello, friends, welcome to A Sharper Focus
00:22 Wednesday night Bible Study here 00:24 at the 3ABN Worship Center. 00:25 We'd like to welcome you with a hearty amen, 00:27 can we say amen? 00:28 Amen. 00:30 We have our Bibles, and our lessons, 00:31 and we'll let you know in just a moment 00:32 how to get a copy of that to join us 00:34 and follow along on this exciting study, 00:37 "The Anatomy of Righteousness." 00:39 This is a new lesson, 00:41 we are going to walk through the Word of God, 00:43 that's a very important topic anatomy. 00:46 I took anatomy and physiology in class, 00:48 I just want to make a disclaimer at the beginning, 00:51 I am not a physician. 00:53 So we are going to learn about anatomy 00:54 from a non-doctor. 00:56 But we're going to look at the anatomy of righteousness 00:59 which is revealed in the Word of God. 01:03 Before we go any further to let you know 01:05 where you can get a copy of the lesson 01:06 and before we sing our theme song, 01:08 let's begin with the word of prayer. 01:10 Loving Father in heaven, 01:11 we thank You for this opportunity, 01:13 the privilege is ours to open Your Word 01:14 and study together, 01:16 and we pray that Your Holy Spirit 01:18 will be our guide, open our minds, and hearts. 01:21 What we are about to learn, Lord, 01:23 is key to our walk with You, send Your Spirit 01:26 to be our teacher and also to empower us. 01:30 We pray in Jesus' name. 01:32 Amen. 01:34 Now if you want to get a copy of the lesson, 01:35 go to this following website it is ASF.3ABN.org, 01:41 and download lesson number 38, The Anatomy of Righteousness. 01:46 Now this is a long lesson, 01:48 so I'm going to be breaking it down into sections, 01:50 I think thus far I have about 30 questions, 01:54 but we're not going to cover 30 questions tonight, 01:56 we're going to try our best to cover 15. 01:58 But if you've been a part of this program before, 02:00 you know, sometimes, 02:02 we get to seven, we get to five, we get to nine, 02:04 and the good thing about this program is 02:06 whatever we don't cover now, we cover in the next program. 02:09 Amen? Amen. 02:10 So tonight, we're going to do that. 02:12 And now it's our time for our theme song, 02:15 our theme song is Victory in Jesus. 02:18 If you want to join us to sing along, you may do that. 02:21 Let's sing our theme song together. 02:31 I heard an old, old story 02:35 How a Savior came from glory 02:39 How He gave His life on Calvary 02:43 To save a wretch like me 02:47 I heard about His groaning 02:50 Of His precious blood's atoning 02:54 Then I repented of my sins 02:58 And won the victory 03:02 O victory in Jesus 03:06 My Savior, forever 03:09 He sought me and bought me 03:13 With His redeeming blood 03:17 He loved me ere I knew Him 03:21 And all my love is due Him 03:25 He plunged me to victory 03:28 Beneath the cleansing flood 03:32 I heard about a mansion 03:36 He has built for me in glory 03:40 And I heard about the streets of gold 03:43 Beyond the crystal sea 03:47 About the angels singing 03:51 And the old redemption story 03:55 And some sweet day I'll sing up there 03:58 The song of victory 04:01 Key change. 04:03 O victory in Jesus 04:06 My Savior forever 04:10 He sought me and bought me 04:14 With His redeeming blood 04:17 He loved me ere I knew Him 04:21 And all my love is due Him 04:25 He plunged me to victory 04:29 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:33 He plunged me to victory 04:36 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:43 Amen? Amen. 04:45 That is the truth, and this song, we have done, 04:47 since I think the beginning of our program, 04:50 and we'd like to do it again, but I don't think so. 04:54 But it's such a fun song, they want us to sing it again. 04:58 We have sung this song almost every program, 05:01 and it's been now... 05:03 I think maybe four or five years, 05:05 it seems like time has gone by so quickly 05:07 since we've been doing A Sharper Focus. 05:11 But I thought about the title of the song, 05:13 we've been singing Victory in Jesus, 05:15 and then I also thought about the number of topics 05:18 we've been covering, and we've covered 05:20 a number of topics on the steps of how to be a Christian, 05:23 number of those things. 05:25 But just recently, I entered into another study 05:28 on the anatomy of righteousness 05:31 because it came to my mind as a pastor 05:35 and studying the Word of God, my wife, and I 05:37 really got into reading our Bibles more, 05:39 praying more, studying more. 05:42 We determined to start the New Year 05:45 on an empowered note 05:47 rather than, you know, Sabbath School Lesson, 05:50 memory verse, come to church, 05:53 we decided to fill our tanks as often as we can. 05:57 Amen? Amen. 05:59 And that meant, reading the Bible, 06:01 letting God speak to us, 06:02 then knowing that we can speak to God through prayer. 06:05 And what God has been doing He's been opening up doors 06:08 to help us to see 06:10 this Christian walk on a very, very clear way. 06:14 And so what came to our minds in the study is 06:19 the Anatomy of Righteousness. 06:21 We want to be righteous, don't we? 06:22 Yes. 06:24 Because there is nothing else that we can be 06:27 to get into the kingdom of God, 06:28 we can't be almost righteous, we can't be somewhat righteous, 06:32 we've got to be righteous. 06:34 But there is a nemesis, and we know his name, 06:36 his name is Satan, Lucifer, the dragon, the devil, 06:40 the fallen angel. 06:42 But there's another nemesis that is involved in our DNA. 06:45 And it's a three-letter word. 06:47 It is spelled S-I-N, and what is that? 06:49 Sin. 06:51 And it has been the nemesis of humanity 06:54 ever since the fall of man. 06:57 Now if you think about this, I've watched 06:59 baseball games, basketball games, 07:02 I've seen the playoffs, 07:05 I've seen the championship basketball games, 07:06 I've seen the World Series in baseball, 07:08 whatever country you might be in, 07:10 and it might be of the soccer championship 07:12 or the Super Bowl. 07:13 And what I've learned is the coaches on both teams, 07:17 they spend hours studying the strategies 07:22 of the other team. 07:23 And the number one reason why is they want to win. 07:27 And I thought, "Wow, do we spend as many hours 07:31 studying our Bible as a coach spends studying the strategies 07:36 of another team?" 07:37 There is another team up against us, 07:39 it's Satan and his fallen angels. 07:41 And the key he uses, 07:43 you know, when the coach learns 07:45 the secret weapon 07:47 or the secret strategy of the other team 07:49 or the secret strategy 07:50 of a very good basketball player, 07:52 they may say, 07:53 "He goes to his left all the time or his right" 07:55 what you remember. 07:56 He's right all the time. 07:57 He moves to his right, and when he moves to his right, 07:59 we're in trouble. 08:00 Or he goes to his left, and when he goes to his left, 08:02 we're in trouble, he's going to score. 08:04 So they seek to cut off the avenues that empower him. 08:08 And in the very same way, when we understand sin, 08:12 what it does, how it works, how it impacts us, 08:17 the difference it makes in our lives in our daily walk, 08:20 how to get rid of it, 08:22 and then we understand the mission of Jesus 08:24 and His relationship to sin. 08:26 Then all of a sudden, we become clear about 08:29 not just being Christians that have 08:30 28 fundamental beliefs. 08:32 You know, there are certain beliefs 08:34 you can't do anything about. 08:35 The Sabbath is the Sabbath whether you believe it or not. 08:38 People die and resting till Jesus comes 08:40 whether we believe it or not. 08:42 The fundamentals of the Bible are there 08:43 whether we believe them or not. 08:45 But the most important thing that affects everyone is S-I-N, 08:49 and spells what? 08:50 Sin. Sin. 08:52 So we're going to begin... 08:53 We're not going to cover it all tonight, 08:54 but we're going to begin learning about 08:56 the Anatomy of Righteousness. 08:57 Now, you know, anatomy when you'd learn this 08:59 and if you're a medical student, 09:01 you might be far more advanced in this area than I am, 09:05 but you start learning terms you've never heard before. 09:08 And we're going to talk about some of those terms, 09:10 justification, glorification, sanctification, 09:14 imputed righteousness, imparted righteousness. 09:17 We're going to talk about those terms, 09:19 but we're going to talk about those later on. 09:21 What I want to do more than anything else 09:23 is if I could use another title, this will be... 09:28 And I want to say this in the right mindset. 09:30 I don't want to be little this topic at all. 09:32 This would be righteousness for dummies. 09:36 All right? 09:37 I'm including myself in that. 09:39 I'm not calling anyone dumb. 09:40 But I believe that 09:41 the easier it is to understand, 09:43 the quicker it is to grasp 09:45 rather than using all these polysyllabic words, 09:49 these esoteric terminologies, these theological... 09:53 You know, as Pastor CA says 09:55 ecclesiastical obiter dictums, 09:57 all these words that just sound great, 09:59 but what did he say? 10:01 So let's begin with the most elementary question of all. 10:05 Question number one, it is simply said, 10:09 "What is sin?" 10:11 Let's go in our Bibles to 1 John 3:4. 10:14 What is sin? 10:16 And depending on the translation you have... 10:19 And by the way, many of you know 10:20 if you've studied this lesson with us, 10:22 we put the answers on the screen, 10:24 but we'd like to use our Bibles because in using our Bibles 10:27 we learn to use our swords, right? 10:30 What is sin? 10:32 1 John 3:4, the King James Version has one definition 10:36 which is the same as the New King James, 10:37 they just use different words, but here it is. 10:40 And let's read this first one together, 10:42 it will appear on the screen. 10:43 Here it is. 10:45 The answer is, 10:46 "Whoever commits sin also commits," what, 10:49 "lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness." 10:52 Or the King James Version says, 10:54 "Sin is the transgression of the law." 10:57 I asked the question, 10:59 how many of us have been pulled over by a police before. 11:04 Don't raise your hand. 11:06 Put your hand down. 11:08 I'm seeing those hands pop up all over the world 11:10 in my mind's eye. 11:12 But we try our best not to meet police officers 11:17 unless we schedule a friendly meeting with them, 11:21 but we've been there. 11:22 And when you transgress or violate the law, 11:26 a police officer shows up, pulls alongside of you, 11:30 and they try to be as cordial as possible on most occasions. 11:34 And depending on the situation that they assess, 11:36 they might be just really nice to you and let you go 11:38 or they might sense, 11:40 "Wow, we've got more here than just a speeder." 11:42 Whatever the situation is 11:44 and they're professionally trained to assess that. 11:46 But they ask for your license and your registration, 11:49 and then they ask you this question 11:50 that's really kind of weird, 11:52 "Did you know that you were speeding?" 11:56 Now how many of us know that question is coming? 12:00 Did you know... 12:01 And the other one, 12:03 did you know how fast you were going? 12:05 Well, I had that question asked to me once. 12:08 Here I'm in the local, 12:10 I got a ticket at 72 miles an hour, 12:13 and the speed limit was 70. 12:15 And I felt that was not fair. 12:17 So I went to court, they gave me an option 12:20 to either pay right away or go to court 12:21 and appeal to the judge. 12:22 So I went to court, 12:24 and I decided to put on a very nice suit. 12:26 I wanted to look legitimate, 12:28 I want to look like I am not a sinner, 12:31 I am not an intentional violator of the law, 12:34 so I had all my externals on. 12:36 I went to court, and they waiting 12:38 for the judge to come out, and they said, "Okay." 12:41 The court clerk came out, 12:42 "How many of you would like to plead guilty? 12:44 Anybody not guilty? 12:45 If you want to plead guilty and pay the fine, 12:46 just raise your hand." 12:48 While the people that raised their hand, they pled guilty, 12:49 they went... 12:50 She said, "Go to the clerk and just pay the fine. 12:52 Okay, I guess those of you remaining 12:54 are pleading not guilty. 12:56 Okay, if you're pleading not guilty, 12:57 don't raise your hands. 12:58 You'll have to... 13:00 You wait here to appear before the judge." 13:02 So she came to each person 13:05 and asked this elementary question, 13:08 "How fast were you going?" 13:10 So she got to me, and I said, "Seventy-two." 13:15 But she said, "Sir, what was the speed limit?" 13:18 I said, "Seventy." She said, "You were speeding." 13:21 I said, "But it's about... 13:22 "Sir, you broke the law." 13:24 I said, "But I just..." 13:26 "Sir, you broke the law. 13:28 So you have a choice now, you could appear to the judge, 13:32 you could just go ahead and pay the fine." 13:34 I figured, "You know, let's just go and pay the fine. 13:36 It's not going to work 13:37 because if she as the clerk convicted me, 13:40 the judge is not going to... 13:41 He's not going to change her assessment." 13:44 "What was the speed limit?" "Seventy-two." 13:46 But then on another note, there is, 13:48 one, you know you're guilty, what do you ask for? 13:50 Do you ask for justice or do you ask for mercy? 13:52 What do you ask for? Mercy. 13:54 And they said, 13:56 "Throw yourself on the mercy of the court." 13:57 Well, I knew that day, it wouldn't going to work, 14:00 so went ahead and paid the fine. 14:01 On another occasion... 14:03 I don't have too many speeding ticket stories to tell, 14:07 but I'm telling you this for the particular reason. 14:08 So on another occasion, I parked in California 14:11 in a handicap zone, 14:14 but my mom had just come out of the hospital, 14:16 and she needed medication at one of the local pharmacies, 14:19 and I had to get her as close to the door as I can, 14:21 soon as I got out of a car, a female officer pulled up, 14:25 put out a ticket, writing me a ticket. 14:27 I said, "Ma'am, I'm trying to get to the pharmacy, it's... 14:32 I know, I don't have a handicap sticker." 14:34 She said, "Tell it to the judge." 14:40 I went to court, 14:42 I said, "Your Honor, 14:44 here's the situation." 14:45 He said, "What did the officer say?" 14:48 "She said tell it to the judge. 14:49 So I'm telling you." 14:51 He said, "If you can prove 14:52 that your mother was discharged from the hospital on that day, 14:56 I would dismiss the ticket." 14:57 Man, I ran out of there so fast 15:00 because I knew that the records would indicate 15:02 she was discharged, went to the clerk, 15:04 the ticket was forgiven. 15:06 That day, I asked for justice 15:09 because he gave me the parameters for justice, 15:11 on the other occasion I asked for mercy. 15:13 When you look at what the Bible says about sin, 15:16 sin is also lawlessness. 15:18 In other words, 15:20 when there is a disregard for God's law, 15:22 the end result is S-I-N, what does that spell? 15:25 Sin. 15:27 So now sin is the only thing 15:29 that we need to really be concerned about on our planet 15:31 because it's the only thing that could condemn us 15:34 to destruction at the very end. 15:36 It's the only thing that can prevent us 15:37 from being saved. 15:39 Now the other question is... 15:40 Question number two, so write the answer down, 15:42 what is sin? 15:44 And the answer put in your own words, 15:45 the transgression of the law, or the violation of the law, 15:48 that means it happens when God's law is violated... 15:53 And I want to go a little deeper tonight. 15:56 Are you ready? 16:00 If you look at the Ten Commandments, 16:02 even if you do not 16:05 knowingly break any one of those, 16:08 you are all ready in violation of the law. 16:13 That's why this study is even deeper than just, 16:15 "Well, which commandment did I break?" 16:18 If you became painfully aware of the commandments, 16:20 the first four, our relationship to God, 16:23 the last six, our relationship to our self. 16:25 If you look at them and said, 16:27 "I haven't broken any of those." 16:28 You are already in violation of the law. 16:31 This is how deep I'm going to get tonight, 16:33 are you ready for that? 16:34 And you'll find out that in just a few moments, 16:36 you might say, "How is that? 16:39 How could I be in violation of something 16:42 that I didn't knowingly violate?" 16:45 You're going to see how much deeper it is 16:46 than speeding. 16:47 Now if you got pulled over by a police officer, 16:50 and you were not speeding, and he said, 16:51 you were, would you be upset? 16:54 Because you were not. 16:56 We're going to see that this issue about sin 16:57 is bigger than just breaking the law, 17:01 but we are born 17:04 out of harmony with God's law. 17:07 That's how we're born. 17:08 So let's find out how that happened. 17:10 Go to question number two. 17:11 So the answer is... 17:13 What is sin? 17:14 The transgression of the law or it is lawlessness? 17:15 Question is... 17:17 Very simple questions, where did sin come from? 17:20 Let's go to Ezekiel 28. 17:23 Where did it come from? 17:26 Isn't that the question we asked 17:28 when the police officer pulls us over, 17:29 "Where did he come from?" 17:31 Then we ask that question, "I didn't see him." 17:34 I got wise, and I started to really looking out 17:36 for police officers, and when I couldn't find him, 17:39 I just knew that people says, "This is the area, go slowly." 17:43 I saw a police officer once standing 17:44 on the top of the overpass in the far right corner 17:47 with a speeding gun, I thought, 17:49 "Look, he's really trying hard." 17:52 They hide out there. 17:53 But the question is where did he come from? 17:55 So the question, where did sin come from? 17:57 Ezekiel, where we are? 17:59 Ezekiel 28, let's look at this together. 18:01 And we're going to look together at verse 15, 18:04 but I'll lead up to that. 18:06 I'm going to read verse... 18:07 When I get to verse 15, I'll have the graphics persons 18:12 bring that up. 18:13 Let's see who is being talked about here. 18:15 First, verse 13, 18:18 "You were in Eden, the garden of God. 18:21 Every precious stone was your covering." 18:25 And all the precious stones it mentioned, 18:27 "The sardius, topaz, and diamond, 18:29 the beryl, onyx, jasper, sapphire, turquoise, 18:33 and emerald with gold. 18:34 The workmanship of your tumbrels 18:36 and pipes was prepared for you on the day 18:39 that you were created." 18:41 And then verse 14. 18:42 "You were..." 18:43 And notice this, I want you to... 18:45 The reason I'm reading these 18:46 are because you were, meaning, you're no longer, 18:48 you were. 18:49 "You were the anointed cherub who covers. 18:53 I established you. 18:55 You were on the holy mountain of God. 18:58 You walked back and forth 18:59 in the midst of the fiery stones. 19:01 You were..." 19:02 Bring that text up now. 19:04 Let's read it. 19:05 "You were," what, 19:07 "perfect in your ways from the day you were," what, 19:11 "created, till iniquity was found," where, 19:14 "in you." 19:16 So now if you think about where did sin came from, 19:19 it started inside of the heart and mind 19:23 of one who's talked about here, his name is Lucifer, 19:26 who was that cherub that angel that covers. 19:29 You want to get a picture of that, 19:30 he had the mercy seat, he had two angels, 19:32 one on the left, one on the right, 19:35 and they cover the mercy seat, 19:37 which is in the presence of God, 19:38 that was the angel that walked back and forth 19:40 in the midst of the presence of God, he was there. 19:43 But the reason why I says, you were, you were, 19:45 you were, you were is because 19:47 when this desire 19:51 started within him 19:54 something occurred, 19:56 his position changed, 19:59 he was perfect 20:01 but because of this desire 20:04 that perfection was broken, 20:07 he was no longer the way he was before. 20:09 But now let's put this down. 20:10 So what answer would you put? 20:12 Where did sin come from? 20:13 And your answer is 20:15 within the heart and mind of Lucifer. 20:19 And the reason I say this, 20:20 and you'll see this in a moment ago 20:22 because if you think about people ask, 20:24 "Well, if God knew, why did God create him?" 20:28 If you look at the beginning of verse 15, it says, 20:30 "You were," what's the third word? 20:32 What's the third word? 20:34 Perfect. 20:35 The Lord didn't create a defective being, 20:37 but He created a being with freedom to do, what, 20:41 to choose, freedom to choose. 20:44 There are people that don't speed, 20:46 there are people that speed, what's the difference? 20:50 Choice. 20:51 One chooses to speed. 20:53 Now I want to say 20:55 just for the record in Southern Illinois, 20:57 there are some people that go too slow. 21:01 But they are still abiding by the law, 21:04 they don't even want to get near violating it, 21:07 and I commend them. 21:11 But now let's go to question number three. 21:12 We're going to unpack this very carefully. 21:15 Iniquity was found in him, 21:17 it wasn't found in God's creation, 21:18 it was found inside of Lucifer. 21:21 Let's see how this was found. 21:22 Question three, 21:24 how are the developmental steps of sin described? 21:27 This is very interesting, the developmental steps. 21:34 And we're going to Isaiah 14:12-14, all right? 21:40 Let's look at that. 21:41 Isaiah 14:12-14. 21:44 Here's the answer. 21:45 Starting in verse 12, it says, 21:47 "How you are fallen from heaven, 21:49 O Lucifer, son of the morning! 21:53 How you are cut down to the ground, 21:56 you who weakened the nations!" 21:58 And look at verse 13, "For you have said," where, 22:03 "in your heart." 22:04 Notice what he claimed. 22:05 "I will ascend into heaven, 22:10 I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. 22:14 I will also sit on the mount of the congregation 22:19 on the farthest sides of the north. 22:22 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds," together, 22:28 " I will be like," what, "the Most High." 22:30 And the answer is... 22:32 Or the question is, was he? 22:34 But was... That was his aspiration. 22:36 Here's the second step, here's the second step. 22:39 First of all, iniquity is often... 22:40 Sin has started in the person, not in their surroundings, 22:43 within the individual. 22:45 When Lucifer decided, he wanted what God never gave him, 22:48 want to be what God never placed him 22:49 because this is showing... 22:51 These steps here in Isaiah are showing that 22:53 God never placed him in these positions, 22:55 the place that God occupied, he wanted that, 22:58 and he summarized all his aspirations by saying, 23:00 "I will be like the Most High. 23:03 I'm not satisfied that You're in that position. 23:05 I want to be in that position." 23:07 Right? So let's put this down. 23:09 How are the developmental steps of sin described? 23:13 When I becomes the major focus. 23:19 When I, when self becomes the major focus. 23:25 When self and what self wants becomes the major focus, 23:30 and that's where the crumbling begins. 23:35 That's where the crumbling begins. 23:38 Well, I'd like to... 23:43 I want to... 23:44 Now we'll look at the situation. 23:47 He said, "I will be like the Most High." 23:52 But he was not going to be like the Most High. 23:55 I'm going to add one more thing before we turn off. 23:58 And I'm going to read this verse in Isaiah14:15, 24:01 the Lord said, 24:03 "Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, " 24:05 that's the Hebrew word for hell, 24:07 "to the lowest depths of the pit." 24:11 In other words, you're not going to be high, 24:13 you're going to be low. 24:15 And by the way, this didn't happen instantaneously. 24:17 He gave Lucifer opportunities to reverse, 24:21 but you're going to see in just a moment. 24:22 So he's now brought down... 24:23 And I would have... 24:25 If I would do this little different... 24:26 He's brought down, 24:28 and this aspiration is something 24:29 that he deeply set his mind on. 24:32 So now he's brought down, he's cast to the earth. 24:35 Now I'm kind of going a little reverse sense, 24:38 but let's look at question number four, 24:43 very important, all right? 24:45 So he did not accomplish what he aimed at accomplishing. 24:51 But now he makes an offer. 24:53 He makes an offer. 24:54 Very simple questions, but very profound impact. 24:58 Question number four, look at this, 25:01 question number four. 25:05 And we're in Genesis by the way. 25:06 And the question is, 25:08 "What offer did Satan make to Eve?" 25:12 What offer did he make? 25:14 Look at Genesis 3. 25:18 What offer? 25:23 Okay, and we're going to read verse 5, 25:27 but I want to work my way up to it, all right? 25:29 So let's walk through the story. 25:31 This is now... 25:32 And by the way... 25:35 And by the way, this situation that 25:39 Adam and Eve find themselves in... 25:44 I want to go to Genesis 2 just to set the stage. 25:47 Look at Genesis 2 25:49 and look at verse 15 to 17. 25:53 All right? 25:54 Look at this. 25:57 It says... 25:59 If you're following, you'll have it? 26:00 It says, "Then the Lord took the man 26:03 and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend," 26:06 that is to cultivate," and to keep it. 26:09 And the Lord God commanded the man saying, 26:12 "Of every tree of the garden you may," what, 26:15 "freely eat, 26:17 but of the tree of the knowledge 26:19 of good and evil," you shall not eat it 26:24 or, "you shall not eat, 26:25 for in the day that you eat of it," what, 26:29 "you shall surely die." 26:31 Now I want you to catch something. 26:33 He didn't say in the day you touch it, 26:36 he said, "In the day, you partake of it." 26:38 Now let's go now to the question. 26:41 What offer did Satan make to Eve? 26:43 Let's go, starting with verse 1 of Genesis 3. 26:45 We're going to walk through this. 26:46 We're going to try to get the whole picture formed. 26:50 God created woman now, 26:53 and now she finds herself at the tree. 26:58 Watch this. 27:00 "Now the serpent was more cunning 27:02 than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. 27:06 And he said to the woman, 'Has God indeed said, 27:09 'You shall not eat of," how many trees, 27:12 "every tree of the garden'?" 27:13 Did God say that she couldn't eat of every tree? 27:15 No, God said she could eat of every tree except one. 27:20 And verse 2, 27:22 "And the woman said to the serpent, 27:23 'We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, 27:28 but of the fruit of the tree 27:30 which is in the midst of the garden,' 27:32 God has said, 'You shall not eat it, 27:35 nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'" 27:37 Did God say that? 27:39 No, He said don't eat it, He didn't say don't touch it, 27:41 He said, "Don't eat it." 27:43 Let's keep going. 27:44 "Then the serpent said to the woman," 27:46 the first lie recorded in Genesis, 27:48 what did he say? 27:50 Well, the second lie, the first one was told by Eve, 27:53 but the first lie he told us, together, "You will not," what, 27:58 "You will not surely die." 28:01 Now here is the answer to the question. 28:03 And by the way that statement today 28:06 has been the foundation of the idea 28:07 that people die, but they really don't die. 28:10 That's the whole idea of spiritualism. 28:12 They keep on living, they're not really dead. 28:15 But look at verse 5, here's the question. 28:17 What offer did Satan make to Eve? 28:19 Here's what he said. 28:21 "For God knows," let me bring that on screen, 28:23 "for God knows in the day you eat of it," 28:27 what will happen, 28:29 "your eyes will be opened and you will be like," who, 28:32 "God, knowing," what, "good and evil." 28:34 In other words, he says, "By disobeying God, 28:37 you're going to see what you have never seen, 28:40 God is holding out on you, God knows 28:43 that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be open 28:46 that's why God is holding out on you, 28:48 there's something God doesn't want you to know." 28:51 Well, let me ask you a question. 28:53 Are there things that you know now that you wish 28:55 you never knew? 28:56 Can I get an amen? Amen. 29:02 So it's not necessary to know it. 29:06 But the devil said, "God knows that if you partake, 29:12 you gonna have better vision, 29:13 better insight than you had before." 29:16 In fact, no. 29:18 And I know what you're thinking, 29:20 so we're going to go there in just a moment. 29:21 So write the question down, 29:22 what offer did Satan make to Eve? 29:25 "You will be like God." 29:28 In other words, "You'll be elevated, 29:30 you'll be better than before 29:33 if you go ahead and follow my suggestions." 29:36 And I tell you, if you live long enough, 29:40 if you live for 15 minutes, you know that's not true. 29:44 I'm talking about 29:45 in the conscious mind of an adult. 29:48 So now let's see 29:49 because the next question is really important, 29:52 we'll see that this offer that he made... 29:55 We're moving right at the pace, I think is good for tonight. 29:59 In other words, if you follow my suggestions, 30:02 you'll be better off than you are 30:04 by being obedient to God. 30:06 And, you know, friends, 30:07 that's not the case by any means. 30:10 Number five, here it is, 30:13 how do we know 30:16 that Satan could not fulfill his offer? 30:20 How do we know 30:22 that Satan could not fulfill his offer? 30:25 What offer did he make to Eve? 30:28 What offer did he make? 30:29 You'll be like God. 30:30 How do we know he couldn't fulfill that? 30:33 Because if you're following carefully 30:35 as we continue this lesson, you're going to see... 30:39 I'm just going to kind of give you a quick preview. 30:41 You're going to see that where Adam, Eve failed, 30:45 Jesus succeeded. 30:50 And the same thing he said to Adam and Eve 30:52 or to Eve is the same thing he said to Jesus, 30:55 in a different way, 30:56 he appealed to the very same things. 30:58 Let's look at this. 31:00 How do we know? 31:01 Revelation 12. 31:04 If you follow the Bible, you have in the beginning, 31:08 you have the controversy started, in the end 31:11 you have the controversy finished. 31:14 But Revelation gives us a snapshot of Genesis. 31:20 Look at Revelation 12:7-9. 31:22 How do we know that the devil could not fulfill his offer? 31:25 How do we know? 31:27 Let's start. 31:28 "And war broke out," where, "in heaven: 31:32 Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, 31:35 and the dragon and his angels fought, 31:37 but they did not prevail," Amen someone? 31:41 "Nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer." 31:46 And verse 9. 31:48 And by the way, who's the dragon, 31:49 somebody tell me? 31:51 Satan is. 31:52 Revelation 12:7. 31:54 Well, we're going to read it right now. 31:55 "So the dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, 32:00 call the Devil and Satan, who," does what, 32:03 deceives the whole world, he was cast to the earth, 32:08 and his angels were cast out with him." 32:12 Now the reason why he couldn't offer 32:13 what he promised is because 32:15 he didn't get it himself. 32:17 How am I going to give you something 32:19 that I was not even able to accomplish myself? 32:21 I wanted to replace God and in my fight to do it, 32:26 I got kicked out. 32:29 So now I'm telling you to do what I know it doesn't work. 32:33 Let me just pause a moment and say something. 32:41 I'm going to look at the camera and tell you that 32:43 sin offers you what Satan knows it doesn't work. 32:54 He'll make a suggestion to follow the path of something 32:57 that he knows it doesn't work, it did not work in heaven, 33:00 he lost the battle to insist on it, 33:03 and he got put out, 33:04 and his angels got cast out with him. 33:06 So in the context of reversing this, 33:09 he's in the garden now 33:11 to continue this temptation to say to Eve. 33:14 He didn't say to Eve, "I didn't win," he says to her, 33:17 "You could be like God." 33:18 Well, he knew that couldn't be the case. 33:20 So since he couldn't be like God now he says, 33:22 "Since I didn't win, here's the key, 33:25 I don't want you to win either." 33:31 So sin takes you down a path, but it promises you, 33:34 you will be like God, you'll be elevated, 33:36 you'll be better off only to realize, you won't be. 33:40 Let's go on to see why. 33:42 Now if you read Genesis, 33:47 you know, the rest of the story, 33:48 not only did Eve eat the fruit, 33:50 but she gave it to Adam, Adam ate it. 33:55 Eve was deceived, but Adam wasn't. 33:58 Let's look at the next question. 34:00 And I'm just laying some foundation. 34:02 We're going to get into some things that are quite... 34:05 And the answer is how do we know 34:07 that Satan could not fulfill his offer 34:10 because he lost, he lost, he lost. 34:17 You can't make a person victorious 34:18 if you don't know how to win. 34:20 You can't offer me a victory that you don't have. 34:24 He lost, he could not offer her something that he didn't have. 34:27 Okay, question number six. 34:28 Thank you for bringing it on the screen. 34:30 Here it is. 34:31 How did sin enter the world? 34:34 How did sin enter the world? 34:37 Huge. 34:38 Romans 5:12. 34:41 Romans 5:12. 34:51 Sin is like mice, by the way. 34:55 I don't know if you know what I'm talking about. 34:57 Any opening, a mouse will get in. 35:03 Okay, here it is, Romans 5:12. 35:07 All right, here is the answer. 35:11 "Therefore, just as through," 35:13 together what's that next two words, 35:15 "one man sin entered the world, 35:19 and death through sin, 35:22 and thus death spread to," how many of us, 35:25 "all because all sinned." 35:28 Now I want to go back to my initial comment 35:30 that I made not too long ago. 35:32 Even if you never consciously 35:34 broke any of the Ten Commandments, 35:37 because of this statement we are all born 35:41 out of harmony with God's law. 35:46 A baby is born and, you know, 35:47 we say babies are so innocent when they're born. 35:53 They look so cute, you know, downy soft, velvet soft skin, 35:58 and there's a reason why the Lord 35:59 lets babies be born small. 36:01 One doctor said 36:03 if a baby was born at 150 pounds, 36:08 the mother's life will be in danger. 36:11 Because you see how hard a baby cries 36:13 when you missed their feeding time, 36:15 just put that same pressure 36:18 and add about 140 more pounds to that. 36:23 The nature, the reason why and here's the key, 36:25 the reason why the Lord allows a child to be born as a baby 36:30 because it's something that they have to learn. 36:32 You'll get it when I start repeating it. 36:34 Train up a child in the way they should, what, 36:37 go because they don't know, 36:38 they are born with this 36:40 discombobulated direction of life. 36:43 They don't know, all they want to do is eat 36:45 and be comfortable and sleep. 36:47 Eat, be comfortable, sleep, right? 36:49 That's the number one aim for baby, "Feed me now!" 36:53 That's the nature. 36:56 And they'll scream, and they'll kick, 36:59 and they'll whine, and you'll hold on patiently 37:03 until that baby is weaned away from that. 37:07 But the reason why 37:08 we cannot blame our situation... 37:12 And I want to say this carefully, 37:14 the reason why we are in the situation 37:17 we're in is Adam opened the door. 37:20 What did he do? 37:22 He opened the door. 37:23 Go with me to 1 Corinthians 15, I want you to see, 37:25 I'm gonna add another text to it. 37:27 Oh, actually, we're gonna be going there in just a moment, 37:30 we're going there right now. 37:31 So here's the answer, how did sin entered the world, 37:34 put one name down, what's his name? 37:37 Adam. Through Adam, one man. 37:40 This is very huge through one man, all right? 37:44 And the Bible describes in the very next question, 37:46 what happens as a result, one man open the door, 37:50 one man open the door. 37:52 Now you might have heard 37:55 some of the questions this far and say, 37:56 "Well, I've heard some of these questions before." 37:57 What's going to be quite different about this study is 38:00 we're going to get to... 38:02 We're laying the foundation just to understand 38:03 how we got into circumstances, the situation we're in. 38:08 But what we're going to do is go into the DNA. 38:11 See, I'm using words, 38:15 I know our nurse knows what that means, 38:17 our medical team here knows what that means. 38:22 I know the word, but I don't want to mess it by now 38:24 and sound really dumb on air, but... 38:29 DNA is fine. 38:30 DNA is great for right now. 38:32 I know how... 38:34 It's in my mind, I'll use it on the next program, 38:36 I write it down because... 38:38 Anyway, yes, we're going to go into the DNA of it 38:41 to understand how it works. 38:43 But one man opened the door, okay? 38:45 Now listen to the question number seven. 38:48 How does the Bible describe 38:50 the impact of the sin of one man? 38:54 How does it describe the impact of the sin of one man? 38:59 Let's go to 1 Corinthians 39:02 15:22. 39:09 And what this verse is going to do, 39:11 it's going to set up the two categories 39:14 the only two categories we have in humanity 39:17 is we've got to choose 39:18 whose child we want to be, right? 39:22 Either the first Adam or the last Adam. 39:26 But look at the text. Here it is. 39:28 1 Corinthians 15:22. 39:31 And the Bible reads as follows. 39:32 "For as in Adam," how many of us, "all die, 39:36 even so in Christ," how many of us, 39:40 "all shall be," what, "made alive." 39:43 Now the reason why I don't want to run pass this, it says, 39:46 "All shall be made alive," which means until Christ, 39:50 we were not made alive, we were dead, did you get that? 39:54 As in Adam all die, that's the fact, 39:56 that's the present circumstances. 39:58 "Even so in Christ all shall be made alive." 40:03 Meaning, you don't have it yet until you have Christ, 40:06 that's what the Bible says in 1 John, 40:07 "He who has the Son has life." 40:11 So until we have Christ, we're not made alive. 40:15 When we're in Adam, we definitely have death. 40:18 So write that down. 40:20 The question is how does the Bible describe 40:21 the impact of the sin of one man? 40:24 What word, what simple word can you put 40:27 or what simple phrase, all die? 40:29 How many of us? 40:31 All die. 40:32 So now how many is all? 40:39 Right now we don't have any hope. 40:41 Whatever planet you're... 40:43 Sorry, whatever country you're in... 40:45 I don't know where that came from. 40:46 Whatever country you're in, you're in the category of all. 40:52 How many of us in the category of all? 40:55 Everybody raise your hand, all, we're all, all. 40:59 All. 41:00 Every person you see driving on the street, 41:02 every person you meet in the store 41:04 is in one of these categories or the other, all. 41:08 As in Adam all die. 41:09 Now, man so far 41:13 has only been able to... 41:19 Let me use a different phrase, 41:20 funeral parlors deal with the dead, 41:24 but they don't deal with death. 41:27 You follow? 41:29 A funeral director says, 41:33 "How would you like us to handle your loved one?" 41:38 They're dealing with the dead, 41:41 but they can't do anything about death. 41:44 So that's not the answer because they too are in Adam, 41:48 even the funeral director is in Adam. 41:51 One day, the funeral director... 41:54 There'll be a funeral for the funeral director. 41:57 And here is the point I want to make, 41:58 and this is really important because I want to really build 42:00 a very solid foundation on this 42:03 is that unless we are in the new category, 42:05 all shall be made alive, 42:08 then we are hopelessly condemned at birth 42:11 to the all that are in Adam. 42:14 So what do you have to do to be lost, somebody tell me? 42:18 Nothing. 42:20 Say it again? 42:21 Nothing. 42:22 You just have to not want to be saved, 42:25 you don't have to do anything, 42:26 you could stand here, and do nothing, 42:30 and you've accomplished your demise. 42:36 Satan made an offer to Eve, 42:39 he represents the church, 42:40 Jesus is going to make an offer later, 42:43 I'm going to show you that, all right? 42:45 Let's go to the next question, number eight. 42:54 Now are you ready? 42:56 Put on your snorkel gear, 42:58 we're going to go in the water now, 43:00 and later on we're going to put on our tanks. 43:03 But right now, we're going to just get our snorkel gear on. 43:05 Here is the next question. 43:07 Where does sin have its greatest impact? 43:12 Where does sin have its greatest impact? 43:17 Okay, let's go ahead and look at Romans 7. 43:21 Romans 7, by the way, if you ever get a chance 43:24 to read all of Romans 7, 43:26 Romans 7 is not a book written before Paul was converted, 43:31 Romans 7 is written after his conversion. 43:39 But when you read it, it sounds like 43:41 he's not converted yet because he knows 43:45 there's nothing wrong with God's law, 43:49 and he pinpoints the problem. 43:51 Let's go to Romans 7, 43:53 and we're going to look at verse 17, 43:56 but I want to go ahead and kind of add 43:59 some other components because I know of verses 44:01 that I have not included in my study, 44:05 so I'm going to just start with verse 14, all right? 44:07 Let's start with verse 14, we'll make our way down to 17, 44:11 and then you'll see that if you're watching on at home, 44:13 you're watching, see this on the screen. 44:15 Let's look at this, 44:17 "For we know that the law is," what, 44:20 "spiritual," but now look at this, 44:22 "but I am," what, "carnal," 44:25 and what's the next word, "sold under sin." 44:28 The terminology of the word there Paul is using a slavery 44:32 that when they sold people, they were slaves, sold. 44:36 He said, "And this is the evidence of that. 44:39 For what I am doing," together, "I do not understand. 44:44 For what I will to do, that I do not practice, 44:50 but what I hate," what's the three words, 44:53 "that I do. 44:55 If, then, I do what I will not to do, 44:59 I agree with the law that," it is what, "it is good." 45:03 But now let's get the answer, 45:05 where does sin have its greatest impact. 45:08 Let's look at the verse together and read it. 45:10 "But it is no longer I who do it," together, 45:14 "but sin that dwells," where, 45:18 "in me, in me." 45:22 I said a moment ago sin is like mice 45:24 when they get into the house... 45:27 Sin is like termites when they work... 45:31 They eats you from the inside out. 45:37 And so what I want you to put down 45:40 next to this answer, 45:43 question number eight, write this down, 45:45 sin is an enslaving power, 45:49 sin is an enslaving power, 45:53 it enslaves you because Paul says, 45:56 "It is no longer I who do it, 46:00 but sin that dwells in me." 46:04 He says, "I'm not doing this, sin is doing it." 46:10 Because he says, "What I want to do, I can't do, 46:12 what I don't want to do, I do that. 46:15 Sin is at work, it's doing it, 46:17 it's no longer I who do it but sin that dwells in me." 46:21 Now let's go to number nine. 46:25 We'll get a few more before the program ends tonight. 46:27 All right. 46:29 Question number nine. 46:33 Why are we incapable 46:38 of producing righteousness? 46:40 Why are we incapable 46:43 of producing righteousness? 46:47 The word incapable means, what, incapable. 46:51 You can't do it. 46:53 It's like given a blind man a bat and say, 46:55 "Hit a home run, we need a home run." 46:58 He can't do it. He can't do it. 47:01 Incapable. 47:02 Now let me make a point as you go to the text, 47:04 the text by the way, is Romans 3:23. 47:07 While you're going there... 47:08 And let me just tell you this, 47:10 this is why 47:14 you should never say to people just do it. 47:20 That's the Nike commercial, that's a Nike... 47:22 Just do it. 47:24 No, Paul wanted to just do it, but he said, 47:27 "I can't because it is not I who do it 47:31 but sin that dwells in me." 47:33 He said, "Just do it." 47:36 And then some people are taught just try harder, 47:39 if you just try harder, if you put your mind to it... 47:44 I'm telling you according to the scriptures, 47:45 it doesn't work. 47:46 And here's the reason why, why are we incapable 47:48 of producing righteousness? 47:49 Here's the first answer Romans 3:23, together, 47:54 "For all have," what, "sinned and," what, 47:57 "fall short of the glory of God." 48:00 You know what that means, it doesn't mean 48:01 that you just fall short of the glory of God, 48:04 it means you are incapable naturally 48:06 to even reflect His glory. 48:08 So you know what it's like, 48:10 it's like polishing a car that's rusty. 48:15 Why would you put polish on a car that's rusting? 48:20 It's at the point where it is incapable 48:22 to reflect any more light, it's rusted. 48:25 Sin makes us rusty. 48:27 And so when he says, 48:29 "Fall short of the glory of God," 48:30 I look deeper into this because 48:32 what I used to think before and what I thought before was 48:35 sin makes you take a big leap, 48:37 and you fall short like by three inches 48:40 or five inches or maybe a foot. 48:42 That's not what it means. 48:43 It means you are incapable 48:45 of even reflecting the glory of God. 48:47 Go with me to Isaiah 60. 48:49 Let me show you the opposite of that. 48:52 Isaiah 60, we're not going to look at the next text yet, 48:54 but let me show you the difference. 48:57 Let me show you the converse to that, the converse of that. 49:01 Okay, Isaiah 60. 49:06 Okay, now when you can't... 49:09 All sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 49:12 And by the way, this is where we're headed, 49:14 this is where we're headed, 49:15 this is where our ultimate aim is, 49:18 this is where God wants us to be. 49:19 Isaiah 60:1, it says, "Arise," what's the next word, "shine, 49:24 for your light has come. 49:27 And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. 49:32 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, 49:35 and deep darkness the people. 49:37 But the Lord will arise over you, 49:40 and His glory will be seen upon you." 49:42 Can you say amen to that? 49:43 So when it says, we fall short of the glory of God. 49:46 That's our present situation, but God is giving us hope, 49:49 and this verse saying, 49:51 one day you're going to be able to 49:52 "Arise, and shine, for your light has come! 49:54 And the glory of the Lord will be risen upon you. 49:57 And the glory of God will be seen on you." 50:00 So how do you get from falling short of the glory 50:02 to the glory of God being seen on you? 50:04 That's what we're studying. 50:07 Because you know what, 50:08 we have all sinned and fallen short 50:10 at various times in our lives, 50:12 but my desire is I want the glory of God 50:17 to be seen in me. 50:20 Help us, Jesus. 50:23 Psalm 51:5 on question number 9. 50:26 Psalm 51:5 is a second reason why we know 50:30 we are incapable of producing righteousness, okay? 50:35 So we know that it's going to happen 50:37 because the Lord says, 50:38 "The glory of the Lord has risen upon you, 50:40 the glory of God will be seen on you." 50:42 But until that happens, we meet Him as a rusty car, 50:47 we all fall short of the glory, all right? 50:49 Here it is. 50:51 Psalm 51:5, why we're incapable, 50:53 here's what the screen says. 50:55 "Behold, I was brought forth in," what, 50:59 "iniquity, 51:00 and in sin my mother," what, "conceived me." 51:04 I looked into this passage more. 51:07 It was not talking about an illegitimate birth, 51:09 it was talking about illegitimate circumstances, 51:12 it was talking about an illegitimate world. 51:14 You were born into a world that's just laced in iniquity, 51:17 you're born into a world that's laced in sin, 51:19 that's the situation you were born into. 51:21 Why? Because your dad is Adam. 51:24 Sorry, our father is Adam. 51:26 You were born into that situation 51:28 because that's the best your mother could have done. 51:30 Let me tell you, the reason why it's using the word mother 51:34 is because you need a man and a woman to make a child. 51:37 Adam seed transmits sin, 51:40 so the best the mother could do is bring out a baby 51:43 to just like the seed the father planted. 51:46 Did you follow that? 51:48 The reason why this child comes out in iniquity 51:50 and comes out in sin is because that's the seed Adam put there. 51:56 So when we say, "Brother from another mother." 52:00 Let me give you the good news, 52:02 we all don't have the same mother. 52:04 Can we say amen? 52:05 Also it would be brothers and sisters legitimately, 52:08 but we all have the same father. 52:10 His name is Adam, until... 52:12 We're going to talk about the until, right? 52:15 So this text is saying when you come into the world, 52:19 the seed of sin from Adam 52:22 no matter what mother you come out of 52:26 that same nature is transmitted from thousands of years ago, 52:32 that's why the first seed of Adam Abel, 52:37 the second seed of Adam Cain. 52:40 What did Cain do? 52:41 Killed Abel. 52:43 From the very beginning that nature of Adam 52:46 was being displayed throughout humanity. 52:48 It didn't eventually develop, 52:51 murder was, didn't just eventually develop 52:53 that was in the seed from the very beginning. 52:59 So the answer is, 53:01 why are we incapable of producing righteousness, 53:05 what answer did you put? 53:08 Ha? 53:13 Sin and iniquity is in the very atmosphere 53:17 in the world that we were born in. 53:19 Put that in your own terms, put that in your own terms, 53:22 or you could say simply this, 53:24 "We all fall short of God's glory." 53:28 That's another way of... 53:29 That's the whole scripture of Romans 3:23. 53:32 Okay, now let's go to the next one. 53:35 Romans 3:23. 53:38 Now based on the clock, 53:39 we might not get to the next five, 53:42 but we've got next week if God gives us life, 53:45 all right? 53:46 Number 10, here it is. 53:50 How does the Bible further describe the effects of sin? 53:56 How does the Bible further 53:58 describe the effects of sin? 54:02 We all know this one by heart, 54:04 so I'll just go ahead and give you this 54:06 as extra credit, are you ready? 54:09 "For the wages of sin is," what, "death, 54:12 but the gift of God is," what, "eternal life," 54:15 and there it is, again, the qualifier, 54:17 "in Christ Jesus our Lord." 54:20 The Lord doesn't just give you a gift, 54:22 He's got to get you out of Adam into Christ. 54:26 You don't just get the gift, 54:28 the gift is not given where you are, 54:31 the gift is given to get you out of Adam into Christ. 54:34 As in Adam all die, even so in Christ. 54:39 You want to get that theme together. 54:42 Eternal life in Christ, as in Adam all die, 54:46 even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 54:49 This text is showing the shall be. 54:53 The shall be is a gift. 54:55 Now when you come to the realization 55:00 that the Lord loves us so much He wants to give us that gift, 55:04 He didn't say, "I want to sell you that gift." 55:07 He says, "I want to give you that gift." 55:12 When I was doing this lesson, 55:15 I had a chance to study this lesson with someone, 55:17 I had a chance to talk about a lesson with my wife. 55:19 When I want to contemplate this lesson, again, 55:21 I couldn't hardly talk about it, 55:24 it fill my eyes with tears. 55:25 We're eating dinner, last night, Indian food. 55:31 And the lady kept coming over to the table, 55:32 "Is everything okay?" 55:34 And I kept saying, "You don't want to come over here now, 55:35 I'm having a moment? 55:37 I'm wiping my eyes, I'm thinking of this gift, 55:41 and I'm saying, "I'm so glad, 55:43 He's giving us this gift because I can't afford it." 55:49 And secondly, I don't deserve it. 55:53 Salvation is not because we deserve it. 55:56 Salvation is because Jesus loves us. 56:00 He sees us all... 56:01 Can you imagine the assembly line of... 56:04 I don't know how many people were born today, 56:05 but every one of them that were born today 56:07 were born in Adam. 56:08 There's only one way out and that's in Christ. 56:12 But the world does such a good job 56:14 to keep us distracted. 56:15 Write this down very carefully. 56:17 How does the Bible further describe the effects of sin? 56:20 Death. 56:21 We're going to end on that note 56:23 because we're going to come back on the next study 56:25 and show how do we get out of death 56:28 into the gift of eternal life. 56:30 It's beautiful. 56:31 So I'm saying to you, 56:33 the gift that Jesus has come to offer us, 56:35 we can't afford it, we can't buy it, 56:38 we can't work for it, it's a gift. 56:40 We're going to talk about 56:41 how He made that gift available. 56:43 But let me ask you the question, 56:44 aren't you glad the gift is available? 56:46 Can I get an amen? 56:48 This gift is available for every one of you 56:50 watching this program, including us. 56:53 And so, friends, if you stay in God's Word, 56:55 and you stay in Christ, keep on studying God's Word. 56:58 And if it doesn't make sense, let me promise, 57:01 one day as you keep studying, 57:03 it will come into A Sharper Focus. 57:06 God bless you. |
Revised 2022-08-10