Lesson # 1
Is God Real and How Can I Know Him?
You were created for the purpose of having fellowship with God. But in order to establish a relationship with God, you must first get to know Him. The only way you can get to know him is through His Word, which is the Bible.
The Bible is the Word of God. He dictated what He wanted to have written to a select group of men, who in turn wrote those words down for mankind to read.
"Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 2 Peter 1: 20-21.
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." 2 Timothy 3: 16
So before you can begin to determine, in your own mind, if God is real or not you must go to the source, God's own words – the Bible. "But there are many Bibles, you say, "how can I be certain if the Christian Bible, the Jewish Bible (which is the Old Testament of a Christian Bible) or the Muslim Bible is the real one?" Answer: the one that is real is the one that is living. It speaks to you as you seek answers. But there is only one that will point you to the living and true God and His complete revelation for mankind. We believe that the Christian Bible is the only living Word of God.
There are many translations of the Christian Bible, these translations will be many lessons in itself, but for now we will suggest you will be better prepared to follow this teaching if you use a King James Bible, not to be confused with the New King James.
In the Bible you will find:
God's plan for all mankind
The righteousness of God
The requirements for membership in the Family of God
The obstacles to a close relationship with God
That there is life after death
Where you will reside after you die
In your search for finding God, we will assume that:
You first have a desire,
And that you are seeking to know the truth
If that is the case, I want you to read John 8: 32: "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." If you really seek truth, you will find that freedom comes from the Lord Jesus Christ, who is truth.
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14: 6.
The Truth that will make you free is none other than Jesus Christ. So, in order to know truth, you must believe in "The Truth," which is the Lord Jesus Christ, Who was with God in the very beginning of time. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made…and the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father) full of grace and truth" John 1: 1-3, 14.
There is a barrier that prevents most people from finding truth, or getting to know God. That barrier is known as "sin." In the Book of Romans we find that our sin has separated us from God.
Romans 3: 23: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" To come short is to fail to attain what God requires for fellowship. It is to be lacking in something. That something is a Savior, someone to pay the debt for my sin.
"Why do I need that," you say. Because, Romans 6: 23 states: "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." If I continue to avoid a Savior, my sin will lead to eventual death and separation from God forever. But if I accept "the gift of God," which is Jesus Christ's death for my sin, I will have life forever with God.
Review Questions:
- From the Scripture given in the lesson, find the one that states the God was in the beginning. _________________
- From the Scripture given above find the one that says Jesus was also in the beginning. __________________
- Who "penned" the Christian Bible? _____________________ (This is a trick question)
- How can you verify that? _______________________
- But whose Words are found on the pages of the Christian Bible? _________
- Who is known as Truth? _________________
- What separates man from God? __________________
- What does man deserve because of it? __________________
- Is there a way out of separation from God? ________________. Explain
Lesson # 2
In lesson number one we should have learned several things:
- That God spoke the words he wanted us to know to a select group of men, who in turn wrote those words down for us to read.
- That God and Jesus were both in the very beginning.
- That Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the Life and the only way for us to live with God is through the gift God gave – Jesus Christ.
- That sin separates mankind from God, which is a barrier that keeps mankind from having a relationship with Him.
- That what I deserve because of my sin is death.
We begin this lesson with Romans 6: 23: "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Wages are something we get for the effort expended. So, what we should get as a result of sin is death, according to the passage. But we also see in the passage some kind of hope, i.e. eternal life. This hope of eternal life with God is a gift – a FREE gift. That gift is, according to the passage, through Jesus Christ our Lord. One of the definitions for through is "went through the tunnel." Not the best explanation, but we'll use it anyway.
For a person to receive the gift of God, eternal life, he must go through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is the tunnel to God. We find the expanded answer in other passages of Scripture; but first, we determined that sin was a barrier, a wall between God and Man, and that barrier had to be broken before man could have fellowship with God. Jesus Christ broke down the barrier of sin by becoming a sacrifice for it.
"For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; And that He was buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures."
1 Corinthians 15: 3-4
God's requirement to eradicate the sin barrier was to provide a sacrifice that would please Him. Jesus offered Himself as that sacrifice. "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead work to serve a living God." Hebrews 9: 14 Jesus Christ willingly died on the cross. It was the shedding of His blood for man's sin that pleased God.
"Why would a Father allow His son to die?" many ask. Because it was the only sacrifice that was good enough, and it was the means that foiled Satan's plan to dominate mankind. "But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory. Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory." 1 Corinthians 2: 7-8
Man had to be justified for his sin. At one point in time, God allowed animals to be brought to the High Priest as a sacrifice for sin. But those sacrifices were never intended to eradicate sin; they were substitutes God allowed until Jesus Christ made the ultimate sacrifice. Hebrews 10: 4 "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin."
All animal sacrifices were for remission of sin, not for the blotting out of sins. We can de diagnosed with cancer and after several treatments the doctor informs us we are in a state of remission. Yet, in several years that cancer may come back. It was only temporarily in a state of remission. Animal sacrifices were brought annually to the High Priest for the remission of sins they had committed that previous year. But they could never "take away sins."
Christ, the ultimate sacrifice, satisfied God's righteousness by dying on the cross and shedding His own blood for our sins. It was the only work that God would accept for eradicating sin.
So man is justified, in his sin, when he places his trust in the only work God accepts for salvation – THE WORK OF CHRIST. "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by THE FAITH OF JESUS CHRIST, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." Galatians 2: 16
(For a detailed discussion on The Faith of Christ, see the topic of the same name.)
Review Questions:
Define the words wages of sin. __________________________
What does that bring about? _________________________
What/who is the gift of God? ___________________
What does the gift promise mankind? _______________________________
What did God allow man to do to temporarily erase sin? _____________
What does remission mean? _______________________________________
What does blotting out mean? ______________________________________
What is the only work God accepts for payment of man's sin? ____________________________________________________________________
Lesson # 3
We should have learned from lesson # 2, the following:
- That sin brings death and separation from God.
- That God gave Jesus Christ as a gift of His love and as a sacrifice for eradicating sin.
- That this gift brings eternal life for all that would trust in the work Christ did for us.
- That animal sacrifices were temporary, never intended to eradicate sin.
- The work of Christ was dying for our sins.
Before we begin today's lesson I want to clarify the position of this ministry. We believe God has saved people who are members of various different denominations. We do not think that any known denomination has an exclusive right to salvation, and we will not engage in denominational issues or differences at all. The only issue we will elaborate on are those that are found in the Bible.
If, in the course of study, you find that what the Bible says contradicts with your denominational beliefs, you will have to determine which is valid and which is not. We will, in all cases, trust God's Word over man's creed.
Now, let us look at The Faith of Christ in detail.
Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by THE FAITH OF JESUS CHRIST, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." Galatians 2: 16
The Faith of Christ involves resurrection. We learned in lesson one that Jesus was with God in the very beginning of time. Sometime in the beginning Jesus must have agreed to be the ultimate sacrifice for sin and God agreed if Jesus would be willing to die for sin, God would make sure He would resurrect Jesus from the grave. Christ believed Him. That is what The Faith of Christ is.
Christ died for my sin, was buried and rose again so that I might be justified before God. (See Faith of Christ)
Mankind can do nothing to save himself. He cannot do a work that will satisfy God's requirement for justification. Only the Lord Jesus Christ could do that. The work mankind did to appease God during the dispensation of the Law was a "band aid". The keeping of the law was never intended to save one's soul from eternal damnation.
"But before faith came (Jesus Christ), we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith (The Faith of Christ) which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. (The Faith of Christ) But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster." Galatians 3: 23-25
"I have been taught all my life that going to church regularly, giving my money to support the church and keeping the 10 commandments would save me," You say. Then according to the passages we have read, you should have learned that that is not the whole truth. And aren't you seeking the whole truth, not just a little truth?
So, what must one do in order to be saved and live eternally with God? Trust the finished work of Christ. What is that? Let the Bible speak for itself.
"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel (good news) which I preached unto you, which also ye have received (acknowledged, accepted) and wherein ye stand; (trusted, believed) By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; And that He was buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures."
1 Corinthians 15: 3-4
If one is to be saved (becomes a part of the Body of Christ) one must believe that Christ died for their sins, was buried and rose again.
"For by grace are ye saved through faith (The Faith of Christ), and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2: 8-9
Review Questions:
- What was the faith of Christ? ___________________________________
- Can you do anything that will save you? _________________________
- Have you trusted the finished work of Christ for your salvation?
- Yes ______
- No ______
- I think so _____
- I do not know for sure ______
- We need to talk about that _____
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