The Problem of
Sin
1. Read Genesis 3:1-6
and Romans
5:12. What entered the world through Adam?
________________
2. Read 1 John
3:4. How does the Bible define sin? ________________________
3. Read Isaiah
59:2. What does sin do?
_____________________________________________________
4. Read Romans
3:23. Are we all participants in the problem of
sin? YES or NO
5. Read Ephesians 2:1
and 1 Timothy
5:6. While we are in sin we are _______________________.
The Promise
6. Read Genesis 3:15.
Let's examine the promise God made here. After Adam and
Eve had sinned by eating the fruit which God had forbidden, God punished them
for their sin. However, He made a promise that He would some day undo the
terrible effects of sin by sending someone who is here called the “seed”
(offspring) of woman. That person, the “seed,” would come and bruise Satan on
the head, which means he would deal a crushing blow to Satan. However, in the
process of dealing this crushing blow to Satan, the “seed” himself would be
bruised on the heel, which is a way of indicating a minor injury compared to
that which Satan would receive.
7. Read Genesis 12:3
and 22:18.
Here is another promise, made to Abraham. On the two
occasions recorded in these passages of Scripture, God promised that all the
nations of the earth would be blessed through Abraham. Abraham is one of the
most significant characters in all the Bible. What stands out about him most
was that he was a man of faith. He believed what God told him, he trusted that
what God said was true, and he lived his life according to that trust.
God thus promised that He would bless all the families
or nations of the earth through this man. Through Abraham God brought the
Israelites into existence. From the Israelites (later called the Jews) came
Jesus, who makes salvation possible for every person of every nation. It is
important to note that in Genesis 22:18 God uses the word “seed,” the very
word He had used in Genesis 3:15. Through this “seed” who would crush Satan
would come the blessing of salvation from the consequences of sin.
What is a key word in these promises?
______________
The Law of Moses
8. Read Romans 3:20
and Galatians
3:11, 19.
What was the purpose of the Law of Moses?
________________________________________________
Was the Law of Moses designed to save
man? YES or NO
9. Read Galatians
3:10. The Law put man under a _______________.
10. Read Galatians
3:17. Did the giving of the Law nullify God's
promise? YES or NO
11. Read Galatians
3:19. How long was the Law to last?
______________________________________
Salvation in
Christ
12. Read Galatians
3:16. Who is the fulfillment of God's
promise? ____________________
13. Read Romans
3:21-26. Let's examine the following terms from this passage and see
how they all relate:
- Justified -- this word means “forgiven.”
- Gift and Grace (see also Titus 2:11-12 and Ephesians
2:8-9 in your Bible) -- why have we been forgiven (justified)? Not because
we earned it or deserved it, but as a gift from God. God gives us this
gift because of His grace. God’s grace is His kindness. God gives us the
gift of salvation because He is being kind to us.
- Redemption (see also 1 Peter 1:17-19 in your Bible) --
redemption is when someone has lost something and he pays to get it back.
This is figurative language when it is used of God, but it makes an
important point. God had lost us, as it were, because of our sin. Our sin
had separated us from God (remember Isaiah 59:2 above?), but God was not
content to leave things that way. So God executed a costly plan to restore
our relationship with Him. It was costly in that it cost the life of His
Son, Jesus. Since Jesus died for our sins, we can be forgiven of our sins
and have fellowship (relationship) with God again.
- Propitiation (see also 1 John 2:2 in your Bible) -- this word
is unfamiliar to us in modern times, but in ancient times it denoted a
sacrifice that was offered to appease the wrath of God. You see, when we
sinned we cut ourselves off from God and had nothing but His wrath (as
punishment for our sin) to face. The death of Jesus was a sacrifice that
abates the wrath of God against us. How? Because Jesus died for our sins,
making forgiveness possible. Once we have been forgiven of our sins, God
is no longer angry at us.
- Blood (see also Matthew 26:28 and Romans 5:9 in your Bible) --
the word “blood” in the Bible is often synonymous with “life.” Jesus gave
His life on the cross. He died there not because He deserved it, but
because He was taking the punishment we deserved. He died for us, He died
instead of us. This is the wonderful news of the gospel. We were guilty of
sin and were under the sentence of death as a consequence, but Jesus
stepped in and died for us. Thus the law of God that demanded death for
sin was satisfied, but the good news is that we did not have to die
because Jesus died for us.
14. Read Romans
5:8. Why did God send Christ to die for our sins?
_______________________________
15. Read Romans
1:16-17. What is God's power unto salvation?
__________________________________
Thought Question: If the gospel is God's power unto
salvation, can a person become a Christian and be saved apart from the
gospel? YES or
NO
16. Read 1 Corinthians
15:1-5. Does the gospel save us?
YES or NO
17. Read 2 Thessalonians
1:8. What will happen to those who do not obey the gospel?
______________
_____________________________________________________________________________
In the next lesson we will see, from the Bible, exactly
what a person must do if he/she wants to take advantage of what God has done
for us.
Return to
Correspondence Course Index
Lesson 4
Scriptures for Lesson 4 -- from the New
American Standard Bible (updated edition)
Genesis 3:1-6 -- Now the serpent was more crafty than any
beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman,
"Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" The
woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may
eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God
has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die."' The
serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die! For God knows that in the
day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,
knowing good and evil." When the woman saw that the tree was good for food,
and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make
one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband
with her, and he ate.
Romans 5:12 -- Therefore, just as through one man sin
entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men,
because all sinned
return to question
#1
1 John 3:4 -- Everyone who practices sin also practices
lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.
return to question
#2
Isaiah 59:2 -- “But your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that
He does not hear.”
return to question
#3
Romans 3:23 -- for all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God
return to question
#4
Ephesians 2:1 -- And you were dead in your trespasses and
sins
1 Timothy 5:6 -- But she who gives herself to wanton
pleasure is dead even while she lives.
return to question
#5
Genesis 3:15 -- “And I will put enmity Between you and the
woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
return to question
#6
Genesis 12:3 -- “And I will bless those who bless you, And
the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth
will be blessed.”
Genesis 22:18 -- "In your seed all the nations of the earth
shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."
return to question
#7
Romans 3:20 -- because by the works of the Law no flesh
will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of
sin.
Galatians 3:11, 19 -- because by the works of the Law no
flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge
of sin. . . . Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions,
having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the
seed would come to whom the promise had been made.
return to question
#8
Galatians 3:10 -- For as many as are of the works of the
Law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not
abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them."
return to question
#9
Galatians 3:17 -- What I am saying is this: the Law, which
came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant
previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.
return to
question #10
Galatians 3:19 -- Why the Law then? It was added because of
transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a
mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made.
return to
question #11
Galatians 3:16 -- Now the promises were spoken to Abraham
and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but
rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ.
return to
question #12
Romans 3:21-26 -- But now apart from the Law the
righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the
Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all
those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the
redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a
propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His
righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins
previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at
the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who
has faith in Jesus.
return to
question #13
Romans 5:8 -- But God demonstrates His own love toward us,
in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
return to
question #14
Romans 1:16-17 -- For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for
it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew
first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed
from faith to faith; as it is written, "but the righteous man shall live by
faith."
return to
question #15
1 Corinthians 15:1-5 -- Now I make known to you, brethren,
the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you
stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached
to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first
importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to
the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third
day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the
twelve.
return to
question #16
2 Thessalonians 1:8 -- dealing out retribution to those who
do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
return to
question #17
