- Forgiveness - Today we are going to talk about the importance of forgiveness. If we had more time, we would explore forgiveness in more detail. Being our last class until September, we will briefly go through each passage to see the importance of forgiveness in God's eyes. Please do not hesitate to stop and ask any questions as we go. Since the very beginning, God created the first people. Who were those people? * Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve had access to almost everything God had created. Can anyone tell me what the one thing was that Adam and Eve did not have access to? * Tree of knowledge of good and evil. The devil tempted Eve, who through Eve tempted Adam to eat of the tree. Can anyone tell me how the devil appeared to Adam and Eve? * Form of a snake. No matter how good we are, we have all fallen short of the glory of God. We can all be tempted and fall into sin in different ways. Today, we will take a look at what the Bible says about forgiveness and how important it is. Read Gen 2:7 - Gen 3:24 for additional information. We will now look at the Book of Romans in the New Testament. Rom 3:21-26 21 But now, irrespective of law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, 22the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, [STOP] Can anyone tell me how we are righteous with God? * Through "faith" in "Jesus Christ". 23since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, [STOP] Can anyone tell me how we are justified? * "Grace" as a gift through redemption in "Jesus Christ". 25whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; [STOP] Can anyone tell me how Jesus showed his righteousness? * Died on the cross. 26it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus. [STOP] Can anyone tell me whom Jesus justifies? * Anyone who has faith in Jesus. We know that Jesus has died on the cross for our sins and see that we must have faith in him to be righteous. Rom 3:10 10as it is written: ‘There is no one who is righteous, not even one; [STOP] Any questions? Now we are going to take a look at the Gospel on how to be righteous. Mt 4:17 17From that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’ [STOP] Mt 9:9-13 9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him. 10 And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax-collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax-collectors and sinners?’ [STOP] Can anyone tell me why Jesus spent time with sinful people? * Hope they would "have faith in him" and "turn away from their sin". 12But when he heard this, he said, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13Go and learn what this means, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice." For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.’ [STOP] We are going the read a similar story in the book of Luke. Lk 5:29-32 29 Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house; and there was a large crowd of tax-collectors and others sitting at the table with them. 30The Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples, saying, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax-collectors and sinners?’ 31Jesus answered, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; 32I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.’ [STOP] It is important to see that after reading Romans 3:10, we see that no one is righteous, not one. Jesus came to us that we may have righteousness through Him by turning away from our sins through the act of repentance. Now we are going to take a look at a parable about what we just read. Lk 15:1-7 15 Now all the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 2And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ 3 So he told them this parable: 4‘Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? 5When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. 6And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, "Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost." 7Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance. [STOP] Can anyone tell me how important it is in the eyes of Jesus to turn away from sin? * Very important. Summery: Who is subject to sin? * Everybody What must we do to be forgiven? * Repent or turn away from sin Who must we abide in to be forgiven? * Jesus We are all venerable to sin. Based on what is said in the Bible, the most important thing we can do to ensure our salvation is to turn away from sin and abide in Jesus, asking for his forgiveness. Any questions? OBB Bible Browser http://www.oremus.org/bible/ The New Revised Standard Version