[geocentrism] Bible Course - 21 Lessons
- From: bernie brauer <bbrauer777@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: geocentrism@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 18:52:19 -0800 (PST)
Bible Course - 21 Lessons:
http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/sbs777/course/index.html
Lesson 1:
SBS Course Lesson 1 Lawlessness (Sin) 1. WHAT IS SIN?
By way of definition we may say that sin is a godless attitude of mind which
manifests itself in disobedience of the commandments of Yahweh the God of
Abraham, Isaac and Israel. The Bible says simply:
1 John 3:4 "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law:
for sin is the transgression of the law."
In other words when a person violates one or more of the Almighty's
commandments, then that person is sinning, whether he/she knows it or not.
2. PURPOSE OF THE LAW
Why was the law given in the first place? Do we need moral laws? Romans
3:20 "... for by the law is the knowledge of sin."
Romans 7:7 "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I
had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had
said, Thou shalt not covet. "
You will see from these texts that Yahweh's law defines sin. It brings it to
one's notice. It details the behaviour the Most High considers right and wrong.
Humanity is incapable of defining sin. Only the Creator can do that. Were a
society to totally set aside Yahweh's law, the law which defines sin, then
within a single generation people would become incapable of even recognising
error. Such a society would inevitably descend into a vortex of vice, violence
and vandalism beyond our ability to imagine, let alone control. 3. TYPES OF
LAWLESSNESS
Sin is lawlessness. Sin is breaking divine law. From the Biblical viewpoint
lawlessness, disobedience and sin are three words meaning the same thing. The
two words 'sin' and 'disobedience' are interchangeable. Broadly speaking, sin
may be divided into two categories:
Obvious Sins
These are the all too evident sins of blasphemy, deceit, theft, violence, rape,
sodomy, adultery murder etc.
Not so Obvious Sins
Then we have the socially acceptable sins such as unbelief, covetousness,
ingratitude, envy, pride and Sabbath-breaking.
All these sins are really expressions of rebellion against the Almighty's
law. The spirit of rebellion was first manifest in the mind of Satan, the first
sinner ever to be.
4. ALL OF US ARE BORN WITH A LAWLESS NATURE
Few people would admit to being lawless or sinful. Nevertheless, it is true to
say that sinful tendencies are inherent in every human mind and make-up. The
Bible says:
Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God"
Romans 5:12 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and
death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"
Yes, it is a tragic truth: We have all sinned, and we have all sinned
repeatedly. What's more, the human mind is naturally antagonistic towards the
Almighty's law and instinctively seeks to reject it. This is a far more serious
problem than people realise. The inspired writer continues:
Romans 8:7 "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is
not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be."
Jeremiah 17:9 " The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately
wicked: who can know it?"
The spiritual mirror the Creator uses to show a sinner his/her sinful condition
is His law. But the human heart (mind) is at war with the law of God. It is not
naturally subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. By the divine
standard the human heart is sick! Such is the inspired assessment of the human
mind: and before the reader can ever hope to make any spiritual progress in
life, that ego-shattering divine diagnosis must be recognised for what it is -
the truth! Are you willing to acknowledge that fact? 5. EFFECTS OF
LAWLESSNESS (Sin)
Individual lawlessness produces guilt, pain, mental disorders, family break
upheavals, disease and finally death. On the national and international scale,
lawlessness repels the Spirit of God and results in all kinds of social,
political and natural calamity: poverty, vandalism, revolution, war, freak
weather conditions, famine, disease epidemics, earthquakes and disasters of all
kinds: disasters which most people believe happen 'purely by chance.' The truth
is, few things happen 'purely by chance.' For everything there is a cause; and
that cause is more often than not linked to moral degeneracy. Read Deuteronomy
chapter 28 where the amazing link between a nation's moral behaviour and its
welfare is explained in detail. 6. JESUS CHRIST, THE ONLY REMEDY FOR SIN
Lawlessness (sin) cannot be pampered, educated or somehow coaxed to quietly go
away or even to change its nature. For sin is an incurable spiritual malady: a
moral form of AIDS with which Satan has infected mankind. Indeed, sin must
needs be totally rooted out of the human mind, else it will destroy
civilisation. Sin is not just another social problem. Sin is a spiritual
problem and nothing short of a spiritual cure will get rid of it. Jehovah
(Yahweh), for that is the name of the God of Israel, must either overcome and
annihilate sin, or sin will overrun the universe. Yahweh's agent for the
annihilation of sin and the salvation of mankind is none other than His only
begotten Son Yeshua (Jesus). Jesus conquers sin in the believer by creating in
him/her a new mind, a new outlook, a new person. The old sinful mind is not
somehow patched up and coaxed along. No, it is confronted, slain and buried. In
its place is put a new mind, a new outlook, a new person, a new creation.
And this new creature or convert (which could be you!) is born to move in
accordance with the requirements of the Father's law. Believe it or not, that
is the reason why Jesus Christ (Yeshua the Messiah) came to this earth. He came
to make his followers obedient to his Father's law. To be sure, he came to save
mankind from the consequences of sin - which is eternal death. But over and
above that initial task, his main reason for coming to earth was to empower the
repentant believer to be obedient to his Father's law. This objective is
mentioned in the following verses.
Romans 8:3-4 "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak
through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and
for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be
fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
Matthew 1:21 "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his
name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."
Hebrews 8:10 " For this is the covenant that I will make with the house
of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind,
and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be
to me a people:"
In other words the Saviour came to save us from our sins: and to write his
father's law on the tablets of our hearts and minds. NOTE: Yeshua (Yahshua,
Y'shua) is the Saviour's Hebrew name. Jesus is the Greek form. Both names mean
salvation. Throughout SBS pages you will notice that these names are used. We
trust that the reader will recognise that in every case we mean Jesus Christ,
the only begotten Son of the Almighty God. 7. THE LAW CANNOT SAVE THE SINNER
You will have noticed at point 6 that salvation comes through Jesus Christ. In
other words, Yahweh's law, perfect though it is, cannot save a single sinner.
It cannot make a lawbreaker obedient. No law can. Like a sacred signpost on the
highway of life the law of the Most High can only point the way to life. It has
no more power to change a sinner's character than a traffic sign has to move a
motorist to his destination. The law can only point the way to right and wrong.
That is all it can and was designed to do. The purpose of Yahweh's law, in
short, is to define sin, to make the sinner aware of what is wrong and what is
right; and to point the way to salvation - to Christ!
Galatians 3:24 " Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us
unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith"
Some well-meaning believers have completely misunderstood the role of Yahweh's
law in the great Plan of Salvation. They have incorrectly assumed that after
the death of Jesus the law of God became obsolete. Nothing is further from the
truth. Here are a few Scriptures concerning this vital matter of Yahweh's law
and the results of obedience and disobedience.
(Psalm 19:7; Proverbs 28:4; Jeremiah 9:13-16; Hosea 4:6; Malachi 2:4-10;
Matthew 5:17-18, 19:16-17; Romans 2:13; James 1:22-25; Revelation 22:14)
The only time you do not need the law of the Almighty God is when you are
obeying it to perfection. 8. SUMMARY
Sin (lawlessness) is an inherent anti-God attitude which manifests itself in
disobedience of one or more of the commandments of God.
Sin results in guilt, disease, disorder and disasters of all kinds.
There is no man-made remedy for sin. It is fatal.
Yahweh's law, perfect and holy though it is, is unable to save the sinner.
Its primary purpose is simply to define sin and to point the sinner to Jesus
Christ Yeshua the Messiah .
Sin can only be overcome by the power of Yahweh the Almighty God of Israel
as administered through His Son: whose ultimate objective is to write his
Father's law on the mind of all true believers. That is why he came to earth in
the first place: to save his people from their sins.
In short: salvation comes through Jesus Christ.
Do you think you have the courage to acknowledge and accept the truth of this
first lesson? If you do, then this Course is most certainly for you.
---------------------------------
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