FOR THOSE WHO WONDER WHY
WE MUST BE BORN AGAIN.
~ God Loved the World that He created and the devil hijacked~
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:16-18
~THE REST OF THE STORY~
1.When God created Adam and Eve He created them in His Image]. "So God created man in His own image; in the image ("tselema" i.e resemblance) of God He created him; male and female He created them". Genesis 1:27 "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being". Genesis 2:7 we read, God is Holy, Sinless, and Perfect. So Adam and Eve were just like God in this respect when they were created. Because God is an eternal being God gave Adam and Eve the eternal life He posses. God’s intention was for them to live forever in fellowship with Him. (To procreate and fill the earth, Genesis 1:28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.")
2. "And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. "Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food"; and it was so". Genesis 1:29-30
3. [To test the obedience and loyalty of Adam and Eve, God gave specific instructions not to eat the fruit of a particular tree or they would die.] "And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Genesis 2:16-17
4. [Adam and Eve failed the test of obedience and loyalty to God when they yielded to Satan's deception when Satan delivered the lie.] And he [Satan] said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'you shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; [Eve validates Gods instruction] "but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' “And the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." [Eve turns her back on God and swallows Satan's lie].So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband [who was not temped by the devil] with her, and he ate. [Now Adam and Eve are no longer following God, but have made their decision to follow Satan].Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings." Genesis 2:16-17
5. [God came to confront Adam and Eve in their sinful act of disobedience and Adam and Eve confessed to God.] "And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself." And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?" Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate. And the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." [This was the initiation of the "blame game", Don't hold me responsible it was Eves fault, don't hold me responsible, it was Satan's fault] Genesis 3:8-13 (For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 2nd Corinthians 5:10)
6. [God cursed Satan:] “So the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel." Genesis 3:14-15
7. [God cursed Eve:] To the woman He said: "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." Genesis 3:16
8. [God cursed Adam and the ground:] Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': "Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return. "And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. Genesis 3:17-20
9. [Because a Righteous and Holy God cannot look upon sin He took the life of innocent and perfect animal to make a covering for the sin of Adam and Eve]. "Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them." Genesis 3:21
10. [We find now that Adam and Eve were no longer living in the Holy and Righteous image of God. But they were living in a sinful and fallen state. They began to do as God had commanded them in Genesis 1:28:] "Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." Genesis 1: 28
11. Genesis 5:3-4 (and following verses) [The sin nature of mankind is recorded.] "And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness [a sinner, rejecter of God; follower of Satan], after his image [a rejecter of obedience to God and a receiver of the lies of Satan], and named him Seth. After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he begot sons and daughters." [And the original sin nature of Adam has been inherited generation after generation, for centuries. Even until now, the 21st century]. ('The LORD is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.' Numbers 14:18)
The inheritance of sin settled:
'The LORD is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.' Numbers 14:18
Numbers 14:18-20 The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy. This part of Moses' plea is in behalf of the people. The argument now is completely valid, because he states the whole case for God. God is not only of great mercy but is the Just One, who cannot clear the guilty, that is, leave iniquity unpunished. This foundation truth for the teaching of Substitutionary blood atonement pervades the whole Bible. God is merciful and does forgive, not by overlooking iniquity but by providing a substitute so that He may be both the Just One and the Justifier of those who believe (Rom 3:21-26), 19. "As thou hast forgiven". The root meaning of the word forgive, "to bear or carry," supports this Substitutionary aspect of forgiveness. For God to pardon there must be a sin-bearer.
This is why we read in Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
And in Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We all owe our lives for the sin that we have inherited. If we don't want to die we must have a sinless perfect substitute do die in our place.
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”.
o Jesus Christ is the Son of God, Sinless and perfect like the innocent animal God killed to obtain the skins for the tunics He used to cover the sin of Adam and Eve. Jesus and Jesus alone can take our place and pay for our sin.
o "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12
o And He Himself is the propitiation [payment in full] for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. 1st John 2:2
o "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [payment in full] for our sins". 1st John 4:10
God has made it easy for us to be saved from our sin and gain eternal life in Christ.
- “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us". 1st John 1:9-10
This verse was written to the church located in Jerusalem but the messages applies to all who are un-confessed sinners.
And in Romans 10:9-10 We read, "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.
And all are invited to accept Christ as Savior. "For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:13
- [When we pray to confess our sins and to receive Jesus Christ as our Savior, we become an adopted child of God].
- To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. Galatians 4:5
- Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. Ephesians 1:5-6
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. Ephesians 1:3-7
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name”: John 1:12
"And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." Galatians 4:6-7
"And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever, "even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. John 14:16-17
All that it is necessary to be redeemed from the condemned condition that we have inherited is to pray to God and acknowledge that we understand our position and are doomed to eternal death because of our inherited sin nature. Acknowledge that we are in need for a redeemer. And the redeemer that God has provided for us is His sinless Son Jesus Christ.
- For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Luke 19:10
Even though the invitation to accept eternal life by confession of sin and the acceptance of Jesus Christ as Savior is extended to all; not everyone will receive it. There will be those who make false confessions or refuse to believe all together and one day Jesus will say to them;
~I Never Knew You
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' Matthew 7:21-23
- Just as God has a placed reserved in Heaven for the believers He also has provided a place for those who persist in their unbelief.
~Judgment Before the Great White Throne
Revelation 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life [see study on "book of life]. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.
14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Just as God left the decision up to our original parents to obey or disobey, God leaves the decision up to us today to receive or reject His offer of eternal life with Him in glory, or eternal death and pain in the lake of fire with all who refuse Him. Our personal decision alone determines our eternal destiny.
God Bless you
