Session 3 - The Story of the Bible
In this third session we will look at several
theological topics (briefly)
We will look at the original creation, the fall
of mankind into sin, and God’s plan for
redemption in history
The story of the Bible is sin and salvation,
God restoring our relationship with Him
Creation
The Creation narrative is recorded in
Genesis 1 for us, and most of us are aware
of what it says
Genesis 1:1
“In the Beginning God Created the heaven
and the earth”
The three persons of the Trinity are all
involve in Creation
Exodus 20:11
“For in six days
the LORD made
heaven and earth,
the sea, and all
that in them is”
This point is
debated within
the church now,
but we hold to a
literal view
The Bible says everything that God created
was very good, there was no evil until after
the creation was finished
Genesis 1:31: “Then God saw everything
that He had made, and indeed it was very
good. So the evening and the morning
were the sixth day.”
When we examine the original creation it’s
hard to get a good picture of it
We know that after the Creation was
finished, Satan rebelled against God and
fell from heaven
On day six of creation, God created Adam
and Eve in His image
Genesis 1:27: “So God
created man in his own
image, in the image of
God he created him;
male and female he
created them.
After a unspecified amount of time, the
Serpent (the Devil) comes and tempts Adam
and Eve to do the one thing that they
weren’t supposed to do
From that point on, God’s perfect Creation
was fallen into sin
God comes down and speaks to Adam and
Eve (and Satan) and the first prophecy of the
Messiah in scripture comes about when God
speaks to Satan
Genesis 3:15: “I will put enmity between you
and the woman, and between your
offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise
your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
This is the beginning of a long plan put in
place by God to redeem mankind from the
sin that they had committed
In 1 Corinthians 15:22 we are told that
“In Adam, All die”
The Bible says that the creation itself was
effected by the fall, nature itself has
problems now and need to be remade
Romans 8:18-22: “For I consider that the
sufferings of this present time are not
worthy to be compared with the glory which
shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest
expectation of the creation eagerly waits for
the revealing of the sons of God…
For the creation was subjected to futility,
not willingly, but because of Him who
subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation
itself also will be delivered from the
bondage of corruption into the glorious
liberty of the children of God.22 For we
know that the whole creation groans and
labors with birth pangs together until now.”
The original creation was very different, sin
didn’t just effect the souls of man
For the next 4,000 years, God prepares the
way for the redemption of mankind
He sends a flood to wipe out the evil in the
world, and saves a righteous family (Noah,
his wife, three sons and three daughters)
He calls Abraham, Isaac, Jacob
He Creates the nation of Israel and calls
Moses at the time of the Exodus
All through the Old Testament we see Satan
trying to stop the coming Messiah
And we see God preparing His people for the
coming Messiah, showing what must be
done for redemption to be made, how a
sacrifice is required, etc.
And four thousand years after the prophecy
was made in Genesis Chapter 3, God
Himself becomes a man (in the person of
Jesus Christ) to save us
Jesus was born of a Virgin
According to the Bible (and nothing in history
contradicts it) Jesus was born of a Virgin
Isa.7:14: Therefore the Lord himself shall
give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall
conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his
name Immanuel.
The virgin birth is theologically vital to
the Christian faith
If Jesus was not born of a Virgin, he
would inherit the sin nature given to us by
Adam, which means he could not
be the perfect sacrifice
The Virgin birth is as important of a doctrine
as the resurrection! If Jesus was not perfect,
his sacrifice cannot save anyone
Sadly, many Christians tag this as a nonessential today, when it’s not
Not only was Jesus born of a Virgin, but he
lived a sinless life here on earth
Today though not all Christians believe that
44% believe that Jesus Christ committed
some sins while on earth
“For He made Him who knew no sin to
be sin for us, that we might become the
righteousness of God in Him.”
2 Corinthians 5:21
Jesus had such an impact on history, that for
2000 years his life divided the timescale for
earth history (AD, BC)
After his three year ministry, he was
crucified to pay for the sins of the world
Unlike some people think, no one forced
Jesus into being crucified, he did it willingly
because he knew what had to be done to
save the lost
John 10:18: ”No one takes it from Me, but I
lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it
down, and I have power to take it again. This
command I have received from My Father.”
Jesus was killed and was in the grave for
three days, and on the third day he rose
from the dead (the resurrection)
The resurrection is vital to Christianity, if it
is false, Christianity is false
1 Corinthians 15:12-19: “Now if Christ is
preached that He has been raised from the
dead, how do some among you say that
there is no resurrection of the dead? But if
there is no resurrection of the dead, then
Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen,
then our preaching is empty and your
faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found
false witnesses of God, because we have
testified of God that He raised up Christ,
whom He did not raise up…—
if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead
do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if
Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are
still in your sins! Then also those who have
fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this
life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all
men the most pitiable.”
The Early Church heavily emphasizes a bodily
resurrection because of the Gnostic teachings
that were trying to enter the church
His duel nature is very important
Jesus is one person with two natures. This
is why He would grow in wisdom and
stature (Luke 2:52) and yet know all
things (John 21:17).
The foundation for this doctrine comes from
many parts of the New Testament, and is the
universal witness of scripture
GOD
He is worshiped (Matt. 2:2, 11;
14:33)
He was called God (John 20:28;
Heb. 1:8)
He was called Son of God (Mark
1:1)
MAN
He is prayed to (Acts 7:59)
He prayed to the Father (John 17)
He worshiped the Father (John 17)
He was called man (Mark 15:39;
John 19:5)
He was called Son of Man (John
9:35-37)
He is sinless (1 Pet. 2:22; Heb. 4:15) He was tempted (Matt. 4:1)
He knows all things (John 21:17)
He grew in wisdom (Luke 2:52)
He gives eternal life (John 10:28)
He died (Rom. 5:8)
All the fullness of deity dwells in
Him (Col. 2:9)
He has a body of flesh and bones
(Luke 24:39)
Jesus came to save us, from what?
Matthew 1:21: “She will bear a son, and you
shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his
people from their sins.”
What is sin?
Put simply, sin is
disobeying God and
doing something He said
we shouldn’t
Sin is not just something you do (action) it’s
not just lying, stealing, murdering, etc. it also
encompasses your thought life and intentions
Jesus said:
Matthew 5:27-28: “You have heard that it
was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But
I say to you that everyone who looks at a
woman with lustful intent has already
committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Why are certain things sinful?
Because they are contrary to the nature or
purpose of God, they are contrary to Truth
(which God is)
Webster's Dictionary: Truth is that
which has fidelity to the original.
Fidelity is:“The same as or equal to”
Truth is that which is the same as or equal
to the original.
Why is homosexuality sinful? Why can’t two
men marry? Because it does not show
fidelity to the original (Adam and Eve and
God’s creation / purpose for marriage)
Who has sinned? Romans 3:10-12: “As it is
written: “None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands; no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have
become worthless; no one does good, not
even one.”
Romans 3:23: “for all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God,”
Not only have we all committed sins, we are
all born with a sin nature
Romans 5:12: “Therefore, just as sin came
into the world through one man, and death
through sin, and so death spread to all
men because all sinned”
Even when we are in our mothers womb, we
have this problem
Psalm 51:5:
“Behold, I was
brought forth in
iniquity, and in sin
did my mother
conceive me.”
We are born with a sin nature, one of the key
differences between Christianity and other
religions is we believe (and the Bible teaches)
that man is inherently evil (not good)
Are there degrees to how bad your sin is?
Are things like murder and gluttony
really on equal plains?
It is true that some sins are dealt with more
harshly in the Bible, there are certain sins
God calls abominations (homosexuality for
example) and certain sins God hates
(example: pride)
To us humans some sins really do seem
worse (and may be worse) than others
It really doesn’t matter though if some sins
are worse than others, because any sin (no
matter how bad) separates you from God if
you have not been forgiven and redeemed
James 2:10: “For whoever keeps the whole
law but fails in one point has become
accountable for all of it.”
It doesn’t matter how much you’ve sinned,
just if you’ve sinned
What’s the punishment for sin?
Rom 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”
James 1:15: “Then desire when it has
conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is
fully grown brings forth death.”
Death and separation
from God are the
punishment for our sin
Death and separation from God are the
punishment for sin
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.
Luckily that’s not where the Bible stops, and
it goes on to tell us how we can be saved
from this problem of sin
Salvation (Soteriology)
Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death,
but the free gift of God is eternal life in
Christ Jesus our Lord.”
”For as by one man’s disobedience many
were made sinners, so also by one Man’s
obedience many will be made righteous.”
- Romans 5:19
Jesus is called the second Adam, and He
came to save a world lost in sin
What must someone do to be saved? Are
you ready to explain it?
It all starts with repentance
Repentance means to turn away from sin
and to God (there are many analogies you
could use for this)
“No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will
all likewise perish.” - Luke 13:3
Some people deny this is scriptural
Acts 3:19: “Repent
therefore, and turn
again, that your
sins may be
blotted out,”
2 Peter 3:9: “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his
promise as some count slowness, but is
patient toward you, not wishing that any
should perish, but that all should
reach repentance.”
After repentance comes faith
“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
Faith is trusting Christ
to save you from your
sins, faith is not blind
(we have a reason for
believing He can)
The Gospel is not complex:
“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.” - John 3:16
There is a good reason this is the most
popular verse in the Bible
Once we repent and believe (have faith) we
are made righteous and God can dwell
within us (the Holy Spirit)
”For our sake he made him to be sin who
knew no sin, so that in him we might
become the righteousness of God.”
- 2 Corinthians 5:21-21
Redemption is the story of the Bible, Old and
New Testament
We are all sinners in need of a savior, and
the Bible lays out God’s plan over history
(starting in the Garden of Eden) to bring
us back to Him
We will end with a quote from C.S. Lewis on
the topic of sin:
“When a man is getting better he
understands more and more clearly the evil
that is still left in him. When a man is getting
worse he understands his own badness less
and less. A moderately bad man knows he is
not very good: a thoroughly bad man thinks
he is all right This is common sense, really.
You understand sleep when you are awake,
not while you are sleeping…
You can see mistakes in arithmetic when
your mind is working properly: while you are
making them you cannot see them. You can
understand the nature of drunkenness when
you are sober, not when you are drunk Good
people know about both good and evil: bad
people do not know about either.”
— from Mere Christianity
Memory Verse
“No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will
all likewise perish.” - Luke 13:3