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Salvation Through
Justification
Lesson 28
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Sin Begins
Genesis 3:6 says,
“When the woman saw that the fruit of the
tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye,
and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took
some and ate it. She also gave some to her
husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” I
believe the devil schemed and planned his
approach at the tree for some time and he was
unbelievably successful. He gained Eve’s
full attention and ultimately her confidence. The
fruit was beautiful and desirable, and after he
had beguiled Eve with his comments, she tasted
it. The serpent quickly left the tree and Eve, no
doubt, felt strange and uncomfortable inside. For
the first time she felt guilt of sin. Quickly she
gathered up some of the fruit and ran to Adam.
Adam recognized the forbidden fruit Eve was
holding and knew she was in trouble. She
excitedly explained the course of events and
then, in an innocent way, sought his
companionship by offering him some fruit. Adam
must have thought: “God will strike Eve dead
today because she ate the fruit and if she is
taken from me, life will be miserable and
lonely.” Eve was created to perfection, she
was beautiful and she had been his “soul
mate” since the day of their creation. She
was part of him, they were of one flesh and
spirit, and he was deeply distressed. Therefore,
out of love and devotion for Eve, he chose to eat
the fruit and share God’s punishment with
her. Unfortunately, Adam loved Eve more than he
trusted God to resolve the problem.
A very important
distinction can be made between the sins of Adam
and Eve. Eve believed a lie and she sinned in
ignorance. Adam chose to disobey God and eat the
forbidden fruit because of his love for Eve. Even
though Adam’s sin was not an act of
defiance, it was intentional and willful.
Remember the text? “And the Lord God
commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from
any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for
when you eat of it you will surely
die.’” (Genesis 2:16,17) Adam knew
better, his sin was deliberate, whereas
Eve’s sin was not. Therefore, Paul concludes
that Adam is responsible for the entrance of sin
on Earth and not Eve! It would have been great if
God could have said, “O.K. Adam and Eve, we
will overlook your sin this one time, but you had
better not sin again!” God could not say
these words for two reasons: First, Adam and Eve
were now subject to the penalty of sin. They had
violated God’s law; God’s law cannot be
cancelled or altered because His universal
government is based on the rule of unchanging
law. Second, after Adam and Eve sinned, they were
not the same. They were immediately transformed
by sin and their minds and hearts suddenly became
hostile to the authority of the Godhead.
Passing the Blame
Adam and Eve were
confronted with their sin that evening. When they
heard Jesus approaching, they ran and hid. They
were ashamed, naked and defensive. When
confronted with their deeds, they were strangely
unrepentant! Eve blamed her actions on the
serpent. She said, “The serpent deceived me,
and I ate.” (Genesis 3:13) Even worse, Adam
blamed his rebellion on his Creator and then on
Eve! Adam said, “The woman you put here with
me – she gave me some fruit from the tree
and I ate it.” (Genesis 3:12, italics mine.)
The moment Adam and Eve became sinners, their
nature changed, instead of having a
predisposition toward righteousness, they became
rebellious and carnal. The Creator listened and
then He spoke. He addressed the serpent first,
then He placed a curse upon the woman, and last,
He turned to Adam and said, “Because you
listened to your wife and ate from the tree about
which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of
it,’ Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat of it all the
days of your life. By the sweat of your brow you
will eat your food until you return to the
ground, since from it you were taken; for dust
you are and to dust you will return.”
(Genesis 3:17-19)
Access Denied
God drove Adam and Eve
from the Garden of Eden for one simple reason.
They could not have access to the Tree of Life!
Read the following text carefully: The Lord God
said, ‘The man has now become like one of
us, knowing good from evil. He must not be
allowed to reach out his hand and take from the
tree of life and eat, and live forever {without
end}.’ So the Lord God banished him from the
Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he
had been taken. After he drove the man out, he
placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden
cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and
forth to guard the way to the Tree of Life.”
(Genesis 3:22-24, insertion mine.)
Two Types of Death
Created
At this point in the
story, it is important to consider a development
that occurred that fateful day. Remember, God had
warned that Adam and Eve would be executed the
very day they ate the fruit of the forbidden
tree. If the execution had been carried out, that
would have been the end of the story. However,
when Jesus stepped “in the way” of
their execution, offering to die in man’s
place, an important development occurred: Two
types of death were created. It became possible
for man to die twice. We know the penalty for sin
is death by execution, but the consequence of
being shut way from the Tree of Life is also
death. The “first death” occurs as a
consequence of sin. People die of cancer,
accidents or old age. This type of death is
called “sleep” 53 times in the New
Testament because in God’s eyes it is a
temporary death. (See John 6 and 11.) The second
death is reserved for people who remain defiant
against God’s authority during their life.
The annihilation of the wicked occurs at the end
of the 1,000 years. (Revelation 20:14) Currently,
no one has experienced the “second
death” (except Jesus) because God has not
executed the wicked. The second death occurs by
fire and the results are eternal and final.
The reason Adam and Eve
had to be banished from the garden and denied
access to the Tree of Life was because God did
not want sin to live forever. Notice how this
works: Man was created a mortal being (man has a
beginning and the possibility of an end). If man
cannot obtain the fruit from the Tree of Life, he
dies. Have you ever considered how the rebellious
predisposition of Adam and Eve, like a biological
trait, has been passed down to all the offspring
of the guilty pair for nearly 6,000 years? The
heritage and power of sin were quickly revealed
in their firstborn son, Cain, who became a
murderer!
Think of Adam and
Eve’s suffering outside the garden. The
Bible says that Adam lived 930 years. (Genesis
5:5) Imagine living that long and observing the
terrible consequences of your own sinful choice!
Adam had to watch the consequences of his own
deed for an extended period of time. He had lived
within that glorious garden before sin began; now
he survived by the sweat of his brow outside the
garden. He saw the effects of the infectious
blight of sin within his family and on all of
nature. Think of Adam’s mental and emotional
agony – living nine centuries to witness the
degenerate effects of his wrongdoing – all
to be with Eve. And, of course, Eve painfully
experienced the degenerate effects of sin within
her own body during childbirth, not to mention
the disappointing behavior of her children. I am
sure that as she held in her arms the lifeless
body of her second son, Abel, she was overwhelmed
with grief as she began to choke on the bitter
taste of sin.
Jesus Not Caught By
Surprise
The sins of Adam and Eve
did not catch Heaven by surprise. In fact, the
very day Adam and Eve sinned, Jesus became
man’s intercessor by stepping “in the
way” of the executing angel. (Isaiah 53:12;
Job 16:20,21; Hebrews 7:25) Jesus stepped between
the wrath of God’s law (death by execution)
and the guilty pair when He offered to die in
man’s place. In my mind’s eye, I can
visualize the scene. The executioner was
preparing to leave Heaven to slay Adam and Eve,
but Jesus ran to the Father. Jesus petitioned the
Father to allow Him to die in man’s place.
The Father agreed to the petition of Jesus and
the work of execution was delayed. Jesus came to
Earth and shared with Adam and Eve that a way had
been provided for them to one day be restored to
their Eden home. Ever since that day, the way
back to the Garden of Eden has been called the
“Plan of Salvation.” The plan includes
many features that reveal Godhead of love. One
marvelous feature about the plan is the
Father’s willingness to justify sinners with
the righteousness of Christ.
What Must I Do?
“Sirs, what must I
do to be saved?’ They replied, ‘Believe
in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved –
you and your household.’” (Acts
16:30,31) A frightened jailer cried out for his
life in the middle of the night and an assuring
response came from two prisoners. The words that
Paul and Silas spoke that night echoed from that
prison cell in Philippi for almost 2,000 years
has vast importance. However, Paul and
Silas’ response includes much more than many
Christians understand! To understand the passage
of Scripture the student has to take off his
Nike’s and put on the sandals of Paul and
Silas. In other words, we have to consider the
circumstances during which these words were
spoken.
The setting in Acts 16
begins a few years before the Romans destroyed
Jerusalem in A.D.70. The mutual hatred between
the Romans and Jews was fierce. To make matters
worse, the Romans regarded the Christians as just
another Jewish sect because most Christians were
former Jews who continued to observe a number of
Jewish customs even after they became Christians.
While in the Macedonian city of Philippi, Paul
cast a demon out of a young slave girl, who was
“a fortune teller.” She had earned
large sums of money for her owners and when they
realized their financial loss, they initiated a
riot saying, “ ‘ These men are {those
rebellious Jews, and are throwing our city into
an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us
Romans to accept or practice.’ The crowd
joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and
the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and
beaten. After they had been severely flogged,
they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was
commanded to guard them carefully.” (Acts
16:20-23, insertion mine.)
Notice in the previous
text that Paul and Silas were identified as Jews
– their nationality was the inflammatory
word that justified the riot. The instigators of
the riot did not need to say more. However, in
the mob’s angry rush to assault two more
Jews who were not welcomed, city leaders failed
to consider whether Paul and Silas were Roman
citizens – a significant oversight since
Roman law mandated that Romans could not be
punished or imprisoned without a fair trial.
Non-Romans could be punished on the spot.
After Paul and Silas were
flogged severely, they were placed under the care
of a Roman jailer. The jailer understood the
rules of Roman guardianship and he was paid good
wages to guard well. If prisoners escaped from
his jail, he was automatically guilty of
negligence-end of discussion and end of life.
Such were the no-nonsense, ironclad rules of
Roman government. The jailer had heard Paul and
Silas preach. No doubt, the jailer was also a
good judge of character. He was fascinated with
their teachings about Jesus Christ and their
miracle working power, but he was foremost a
public servant and prisoners were his highest
priority.
“About midnight Paul
and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God,
and the other prisoners were listening to them.
Suddenly there was a violent earthquake that the
foundations of the prison were shaken. At once
the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s
chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when
he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword
and was about to kill himself because he thought
the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted,
‘Don’t harm yourself! We are all
here!’ The jailer called for lights, rushed
in and fell trembling before Paul and
Silas.” (Acts 16:25-29) When the jailer
reached the open cell of Paul and Silas, he
uttered the most important question on Earth,
“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
When I consider his question in the light of his
immediate circumstances, I have wondered if the
jailer’s concern was focused on the receipt
of eternal life. In fact, could the jailer really
be asking, “What must I do to save my
present life and that of my family, because I
will be promptly executed if any prisoners
escape?” If this were the case, then Paul
and Silas’ response was instruction leading
to justification in God’s sight
–“Put your trust in Jesus right now and
you will not lose your life, nor will your
household perish.” Look at the verse
again:” ‘Sirs, what must I do to be
saved?’ They replied, ‘Believe in the
Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and
your household.’”
I have yet to meet one
Christian who says this verse actually means,
“Mr. Jailer, if you will believe in the Lord
Jesus this very minute, you and your entire
household will be granted eternal life.” In
other words, most Christians do not believe that
one person’s acceptance of Jesus saves other
family members. So, what did Paul And Silas mean
when they said, “Believe in the Lord
Jesus”? Here are two choices: First, they
could have meant, “Believe that Jesus Christ
is a real person. Believe this simple historical
truth and He will grant you eternal life.” I
mention this option because some Christians
actually believe this to be the intent of Paul
and Silas. I find this view makes a mockery of
the biblical definition of faith. Second, they
could have meant, “Believe that Jesus Christ
is your Savior and submit your life to His
authority. All who do will receive life eternal
at the last day.” (John 6:39-44) My study
leads me to believe that the last choice is the
correct answer. Paul and Silas invited a
desperate man to immediately submit to the
authority of Jesus Christ (as they had done in
their own lives) and allow Him to work out the
details. This story is paradoxical. Paul and
Silas are telling the jailer to submit his life
to the Lord Jesus as they had done. However,
consider their misfortune sitting in prison
stocks with cuts and bruises – inviting the
jailer to submit his life also. The point Paul
and Silas were making was that when you submit
your life to the authority of the Lord Jesus,
your life and future are in God’s hands. But
truthfully, after considering the issues of life
and all the options, it really is the only way to
go. This story reaffirms that justification
begins with total and complete submission. If it
takes a life-threatening experience or even an
earthquake to produce submission, then so be it.
(Remember, Paul himself had a life-threatening
encounter with the Lord Jesus on the road to
Damascus. This experience led Paul to surrender
his life to Jesus immediately. See Acts 9)
Will Words do the Trick?
Some Christians claim
that salvation comes only after a person publicly
confesses faith in Christ as Savior. In other
words, to become a saved person has to be
publicly state, “Jesus is Lord.” While
this may sound good among church members, the
flip side of this concept is a doctrine teaching
that most of the world is eternally doomed
because more than 70% of the world’s
population has not confessed, “Jesus is
Lord.” Carefully notice these texts:”
If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is
Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God
raised him from the dead you will be saved. For
it is with your heart that you believe and are
justified, and it is with your mouth that you
confess and are saved.” (Romans 10:9,10)
“Salvation is found in no one else, for
there is no other name under heaven given to men
by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
While “proof texts
“sound good in a Christian environment, what
about the remaining 4.4 billion people who are
not Christian? Are people doomed to destruction
simply because they were born in a place where
there are no Christians or any knowledge of
Jesus? Be careful how you answer this question,
because God’s offer of salvation to the
world is not narrow and simplistic as some
Christians claim. There is more to the concept of
salvation than first meets the eye. For example,
what does a loving God do with:
(a)
Billions of people down through the centuries who
have lived and died without having an opportunity
to hear about Christ’s generous offer of
salvation?
(b) Billions of people who rejected Christianity
because the “Christians” they knew were
disgusting examples of immoral and uncivil
behavior?
(c) Billions of people who have never honestly
considered the teachings of Christianity because
they were born into another religion system or
culture that taught their religion was superior
to Christianity?
(d)
Billions of good people living right now, as well
as in ages past, who never showed serious
interest in religion because their parents were
not religious?
Are All Four Groups of
People Doomed for Destruction?
Through the years I have
asked people about these four groups of people
and a disappointing number of Christians have
callously said that all four groups are doomed
for destruction because they never gave their
heart to Christ Jesus. When I respond, “But
billions of people have never had the opportunity
to know about Jesus! What does God do with
them?” Sometimes I just get an irritated
look because it seems unreasonable to say that
God would destroy people who have never had a
chance to know about salvation. If the frown is
not too bad, I have dared to ask further,
“Who will receive greater condemnation: The
Christian who did little or nothing to propel the
gospel of Jesus throughout the world, or the
pagan who did not hear the gospel because a
Christian did not share the good news with
him.” These questions are important to
consider, because the Bible says that God’s
love for each person on the Earth is the same!
(John 3:16; Acts 10:34,35; Romans 2:14,15
Far too many Christians
have a view regarding salvation that is too
narrow. Many Church members believe that
salvation requires sameness. Consider the logic:
“If others are going to be saved, they must
become like me for I am convinced that I am
saved.” This concept is the mainspring of
many evangelical efforts. However, the larger
idea behind justification is that God can justify
anyone, anywhere, and at any time a person
becomes willing to obediently submit to the
authority of the Holy Spirit. Consider the
magnanimity of God! When a man (or woman)
experiences the “born again” miracle in
his heart and receives the assurance of eternal
life, he becomes motivated to help others
experience the joy and peace that he has
received. For example, if he finds the “born
again” experience within a particular
denomination, it is only natural that he would
want others to find the same joy he has found
when attending his church. This is not inherently
bad. The misunderstanding occurs, however, when
one denomination concludes that God will not save
people who understand His will in a different
way. Unfortunately, this is the basis for
Christian exclusivity. In reality, the Christian
experience should be one of inclusiveness because
the Christian life is a mixture of doctrine and
experience. If the balance is right, there will
be joy and happiness from wholeheartedly serving
God and man. Remember this: Good doctrines
stimulate good faith. Bad doctrines produce toxic
faith.
Which Church is the Right
Church?
A large number of
Christians believe that salvation is church
specific; that is, you must believe the right
things and belong to the right church to be
saved. As a result, some Christians will brazenly
say that members of other churches are doomed for
destruction because they do not follow God
correctly! Interestingly, every Christian
denomination on Earth claims to be the true
church of God. For example, the Roman Catholic
Church believes it is the only true church of God
on Earth. Notice the recent comment: “The
fullness of religious truth, unmixed with error,
is found only in the Catholic Church, the very
Church which Jesus Christ Himself
established.” (Joel Peters, “Scripture
Alone?, 21 reasons to reject Sola
Scriptura,”p.64, 1999, Tan Books and
Publishers, Inc.) Mr. Peters also concludes that
neither the pope nor the Catholic Church can
lapse into error.” The Holy Spirit was given
to the Church by Jesus Christ, and it is exactly
the same Spirit who protects the Church’s
visible head, the Pope, and the teaching
authority of the church by never permitting him
or it to lapse into error.” (Ibid, p.26) I
use these quotes by a recent Catholic author to
demonstrate, that Catholics are not reluctant to
declare everyone else wrong and themselves the
only inerrant depositories of God’s truth.
However, I must quickly add that every Christian
church does the same thing (more or less), even
though they may not be as “up front” or
boastful about their claims as this Catholic
writer.
Religions Differ, but
They are Similar
Even though the religions
of the world differ, they share certain
characteristics. Although we may be a world of
many languages, religions, governments and
cultures, the ways of humanity are surprisingly
similar. Whether we realize it or not, certain
laws govern the exercise of religion on Earth and
this similarity among diverse religions proves
the presence and operation of “basic
law.” Consider these five laws and the
effects they produce:
Law #1: Religion
usually limits a person to one view or
perspective of God. For this reason, 95% of the
world’s populations stay within the
religious system they were born. Moslems tend to
stay Moslems, Jews tend to stay Jews, Catholics
tend to stay Catholics, and Protestants tend to
stay Protestants. Why does this phenomenon exist?
Ideas about God become a part of a person’s
conscience at an early age and many people cannot
have their views about God challenged without
feeling threatened or becoming hostile.
Unfortunately, for 95% of the world’s
inhabitants the only exit from an inherited
religion is death.
Law #2: Religion
does not change very fast. People who decided to
follow Christ were expelled from Judaism because
Jewish leaders could not update their thinking.
Protestants were expelled from the Catholic
Church because papal leaders refused to change
their thinking. For a more modern example, the
Worldwide Church of God (Armstrong) literally
disintegrated during the 1990’s when leaders
suddenly changed key doctrines. This also reveals
that layman, too, cannot adapt new ideas or
change their views very fast either.
Law #3: Religion
usually encompasses a body of knowledge that is
far larger than laymen care to understand. For
this reason, few laymen thoroughly investigate
the origin and teachings of their religion.
People usually submit (more or less) to the views
of their religious authorities unless or until
there is a divisive controversy. The confidence,
allegiance and trust laymen place in their
religious authorities is so great that they will
not consider a contradicting point of view no
matter how logical or well presented it may be.
Often, religious controversies are more about
social issues than theology. Because religion is
a complex influence that integrates with culture,
churches often establish their own publishing
houses because laity prefers to read material
produced by their own denomination. Of course,
this self-indoctrinating process tends to keep
views of the laity in line with church tradition.
Law #4: Every
religion is inherently self-exalting. Each
denomination concludes it has the truth about God
and all other religions have less truth or no
truth. No religion system on Earth will concede
that another church has greater truth about God
than itself. Christ’s experience with the
religious leaders of His day should be a warning
to religious leaders today. Be careful not to
become so devoted to your religion that God
Himself cannot open your mind to greater truth.
Law #5: Everyone
born on Earth inherits three basic elements of
religion, whether institutional religion is
practiced or not. Just as we inherit a carnal
nature from our parents, we also inherit a basic
need to know God. Because Jesus created human
beings this way, we should not be surprised that
adversarial religions flourish all over the
Earth. The basic elements are:
- Adoration
of someone or something greater than self
- Submission
to someone or something greater than self
- Association
with others who share similar adoration
These five laws help to
explain why religious forces are so strong, why
they exist, and why they plague the entire human
race. These laws explain, in part, why human
beings are diverse, yet similar. These laws also
explain why a religious gridlock exists
throughout our world. Every religion is
self-exalting; therefore diverse people from all
over the world cannot discuss truth because there
is no common authority from which to start. Every
definition of God is different. The Jew has no
common ground with the Moslem. The Moslem has no
common ground with the Christian. Do not despair
there is good news! God has a plan that will soon
break up the religious gridlock of the world.
Jesus has a plan that will show the world how
each religious system is not the answer to
salvation. Jesus is the answer for man’s
need of salvation. He will extend the offer of
salvation to every human being alive during the
Great Tribulation. He will save hundred of
millions of people from every nation, kindred,
tongue and people who love truth. God will use
the world’s religious diversity to make a
profound point about the way He loves humanity!
Here’s how: Jesus will send a powerful
testimony throughout the world during the Great
Tribulation. Individuals who love truth and are
currently living up to all they know to be right
will quickly see the beauty of this simple, but
powerful testimony. Millions of people will
accept God’s truth, even at great peril to
life itself. Jesus has carefully designed this
final exam. At the end of the Great Tribulation,
the people of Earth will be separated into two
groups: the sheep and the goats. The sheep will
be following The Good shepherd. The goats will be
corralled by the Antichrist.
Confessing that Jesus is
Lord
I would like to go back
to the text, “ If you confess with your
mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in
your heart that God raised him from the dead, you
will be saved. For it is with your heart that you
believe and are justified, and it is with your
mouth that you confess and are saved.”
(Romans 10:9,10) Some people read this text with
the same disregard for its setting, as they do
the earlier text in which Paul and Silas told the
jailer to trust in Jesus and his household would
be saved. To say that eternal life comes by
merely stating, “Jesus is Lord” is to
miss the essential point of what Paul was saying.
When Paul wrote these words, the believers in
Rome were in serious trouble. As far as the
Romans were concerned, the only difference
between the hated Jews and the Christians was
words. Consequently, many Christians in Rome lost
their possessions, homes and freedom because they
would not bow down to Caesar and worship him as
Roman law dictated. The Caesars believed they
were gods among men. To face Caesar (or one of
his governors) and testify with your mouth
“Jesus was Lord” was a surefire recipe
for the severest punishment, even death. The
Apostle Paul himself died at the hands of the
Romans for his confession that “Jesus is
Lord.” So, Paul’s point in Romans 10 is
about faith and loyalty to Christ in the face of
life-threatening circumstances. Paul is
encouraging the believers to stand firm in their
faith, and like the jailer, God will honor your
faith and reward your commitment to Him when He
returns or maybe sooner! (John 6:39-54) God
eventually rewards everyone who puts his or her
faith in Him. (Romans 8:28; Hebrews 11) Standing
up in a Christian church and confessing that
Jesus is Lord is not exactly what Paul had in
mind when he penned these words, although there
is certainly nothing wrong with doing this.
However, Paul is encouraging all believers like
you and me to stand firm when your life and the
lives of your family members are being subjected
to severe punishment. Continue to confess that
Jesus is Lord, and through faith alone, you will
be justified and ultimately saved.
Summary
The Bible is full of good
news. God uses a legal and fair process in Heaven
called justification to justify sinners on Earth.
Justification is not a whitewash for rebellion
against God. Justification is an enormous gift
that the Father is willing to bestow upon any
sinner if that sinner is willing to live in
obedient submission to the Holy Spirit.
Justification was made possible through the
perfect life and death of Jesus. Every person who
has lived on Earth, except Jesus, is a descendant
of Adam and Eve. (Acts 17:24-27) Therefore, sin
and rebellion are part of every generation
because of our grandparents. Of course, our
Creator foreknew that sin would rise; just as He
knew that when He created the world it would
someday be populated with billions of people
speaking different languages, following different
customs and having many religious beliefs.
Therefore, from the beginning of time, the Plan
of Salvation has been inclusive of all people,
even though most of Earth’s population at
any given time does not know the truth about God.
The Plan of Salvation includes Chinese, Indians,
Russians, Americans and all humankind in every
nation – even if they are not Christian. The
receipt of God’s offer for justification
does not require that we first know the whole
truth or absolute truth about the Father or
Jesus. Remember, “Christians” did not
exist prior to Christ’s ministry on Earth,
yet everyone before Christ who placed their faith
in God was justified by faith! (See Romans 2-4
and Hebrews 11.) It might be said that they were
justified on the promise that Jesus would be
forthcoming. Nevertheless, justification is the
only way to life eternal and if you are will to
submit to the authority of the Holy Spirit, the
assurance of eternal life will be yours
absolutely free!
Memory Verse: Luke 9:26
“If anyone is ashamed of me and my words,
the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he
comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father
and of the holy angels.”
Quiz:
- The
only way a sinner can receive eternal
life is through _________________.
- Justification
occurs when a person becomes willing to
obey the authority of the _______
__________ and lives a life of
_________.
- What
is the difference between being mortal
and immortal?
- What is the difference
between the penalty of sin and the
consequence of sin?
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