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| The training material seems to hide the real UOJ agenda, spelled out above. Judge for yourselves. The book is still in print. |
The owner of the packet is allowed to reproduce the material on the disk. I own it, so here it is for you to learn -
Justification
How
God Forgives
A Bible Study Course
for Adults
by
Norman F. Burger Jr.
• Lesson One—What Do We Mean by Justification?
• Lesson Two—Why Do We Need to Be Justified?
• Lesson Three—What Moves God to Justify Us?
• Lesson Four—Whom Does God Justify?
• Lesson Five—Who Benefits from Justification?
• Lesson Six—How Long Does It Take to Be
Justified?
• Lesson Seven—What Is the Connection between Justification and Sanctification?
• Lesson Eight—What Is the Current and Final
Status of the Justified?
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use in both congregations.)
Purchase by a pastor or
other Bible study leader: Purchase of these student copy masters by an individual gives
the buyer permission to adapt and copy this material for Bible classes he or
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Northwestern Publishing House
1250 N. 113th St., Milwaukee, WI 53226-3284
www.nph.net
© 2004 by Northwestern Publishing House
Published 2004
Printed
in the United States of America
Lesson One
What Do We Mean by Justification?
(Justification,
pages 7-20)
Goals
1. To correctly
understand the Bible term justification.
2. To review what the
Bible teaches about justification.
3. To renew our joy and
peace in the knowledge that we are justified before God.
4. To better appreciate
the blessing of faithful preaching and teaching about justification.
Introduction
Evaluate the following statements about how God forgives. Have
you heard them before? Do you think they express what Scripture teaches?
1. God
forgives us if we try to do what’s right; but if we don’t try, he doesn’t
forgive.
2. God
forgives those who make amends for the sinful things they have done.
3. God
forgives everybody because he is too kind to punish anyone.
4. God
forgives good people.
5. God
forgives us all because there is a little bit of God’s goodness in all of us.
6. God
forgives all sins except ones that are purely evil and destructive.
7. God
forgives those who believe in him.
8. God
forgives Christian people.
9. God
forgives anyone of any sin if that person first asks for forgiveness.
What is generally lacking or unclear in
those statements about how God forgives?
Jot down a clear statement of exactly how
God forgives.
What does
the term justification mean?
Justification is a legal term. The apostle Paul borrowed
it from language used in a court of law. The Greek verb meaning “to justify”
refers to the action a judge takes when he renders a verdict of “not guilty”
for someone charged with a crime. Let’s see what this term means in our
relationship with God.
Imagine that there is a courtroom in heaven. Identify the
characters in this courtroom and their roles.
________ are the
accused. The charges are ____________________________________.
The great judge is
________________. His judgments are always ____________
and ____________.
The prosecuting
attorney who lays out the case against us and argues for punishment is
______________. The evidence against us are our _____________________________ ____________________.
Our defense
attorney is _________________. His argument for a “not guilty” verdict is based
on two facts: 1) Jesus Christ ____________________________________________ for all, and 2) Jesus Christ
______________________________________________ for all.
The case is closed
when the great judge justifies, or declares the accused _______________. He
states that his ruling rests solely on _______________________ and not on ____________________________________________.
Galatians 2:16 [We] know
that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.
So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by
faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no
one will be justified.
• Compare Paul’s words in the above passage
with the definition of justification in the courtroom scene above.
Many
churches mistakenly teach and many people mistakenly believe that God’s
statement of justification is medicinal rather than legal. By medicinal we mean
that God gives us power to overcome sin in our lives and become better people.
What is the difference between viewing justification as a
medicine that God prescribes to fix our condition and viewing justification as
God’s legal ruling about our status before him? Which definition makes you sure
of your salvation?
We need to be justified because
we need to be righteous
God created
Adam and Eve in his own image (Genesis 1:27). The image of God is
righteousness, holiness, and sinlessness. God intended for Adam and Eve and all
mankind to live with him forever in that state. Sadly, Adam and Eve sinned
against God and lost the image of God. Read about this tragedy in Genesis 3:6-13.
Genesis 3:6-13 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. Then the eyes of both of
them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves
together and made coverings for themselves.
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden
in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord
God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord
God called to the man, “Where are you?”
He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was
afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
And he said, “Who told you that you were naked?
Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she
gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
Then the Lord
God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I
ate.”
• Make a list of the ways the loss of the
image of God harmed Adam and Eve’s relationship with God.
• Discuss how we, their unrighteous
descendants, have the same problems in our relationship with God.
Romans 3:10-12 As it is
written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who
understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together
become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
Romans 3:19,20 Now we
know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so
that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law;
rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
• Follow
Paul’s logic in these passages as he talks about the problem caused by our lack
of righteousness. Fill in the blanks in the following paragraph:
The
way to be righteous in God’s eyes cannot be through God’s law.
That’s because our holy God demands in his law, and we are . So the only
thing God’s law can do for us is reveal our !
Evaluate
the following statements in light of the problem we have been talking about.
1. “I
know that Aunt Jane is in heaven. She was so good to me. And she went to church
every Sunday.”
2. “I
heard that a serial killer and rapist supposedly repented and believed in Jesus
before he was executed. Well, I don’t want to be in heaven if a guy like that
is going to be there!”
How we get the righteousness we need
Romans 3:21-24 But now a
righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law
and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in
Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
• Fill
in the blanks to describe how we gain the righteousness God wants.
God, who is
merciful, has always wanted to rescue us from our sin and the alienation that
resulted from our sin. He revealed through his prophets living in the _era that God would provide the we lack. This would come through and be received by people through faith. This
righteousness would enable God to us by an act of his or undeserved love for sinners.
The
blessings of justification
Romans 5:9,10 Since we
have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from
God’s wrath through him! For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled
to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled,
shall we be saved through his life!
• What does Paul say about the present reality
and the future certainty we have as people who “have now been justified”?
Your friend, who is
not a Christian, asks you why you are a Christian. How would you describe the
blessings of justification to your friend?
Romans 1:16,17 I am not
ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of
everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the
gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith
from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
• What term does Paul use in this verse to
describe the message of justification?
Share some bad news
you are coping with right now and how the good news of justification encourages
you.
You can
be sure about justification
Romans 4:25 He was
delivered over to death for [because of] our sins and was raised to life for
[because of] our justification.
• In Romans 4:25 Paul connects Jesus’
resurrection with our justification. In what ways does Jesus’ resurrection
prove and validate our justification?
During
the week
1. Review pages 13 and 14 of Justification
for why we believe that people who lived before Christ were saved through faith
in Christ.
2. Read Hebrews chapter 11. How many references
can you find to the salvation of Old Testament believers through faith in the
promised Savior?
3. Reread the introduction of Justification, pages 7-9. For what are
you prompted to pray as you read these pages?
4. How is your perception of your church and
synod heightened when you consider the gift of clear preaching and teaching of
the doctrine of justification?
5. How does this blessing positively impact your
outlook on reaching out to the lost in the community or the world, in person
and through your church?
6. Read Justification pages 22-32.
Lesson Two
Why Do We Need to Be Justified?
(Justification, pages 22-32)
Goals
1. To be reminded of our inability to justify
ourselves.
2. To be reassured that justification has been
accomplished by Jesus Christ alone.
3. To renew us in repentance and faith in Jesus.
4. To help us share with others their need for
salvation and the gift of salvation that is theirs in Christ.
Introduction
David
Briggs of the Associated Press wrote an article in 1995 titled, “Scholars: Sin
Isn’t What It Used to Be.” The article quoted theologians who bemoaned the fact
that traditional, biblical beliefs about sin have fallen by the wayside in many
churches and in our culture as a whole.
1. Have you observed an erosion of scriptural
teachings about sin? Explain.
2. Why do you think this has happened?
3. Has the trend to downplay sin affected your
own perspective toward sin?
4. Why is this a very serious problem?
The wrong way to be justified
“We live in
a world of justification—not God’s kind, but man’s kind” (Justification,
page 23). We see this tendency already in the Garden of Eden where Adam
and Eve attempted to justify themselves after they sinned. How they responded
gives us insight into how the sinful heart always seeks to justify itself.
Seeking to justify sinful actions by
rationalizing them away
Genesis
3:1-6 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild
animals the Lord God had made. He
said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the
garden’?”
The woman said to the
serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You
must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you
must not touch it, or you will die.’”
“You will not surely
die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it
your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
• God
told Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:29: “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the
face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They
will be yours for food.” There was only one exception: “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 2:17).
In
what ways did the devil contradict God?
• List some reasons why Adam and Eve should
have rejected what the serpent said and trusted what God had said.
Genesis 3:6 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.
• Eve sinned already when she reasoned that
eating the fruit wouldn’t be so wrong. Consider each of the three reasons why
she ate the fruit. In what sense were these reasons logical? In what sense were
they not?
List some
ways we attempt to rationalize our sins. Then point out the flaws in our
reasoning.
For
personal contemplation: What sins have I been attempting to rationalize?
Seeking to justify ourselves by denying our
sin
Genesis
3:7-10 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they
were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for
themselves.
Then the man and his
wife heard the sound of the Lord
God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from
the Lord God among the trees of
the garden. But the Lord God
called to the man, “Where are you?”
He answered, “I heard
you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
• How did Adam and Eve show that they were not willing to face up
to the reality of their sins?
The sinful human
heart denies that actions God calls sinful really are sinful. Can you think of
specific sins that are widely accepted as right?
Ecclesiastes
9:3 The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness
in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead.
Jeremiah
17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can
understand it?
• Why shouldn’t I trust my thinking when I disagree with
what God says about the morality of my actions?
• These passages teach “original (or inherent) sin,” namely, that
we are by nature sinful people, unable to be holy, and oriented toward evil in
our thoughts and desires. David revealed how original sin is passed on from
parent to child: “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother
conceived me.” (Psalm 51:5) This teaching, however, is denied by many
today.—What would you say is behind the widespread denial of the biblical
doctrine of original sin?
For
personal contemplation: Have I been “in denial” about any sin in my life?
Seeking to justify ourselves by blaming others
Genesis 3:11-13 And he
[God] said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree
that I commanded you not to eat from?”
The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she
gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
Then the Lord
God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I
ate.”
• Whom did Adam blame for his sin? Whom did Eve blame?
Give examples of how blaming others and
claiming to be victims (even when we are the perpetrators of wrong) have become
commonplace in our culture.
How does
shifting blame instead of repenting of it affect . . .
.
. . our relationship with God?
.
. . our efforts at living a life that honors God?
.
. . our congregation’s harmony and effectiveness?
.
. . our marriages and families?
For
personal contemplation: What sins of my own have I been blaming on others?
Seeking to justify ourselves by comparing
ourselves with others
Can you remember a time when you justified yourself by comparing
yourself with a “greater sinner”?
Matthew
5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
James
2:10 Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is
guilty of breaking all of it.
• How do these passages destroy any idea that
some people are better than others and therefore closer to God or more
deserving of heaven? How does it destroy any temptation to compare ourselves
with others?
For personal contemplation: In what situations do I compare
myself to others in order to feel better about my own guilt?
The one and only right way to be
justified
2 Timothy 2:25 Those
who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them
repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth.
• Paul encourages Timothy to instruct people
in God’s Word so they may be led to repentance. We have reviewed what God teaches
about our inability to justify ourselves. How does that lead us to repentance?
Romans
3:23-25 All have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a
sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.
• What truth about salvation does God
ultimately want us to believe? How do the underlined words of the passage
underscore the fact that salvation has nothing to do with us?
Our lesson
reminds us that before we tell a friend about what Jesus has done for them, we
should make sure they understand something about themselves. What is that? How
would you talk about that issue?
Why it is
necessary for us Christians to keep reminding ourselves that we cannot secure a
relationship with God or gain heaven by anything we are or do?
Why is
dealing with our sin by repentance and faith in Jesus wonderfully liberating?
During the week
1. Read Luke 18:9-14, the parable of the Pharisee
and the tax collector. Do you see yourself in the self-righteous Pharisee? Do
you see yourself in the self-loathing tax collector? How does this parable
condemn you? How does this parable comfort you?
2. Think about what we say about ourselves when
we confess our sins in the Lutheran liturgy. What would you say to a friend
visiting church with you who comments, “Wow! That confession of sins is awfully
negative!”
3. Without a proper understanding of the doctrine
of original sin and human depravity, it is impossible to correctly understand
justification through Christ alone. But most people have a hard time believing
how sinful and unworthy mankind really is before a holy God. And yet, only the
biblical doctrine of original sin explains human behavior. Consider, for
example, how easy it is to think, say, and do what is wrong, and how difficult
it is to think, say, and do what is right. Reflect on what our children are
like by nature. Don’t they primarily display selfishness? Our children cheat,
manipulate, and lie, without ever being taught to do those things.
4. How can
these facts be useful in explaining the need for justification to an
unbelieving friend?
5. Read Justification pages 34-47.
Lesson Three
What Moves God to Justify
Us?
(Justification,
pages 34-47)
Goals
1. To clearly understand that
both God’s love and God’s holiness worked together for our salvation.
2. To grow in our appreciation
of Christ’s active and passive obedience as the indispensable elements of our
salvation.
3. To strengthen our
conviction in the fact of justification through Christ alone.
4. To grow in love for a
Savior who was so willing to sacrifice so much for us.
Introduction
“The Lord is righteous in all his ways and
loving toward all he has made” (Psalm 145:17).
God is
holy and God is loving—at the same time. However, if he is loving, why does he
let injustices happen? And if he is just, how can he be loving? Doesn’t his
holiness and justice mean he is required to punish our sins?
The
fact that God is both absolute love and absolute holiness is hard to conceive,
but it is also very comforting. In this lesson we will explore that thought.
God is both holy and loving
Leviticus 19:2 “Speak to
the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.’”
Matthew 22:35-40 One of
them [the Pharisees], an expert in the law, tested him with this question:
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied:
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with
all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is
like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on
these two commandments.”
Isaiah 13:11 I will
punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to
the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless.
Psalm
49:7-9 No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for
him—the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough—that he should
live on forever and not see decay.
• The
fact that God is holy and loving is not always comforting. What do the previous
passages say about the implications of God’s love and holiness for you and me?
• The word redeem
means to pay the price that sets someone else free. What does God say about our
ability to redeem ourselves or anyone else? Why?
Identify
some common religious beliefs that reflect the grave misunderstanding that
humans are able to redeem themselves and others.
What
false idea about God’s expectations is behind every one of those beliefs?
How God’s holiness and love
provided salvation
Because
God is holy and loving, he demands that we, his creatures, live holy lives of
love. In that sense, God’s essence as a holy and loving God condemns us because
we are unholy and unloving by nature. Yet it was God’s very love and holiness
that worked together to save us.
1 John 4:9,10 This is
how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world
that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that
he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
• How did God show his love in winning our
salvation?
Philippians 3:9 [I may]
be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law,
but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God
and is by faith.
Galatians 3:10,13 All
who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: “Cursed is
everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the
Law.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us,
for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
• How did God show his holiness when he worked
out our salvation?
Hebrews 2:14-17 Since
the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by
his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the
devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of
death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his
brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful
high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of
the people.
• Why was it necessary for the Savior to be
both divine and human if he was going to achieve our salvation?
If you were the devil, and your goal was to keep people from a
proper understanding of justification, why would you attack the doctrine of the
deity of Jesus?
What evidence do you see that the devil has been successful?
Justification: a matter of
obedience
If we are
condemned because we are disobedient to God, it makes sense that obedience
should be the key to our salvation. The apostle Paul tells us that Jesus’ work
as our Savior was obedience. We can understand this obedience in the sense of
both a “passive obedience” and an “active obedience.”
Jesus’ passive obedience: He obeyed his Father
by suffering the punishment we deserve.
Isaiah 53:7 He was
oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb
to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not
open his mouth.
Philippians 2:8 Being
found in appearance as a man, he [Christ Jesus] humbled himself and became
obedient to death—even death on a cross!
Hebrews 10:10 By that
will [the will of the Father], we have been made holy through the sacrifice of
the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
• According to these verses, what was Jesus’
passive obedience?
• What is the result of Jesus’ passive
obedience for you and me?
Jesus’ active obedience: As a human being,
Jesus lived under God’s demand that we, God’s creatures, be holy.
Galatians 4:4,5 When the
time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to
redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.
• Under what obligation was Jesus born? For
what purpose was Jesus born?
Matthew 5:17 “Do not
think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to
abolish them but to fulfill them.”
• How did Jesus himself define his God-given
mission on earth?
Hebrews 4:15 We do not
have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have
one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.
• How well did Jesus fulfill his mission?
Romans 5:18 Just as the
result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one
act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.
• What is the result of Jesus’ active
obedience for you and me?
We should
treasure the Lutheran church’s teaching of Jesus’ active obedience. We should
not take for granted that every moment that Jesus lived on earth, everything he
said and did and even thought, was for us—so that we could have the
righteousness we need to be justified before God.
Justification by Christ alone
Why does
the doctrine of justification for the sake of Christ alone make you committed
to believing it, professing it, and sharing it?
Why does
believing and professing the truth of justification by Christ alone often make
us targets of ridicule?
During the week
1. Read Luke chapters 2, 22, and 23. Make a list
of the ways Jesus actively obeyed the Father. Also make a list of the ways
Jesus passively obeyed the Father.
2. Thank God for the comfort of Jesus’ active and
passive obedience. Thank God that you did not have to rely on your own works.
3. Spend some time contemplating the greatness of
God’s love as you consider how the Son of God allowed himself to become a tiny
fetus, to experience the indignity of entering the world as any human child
does and living in dependence on his mother for food and clothing. Think of
what it must have been like for him to face peer pressure and to be unjustly
accused, betrayed, tortured, ridiculed, crucified, and punished for sins he did
not commit.
4. Read pages 48-55 of Justification.
Lesson Four
Lesson Four
Whom Does God Justify?
(Justification, pages 48-55)
Goals
1. To see the clear scriptural basis for the
doctrine of the objective justification of all people.
2. To see the flaws of false teaching that seeks
to limit Christ’s atoning work to less than all people.
3. To grow in our certainty that we are justified
since God has justified all people through Christ.
4. To be inspired to bring to the whole world the
good news that God reconciled the whole world.
Introduction
Ezekiel 18:32 I take no
pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!
1 Timothy 2:4 [God] wants
all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is
not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient
with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
• How are God’s sentiments toward sinners
comforting to you?
• Why are those passages, standing alone,
limited in the comfort they offer?
In this
lesson we will be reminded that God has given us unlimited comfort by providing
salvation for all people. We will discuss how God has justified the whole world
for all time through his Son, Jesus Christ.
Whom does God justify?
2
Corinthians 5:18,19 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself
through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was
reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against
them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
1
John 2:2 He [Christ Jesus] is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and
not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
• What did God’s desire to save fallen mankind
lead him to do?
Lutheran
teachers often call God’s declaration of righteousness for all people objective justification. This means that God’s Easter
declaration of righteousness is an accomplished fact for all people.
Justification is a historical reality, independent of whether people believe it
or not. The ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ is the proclamation of
objective justification to the world. (See Justification,
page 50.)
The false teachings of predestination to hell and limited atonement
Satan
has been at work undermining objective justification.
Ephesians
1:5 [God] predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ,
in accordance with his pleasure and will.
• For what purpose did God predestine us?
Romans
8:30 Those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also
justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
• Predestination is the first step in God’s
plan of action for us. What did he do next?
John
15:19 “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it
is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.
That is why the world hates you.”
2
Thessalonians 2:13 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved
by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the
sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
• What does God say about how we came to be
saved and to belong to him?
Some
churches teach that, since the Bible says God predestined some to come to faith
and enjoy salvation, God must have predestined others not to believe and
therefore not to be saved. The problem with that teaching is that it is based
on a logical assumption and not on the Bible.
Nowhere
does the Bible teach that God has predestined some to hell. In fact, the Bible
tells us that God “is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but everyone
to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) The Bible consistently teaches that those
who go to hell face that destiny because of their rejection of God, not because
God predestined them to that fate. Jesus made that fact clear in Matthew
23:37,38 when he spoke about the hard-hearted inhabitants of Jerusalem: “O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her
chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is
left to you desolate.”
Those who teach predestination to heaven and to
hell invariably believe that Jesus died only for the elect. This is called the
false teaching of limited atonement. This teaching states that in eternity God
determined by his foreknowledge who would believe and that he sent Jesus to
atone only for the sins of those who would believe in him. This false teaching
is yet another attempt to make the doctrine of predestination acceptable to
human reason. Take another look at 1 John 2:2 and 2 Corinthians 5:18,19 in the
previous section, “Whom Does God Justify?”
Does
God’s clear Word teach a limited atonement?
These
errors distort the clear word of Scripture. How do they distort the character
of . . .
. . . God?
. . . the gospel?
. . . faith?
. . . motivation for living a
God-pleasing life?
Discuss
the following situations:
(i)
1. Terrence is a Christian, but lately he has
been wondering if he really is a Christian. He often does not feel great about
being a Christian. He often struggles with doubts. He can do some pretty awful
things, even when he tries hard not to do them. He is starting to wonder
whether he is a believer anymore and whether he is truly saved. Terrence goes
to his pastor and tells him what is bothering him.
What would you
say to him if you were a pastor who does not believe that all people are
justified by Christ?
What
would you tell him if you were a pastor who believes in objective
justification?
(i)
2. Andy works with you, and he is not a Christian.
One day the conversation turns to religion. You ask, “Andy, have you ever
thought about what is going to happen to you when you die?” Andy lowers his
head and tears well up in his eyes as he mutters, “Well, I know I won’t be
going to heaven.” You object, “Andy, it doesn’t have to be that way.” But he
replies, “Listen—you don’t know some of the things I’ve done in my life.”
What would you say to Andy as someone who believes
the Bible’s doctrine of objective justification?
What is at stake in believing or not believing the
doctrine of objective justification?
During the week
1. Read Romans 5:12-19. How does this chapter,
contrary to the arguments of some who claim that it teaches a limited
atonement, teach the objective justification of all people? You may also wish
to reread pages 53-55 of Justification.
2. Use your Bible concordance to look up the
words all, world, mankind, men, or man to find further passages
that teach objective justification. See how consistently this doctrine is
taught in Scripture. (Note: The word man in these passages could have
been translated as “people” for that is what it means in the Greek.)
3. Read pages 56-67 in Justification.
Lesson Five
Lesson Five
Who Benefits from Justification?
(Justification, pages 56-67)
Goals
1. To properly understand that
faith is essentially trust in Christ’s work for our salvation.
2. To better appreciate saving
faith as a gift of God that receives the benefits of Christ’s finished work.
3. To be able to identify and
reject false teachings about the nature of saving faith.
Introduction
In the
previous lesson, we reviewed how Scripture clearly teaches that God has
objectively declared that all people are justified through Jesus Christ. We
call this objective justification. When an individual sinner subjectively believes in
Jesus and enjoys that justified status for himself, we call that subjective justification. These are not two different forms
of justification. They are two ways of looking at the same thing.
We can look
at it like this way: Let’s say a dad buys tickets to the big college football
game for everyone in the family. Dad could announce, “You’re going to the big
game!” Objectively, that would be true. However, we may not subjectively,
personally, have that ticket in our possession until the day of the game when
dad gives it to us before we walk into the stadium.
How does this little story help us understand the relationship
between objective and subjective justification?
What is faith?
How would you define faith? Jot down your personal understanding
of what faith is.
Psalm 13:5a I trust in
your unfailing love.
Romans 4:5 However, to
the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is
credited as righteousness.
1 John 4:16a So we know
and rely on the love God has for us. God is love.
• Does your definition reflect what the
previous passages say about faith?
• How does the biblical definition of faith
destroy any idea that faith is a work we perform in order to be saved?
How does faith justify?
Read each passage below and fill in the blank to
determine precisely how faith does not justify.
Titus 3:4,5 When the
kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of
righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the
washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
Faith cannot be a good work on our part that
is required for salvation because we are not saved by we do.
Romans 3:28 We maintain
that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.
Romans 4:5,6 However, to
the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is
credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the
blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works.
Faith stands in contrast to observing the ,
so faith cannot be a matter of obeying God’s command to “do our part” for
salvation by believing.
God justifies us while we are still morally
.
Therefore, our lives prior to conversion to faith and even faith itself do not
make us worthy of justification! Faith is identified here as in God and
not as a of man.
Consider the following quotations from Justification
and respond to the accompanying questions.
1. “Our faith is not a condition that we have
to meet in order to be forgiven” (page 61). Then what is faith?
2. “Our prayers for forgiveness do not cause
God to forgive us” (page 61). Then what purpose do these prayers have?
3. “Faith does not bring about forgiveness”
(page 61). Then what does it do?
4. “The benefit of faith is not the strength of
our trust but the magnitude of God’s gift” (page 59). Why is this important to
remember?
Evaluate: “Faith does not justify us. . . . The object of
faith—what we receive—justifies us.” (See Justification,
page 59.)
Faith is the work of God
1 Corinthians 2:14 The
man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of
God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because
they are spiritually discerned.
• Why
are all people incapable of coming to faith on their own?
1 Corinthians 12:3 Therefore
I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be
cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 2:9,10 However,
as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him”—but God has revealed it to us by
his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep
things of God.
Ephesians 2:8,9 It is by
grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is
the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.
• How
do we come to believe? Fill in the blank: Faith is not a human work, but a
divine .
Romans 1:16,17 I am not
ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of
everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the
gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith
from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
• Fill
in the blank: The has the power in and of itself to provide
salvation and work faith.
Beware
of distorting the meaning of saving faith!
Roman Catholic theology identifies justification as a process.
Grace is defined as a power God gives us to enable us to do good works for our
salvation. Faith is therefore understood to include not only trust in Christ’s
merit but also works of love on our part.—How does this teaching undermine the
proper understanding of justification and faith?
Evangelicals define faith as a human choice or decision.
Justification is not an accomplished fact; it is conditional; it depends on a
person’s decision.—How do you see that reflected in the way Evangelicals talk
about their salvation? How do you see that reflected in how they talk to
unbelievers about salvation?
Popular in our modern world is another false concept of saving
faith. Newspapers, magazines, movies, and TV programs extol the virtues of
personal faith. Almost always the focus is on the practice of faith or the
genuineness or strength of a person’s faith. Little attention is given to the
object of their faith.—What impression does that leave about faith? How is this
impression harmful to the truth about saving faith?
Saving faith is merely the hand that receives God’s gift of
forgiveness.—In what ways is this a comfort to you?
During
the week
1. Review what the following passages teach us
about what faith is and what it is not.
a) Romans 4:5
Faith is simple trust in Jesus, not trust
in Jesus plus the desire to do good works. Illustration: Suppose you are on an
airplane that is about to crash. The pilot informs you that there is only one
parachute and that you will have to hold on to him as he jumps. Faith in Jesus
is like grabbing onto that pilot with the chute. It is trust, pure and simple.
b) 1 Timothy 1:16
Faith is essentially a receptor, not a personal
ability. Illustration: Imaging you are walking down the street with a
five-course, take-out dinner to celebrate a special occasion. You happen to
pass a homeless beggar who has nothing. Feeling sorry for him, you give him the
five-course meal. Would he tell his homeless friends that he took the meal from
a man or that a man gave him the meal? Faith is like the hand of that beggar
who receives the wonderful gift that God is extending to him. God the giver
gets credit, not us.
c) Ephesians 2:8,9
The object of faith saves, not the quality
of faith. Illustration: A man is walking across a frozen river. The farther he
walks, the more he starts to doubt if the ice can hold him up. Instead of
walking, he starts to crawl in fear. Just then he hears a loud noise and thinks
the ice is cracking and breaking up. Instead, a large lumber wagon drawn by two
draft horses rumbles past. The thickness of the ice is what mattered, not how
much or how little that man believed in the ability of the ice to hold him.
d) 1 Corinthians 12:3
Faith is a gift from God, not a human
choice. Illustration: Dinner is made in the kitchen, but the kitchen does not
make the dinner. There has to be a cook. Faith is produced in the human heart,
but that doesn’t mean the human heart (or mind) gets credit for believing. The
creator of faith is the Spirit; he gets the credit.
2. Read John 14:1-4. How does Jesus assure us
that our salvation is all about his work for us, not about our faith in him?
3. Read
pages 68-74 of Justification.
Lesson Six
Lesson Six
How Long Does It Take to Be Justified?
(Justification, pages 68-74)
Goals
1. To be reminded that faith happens
instantaneously and not gradually.
2. To understand the dangers of viewing faith
and/or salvation as a gradual process.
3. To be aware that both weak and strong faith in
Jesus is saving faith, since the object of faith justifies, not the quality of
faith.
4. To be inspired to desire a strong faith in
Jesus in appreciation for the salvation Jesus alone provides.
Introduction
1. What events led you
to become a believer?
2. At what point did you
become a believer?
3. Did faith come about
instantly or gradually?
In this
lesson we will talk about how justification by faith occurs. We will see how
the Bible clearly teaches that justification by faith is not a process but
rather something that happens instantaneously. We will also discuss how
important it is to understand this correctly.
Justification
by faith happens instantaneously
John 3:18 Whoever
believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned
already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
Mark 16:16 Whoever
believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be
condemned.
• How does Jesus teach that justification by
faith happens instantaneously rather than through a process?
Do you
agree or disagree with the following statements?
1. Some people come to faith immediately when
they hear the gospel, while others take a while to believe.
2. The process of coming to faith may last for
days, even years.
3. It is proper to say that a person starting
to grow spiritually is between unbelief and faith.
4. A person will always know exactly when he or
she became a believer.
There are variations between
weak faith and strong faith
Matthew
8:5-10 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking
for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible
suffering.”
Jesus said to him, “I
will go and heal him.”
The centurion replied,
“Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word,
and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with
soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’
and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this,
he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I
have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.”
Matthew
14:22-31 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go
on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had
dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening
came, he was there alone, but the boat was already a considerable distance from
land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
During the fourth watch
of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples
saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said,
and cried out in fear.
But Jesus immediately
said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
“Lord, if it’s you,”
Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
“Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out
of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the
wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught
him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
• Either we have faith or we do not have
faith. There is no in-between point. But that does not mean that there are not
variations between weak faith and strong faith. How do the above passages bear
this out?
• Try to describe what a weak faith is and what a strong faith
is? What is the difference?
Do you
agree or disagree with the following statements?
1. A stronger faith has a greater capacity to
save than weak faith.
2. A strong faith is better than a weak faith.
3. The problem with a weak faith is that it
does not fully claim the benefits of justification.
4. The problem with a weak faith is that it
stands in greater peril of being lost than a strong faith.
5. There may be times in a person’s life when
faith is dormant.
6. There’s a problem with saying, “My faith is
strong enough.”
Mark 9:17-24 A man in the
crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit
that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the
ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked
your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”
“O unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how
long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to
me.”
So they brought
him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion.
He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been
like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown
him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us
and help us.”
“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible
for him who believes.”
Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do
believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
• What does this passage say about how we
should look at our own faith?
The problems with viewing faith
or salvation as a gradual process
Major problems develop when people think justification and
salvation happen gradually rather than instantaneously. The teaching that
justification and salvation are gradual is central to the Catholic Church’s
teachings on penance, indulgences, and purgatory.—Explain.
What is the danger of these teachings?
Some churches teach that there are “Spirit baptized” believers
and mere “water baptized” believers.—What is the danger of this?
Why is the belief that we can be healed of illnesses if we just
have enough faith or strong enough faith just another form of gradualism? What
danger is inherent in that belief?
How does the belief in gradual justification distort the gospel?
faith? the purpose of a Christian life?
Solid comfort for the flawed
Christian with a flawed faith
How do the
following thoughts burden us?
a) “My
faith should be stronger.”
b) “If
I was really dedicated to God, I’d be a lot better person.”
c) “I need to do a better job of living as a
child of God.”
Romans 5:1,2 Therefore,
since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace
in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
• What makes us doubt that we are loved,
saved, and forgiven?
• What is God’s answer to this?
Matthew 12:20 A bruised
reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he
leads justice to victory.
• When you feel that your faith is flawed,
what comfort can you draw from these words of Jesus?
Galatians 5:1 It is for
freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let
yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
• What blessing from justification by faith
does Paul identify in Galatians 5:1?
During the week
1. Read Luke 23:32-43 and answer the following
questions:
a) What do you know about the two men crucified
with Jesus? (verse 32; see also Matthew 27:44)
b) What factors played into the one criminal’s
change of heart? Consider what he must have been feeling and thinking as he
faced death and what he saw and experienced as he hung next to Jesus.
c) How do you know that the one criminal came to
faith in Jesus?
d) Although his faith was not mature in terms of
experience or knowledge, of what did Jesus assure him?
e)
What comfort do you receive from this
account? Does it remind you of how you came to faith?
2. Read Matthew 6:24. What scares you about
Jesus’ assertion that we can have only one lord? What things are you tempted to
trust more than God? Does your struggle to trust and rely on God alone mean
that you lack “true faith”? How do you deal with weaknesses in your faith? How
does the section entitled “Full Forgiveness” (Justification,
pages 70,71) help answer that question?
3. Read pages 76-98 of Justification.
Lesson Seven
Lesson Seven
What Is the Connection
between Justification and Sanctification?
(Justification,
pages 76-98)
Goals
1. To properly distinguish between justification
and sanctification.
2. To grow in our awareness that sanctification
involves conflict between the old self and the new self.
3. To be convinced of the blessings of growing in
our lives of sanctification.
4. To desire to live a life of sanctification in
gratitude for the gift of justification.
Introduction
As we have
seen, God has clearly revealed in Holy Scripture that justification is
complete, a gift from God through Jesus Christ apart from works. It is received
by faith, which is also a gift from God and not a human work.
Would it
be appropriate then to say, “Good works are not necessary?” Why or why not?
At the
moment we are justified by faith, God begins another work within us. This work
is called sanctification. It refers to the desire and ability God produces
within us to do good works. Sanctified means “to be
set apart.” It is important to see ourselves not only as “justified” people
(“declared not guilty of sin” by God) but also as “sanctified” people (“set
apart” for service to God).
A key distinction between
justification and sanctification
Hebrews 10:14 By one
sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
• In Hebrews 10:14, which of the underlined
phrases refers to justification and which refers to sanctification? Why?
What can
happen if we think that justification is a process instead of a completed act
or that sanctification can become complete in this life?
A “new self” was created when we
were justified by faith
Ephesians 4:22-24 You
were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self,
which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the
attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in
true righteousness and holiness.
• When the Holy Spirit leads us to trust in
God’s justifying love, he creates in us a “new self.” Describe the nature and
purpose of the new self.
Some argue that the Lutheran emphasis on justification provides
an excuse for sinful living, reflected in sentiments like this: “I’m already
completely forgiven of my sins so it doesn’t matter all that much how I live.”
How do you respond to that argument?
Romans
6:11-14 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God
in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you
obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as
instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who
have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him
as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you
are not under law, but under grace.
Ephesians
5:1,2 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live
a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a
fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Colossians
3:17 Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of
the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
• How do these passages further express the
link between justification and sanctification?
How do the
following statements reveal the presence of the new self? (Hint: Consider why
an unbeliever would have a hard time making these statements or accepting
them.) If there is time, strike a contrast by asking the class to think of when
they thought the opposite.
1. Since I became a Christian, I feel like I
actually have a choice about how to live my life.
2. Whatever good I’ve done in my life, I credit
to God.
3. It’s wonderful to know that God’s plan for
the world included using me to reveal his love to others and to glorify him
with my life.
4. I
devote quite a bit of my time to the church’s ministry. I enjoy it as much as
anything I do.
5. Believe me, living a Christian life isn’t
easy. But it is worth the effort!
Sanctification is a struggle
Galatians 5:17 The sinful
nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary
to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not
do what you want.
Romans 7:18 I know that
nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire
to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
• According to Paul, why do we struggle to
live sanctified lives?
• What did Paul say about his personal
struggle to live a sanctified life?
Do you
agree or disagree with the following statements?
1. There are certain times when living a
Christian life will really be a struggle.
2. When a Christian is struggling to live a
sanctified life, it helps to be reminded that every Christian struggles and
even fails in this endeavor.
3. The goal of my Christian life is to overcome
my old self with my new self.
4. We should avoid setting too high a standard
for our Christian lives or we will set ourselves up for failure and despair.
Growth in sanctification
1 Thessalonians 4:1 Finally,
brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you
are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and
more.
• What did the apostle Paul encourage the
Thessalonian believers to do?
List three reasons why growing in a life of sanctification is
important to you.
List three reasons why making little effort to grow in a life of
sanctification is a problem.
1
Corinthians 3:1-3 Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual
but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you
were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still
worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not
worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?
• It is not complimentary for an adult to be called
a “baby.” What did Paul mean when he called the Corinthian believers “mere
infants in Christ”?
• How had they earned that label?
• How did
their spiritual immaturity affect what Paul could do for them as a teacher of
God’s Word?
Let’s say it is New Year’s Day. What would you include in a list
of personal or family spiritual growth resolutions?
What goals will a church establish for its ministry if it is
committed to the biblical principle that growth in the Word is a lifelong
endeavor for a Christian?
Do you agree or disagree with these statements?
1. Growth in
sanctification is reflected in a growing confidence that we are becoming less
sinful.
2. As we mature spiritually, we place less and
less confidence in ourselves and rely more and more on God.
3. The Holy Spirit equips us to fight the
battle of sanctification with the same means he uses to bring us to faith: the
gospel in Word and sacrament.
4. Satisfaction with one’s current level of
sanctification is the sign of a weak faith.
The importance of sanctification as a witness
John
13:35 “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love
one another.”
1 John 2:3 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.
• Holy Scripture teaches that God wants our
lives of sanctification to be testimonies. What statements do our sanctified
lives make?
James 2:14-17 What good
is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such
faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but
does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith
by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
• Do you agree or disagree with the following
statement? “Downplaying James’ words in order to protect the doctrine of
justification by faith is actually harmful.”
To properly
understand what James is saying, it is important to understand the problem
James was fighting. People were using the truth of justification (free and full
forgiveness) as an excuse not to pursue God-pleasing living.
In James
2:24, therefore, James is talking about justification by works in terms of
demonstrating the faith that is in one’s heart to others, even to God, and not
in terms of earning salvation. He is also contrasting a living faith (which
justifies) with a dead faith (which is no faith at all and does not justify).
During the week
1. Read John 15:1-8.
a) What picture does Jesus use to express the
same idea James did?
b) Six times in these eight verses Jesus tells
us to remain in him. What does that mean?
c) Why does Jesus want us to bear much fruit?
d) Pruning is the removal of unnecessary
branches from a tree. What kind of pruning does God do in our lives to make us
more fruitful?
e) What are the consequences of remaining in
Jesus? of not remaining in Jesus?
Read pages 100-123 of Justification.
2.
Lesson Eight
What Is the Current and Final Status of the Justified?
(Justification,
pages 100-123)
Goals
1. To properly understand our current status as
those who are justified.
2. To appreciate what it means to live on earth
as God’s justified people.
3. To look forward with greater joy and
confidence to life in heaven.
4. To grow in our desire to serve God and others
to his glory until he takes us to heaven.
Introduction
1. The devil’s chief ploy to undermine our Christian faith is
to accuse us of our sins. _ Explain.
2. Why is Satan’s accusation such a potentially destructive
weapon in his hand?
3. What are some fruitless ways people try to deal with the
devil’s accusations?
Our defense against the devil’s
accusations
For our
comfort, the inspired writers of Holy Scripture employ many comforting word
pictures to defend us against the devil’s accusations that we are unworthy.
These word pictures assure us that, contrary to what the devil wants us to
believe, we are indeed loved and forgiven, and that the status we enjoy before
God is that of justified people.
God calls us saints
The word saint
literally means “one who is set apart.” The Greek word for saint is related to
the Greek word for sanctify and the Greek word for holy, which also mean “set
apart.” The Holy Spirit moved Paul to use the word saints when referring
to the members of the churches to whom he wrote. What a comfort to hear Paul
labeling as saints people who still sin!
Philippians 1:1 Paul and
Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi,
together with the overseers and deacons . . .
Romans 1:7 To all in Rome
who are loved by God and called to be saints:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from
the Lord Jesus Christ.
• Why are the members of God’s church called
saints?
How is a biblical understanding
of your status as a saint a strong defense against the devil’s accusations?
Some unchurched people complain
that church members act “holier than thou.” Some unchurched people assume that
the church is a place only for “holy” people. The devil wants to use that
perception to keep people from believing in Jesus. How can we change this
perception?
Ephesians 1:18,19 I pray
also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know
the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in
the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
• The devil not only wants us to believe that
we are not truly forgiven by God, he also wants us to doubt God’s care in every
other aspect of our lives. How does the passage above assure us that any doubts
the devil may try to arouse are invalid?
God calls us priests
Revelation 1:5,6 . . .
and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the
dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and
has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and
priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and
ever! Amen.
1
Peter 2:5 You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual
house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God
through Jesus Christ.
Hebrews
7:23-27 Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented
them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a
permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to
God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
Such a high priest
meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners,
exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to
offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins
of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered
himself.
• What do you know about the calling of Old
Testament priests? What was the function of an Old Testament priest?
• What was the nature of Jesus’ life, ministry,
and mission? What impact did Jesus have on the Old Testament priesthood?
Romans
12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer
your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your
spiritual act of worship.
James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so
that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and
effective.
• How is your function as a priest the same as
that of the Old Testament priests?
God calls us his children
1
John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we
should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world
does not know us is that it did not know him.
• The
apostle John said that we are God’s children. Then he emphasized: “And that is
what we are!” What are some things that make us wonder if we really are God’s
children?
John 1:12,13 Yet to all
who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to
become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human
decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
Hebrews 2:11 Both the one
who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus
is not ashamed to call them brothers.
• The certainty that we really are God’s
children must come from outside us. We sinners will find no certainty that we
are God’s children if we look within ourselves. From these passages, show why
we can be sure we are God’s children.
Psalm 27:10 Though my
father and mother forsake me, the Lord
will receive me.
Hebrews 12:6,7 “The Lord
disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you
as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?
Romans 8:16,17 The Spirit
himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are
children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we
share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
• Since we are God’s children, what can we
expect from our Father?
What impact does being children
and heirs of God have on our attitudes and outlooks in this life?
God
says that we are reconciled to him
2 Corinthians 5:18,19 All
this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the
ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in
Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the
message of reconciliation.
Galatians 3:28 There is
neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in
Christ Jesus.
Romans 12:5 In Christ we
who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
• The devil wants to divide us and put us at odds with one another,
especially with the believers in our own homes and churches. Our sinful nature
urges us to “look out for number one.” How does oneness with God impact our
other relationships?
The best is yet to come!
We have
seen how we enjoy a high standing and status with God. But it gets better. One
day in heaven God will make us what he has declared us to be.
Revelation 21:4 He will
wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or
crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.
Revelation 22:3 No longer
will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city,
and his servants will serve him.
• God sometimes describes life in heaven in terms of things we will
not experience once we get there. What are some of those things?
1
John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be
has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like
him, for we shall see him as he is.
• What will happen to us in heaven?
Colossians
3:3,4 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When
Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Revelation
7:15-17 Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day
and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent
over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun
will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the
throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Revelation
22:3-5 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the
Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his
face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night.
They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord
God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
• What other aspects of life in heaven are
described in these verses?
What about life in heaven is most appealing to you?
Why does the doctrine of justification give us certainty that
this wonderful life in heaven will really be ours?
During the week
1. Read Luke 15:11-24, the
parable of the lost son.
a) The father called the young man “this son of
mine.” Was that based on the young man’s performance as his son? If not, on
what was it based?
b) The father
not only called the young man his son, he treated him like a son. What actions
of the father show that he genuinely considered this young man to be his son?
c) How does this parable reinforce what we have
learned in this lesson about our current status as justified people?
2. What sins of this past week
weigh you down? Read chapter 10 of Justification again. What points or
passages in that chapter specifically address your burdens? What encouragement
or comfort do you find in them?
