“Radical” Chapter 7
After reading this chapter and teaching this lesson, I’m beginning to wonder if maybe this chapter should have come first. This chapter seems very foundational to me…with the rest of what we have learned building upon what we believe in this one.
We are having great discussion in our Sunday night study…I wish you could be with us to hear the hearts of other women and also so that we could hear yours. On Sunday night we discussed something that I think all of us may be feeling. We know there are things that we need to be doing, but are not quite sure how to do them. Where to begin…what needs to meet…how much to give…what need is greatest…do we need to go away to help someone or can we do it where we are? So many good questions and even though at this point we may not have answers to them, God is teaching and preparing us for wonderful things. I just know it. We may not know how it’s going to look…how it will fit into our lives…what it will require…where it will be…or who it will be with…but He does…and for now, that’s all that matters.
The Biblical Truth this week is this:
God has made a way of salvation available solely through faith in Jesus as the Christ.
David presents two different types of ideas regarding the phrase that “all men are created equal.” This is a true statement, but for some reason we have subtly shifted this philosophy into an equality of ideas. People think that just as every person is equally valued, so every idea is equally valid. Applied to faith, this means that in a world where different people have different religious views, all such views should be treated as fundamentally equal. In this system of thinking, faith is a matter of taste, not of truth. The cardinal sin, therefore, is to claim that one person’s belief is true and another person’s belief is false. The honorable route is to rest quietly in what you believe and resist the urge to share your beliefs with someone else.
Many professing Christians have embraced this universalistic idea that religion is merely a matter of preference or opinion and that in the end all religions are fundamentally the same. People do not have to trust in Jesus in order to know God or to go to heaven.
On the other hand, while some professing Christians have rejected universalism intellectually, practically they may end up leading universalistic lives. They claim Christ is necessary for salvation, yet they live their Christianity in silence, as if people around them in the world will indeed be okay in the end without Christ.
There are many famous people who live this Universalistic idea. There are many of us who live it. We want to explore in this lesson why we absolutely cannot live this way. Let’s look at four reasons why living in this way is totally against what God teaches us in the Word. Get your Bible out so you can look up the Scriptures!
Lesson # 1 All People Have Knowledge of God Romans 1:19-20
This passage of Scripture tells us emphatically that every person, including us, has knowledge of God. Of course, not all people in the world say they believe in God -
Lesson # 2 All People Reject God Romans 1:21-25
We see very dramatically in this passage of Scripture that EVERYONE rejects God. We have to be very careful here, because our tendency will be to want to make excuses for ourselves, but also for others. We could use a Native American Tribe as an example. “Maybe that tribe had never heard of Jesus and they didn’t have a Bible. But they did have an innate desire to worship, and so they worshiped what they knew - maybe the sun god or something like that.” And this statement can follow with…”They were doing the best they could with the knowledge they had. Isn’t that good enough?” It’s a great question, but it drives us back to the TRUTH that we cannot forget…all people, ALL PEOPLE, reject true knowledge of God. If we make an exception for a Native American Tribe, then what will prevent us from wanting to make an exception for someone whom we think is “good”, someone who has had a “hard life”, someone that we think “deserves” a chance. We must be careful that we follow what the Word of God says, and not what we want or wish it said.
Lesson # 3 All People Are Guilty Before God Romans 3:22-24
David, in this chapter, relates a story that many people come to him with. What about the innocent man in the middle of Africa who dies without ever hearing the gospel? What will happen to him? David’s confident response is, “I believe he will undoubtedly go to heaven. There is no question in my mind.” The question was “what will happen to the INNOCENT guy in Africa? The reality is, the innocent guy in Africa will go to heaven because if he is innocent, then he has no need for a Savior to save him from his sin. Problem is…the innocent guy doesn’t exist...in Africa or anywhere else. None of us are innocent. We all see in this truth that we are ALL guilty before a Holy God. Which leads to the next truth.
Lesson # 4 All People Are Condemned For Rejecting God Romans 3:20
This verse is saying that no matter what we DO it will never be good enough. This is the exact premise the world uses to get people to heaven without Jesus. We want to believe that if we are good enough, or do enough good “works”, surely that will count for something with God. But Romans 3:12 tells us that there is NO ONE who does good…NO ONE. There are not enough good things to do that would be good enough to get us a place in heaven. The ONLY WAY there is Jesus.
Lesson # 5 God Has Made a Way of Salvation For the Lost Romans 3:21
Have you ever thought of where you would be in your life without Jesus in it. What would your life look like right now, had you not been introduced to Him? Just about every day of my life I am thankful for the one person who changed my heart toward Jesus…and that person is Rick. I knew Jesus before I met Rick, but was not living like I did. I was hiding behind the mask of Christianity, but living in sin. When I met Rick, he showed me in ways that I had never seen just how real Jesus is and how exciting it was to serve Him. He lived that out every day. I realize more and more each day, that I AM TO BE THAT FOR SOMEONE ELSE. God is calling you and me to introduce others to the REAL JESUS.
Lesson # 6 People Cannot Come To God Apart From Faith In Jesus John 14:6
As we read this passage we may say we believe this central truth of the Gospel - but do we show it by how we live and what we say to others?
Lesson # 7 Christ Commands the Church To Make the Gospel Known To All People
There is one central question that seems to be voiced by Christians; “What is God’s will for my life? How do I find His will?” There are many things that God wants us to do. We may be in the middle of raising a family…we can KNOW that He wants us to invest ourselves for His Glory in our family, teaching them to love God and serve Him. We may be grandparents…the same applies to us…teaching and mentoring our grandchildren to love the Lord with all that they are. In our marriages…loving our wives as Christ loves the Church and wives respecting and being the helpmate that God has called you to be. So many things He has for us while we are walking the roads of this life. But, this ONE thing is central to His will. This ONE thing we do not have to guess on, wonder about or pray whether He wants it or not. We can KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that THIS IS HIS WILL. He has shown us that the Will of God is for you and me to give our lives urgently and fully to making the gospel and the glory of God known among all peoples, particularly those who have never heard of Jesus.
We may not know how that looks right now…or even how to go about making it happen. But, at least we know that this is His heart. He doesn’t want even one to be lost. Let’s be praying that He will begin to reveal to us how He wants us to be part of that.
We are the plan…there is no plan B.
Sending much love,
Debbie
