God promised to save sinful mankind Lesson 5 In the lessons we have studied so far we have learned that God created all things and that he created human beings in his own image (holy and sinless and with an understanding of his will.) In this lesson we will discover how sin entered the world and how God responded to sin with a wonderful promise to save sinful mankind from sin, death and the devil. God promised to save sinful mankind

2 Peter 2:4 Jude 6 God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home--these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. These passages simply speak of angels without telling us where they came from. Angels were created by God but we do not have any information regarding what day they were created. The Bible teaches us that angels are spiritual beings – they do not have a physical form. In order to make their presence known they would have to assume the fomr of something else. These passages speak of a rebellion by some of the angels and God’s reaction to this rebellion. It is interesting to note that hell was intended to be a place of punishment for the sinful angels. We speak of the evil angels as the Devil or Satan and his followers. Just as we do not know when the angels were created so we do not know how long after creation it was before they rebelled against God. It appears that this occurred shortly after the creation was completed.

1 Peter 5:8-9 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. The passages we looked at on the last slide spoke of the sinful angels being chained. This passage speaks of the devil as being able to prowl around like a lion. There are at least two ways that someone could be chained. Someone could be chained in such a way that they could not move around at all. Or they could be chained like a dog on a leash – only able to go so far. That is how God has “chained” Satan. He limits what he can do. Questions: 1) What is the devil doing right now? 2) Is a lion most likely to devour a healthy animal or a weak one? 3) Who will be easy prey for Satan? 4) How will we be able to resist the Devil? (We will only be able to resist the Devil by standing firm in our faith in Christ Jesus. The word and Sacrament strengthens our faith.)

How sin entered the world Some angels disobeyed God and now live as demons under the leadership of the devil (liar) or Satan (enemy).

Genesis 2:15-17 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 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 3 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.

How sin entered the world The devil tempted Adam and Eve to disobey God.

Genesis 5:1-3 This is the written account of Adam's line. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them "man. " When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.

How sin entered the world Adam and Eve deliberately disobeyed God and lost God’s image.

John 3:5-6 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.

The results of sin We are all born in a sinful condition (original or inherited sin)

Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.

The results of sin We are all born in a sinful condition (original or inherited sin) We commit sins against God every day (Actual sin)

Romans 5:12 Romans 6:23 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned…. For the wages of sin is death….

The results of sin We are all born in a sinful condition (original or inherited sin) We commit sins against God every day (Actual sin) We deserve God’s punishment and eternal death

Genesis 3:16-19 To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." To Adam he 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. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 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."

The results of sin We are all born in a sinful condition (original or inherited sin) We commit sins against God every day (Actual sin) We deserve God’s punishment and eternal death We suffer pain and sadness because of sin

Romans 8:19-22 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

The results of sin We are all born in a sinful condition (original or inherited sin) We commit sins against God every day (Actual sin) We deserve God’s punishment and eternal death We suffer pain and sadness because of sin All of nature lost its perfection with the fall into sin

Genesis 2:17 Genesis 3:15 “[Y]ou must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

What did God do for sinful mankind? He said that sin must be punished and paid for, but that a Savior as Substitute would take the punishment for us.

Leviticus 19:2 2 Cor. 5:21 “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: `Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.” God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

What did God do for sinful mankind? He said that holiness was still required for eternal life but that a Savior as Substitute would give us His holiness as a gift.

MY SINS GOD’S GREAT EXCHANGE JESUS’ HOLINESS

John 1:29 “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

What did God do for sinful mankind? He sent his Son, Jesus, as the perfect Lamb of sacrifice

Acts 16:31 "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household."

What did God do for sinful mankind? He gives salvation to those who personally trust in Jesus