THE IMPASSIBLE WALL
LESSON 2
The problem of man's SIN was the first huge boulder in the Impassible Wall. First of all, let's ask the question, "WHAT IS SIN?" Sin is anything that man thinks or does which is contrary to the revealed will of God.
At the very moment we are born into the world, we receive a SIN NATURE, because we are the descendants of Adam, who was the first sinner in the human race.
Romans 5:12 tells us that when Adam disobeyed God, his human spirit died, and he received a Sin Nature. That Sin Nature is passed down to every member of the human race with the exception of Jesus Christ who had no human father. Because He was sinless, Jesus Christ was qualified to bear the sins of the world in His own body on the cross and pay the penalty for those sins.
When a person believes that Jesus paid for his sins, he is forgiven and receives a human spirit with which he may have fellowship with God.
Every person who reaches God-consciousness must make a decision about the God of the universe. If that individual wants to know God, at some time during his/her lifetime, God will make the Gospel clear.
At the moment of hearing the Gospel, another decision must be made, which is, will that person accept the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, or will he reject it and be content with his own good deeds that come from his Old Sin Nature.
Before the Bible was complete, God spoke to man by way of dreams, visions and direct conversation with certain individuals. They learned many things by illustrations with which they were familiar, just as we learn when we are little children.
After the Children of Israel were delivered from slavery in Egypt, they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. They had Moses as their leader, and the Lord provided all of their needs. Their shoes and clothing did not wear out during that time. The Lord also provided water for them and fed them with angel's food, which was Manna.
Instead of being thankful for the Lord's provision for them, the people complained constantly to Moses. Finally, in the 40th year of wandering, they said to Moses, "Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no water or bread here, and we hate this Manna!"
The Lord was ready to destroy every one of them, and He sent poisonous snakes among the people. Many were dying as a result of the poisonous bites, so some of the Israelites came to Moses and said, "We have sinned! We have spoken against the Lord and against you! Pray now for us unto the Lord and ask Him to remove these serpents from us!"
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Make a serpent of brass, and set it on a pole where all the people can see it. If someone who has been bitten looks at the brass serpent, he will live!"
Moses obeyed the Lord, and he fashioned a serpent out of brass and put it on a pole. He commanded the people to look at it and live. Those who listened to Moses, were spared from a horrible death, but those who refused to look died.
Many hundreds of years later, Jesus used this illustration to show a very religious Pharisee by the name of Nicodemus how he could have eternal life.
As a Pharisee, Nicodemus knew the Old Testament scriptures very well. He prayed in the temple seven times a day, and he performed many good deeds for the Jews. He was a religious man, but he was not eternally saved.
How Jesus presented the way of salvation to Nicodemus by using the illustration of the brass serpent incident is found in the gospel of John, chapter 3:1-14.
Nicodemus had been listening to Jesus and witnessing the miracles which He performed day after day. He had to find out more about Jesus, but he didn't want his Pharisee friends know how interested he really was, so Nicodemus went to talk with Jesus one night and said, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, because no ordinary man can do the miracles you perform unless God is with him.
Jesus answered, "Here's a point of Biblical teaching, Nicodemus: unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God!" Nicodemus looked intently at Jesus and guestioned, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he go back into his mother's womb and be born all over again?"
Jesus answered, "Listen closely, Nicodemus. Unless a man is born of the Word of God and by means of the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God! Don't be so amazed at what I'm telling you. The natural man is not able to understand spiritual things! He must have a human spirit in order to have fellowship with God. Just as the wind blows where it will, and you hear the sound of it, but can't tell from where it came or where it's going, so is everyone who is born of the Holy Spirit."
Nicodemus sighed and looked more puzzled than before. Then he said, "How can these things be?"
Jesus answered, "You are a teacher in Israel and you don't understand my words? If I tell you about earthly things and you don't believe me, how shall I tell you about spiritual or heavenly things~so you will understand?"
While Nicodemus sat there stunned and not knowing how to answer that question, Jesus gave him an illustration which he could understand. Jesus said, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. Whoever will believe in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”
Suddenly, Nicodemus understood what Jesus was saying. He knew the teachings of Isaiah and the other prophets concerning the promise of a Messiah who would come into the world and that He would die for the sins of the world. Nicodemus knew that Jesus was that Messiah, and he believed in Him.
Jesus went on to say, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal life."
Bible Schoolhouse Impassible Wall
Student Quiz for Lesson 2 with answers
STUDENT QUIZ
for
LESSON 2
FILL IN THE BLANK SPACES BELOW:
1. When do we receive our sin nature?_______________________________
2. To have fellowship with God, we must have a human __________________
3. What did the Lord provide for the Children of Israel when they were in the wilderness for 40 years?_________________________________________
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS (TRUE) or (FALSE): -~
4. Sin is anything a person does or thinks which is against the revealed will of God.
5. The Children of Israel were thankful for the things the Lord provided for them in the wilderness.
6. When the Children of Israel were bitten by poisonous snakes, they didn't die if they looked at the brass serpent on the pole which Moses held.
LINK TO LESSON 3
http://biblelesson1.blogspot.com/
http://biblelesson2.blogspot.com/
http://biblelesson3.blogspot.com/
http://biblelesson4.blogspot.com/
http://biblelesson5.blogspot.com/
http://biblelesson6.blogspot.com/
Written by Lois Delnay
01/20/07
loisdelnay@hotmail.com
Books for sale by L. Delnay on Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Bible-Schoolhouse-Studies-Children-Teens/dp/1438212003/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212694777&sr=8-1
link to Lois Delnay's Writings on Helium
link to Lois Delnay Children's Bible Study sites
http://gettoknowyourbible.org/
http://loisdelnay.bravehost.com/index.html
