The 7 C's of History

Doxology:

This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart, that I might not sin against God. Amen!

Scripture Reference: 1 Timothy 1:17

1 Timothy 1:17 NKJV

17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Context

Today, we are going to do a recap of what we learned this week at VBS. This week, we went on a jungle cruise. Along this cruise, we made seven stops along the way. Each stop allowed us to see another part of God’s goodness and the goodness he created us to have and enjoy.

This Gospel model is known as the 7 C’s of History. The 7 C’s are listed along the walls here so that you can see them: Creation, Corruption, Catastrophe, Confusion, Christ, Cross, & Consummation.

6 of these major events are historical. They have already come to pass. The last of these major events is still ahead of us. It is in the future. It is the lasting promise of God for all of His people and provides a hope for restoration, when all things will be made right.

These 7 events are designed to showcase the love of God for His creation and the glory due His name.

Let’s dig in!

Content

Creation

Genesis 1:1 NKJV

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

On our first stop, we looked at Creation from two different angles. First we surveyed Scripture to see what the Bible had to say concerning the creation of man and this world. Secondly, we looked at man’s ideas concerning creation and what they had to say about the creation of man and this world.

We played out this scenario: If we were on an actual jungle cruise and we witnessed a tribal group of people along the way, who’s information should we take as more credible: the tour guide or the people themselves?

For instance, if you were on that cruise and the tour guide began to speak of this tribe based upon his ideas of who they were and how they lived (they are headhunters, they eat mainly fish from the sea, and they live in caves), but then the boat breaks down right as you are passing through their territory and you have to dock the boat along the side of the river. Instantly you are met by this tribe and taken back to their village. What you find out is that they are actually kind people who are welcoming to outsiders, they eat mainly fruit from the trees, and they live in tree huts made from branches.

Which information is more credible? The tour guide or the tribe itself?

Obviously someone with first hand experience who lived there and actually knew the ways of the people from experience would be more credible than a person who only speculated as to their way of life.

In the same way, should we be more willing to give credence to man’s ideas of creation or to God?

God was their at creation. God was the one who actually created the world. He then gave us this account of creation in Word, through the leadership of His Holy Spirit, so that we might read the events that took place.

On the other hand, no man alive today was there at creation. All of those who were alive have since gone to the grave, and the stories that have been passed down throughout the ages could very well have been distorted through exaggeration and other means.

I think it is plausible for us to give more weight to someone who has first hand experience of the situation. This information should be more reliable and credible than that of someone who is only speculating. Furthermore, the account of creation from God’s perspective has never changed. The Word of God has been the same since it was formed thousands of years ago and has never been changed by anyone. Man’s ideas of creation is constantly evolving as they find our more and more information along the way.

Seeing that we are going to go with God’s account of creation, what is it about creation that is so meaningful for us to understand in God’s great plan for humanity?

It is this, God meant for mankind to live in fellowship with Him for all eternity. That was the plan. His plan was for man to live in peace with Him, separated by nothing.

He set mankind up with the best possible scenario to accomplish this purpose. He created mankind in perfection, never to have known sin or to know the experience of it. He then placed them in a perfect place that was free of sin’s degradation.

He then endowed man with autonomy and authority. He gave them a free will to act as they were led to based upon the information available unto them, and then placed them in charge of all things in the garden. He gave them power and dominion over all the animals and the garden itself. In other words, He placed them at the top of all things.

It was the perfect scenario. This was God’s plan. This was God’s desire.

Can I tell you today that nothing has changed? God still has this same plan. God still has this same desire. God still wants to be in fellowship with His creation. God still wants to be at peace with mankind.

Even though God gave mankind the perfect opportunity to live in His will, mankind still managed to fall from the perfection by which he was created.

Corruption

We read in:

Genesis 2:16–17 NKJV

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

God had created a place that would perfectly sustain mankind. There was nothing lacking. They had all that they needed to remain faithful and in harmony with God.

But God did give them one stipulation. If you want to remain here in my presence, you must not eat the fruit from that tree in the center of the garden. It is the tree of knowledge of good and evil. If you eat the fruit from that tree, you will surely die.

See, God is the only eternal thing, which means He is the source of life. Everything outside of God equals death. God warned them that the fruit of this tree would lead to a separation between them, which would ultimately lead to death.

Though they maintained their integrity for some time, one day they were met by a cunning animal who convinced them to go a different direction:

Genesis 3:1–3 NKJV

1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”

The serpent was able to get Eve to focus on the lack of God instead of the plenty of God. He focused on the one thing that was withheld from them, and then lied about the consequence of what God said would happen if they broke His commandment.

“Did God really say that you could not eat from every tree in the garden?” It was a focus of lack.

Genesis 3:4–5 NKJV

4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

“You will not surely die.” It was a lie. Go said they would die, but the serpent is saying, “No you wont.”

Through this seed of doubt in what God had said, Eve finally was convinced to eat the fruit. She then turned and gave some to her husband, who was right there with her. They both ate the fruit.

This act of disobedience was the beginning of the end for them both. They were kicked out of the garden, and from that moment they began a long journey of pain and death.

Sin has a heavy price. All sin has consequence. Don’t ever let Satan, or even your fleshly self convince you otherwise. Every sin is weighty, regardless of its nature.

Adam and Eve simply ate a piece of fruit. The consequence of that disobedience was that they would no longer experience eternal life. Furthermore, every child born unto them and their descendants would be born with a sinful disposition that would ultimately lead to death as well.

Their sin has affected all of humanity. Your sin will affect more than just you. You may think because your sin is practiced in silence and solitude that no one else will be affected by it, but that is simply not the truth. The sin in your life will always every single person under your direct influence.

Sin separates you from God. When you are separated from God, you are not living at your full potential. When you are not at your full potential, you cause pain and heartache to those around you. You will fuss with your wife more. You will be less patient and loving with your kids. You will be much less likely to speak to your coworkers about God and salvation. You will be less likely to mimic God’s character in your life. Ultimately, the sin in your life will be passed down to your children and their children, unless somewhere along the way, that chain is broken through God’s grace and faithfulness.

Corruption is like a cancer. It spreads to everyone and everything.

Genesis 6:5–6 NKJV

5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.

Catastrophe

Genesis 6:7–8 NKJV

7 So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

In a span of a about 1,600 years, evil had spread so far and wide that it had corrupted almost all of creation. Everyone had been affected by it and the thoughts and intents of all men were evil continually.

It got so bad that God finally decided to start all over. He decided that the best plan of action was to wipe out this evil through death, which was simply a fulfillment of the promise He gave originally. He held up His end of the bargain.

So he sent a catastrophe. A catastrophe is something that is violently destructive and truly devastating. God sent a flood that would cover the whole face of the Earth.

But there was one person who found grace in the eyes of the Lord. It was Noah. Noah was a righteous man who lived by God’s statutes and sought God in his life. God chose Noah to build an ark so that they might survive the flood and be able to start over once the flood had resided.

Noah was allowed to take his wife, his three sons, and their wives on the ark with him. So eight people were allowed to board the ark, and once the floods receded, God rebuilt human civilization with them.

The ark is a picture of God’s grace. Though judgment was being poured out upon the earth, the ark allowed these eight people to survive. The ark covered them and protected them from the wrath of God against sin. It was a picture of God’s forgiveness and mercy.

Confusion

Unfortunately, it did not take long after the flood to get back to a very ungodly state. Just about 100 years after the flood, we read in Gen 11:1-4

Genesis 11:1–4 NKJV

1 Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. 3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

The people became prideful once again. Instead of doing what God told them to do, which was to be fruitful and multiply and spread across the face of the earth, they wanted to build a great city and tower that reached the heavens.

They wanted to make a name for themselves. They wanted glory.

In other words, they wanted to be like God. This is the same temptation that Eve gave into in the Garden of Eden. This is the same temptation that got Satan kicked out of heaven.

Because of this great sin against God, he confused their languages.

Genesis 11:9 NKJV

9 Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

Believe it or not, you can actually see great mercy in this act of God.

If God would have left them alone and done nothing, they would have continued in pride. He also could have destroyed them with some other type of catastrophe, as He did with the flood.

Instead, He does something that brings great confusion. It does bring hardship unto the people. It was such a hardship that they literally had to stop building the temple. The could not communicate well enough to continue building it.

On the other hand, this confusion led them to separate from one another and spread across the earth. Is this not what God commanded them to do originally? God simply acted in a way that he brought them into His will.

What a picture of mercy.

God does this same thing in our lives as well. Sometimes the things that are difficult for us, is actually God trying to steer us back into His will. He could have eliminated us, or He could have simply left us alone to continue in our sin. Instead He moves in a way that it brings glory to His name and benefit to us.

What a wonderful God we serve!!

All throughout the OT, as far back as Genesis all the way to Malachi, we see a promise of God. It is a promise of restoration. God gives glimpses of a coming Messiah who would make all things right.

Christ

Christ is not a name. It is a title. Christ in the Greek NT is the equivalent to Messiah in the Hebrew OT. Both of these words mean “anointed one”.

He is the one whom God would send to fulfill all righteousness and restore mankind back to God.

This has always been the plan. God never intended to leave man alone after the fall, but to move them forward in a way that would allow for Jesus to come and reconcile them back to God. He would restore the relationship that once was broken. He would redeem us from the penalty of sin, allowing us to once again stand in His presence.

Luke 19:10 NKJV

10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

He came to restore all of those things which mankind lost through sin.

In God’s perfect creation, the corruption of sin caused the fellowship between man and God to be hindered.

Romans 5:1–2 NKJV

1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

In the Catastrophe, sin caused man to be condemned to death through the flood.

Romans 8:1 NKJV

1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

At the tower of Babel, the sinful pride of man’s heart caused everyone to be separated by barriers of confusion.

Colossians 3:9–11 NKJV

9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, 11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.

The Anointed One of God, Christ Jesus, came to reclaim all of that which was lost through sin.

Cross

He would do it through it through the cross. The cross was the price of reconciliation. We call it the atonement.

Through the cross of Christ, Jesus claimed the victory over sin and therefore abolished the penalty of sin for all who would surrender to God’s plan of salvation.

What does that mean? It means that we must come to realize that there is no way for man to reach heaven on our own. At our very best, sin still has us beat. Nothing in and of ourselves can atone for the sin we have committed against God. If we are going to make it, we must make it God’s way.

Jesus did what we could not do. He lived a perfect life. Because of that perfect life, He did not deserve to die, for the wages of sin is death. But without sin, there should have been no death for Him. He chose to die anyway so that He could take the punishment of man’s sin upon Himself. He hung in our place, bore our sin upon the cross, and therefore paid the price of reconciliation for us, because we had no way to claim it for ourselves. Apart from God, we are spiritually bankrupt.

Therefore, salvation comes by way of Christ. He accomplished salvation for us. The only thing God asks of us is to believe in what Christ did for us. We must believe Jesus loved us enough to die for us. We must believe that Jesus paved the way for us to once again stand in the presence of God. We must believe that our sins can be forgiven and that God is willing to justify us through the blood of the cross.

Romans 10:9–10 NKJV

9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

But listen closely. Salvation is not wrapped up in a one-time act of repeating a prayer. Praying to God and admitting our sinfulness is part of the process, but it is not the whole process. True salvation is for those who want to be close to God, but know that they cannot apart from Christ’s work at Calvary. Salvation is an act of God to claim the victory for those who want it but cannot achieve it for themselves.

1 John 2:1–2 NKJV

1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

Salvation is a means to be what we could never be without God. It is not accomplished so that one might continue living in sin. It is accomplished so that one might live apart from sin by the righteousness of Christ within them.

1 Peter 2:21 NASB95

21 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,

It is accomplished so that we might be set free from the power and influence of sin in our lives and live out the commandments of God like never before.

Romans 6:1–14 NKJV

1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

This means that when one chooses to submit to God, their lives will become more like Christ, not less like Him. We are saved so that we might dwell in unity with God as Christ did on Earth.

John 17:20–23 NKJV

20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

Salvation is accomplished so that we might be one with Christ! That is the goal. That is the aim of having a relationship with God. That is our purpose.

And that is what we one day shall be.

Consummation

I want to clarify what we mean by this word. Many people only know this word from the perspective of marriage, but as with many words we use today, it can be used to articulate more than that.

This word “Consummation” speaks of the completion of something. It speaks of the ultimate culmination that certain actions have built up to.

From that perspective, this last “C” of History, speaks of the culmination of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind. It speaks of how things will be once all things have come to pass. It is the final state of eternity in which all things will remain as they are forever more.

In our Bibles, God gives us a glimpse into what that means for those who trust in Christ, as well as for those who do not. Those who are in Christ will inherit eternal life, but those who are outside of Christ will be condemned to eternal separation from the God who created them.

We are going to focus today on those who have trusted Christ. We are going to see from Scripture what awaits those who willingly give all of themselves for the glory of God.

Revelation 21:1–4 NKJV

1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

This world as we know it, will once again be destroyed. The only reason it has not already happened is because God is gracious.

God gives Apostle John a revelation, and in that revelation, he gets to see the splendor of heaven. He tells us that in this new heaven and earth, God will dwell with man. That sounds a lot like it was in the Garden of Eden.

He also tells us that there will be no more death, sorrow, crying, or pain. It will be a perfect place free from sin. There will be no more temptation.

This is why Christ came. These things that will be abolished are all of the things that mankind brought upon themselves through sin. They are the stains we must wear until we are washed clean by the glory of God. One day, we will be remembered no more by the sin we have committed, but by the love we have for God and His love for us. Love will triumph. Love will conquer all.

Revelation 21:22–27 NKJV

22 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. 24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. 25 Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). 26 And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. 27 But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

There will be no more temple, because there will be no more need for one. The temple represented the place where God’s presence dwelt. It was also the place where sacrifices were made. God will be with His people in this new heaven. We will constantly be in His presence at all times. Since there will be no sin, there will be no more need for sacrifices either. It goes to show the perfection of this place we will call home for all eternity.

Verse 27 tells us that only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will be allowed to enter that great city and nothing will enter that will defile it. That means that it will remain perfect, without the possibility of becoming defiled as the Garden of Eden was. We will remain forever in the presence of our Heavenly Father.

Revelation 22:1–5 NKJV

1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. 4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. 5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.

The tree of life will be there and the curse of man will be lifted. And for the first time since the Garden of Eden, we will once again see the face of God. For the first time since Adam, we will be able to stand in the presence of God without having to hide our face. It will be the first time any of us will be able to stand before Him without shame, regret, or guilt. We will do so not out of pride, but out of love, knowing that He alone is responsible for our being there. He alone could have saved us. He alone could have sustained us. He alone could have made us worthy to stand in His presence.

What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see

And I look upon His face, the One who saved me by His grace

When He takes me by that hand, and leads me through the promised land

What a day, glorious day that will be

There’ll be no sorrows there, no more burdens to bear

No more sickness and no more pain, no more parting over there

But forever I will be, with the one who died for me

What a day, glorious day that will be

Commitment

1 Timothy 1:17 NKJV

17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

This week, as we went through VBS, we taught those children of the glory of Almighty God. We showed them His love for them, as well as His hope for their redemption.

Don’t you ever let anyone tell you different......God loves you. He always has and He always will.

Will you step into that marvelous love this morning? Will you embrace it, believe it, and live in it?