God Forgives Lawbreakers

Introduction

In our last lesson we discovered God’s laws for humanity.  Can you remember the Ten Commandments?  Let’s list all those that we can remember:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

What were the two commandments that Jesus said contained the whole of God’s law?

1.

2.

We also discovered, in our last lesson, that none of us has fully obeyed God’s commands in every action of our lives.  James, the brother of Jesus wrote a letter that is part of the New Testament.  In that letter he says, “Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it (James 2:10).”

In today’s lesson we will look a little bit at what the Bible says the consequences of our law breaking, and what remedy God offers to us.

This week’s Discussion

Let’s read Romans 6:23 and 5:1,2,8-10

Understanding the Vocabulary

“Justified” (5:1,9) means to be declared ‘not guilty’ by God, the final Judge of all people.  It means that all the charges against us for breaking His Law are dropped, and we no longer face the death penalty.

The “glory of God” (5:2) is the excellent quality of God’s perfect character of love, truth, etc.  That glory was displayed in the life of Jesus Christ, God’s only Son.  It is the quality of life that we must live if we are to live with a God who is perfectly pure.  (If God is pure oil, we must, also, be pure oil, or we cannot mix with Him.)

“Grace” (5:2) is God’s favor that we do not deserve.  He shows kindness to us even though we have not earned it, and never could.

 “God’s wrath” (5:9) is God’s anger toward evil.  As the perfectly good Ruler and Judge of all that He created, God must destroy evil and judge those who break His laws.

Let’s Read John 1:16-18,29 and 3:16

Questions

1.                  What do you think the death mentioned in Romans 6:23 is referring to?

2.                  How does sin hinder us from having relationship with God?

3.                  When Jesus died for our sins, how did that change the relationship between God and the people who have faith in Jesus Christ?

4.        Why did Jesus become a man and come to the world?  (look at the passages

           in John)

1.      From what you have learned in this lesson, how does Jesus bring life and

           forgiveness to the world?

1.      Do you want to make use of the payment that God has provided for the guilt

          of your sins?  Do you want to give your guilt and penalty to Jesus, God’s Son,

          so that you will never have to pay the penalty required by God’s justice?  Will

          you ask God to forgive your sins because of Jesus’ sacrifice for you?

If you do not feel ready to make this decision, why is that?