Universal

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 519.

Each of these curses have perpetuated throughout time. The snake's descendants, Adam's and Eve's descendants have all continued to live under this curse.

And to keep man from living for ever in this condition (Shows that God has a plan to redeem all of this later and does not plan for man to always live in this condition) God bans all mankind from the garden.

Genesis 3:22 Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

Today, we have no idea where the Garden is. It may have been removed from the earth before the flood but we do not know. However, when God removes the curse we will see the Tree of Life again and it seems there will be another Garden where man can enjoy sweet fellowship with God.

Rev 22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

DEPRAVITY (развращенность )

We have already looked at the fact that man's makeup includes:

 _Imputed Sin

 _Inherited Corruption and

 _Personal sin

as a result of Adam's sin. This defilement of God's image is a thorough corruption that infects every aspect of Adam.

This would include his conscience and understanding of right and wrong. It would include his passions and desires. It would include his physical body and the pain and suffering it now goes through. It would also include his will and ability to make decisions.

This corruption has infected mankind. We can clearly agree with David when he says that he was conceived in Sin.

We would call this defilement, “TOTAL DEPRAVITY”

This brings up a question, “Is man too corrupt to understand the benefit of salvation and respond to a gospel invitation without God first removing some portion of the corruption (i.e. regenerating him)?

MANs INABILITY

One view is: YES – Man is so depraved that he cannot seek God, understand the gospel or respond in faith to the gospel without God imparting that faith to him.

This would usually include the Holy Spirit first regenerating the man and thus enabling him to understand his depravity and God's offer of grace. The man is then able to respond in faith.

As we have looked at corruption, we have not seen it say that man is incapable of responding to truth. But we have seen that every aspect of man is too corrupt to be continuously perfect in any capacity. All it takes is one lie to forever be judged a “liar”. One act of stealing makes a person a “thief”. But all of us recognize truth and goodness when we see it. We are just incapable of producing it ourselves.

The Bible certainly agrees that Man is too depraved to provide anything that would merit salvation. One sin makes him personally guilty. Adam's sin makes the whole human race legally guilty.

Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast

Romans 3:10 “as it is written None is righteous no, not one.

The fact is that no man can clean his own sin up. Corruption produces corruption. If a man with leprosy, takes his shirt, tears it in to strips and then uses it to clean his wounds, he just makes his shirt have leprosy. He can't clean his own leprosy up. Corruption produces corruption.

No man (living inside the box) will come to understand that Christ has done the work for him on his own. He can look at the box and understand that there is a creator. He may from time to time seek the creator (like our study from Acts 17). But he will not think of God's solution and know that he can depend on God for salvation.

On his own…man is without hope!

Salvation is by faith and faith alone.

Faith comes by hearing.

Romans !0:13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is writeen “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says “Lord who has believed what he has heard from us.?” 17 So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ.

Clearly, man needs someone to share the truth with him but then God expects them believe that truth. To do so is to obey. To reject truth is to disobey just as Adam and Eve did in the garden.

Notice that the passage does not say faith comes by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. In fact, scripture instead indicates that we don't receive the Holy Spirit until after we have believed.

Gal 3:2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?

We would say that man is “Totally Depraved”. He is so corrupt that he cannot produce righteousness and stands guilty and condemned before God.

But we would not say that man is so depraved he cannot accept God's solution when God presents him with the truth. He has a free choice just as Adam had.

MAN'S ABILITY

We believe that man is able to believe.

John 5:31 If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not deemed true. 32 There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. 33 You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.

34 Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.

35 He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.

36 But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me.

37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent.

39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.41 I do not receive glory from people. 42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 43 I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words/'

In this extended passage (which continues into chapter 6) we see some key points related to this discussion:

 _Christ is declaring that they should believe His message

o He is a prophet and is proven by His Signs

o His message glorifies the Father so He is a true prophet

o Other prophets have confirmed His message

 _Christ is speaking to this audience so that they can be saved.

o They can be saved since they are hearing his message.

 _You have already rejected the message of Moses and the scriptures.

o You are already biased against believing me. No one is making you disbelieve.

 _Since you have rejected the previous messages of God, you will not believe in me.

God is not saying that you cannot believe because I'm not helping you to. Instead, He is saying that I'm speaking to you. You are hearing and seeing everything you need to be saved. You refuse to. It's not that you lack something but rather that you have chosen to reject.

God only hardens after someone has already disbelieved

This is a common problem. We see from the prophets, when God says that they blinded themselves so God will judge them by removing His words of truth.

Isaiah 29:9 Astonish yourselves and be astonished; blind yourselves and be blind! Be drunk, but not with wine; stagger, but not with strong drink! 10 For the LORD has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes (the prophets), and covered your heads (the seers).

They start off blinding themselves and then God says he will perpetuate it.

We find the same thing in the case of Pharaoh:

Ex 5:1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.' ” 2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.”…

Ex 7:1 And the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. 2 You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land. 3 But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, 4 Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment.

Pharaoh rejected the Lord and hardened his own heart. Then God perpetuated that hardness.

God warns us as well that we should not harden our hearts.

Heb 3:7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, 9 where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years.

Heb 3:12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Heb 3:15 As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” 16 For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses?

God also draws and strengthens the hearts of those who believe.

John chapter 6 continues the story about Christ speaking to an unbelieving audience. He declares that they won't respond because they have already chosen to disbelieve. However, those who have been part of the believing remnant are given to Christ from the Father and they are treated with greater clarity and are “drawn” by the Father. Since they are believing, they are drawn or “hear and learn” from the Father.

John 6:44,65 – “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day…And He was saying, ‘For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” Calvinists assume that apart from an irresistible drawing of the ‘elect,' no one else (the ‘non-elect') is allowed to come to Christ for salvation. On the surface, it might seem that they are right. However, this is to ignore the context, which is crucial.

The Lord is addressing those who have seen Him and yet have not believed (6:36), who are set in contrast with the believing remnant of Israelites who belonged to the Father, but now have been committed into His hands. He refers to them in vs. 37 & 39 as “all that the Father gives Me.” He keeps stressing faith as the distinguishing feature of this remnant (6:35, 40, 47), who were taught by the Father (6:45). He is referring to the early disciples, who had readily responded to Him when they met Him (cf. Jn. 1), because they were regenerate. This becomes clear in His high-priestly prayer in 17:6, 9 & 24, where He clearly identifies them as His early disciples set in contradistinction from those who were to later come to faith through their word (17:20), thus not all the ‘elect.' Therefore, from the flow of the context it becomes clear that this has nothing to do with the ‘elect,' but rather with the believing remnant, the genuine nucleus.

The broader thrust of the Gospel of John is equally as significant as this immediate contextual consideration of which it is a part. Right from the beginning, John portrays the contrast of the believing remnant of Israel with the hostile Jewish leadership and skeptical majority…But through all of this sometimes heated dialog with the Jewish leaders there was a continued flow of those who did profess faith in Him…But not all came with genuine motives, and the Lord was constantly challenging them, so as to sort out those who came for political or material motives.

Thus it was because some of the professing believers were questioning His heavenly origin and grumbling among themselves, rather than asking Him directly, that the Lord said, “Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who send Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me” (6:43b-45).10

God Desires that all people know the truth and be saved

1 Tim 2:3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

God has chosen to save those who believe

1 Cor 1:21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.

Rom 4:5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,

But as we have looked through all these passages it is clear that there are many who hear and yet refuse to believe. In some cases they have rejected past revelation and have become hardened. But even before they were hardened they had an initial moment of disbelief. Therefore, hearing provides the opportunity to lead to faith and thus salvation. However, hearing does not automatically result in faith. No Guarantee.

GOD's Message would be NONSENSE IF MAN CAN'T RESPOND

Matt 11:28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

John 7:37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.' ” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Rev 22:17 The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

John 3:13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God So Loved the World 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Summary

 _Mankind is totally depraved and incapable of saving themselves.

 _God has provided Christ's death, burial and resurrection as a substitution for every person's life.

 _Mankind must put faith in Christ's finished work in order to be personally saved.

 _No person could ever discover Christ's finished work (God's plan) on their own.

 _God's Word is sufficient for any to learn the truth.

 _Learning the truth is sufficient for any person to have faith.

 _Those who know the truth, need to tell others.

 _Once anyone hears the truth, they are able to believe, they are able to be saved.