Brother Bill Sunday School 9/9/12

Brother Bill Sunday School 9/9/12

Is 62:10 hold up the standard.

In a world where it seems that there is no order: people don’t live according to what the Word of God says but have their own ideas about how to be saved.  If we will live according to what the Bible says, then we will be saved.

People that I talk to have their perceived ideas about what it takes to get to heaven and they have no clue about what the Word says.  There is no foundation to their ideas.  We can know how to be saved and how to stay saved.

The New Covenant was last week’s lesson.  This week is how to get saved.  We’ve dealt with the fact that all men were guilty before God.  When we get saved, God has washed us from our sin and gives us strength to live right.  If we do our part of communicating with God and drawing from God then we can stay saved.

Pro 28:13  He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

He that covers his sins will not prosper but he that confesses and forsakes them then he shall have mercy.  There are a number of scriptures that brings out about this.  What is it about confessing that God requires?  Why is it so important?  The book, “What the Bible teaches,” gives a good explanation. 

Many people tremble under the Holy Ghost conviction but are unwilling to confess their sin as the Bible requires.  Confession must be first made to the Lord (1 John 1:9).  Why? Doesn’t He know all about us?  Yes, but God has set His own standard as to what is wrong action but sinful men try to set their own standard and excuse themselves and yet affirm that their own conscience doesn’t condemn them.  If they set their own standard then God will never hear them.  They must accept the standard God sets.  God says to let all bitterness and wrath be put away.  If this person wants to be saved He must confess his sins as sins and come to the Divine standard.

For one to acknowledge that they are guilty and have come short of where they ought to be is a tough thing.  In this day and age, people get to the place where they are religious and do not have God and don’t have salvation of heart.  They act like they are clueless and don’t know that they have a need.  This is dangerous.  If you don’t see your need then how can you get saved? 

If a person knows that they are guilty before God and that they have a need, then you have something that you can work with.  This scripture says to confess and forsake, the majority of the Christian world today do not teach to forsake sin.  They believe that they can stay saved in their sins. 

They justify themselves in their wrong.  They say, “We’re only human and cannot help but sin.”  This is a lie because by the grace of God we can be delivered and we must be delivered from sin.

People build their religious house, they go to church, and they give their tithes and offerings (this is religious sinners.)  For them to get to the place to acknowledge that they are sinners and need to be saved, then they must tear down the house that they have built.  This is hard for them.

We must build on the foundation; we must let God build the house.  We must build according to the Word of God.  The Word is the foundation.  If you take a verse out or add a verse to the Bible, if you think that some of it was for the old time and is not necessary today, remember that God has the master copy and when we stand before God then we will be judged according to His copy.  It behooves us to be careful to do a good job to build according to what we will be judged by. 

Joh 12:48  He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

Psa 34:12  What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?

Psa 34:13  Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.

Psa 34:14  Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

What man desires to be saved?  Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking guile.  Depart from evil, leave that which is wrong, do that which is right. 

Guile refers to not being honest before God and with yourself and others.  Let’s work to be honest hearted where we are not trying to hide anything.

2Co 7:9  Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.

2Co 7:10  For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

2Co 7:11  For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

Many confess and are made sorry but don’t have Godly sorrow.  We must have Godly sorrow to bring us to repentance.  If we are really sorry then we don’t want to ever go back to that hog-pit again.  It has brought such deep sorrow that it works repentance.

There is something about true repentance that causes you to take care of your tracks.  You make restitution.  “What clearing of yourself.”  We are willing to gather out the stones and clear everything away from the foundation so that we can start building.  After you take care of it and it is done right then it brings a restoring and many benefits and opens the doer to the blessings of God.

Gen 3:1  Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

Gen 3:2  And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

Gen 3:3  But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

Gen 3:4  And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

Gen 3:5  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Gen 3:6  And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Gen 3:7  And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

It takes confession and being honest with God to get salvation.  When they sewed fig leaves together it seems that they were trying to hide their guilt.

Gen 3:8  And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

Gen 3:9  And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

God already knew that they had messed up.  He knew of the conversations that they had and that they had both partaken of that which was wrong.  When he called “where are you?” he was trying to say, “fess up, be honest.”

Gen 3:10  And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

Gen 3:11  And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

God already knew, didn’t He?  He was saying, “Come on Adam, and please be honest.  Did you eat of that tree?” 

Gen 3:12  And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

“God it is your fault, the woman that you gave me gave it to me and I did eat.”  This is the way of man.  Remember the suit against McDonalds for the spilt coffee? People don’t want to take responsibility for their own actions. 

“God you shouldn’t have given me that woman but a different one.”  The excuses “The reason that I backslid is because of this one.”  Instead of being honest O Lord, “I didn’t have proper devotions I messed up.”

Gen 3:13  And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

Gen 3:14  And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

Gen 3:15  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

There were consequences for them because they did wrong.  I wonder if they had been upfront with God if the consequences wouldn’t have been as severe.