Sunday Teaching from ALFC.com
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| Courtesy: ChristianityToday.com |
If this is the first Christian blog post of mine that you read, I am an ALFC church goer and these teachings are from that church's pastors. The teachings are available for purchase thru the church's bookstore.
Today's teaching and last Sunday's were on the subject of Redemption.
The subject of Redemption has many facets. These teachings elaborated on the subjects of how and why redemption comes about.
Last Sunday the teaching started with Hebrews 9:12
By sin of 1, death reigns
By one disobedience, many were made sinners. Adam's sin of high treason allowed spiritual death to enter mankind. The problem is not what man does, it is what man is.
3 things mankind wants throughout history:
. desires fellowship with God
. desires to process the life of God
. desires the strength of God
Satan's role
Satan obtained authority over the human race during the fall. He became prince of this world to the children of disobedience. This came about by eating from the tree of knowledge, separating mankind from God and joining with Satan.
Spiritual Death creates vanity of the mind
After spiritual death took place, people walk the earth in a state of existence being separated from God. Because of spiritual death, we now have opposite spiritual forces in the earth: love and hate; joy and sorrow; faith and doubt; good vs evil; etc.
The effect of spiritual death inside of man created human reasoning in humanity. Man no longer in contact with God. (Senses, knowledge, reasoning came into being) Now we judge God.
Education does not fix bigotry, racism, evil or hate. We simply create better educated criminals. Education cannot fix spirit. We walk in the vanity of our own minds because of blindness of our heart.
Spiritual death is the soil that produces sorrow and sadness.
Humanity's separation from God
A shadow of death is cast on man's ability to achieve happiness in his life. What is in man's heart, alienates him from God. No one teaches a small child to lie. We are all born with a nature of spiritual death and is why we respond to sin the way that we do. Sin comes so easily and the search for God seems to difficult.
We need to pass from spiritual death to spiritual life.
What does it mean that Jesus' blood was shed for us to obtain redemption?
Every effort of man to eradicate sin fails. We need someone above Satan. We cannot accomplish alone. Man is utterly helpless to redeem himself. To redeem man, someone greater than Satan must undertake him on man's behalf. God must do it himself. Not even angels can redeem man.
God took flesh in Jesus to redeem man. This is the basic miracle of Christianity. Redemption had a cost. It was purchased with God's son's blood. This needed to happen to redeem man. Jesus gave us the power to be child of God. We had to be delivered from kingdom of darkness.
Why does mankind need redemption?
Our spirits are in fellowship with spiritual death and is why redemption is needed so that we shall not serve sin. I can do all things thru Christ (not alone).
Forgiveness vs Redemption
How many people know someone who continues to commit the same sin over and over, no matter how much help they are provided and no matter how many times they are forgiven? That is because the person's heart needs to be changed, otherwise their behavior cannot change.
Redemption gives man a new heart. Redemption is much more than forgiveness of sin. Forgiveness of sin doesn't fix the problem, it doesn't cure what produced the act.
Redemption: to release on receipt of ransom. Humanity was held in captivity for ransom and was not released until it was paid. This deliverance, this act of freeing and releasing provided humanity the freedom from guilt and punishment that sin brought upon by atonement (remission of sin-greater than forgiveness).
Forgiveness covers sin. What they did is still there but it is covered by forgiveness. Remission of sin takes it out completely.
How to cure?
We must be born again to address issue of what i am at birth. A new birth has to take place inside of me. There can be no new birth until spiritual death is dealt with.
1. Satan must be dethroned
2. Man must be delivered from authority of Satan
3. Spiritual death must be done away with
We need spiritual life to come into our hearts to replace spiritual death and make us compatible with God. Only then can we live according to God as Christians.
If i choose to stay separated from God, i will be left alone in Satan's world. This is how lives are ruined because it is in our nature to be in fellowship with sin. Only by removing that fellowship and allowing God's nature into our hearts can we have a happy and fulfilling life.
Verses from this teaching
Genesis 3:15
1 John 14
1 John 1
Hebrews 9:12
John 3:16-17
2 Corinthians 5:21
John 2:16
John 6
John 3
Hebrews 2:14
Colossians 1:13
Romans 6:6
2 Corinthians 4:4
Ephesians 4:17
Genesis 7
John 5:19
John 3:14
Romans 5:17
John 5:24
Romans 5:12-19
Genesis 3
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