"WHO IS JESUS CHRIST?

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The Bible tells us much about Jesus and who He is. Many of the claims were made by Jesus Himself and many were made by others about Him. Look up the following references and write down what these claims are. Before you begin your study, say a brief prayer to God and ask Him to show you if these things are true. . !hat does Jesus call himself" a. b. c John #$%&,%' John ($%( and John )$*&+*( Matthew %,$#%,#*

-.on of God- and -.on of Man- are /ld Testament e0pressions for the Messiah who was predicted to come. The 1rophets in the /ld Testament knew that this Messiah was God and that He was worthy of worship. .ee 2aniel ,$ *, # %. !hat does Jesus claim about Himself" a. b. c. d. e. *. John &$*) John '$& John ($ % John ($&( John 3$*3 and #$,+)

The Trinity is three 2i4ine 1ersons 5God the 6ather, God the .on, and God the Holy .pirit7 who are the same in essence and nature yet with distinct personalities. !hen God the .on, Jesus, li4ed here on earth for ** years, He subordinated himself to the will of God the 6ather. !hy" .ee 1hil. %$&+( The 8postle 1aul says in his letter to Titus that -God is our .a4ior-. Titus $* a. b. !ho does 1aul then say our .a4ior is" Titus $*,# !hat else does 1aul say about Jesus" 9olossians $ &, '

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!ho did 1eter say that Jesus was" a. b. Mark ($%,+%) % 1eter $

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!ho did John the Baptist say that Jesus was" John $%) and *#

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!ho did the 8postle John say Jesus was" a. b. John $ , # :e4elation )$ '

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!ho did God the 6ather say Jesus was" Matthew *$ ,

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!ho has the authority to forgi4e sins" a. b. c. Luke &$% !ho forga4e the paralytic;s sins" Luke &$ ,+%3 !hat did Jesus do to pro4e that He had authority to forgi4e sins" Luke &$% +%#

Summary: Jesus claimed to be God by saying He$ ++was the -.on of God++was the -.on of Man++was the .a4ior 5the Messiah7 ++had authority to forgi4e sins Jesus pro4ed that He was God by$ ++the works that He did 5for e0ample, creation7 ++the miracles that He did ++His resurrection from the dead The teaching of the Bible that Jesus is God is not something that we can e0plain by human logic. <t is a supernatural truth which we belie4e because God;s .pirit illumines the truth to us. =e0t week, we will study in detail what Jesus did on the cross.

WHAT JESUS DID ON THE CROSS

Just about e4eryone in 8merica has heard of Jesus and knows that He died on the cross. Howe4er, they may ha4e many misconceptions about the purpose of His death. .o, this week;s lesson is a study on -!hat Jesus 2id on the 9ross.. %. *. #. &. '. How was Jesus killed" Matthew %,$*& !hat did the sign o4er His head say" Mark &$%' !hat did the people say who were making fun of Jesus" Luke %*$*&+*, How did the soldiers decide to di4ide up Jesus; garments" John )$%# !hich four books in the Bible contain the story of Jesus; death on the cross" Make a list of what Jesus said as He was on the cross$ a. b. c. d. e. Luke %*$*# Luke %*$#%,#* Luke %*$#' John )$%&,%' John )$*3

f. Mark &$*,,*( ,. !hat was the purpose of Jesus; death" a. b. c. d. e. f. < 1eter %$%# Hebrews %$ , 5-propitiation- means to satisfy God;s wrath7 >phesians $, 5-<n Him- refers back to Jesus 9hrist7 :omans #$%& 5-He- refers back to Jesus7 :omans &$) < 9orinthians &$*

Jesus told His disciples that the -.criptures- 5The /ld Testament7 were about Him. 5John &$*)7 <ndeed, there are many places in the /ld Testament that foretell of the coming Messiah and what He will do for the people so that they can be reconciled to God. 5.in had put a barrier between people and

God because God is holy.7 Jesus; death on the cross was God;s way of punishing sin so that God;s sense of ?ustice could be satisfied. <n other words, Jesus was punished in our place. /ne of the most detailed descriptions of how Jesus took our punishment is in <saiah &*. This was written by <saiah o4er ,33 years before Jesus was born. God ga4e this information to <saiah supernaturally and <saiah doesn;t call Jesus by His name but calls him the -.er4ant-. (. ). How was Jesus treated by men" <saiah &*$* !hat did He -bear- for us" <saiah &*$#

3. !hat happened to Jesus because of our -transgressions- 5our sins7 and our -ini@uities- 5also means sins7" <saiah &*$& . <saiah &*$& says, -The chastening 5punishment that we deser4e7 for our AAAAAAAAAfell upon Him.%. <saiah &*$' says, -But the L/:2 has caused the ini@uity 5sin7 of us all to AAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAA*. !hat kind of sacrificial offering was Jesus" <saiah &*$ 3 #. !here was Jesus; anguish" <saiah &*$ &. !hat will He bear" <saiah &*$ '. <saiah &*$ %, -Bet He Himself bore the AAAAAAAAAAAAAA,. !hat was God;s moti4e for sending Jesus to die for our sins" < John #$ 3 Summary$ Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment for our sins. He died in our place. He paid the full penalty and then He said,

"IT IS FINISHED!"

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE TEACH ABOUT SIN?

8. Last week we studied Jesus; death on the cross and we learned that He died to take the punishment for our sin. 8lso, we learned that God was satisfied that sin had been sufficiently punished and that Jesus; resurrection from the dead is proof of that. Today, we are going to study about sin +++ who sinned first, why they did, and why and how we sin today. .ome sins are 4ery ob4ious ++ for e0ample, murder. .ome sins are ob4ious only to God. :egardless of which kind of sin we commit, all sin grie4es God because He is perfectly pure and holy. Therefore, we need to understand ?ust what sin is and how to properly deal with it. . The first created being to sin was an angel name Lucifer 5later his name became .atan7. His problem was pride. He wanted to be worshipped like God was worshipped by some of the other angels. Lucifer made a -power+play- in hea4en and God cast Lucifer and all his followers out. !hat did Lucifer want" .ee <sa. #$ *+ #. List the fi4e -< will- statements of Lucifer$ a. b. c. d. e. %. Lucifer had a real problem with pride. He should ha4e been grateful to worship and ser4e God. <nstead, he wanted all the attention himself. !hat was the underlying reason that he thought he deser4ed that kind of attention" >Cek. %($ , Lucifer was the first angel to sin and 8dam and >4e were the first human beings to sin. !hen God created 8dam and >4e they were innocent and without sin. God put them in the Garden of >den which had a perfect en4ironment and then God tested their de4otion to Him and God told them they could eat fruit off any tree e0cept one ++ -the tree of the knowledge of good and e4il.- God warned them that if they disobeyed, they would die. a. .atan was not content to lea4e well enough alone. He decided to try to get 8dam and >4e to follow him by disobeying God. He appeared to >4e in the form of a serpent. .ee Genesis *$ 7 How is the serpent described" %7 !hat did he ask >4e" b. c. d. God told >4e if she ate from that tree she would die. !hat did .atan tell her would happen" Genesis *$# !hom did .atan tell >4e she would be -like- if she ate" Gen.*$& !hat did >4e decide to do" Gen. *$'

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e. Before they sinned, 8dam and >4e were 4ery comfortable around God and not afraid of Him. !hat was their response to God now" Gen.*$ 3

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God confronted them with their sin. !hom did 8dam blame" Gen. *$ % !hom did >4e blame" Gen. *$ *

Because God is holy, He has to punish sin. He pronounced ?udgment right then on .atan, >4e, and 8dam. !hat was one part of the punishment" Gen. *$ ) 8fter 8dam and >4e sinned, they knew sin in a personal, e0periential way. <t had become part of their natural nature and was then passed down to their children and their children;s children, etc. 8lso, the conse@uences of sin were passed down. a. b. !hy did -death spread to all men-" :omans &$ % !hat is the -?ust- conse@uence of sin" :omans '$%*

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The Bible classifies sin by different terms such as transgression, ini@uity, wickedness, e4il, disobedience, and unbelief. Look up the following 4erses and list what the particular sin is$ a. b. c. :omans *$ < 9orinthians '$ ( >phesians #$%&+%) 5these sins are ob4ious sins7

d. >phesians #$* 5these sins may be ob4ious or may be -mental attitude- sins. Mental attitude sins are sins that we -think- which may or may not result in an additional, ob4ious sin.7 e. f. g. h. i. >phesians &$ ( 1hilippians #$' James *$' James #$ , James &$ %

,. 8ll sin, whether open or hidden, is seen and remembered by God. !hat does God ?udge"
Hebrews #$ %

(. <s there anything hidden from God" Hebrews #$ *

). God is holy. Therefore, He must punish sin. Man sins. Therefore, man is separated from God and the result is death. Howe4er, God lo4es man. .o, He pro4ided a way for man;s sins to be punished and for man to be with Him for all eternity. The way that God pro4ided is -Jesus death on the cross bearing our punishment.- How is it that we can know that we, personally, are in a right relationship with God" That our sins are taken care of" .ee 8cts '$*

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3. /ftentimes, people know about Jesus but they are still depending partly on themsel4es to be good enough to earn their way into hea4en. <f that;s the case, then they are not really -belie4ing- 5trusting7 in Jesus; death on the cross to be sufficient to sa4e them. The Bible says that Jesus sa4es us -not on the basis of deeds which we ha4e done, but according to His mercy.- 5Titus *$&7 <n addition to not trusting the Lord Jesus as their .a4ior, many people are like .atan in that they do not want God to rule o4er them. They want to control their own li4es, so they do not trust 9hrist as their Lord. <f that is true of you, DGod is now declaring to men that all e4erywhere should repent, because He has fi0ed a day in which He will ?udge the world in righteousness through a Man 5Jesus 9hrist7 whom He has appointed, ha4ing furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the deadE 58cts ,$*3+* 7. :omans 3$) tells us Dif you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and belie4e in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be sa4ed.E 5:o. 3$)7

ASSURANCE OF SALVATION
Many times when people are asked the @uestion, -2o you know for sure that if you died you would go to hea4en"- their answer is something like, -<;m not sure but < hope so.- Today, our lesson will focus on what the Bible teaches about -knowing for sure.- Because this issue is a critical one, before you begin to answer the @uestions, say a short prayer and ask God to show you the truth of His !ord. . 8 person who is -sa4ed- is going to hea4en when he dies. !hat do you ha4e to -do- to get -sa4ed".ee John *$ ' .ee :omans 3$ * .ee John $ % %. :ead the following 4erses and make a chart. /n the left side, list what -sa4es- you and on the right side, list what will not -sa4e- you$ John #$' >phesians %$(,) 8cts '$*3,* >phesians %$#,& 9olossians $ *, # Galatians $*,# Titus *$#+, *. 1eople think about their sal4ation one of two ways... they must be good and do things to -earn- it, or, Jesus did all the work necessary and they must put their faith or -trust- in Him 5alone7 to be their .a4ior. a. No where does the Bible say that a person is saved by what he does or how good he isFFF /n the contrary, the Bible says that the only acceptable sacrifice or punishment for sins is Jesus; sacrifice on the cross. !hy, then, do so many people think they must belie4e in Jesus plus -earn- their way into hea4en" Because, it is logical from a human perspecti4e. But God says, -My ways are not your ways and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.- !e;re not holy so we do not think like God thinks. Because He;s holy, all sin must be punished. <t is not enough for us to ha4e done more good things than bad. 8ll the bad had to be dealt with and that;s what Jesus declared when He said, -<t is finishedF-

b. Look up the following 4erses and write down what God wants you to know about -assurance of your sal4ation.. :omans *$%( %. :omans ($ *. :omans 3$ #. John &$%# &. John '$#, '. < 9orinthians *$ & ,. % 9orinthians $)+ 3 (. < John &$ + * ). < 1eter $*+& 3. Titus $% #. There are basically three reasons why people don;t ha4e the assurance of their sal4ation$ a. They didn;t know what the Bible teaches, or ... b. They ha4e ne4er really put their trust in Jesus as their Lord and .a4ior. Jesus said, -But you do not belie4e, because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My 4oice, and < know them, and they follow meG and < gi4e eternal life to them, and they shall ne4er perish and no one can snatch them out of My hand.- John 3$%'+%( c. There is no e4idence of sal4ation in their life such as a desire for God, a longing to please God, or obedience to 9hristHs commandments. D8nd by this we know that we ha4e come to know Him, if we keep His commandmentsE 5< John %$*7. Salvat !" # a $!r% !& '!( "!t a $!r% !& ma") S! & y!u ar* +av ", (!u-t#. a#% '!( t! ,ra"t y!u r*/*"ta"0* &r!m y!ur # " a"( &a t+ " H # S!")