Fourth Meeting:
"WHY IS JESUS THE ONLY WAY FOR US?"
"He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appears was to destroy the devil's work" (1 John 3:8)
1. Most people cannot distinguish salvation from living.
(1) They think that all religions are the same.
(2) They think that doing good works is the goal of all religions.
(3) They think the way to be saved is to do meritorious and virtuous deeds.
(4) Christianity is not a religion but life itself.
(5) Mankind created religion, but the gospel is given by God.
(6) Religion is about man searching for God, but the gospel is about God coming down to man.
(7) Religion’s standard of measurement is the works of man, but God’s salvation is the gospel’s standard.
2. Most people don't realize the condemned state of the unsaved.
(1) Original sin signifies the state of those who have not received salvation (Rom. 3:10,23).
Romans 3:10, 23 As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
(2) This means that they are still seized in the hands of Satan who appeared in Genesis chapter 3 (Eph.2:2-3).
Eph.2:2-3 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
(3) The state of condemnation is terrible
① It is the state of the spirit receiving Satan's spirit.
② It is the state of a cursed spirit.
③ Naturally, they suffer from idol worship, ancestor worship, talisman, sorcery, fortune-telling, superstitions, and
folk religions until they come to their final destruction.
a. They leave this earth having failed in their life.
b. Destruction continues to the third and fourth generations (Ex. 20:4-5).
Ex. 20:4-5 You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generationsof those who hate Me,
c. Their physical bodies suffer from mental illnesses, sicknesses that come from demon-possession, and unknown
sicknesses.
Mt. 8:16-17 When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses."
④ And finally they will end up in hell (Lk.16:19-31, Rev.14:1-11)
Luke 16:22-23 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 "And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Rev. 14:9-11 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 "he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 "And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."
3. There is only one who can save
(1) He must be the One with the power to defeat Satan's power.
(2) He must come clothed in flesh (John 1:1,14).
John.1:1, 14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
(3) But He must be without sin (Heb.4:15, 1 Pet.3:18).
Heb.4:15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all pointstempted as we are, yet without sin.
1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,
(4) He must not be a descendant of Adam: (born of a virgin).
(5) A sinless person must die to pay the price of sin (Gen.2:17).
Gen.2:17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.
(6) He must resurrect as evidence that he is God (1 Cor. 15:3-5).
1 Cor.15:3-5 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.
(7) This person is none other than Jesus Christ.
(8) Only Jesus, who is God Himself (Phil 2:6-9), can defeat Satan's power and save man.
Phil.2:6-9 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
(9) This is being testified even today (Acts 16:16-18).
Acts 16:16-18 Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation." 18 And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And he came out that very hour.
4. What exactly is salvation? (Eph.2:1-6)
(1) It is freedom from sin that causes destruction.
① Original sin - sin that causes eternal condemnation (Eph.2:1).
Eph. 2:1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
② Consequential sins - Sins that come from original sin (Eph.2:1)
③ Ancestors’ sins - Ancestors' sins of idol worship that bring disasters to the descendents.(Ex.20:4-5)
(2) It is escaping from Satan's power and the resulting fate (Eph.2:2)
(3) It is being seated in heaven in the future (Eph.2:6)
Eph.2:6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
(4) Evidences of this appear in our present life (Eph.2:7).
Eph.2:7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
5. Healing – Those who are suffering from demonic influence
(1) Faith- Gen.3:15; Matt.16:13-15; 17:1-8;28:16-20; Acts 1:8
Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel."
Matt. 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me inJerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
(2) Spiritual Power- Scheduled prayer, continuous prayer, spiritual power
* Let’s try to understand 1 John 3:8.
