Adam – Michelle Lesley

Romans 5

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Questions to Consider:

1. To whom is Paul speaking in this chapter? Christians? Non-Christians?

2. According to verses 3-5, for what reasons should we rejoice in times of suffering?

3. What kind of people did Christ die for? (6-8) What do these verses say to the person who thinks she has to get her life cleaned up before coming to Christ? Would you be willing to die for a good person? What about someone who has sinned against you as much as you have sinned against Christ?

4. Verse 12 says that sin entered into the world through one man. Who was that one man, and how did he cause sin to enter the world?

5. This chapter talks a lot about justification and reconciliation. Re-read the verses that mention these words. What does it mean to be justified before God? What does it mean to be reconciled to God? Whose actions justify and reconcile us, and what were those actions?

Forgiveness, Gospel, Salvation, Sunday School, Types and Shadows

Joe & Moe: Delivery Boys ~ Sunday School Lesson ~ 2-2-14

February 3, 2014April 5, 2019 Michelle Lesley

These are my notes from my ladies’ Sunday School class this morning. I’ll be posting the notes from my class here each week.Click here for last week’s lesson.

Through the Bible in 2014 ~ Week 5 ~ Jan. 26- Feb. 1
Genesis 41 – Exodus 9
Joe (Joseph) & Moe (Moses): Delivery Boys (Part 1)

→ ┼ ←→ II
Old Testament Gospels Acts-Revelation (Christ’s Return)

All of the Old Testament points to Christ. Throughout the OT, we see Israel, a people in need of deliverance, and throughout the OT, we see God use men as types and shadows of Christ, each pointing out a facet of the way He would deliver His people from their bondage to sin.

Let’s look back at some of the people we’ve studied so far and how they are types of (symbolize) Christ. Look at these people through the lenses of Jesus’ life.

Adam– One Man (Romans 5:17)
As sin entered the world through the first/only begotten son, so salvation entered the world through God’s only begotten Son.

Abel– Death of the innocent (Hebrews 12:22-24)
We see the good, obedient, innocent shepherd, betrayed by his brother and killed for no crime of his own.

Noah– The only righteous man (Genesis 6:9, 1 Peter 3:18)
We see salvation take place through the only righteous man on earth, scorned by sinners. We see the death of sin, the burial (at sea), and the resurrection to new life.

Job– The Suffering Servant (Isaiah 53:3,10)
In Job, we see Christ, the innocent, misunderstood and accused by those who should have been His friends, suffering, not for His own sin, but for God’s greater plan: that God might be glorified.

Abraham– The Obedient Son (Philippians 2:5-8)
Abraham left the comfort and position of his homeland in exchange for a life of sojourning in a land not his home. He was obedient to God whatever the cost to himself. So, Christ emptied Himself of His position and comfort in Heaven to sojourn on earth and live in obedience to God, whatever the cost.

Isaac– The Promised Son (Genesis 3:15) and The Lamb of God (Genesis 22:8,14, John 1:29)
God told Abraham He would send him a son, and after many years, the promise came true. The son of the Abrahamic Covenant was born in a miraculous way. In Genesis, God promised to send His Son, and after many years, and many reminders of God’s promise to Israel, the Son of the new covenant was born in a miraculous way.

Lamb of God- He was the only acceptable sacrifice. He took the wood for the sacrifice upon his back and walked up the hill to his place of death. “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” That mountain, Mt. Moriah, turned out many years later to be Calvary. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

Jacob– Cornerstone (Matthew 19:28)
Jacob through his twelve sons/tribes, was the foundation of God’s people, Israel. Jesus, delegating through His twelve disciples, is the foundation of God’s people, the church.

Joseph– Deliverance Through Forgiveness (Genesis 50:20, Acts 5:31) (Genesis 45:5,7-8; 50:15-21, Luke 23:33-34, 1 John 1:5-9)
Joseph was a deliverer, as was Christ. His life shows us one aspect of Christ’s delivering us from our sin: forgiveness. I did a study on this a while back and wrote a blog article about it. It’s like one of those optical illusion pictures where if you look at it one way, it’s an old, ugly woman, but if you look at it another way, it’s a young, pretty woman. This is a “story optical illusion.” See if you can see Joseph and Jesus at the same time.

In the Shadow of the Son

And after all this: hating him, taking him away from his family and all he knew, selling him as a slave, working his way up only to lose everything again when he was falsely accused of rape and imprisoned for years for a crime he didn’t commit, forgotten by the cupbearer for two years, unsure how his brothers were treating Benjamin or his father, not even knowing if his father was still alive, Joseph forgave his brothers and gave them a new start, a new life.

When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, foram I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
Genesis 50:15-21

And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.
Luke 23:33-34

As Jacob forgave his brothers and Christ forgave his executioners, this is exactly what Christ does for us. We repent, and He forgives us for our sin. He gives us a new life.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:5-9

The story of Joseph is a beautiful story of a man rejected, betrayed, and done away with, only to live again victoriously, and forgive and save his betrayers. Just like Jesus.

Sanctification, Sin, Sunday School

Obedience: Adam, Eve, Cain, and Babel vs. Abel, Enoch, Noah, and Job ~ Sunday School Lesson ~ 1-5-14

January 5, 2014April 5, 2019 Michelle Lesley

These are my notes from my ladies’ Sunday School class this morning. I’ll be posting the notes from my class here each week. Click here for last week’s lesson.

This week, we started a new study. We will be reading through the entire Bible in 2014 using “Back to the Bible’s” chronological reading plan (reading Biblical events in the order in which they actually happened). Each Sunday’s lesson will cover a story(s)/event(s) contained in the previous week’s (Sun. – Sat.) reading.

Through the Bible in 2014 ~ Week 1 ~ Jan. 1-4
Genesis 1-11, Job 1-5
Obedience: Adam, Eve, Cain, and Babel vs. Abel, Enoch, Noah, and Job

What is obedience? (Deuteronomy 15:5) Obedience is simply doing what God commands. Bringing our lives/behavior/hearts in line with what God tells us to do.

Why are we to obey God? (John 14:15, 21, 23-24, 1 John 5:3) We do NOT obey God’s commands in order to get to Heaven or to balance out our sin. Our obedience shows that we are already saved because it springs from the love and gratitude in our hearts to Christ for saving us from our sin.

What can we learn about disobedience from…

Adam & Eve:
Flee from, don’t flirt with, temptation. (Genesis 3:1-5) Eve didn’t flee temptation, she stood around, had a conversation with it, and let it convince her.

Your disobedience doesn’t just affect you. (Genesis 3:6-24) Eve’s sin caused Adam to sin, which caused the whole world to sin for every successive generation. Your sin can have far reaching effects.

Cain:
Sin snowballs. (Genesis 4:1-16) First Cain disobeyed God’s parameters (not stated in Genesis) for offerings. The root sin of this was rejection of God’s authority. God didn’t have the right to tell Cain what to do, he’d do it his own way.

This led to anger (not grief, shame, or repentance at his disobedience—anger) at God for rejecting his offering. His anger was rooted in the sin of mischaracterizing God as unfair or wrong. Anger led to murder, then murder led to lying to God to cover it up.

God graciously warns us about disobedience. (Genesis 4:7) He’s such a good God, that just as He warned Cain of the consequences of disobedience, and that he needed to avoid temptation, God gives us a Bible full of examples of the dire consequences of disobedience, culminating in the death of Christ to pay the penalty for sin.

Babel:
We must obey God even if it’s hard, we don’t want to, or it doesn’t make sense to us. (Genesis 9:1,7; 11:1-9) After the flood, God told Noah’s family to spread out and fill the earth. 11:4- They wanted the exact opposite. They were supposed to bring glory to God’s name, but they wanted glory for themselves.

God is sovereign and will have His way despite our disobedience. (Genesis 11:8-9) Nothing, including our disobedience takes God by surprise or thwarts His plans.

What can we learn about obedience from…

Abel:
Obedience isn’t always a grand gesture. Obedience in the “small” things is just as important to God. (Genesis 4:1-16) If it weren’t for Cain’s disobedience, we probably wouldn’t know about Abel’s obedience. How many times that weren’t recorded had he obediently offered a sacrifice? Abel’s obedience is the true hero of this story, yet he’s little more than a bit player. He simply and quietly obeys God, and God “has regard” for his offering.

Faith in Christ and love for Him are what motivate obedience that is pleasing to God. (Hebrews 11:4) Not fear of punishment, not grudging legalism.

Enoch:
Obedience is to be a day by day, continual practice. (Genesis 5:22-24) “I’ll obey when I feel like it, when it’s convenient, etc.,” is totally foreign to God’s definition of obedience. In some stories we see special “big” acts of obedience, but in Enoch’s life we see a steady, daily walk with God. That is the type of story most Christians will live out.

God rewards obedience. (Genesis 5:24, Hebrews 11:5) Possibly materially, definitely spiritually.

Noah:
God requires our obedience even if everyone around us disobeys. (Genesis 6:5-8) Noah (and his family) was the only one on EARTH obeying God. Had he chosen a life of rebellion like the others, he would have died like the others.

The world will often respond negatively to our obedience. (Genesis 6:5, John 15:18) “…every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” That’s not a heart that loves and embraces the things of God. John 15:18: “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me [Jesus] before it hated you.” Just as the world hates God, so, when we display His truths in our lives, they will also hate us.

Job:
Obedience and faithfulness does not guarantee health, wealth, or smooth sailing. (Job 1:8-19) Job was the most blameless and upright guy on earth, according to God, and for God’s own purposes, not to punish Job for disobedience, He took away all the good things in his life.

We obey God even in the most difficult circumstances (Job 1:20-22) Even in times of extreme difficulty, we worship, we obey, we don’t charge God with wrong. Because God doesn’t owe us material goodies or positive circumstances as payment we earn with our obedience, neither can we “quit our job” of being obedient when tough times come. God may be trying to bless us with something even more valuable: knowing Him more closely, feeling His comfort, maturing, leading someone to Christ, taking us home to Heaven, etc.

We are only servants, called to obey a kind and loving Master (Luke 17:7-10; Matthew 25:23)

Bible, Sin, Sunday School, Types and Shadows, Women

Godly Womanhood – The Fall ~ Sunday School Lesson ~ 11-17-13

November 17, 2013April 5, 2019 Michelle Lesley

These are my notes from my ladies’ Sunday School class this morning. I’ll be posting the notes from my class here each week. Click here for last week’s lesson.

Godly Womanhood – The Fall
Genesis 3

3:1-6- Why did Satan approach the woman instead of the man?

1. 1 Peter 3:7

2. Eve was created after Genesis 2:16-17.

3. Women generally tend to be a little more believing about spiritual things than men.

4. Women generally have a greater appreciation for beauty.

5. Satan was playing on her God-given desire to help her husband.

3:6- What was Eve’s response to temptation?

1. She stepped out of her God-assigned role.

2. She believed something that was in conflict with God’s word and acted on it.

3. She failed to fulfill her God-assigned role of helper.

4. She used her power and influence to turn her husband the wrong way.