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The cross of Christ is lifted up between heaven and earth.
Here comes the Father and the
whole train of holy angels; and as they approach the cross, the
Father bows and the sacrifice is accepted.
Then comes man, with his
burden of sin, to the cross.
It is at the cross that Christ takes the burden of sin and
rolls it away. Here mercy and
truth have met together and righteousness and peace have kissed each
other. And Christ says, "I,
if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me."
As the sinner
falls at the foot of the cross, he begins to marvel, and is abased.
What is the reason for this?
Why, he sees that there is a
transgressed law, and that man cannot keep it, but he sees Christ,
and with hope and faith he grasps the arm of infinite power and
repents at every step.
The knowledge of the law would condemn the sinner, and crush
hope from his breast, if he did not see Jesus as his substitute and
surety, ready to pardon his transgression and to cleanse him from
all sin.
1.
What is the Bible definition
for sin?
1 John 3:4
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2.
What happened to sin through
the commandment?
Romans 7:13
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Note:
This text shows the purpose
of the law was not the creation of sin, but the discovery of sin.
It was not designed to increase the amount of sin, but to
reveal the exceeding sinfulness of sin already existing.
3.
What is the law considered to
be?
Romans 7:14
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Note:
If this fact were more
generally recognized, people would not try to enforce the observance
of the commandments of God. Since the law is spiritual, it can be
obeyed only by the power of the Spirit of God. "God is Spirit" (John
4:24); therefore the law is the nature of God. Spiritual is opposed
to carnal, or fleshly. So the man who is in the flesh can not please
God.
4.
How many sins does it take to
separate us from God?
Genesis 3:6, 7
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Note:
The gospel demands holiness, righteousness.
Whoever is looking for the soon return of Jesus purifies
himself even as Christ is pure.
We are called to live a life in Christ.
It only took one sin to
exclude Adam and Eve from the garden.
5.
Why does the law bring us to
Christ?
Galatians 3:24
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Note:
To be justified means to be
pardoned. Those who are
justified by God receive the righteousness of Christ; for the Savior
has taken away their sins. They
stand before the throne of God justified and accepted.
They have crucified self, and
Christ abides in their hearts.
6.
Who has the right to eat from
the tree of life?
Revelation 22:14
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Note:
Those who are of faith are keepers of the law and those who
are of faith are blessed.
It is through the Gospel that we become doers of the law, not
by doing, but by believing. It
is by believing (receiving) the "exceedingly great and precious
promises," that we become partakers of the Divine nature, then all
our works are done in Christ.
7.
Why was the old man crucified
with Christ on the cross?
Romans 6:6
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Note:
That which is destroyed is the body of sin, and it is
destroyed only by this personal presence of the life of Christ.
It is destroyed in order that we may be freed from its power,
and may no longer need to serve it.
It is destroyed for everybody, for Christ in His own flesh
has abolished "the enmity," the carnal mind; not His own, for He had
none, but ours.
8.
What did Christ become for
us?
2 Corinthians 5:21
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9.
What will be fulfilled in us
as a result of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross?
Romans
8:3, 4 ____________________________________________________
10.
How is the born again
experience to be maintained?
1 John 3:6
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Note:
No one abides in Christ,
who understandingly breaks the law of God.
“He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just
as He walked.” 1 John
2:6
11.
What keeps the born again
Christian from his old life of sin?
1 John 3:9
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Note:
Therefore “abide in Him.”
12.
What is Christ’s invitation?
Revelation 3:20
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Many have an idea that they must do some part of the work alone.
They have trusted in Christ for the forgiveness of sin, but
now they try by their own efforts to do what is right.
But every effort like this
will fail. Jesus says, "Without me ye can do nothing." Our
growth in grace, our joy, our usefulness--all depend upon our
abiding in Christ. It is by
abiding in Him--that we grow in grace.
But, I ask, "How am I
supposed to abide in Christ?"--The same way I received Him at first.
"As
ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him"
(Col. 2:6). You gave
yourself to God, to be His totally, to serve and obey Him, and you
took Christ as your Savior. You
could not of yourself atone for your sins or change your heart, but
having given yourself to God, you believed that He for Christ's sake
did all this for you. By
faith you became Christ's, and by faith you are to grow up in
Him--by giving and taking. You
are to give all --your heart, your will, your service--give yourself
to Him to obey all His requirements; and you must take all--Christ,
the fullness of all blessing, to abide in your heart, to be your
strength, your righteousness, your everlasting helper--to give you
power to obey.
Your weakness is united to His strength, your
ignorance to His wisdom, your frailty to His enduring might.
So you are not to look to
yourself, not to let the mind dwell upon self, but look to Christ.
Let the mind dwell upon His
love, upon the beauty, the perfection, of His character.
Christ in His self-denial,
Christ in His humiliation, Christ in His purity and holiness, Christ
in His matchless love--this is the subject for the soul's
contemplation. It is by
loving Him, copying Him, depending entirely upon Him, that you are
to be transformed into His likeness.
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