No Other Way

we're going to look to his word this morning this is another month and we start a new series today a series entitled you must be born again we're going to look at salvation and if our soul has found rest it's only because he has saved us because he has done it nothing else and so this first lesson i've entitled no other way because we're going to talk about the only way we get to heaven and that's through jesus christ and through the cross the things that happened on that cross amen good to see everyone in the house of the lord today we welcome you to bible class thankful for your faithfulness thankful to see some guests glad to have you with us man and we welcome you today happy stock pentecostal church if you're joining us online we're glad to have you listening in watching also romans chapter five i'm going to read a few verses there starting at verse 6. paul says for when ye were yet without strength in due time christ died for the ungodly for scarcely he said for a righteous man will one die yet prevent her or maybe for a good man some would even dare to die but here's god's love he commends his love toward us and while we were yet sinners christ died for us aren't you thankful for that when we didn't deserve it we were sinners we weren't anywhere near god but yet he said i'm gonna die for you much more than being now justified by his blood we shall be saved from wrath through him for if when we were enemies we were reconciled to god by the death of his son much more now that we're reconciled we shall be saved by his life and not only so but we also joy in god through our lord jesus christ by whom we have now received the atonement the covering the blood that covers up wherefore as by one man's sin entered into the world and death by sin so that death passed upon men for that all have sinned verse 19 says this for as by one man's disobedience talking about adam he

said many were made sinners so by the obedience of one talking about jesus shall many be made righteous read one verse from colossians chapter 2 and verse 14 paul says this about jesus he said he was blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us which was contrary to us that was against us which was contrary to us and he took it out of the way nailing it to his cross man no one likes to think of themselves as a sinner it's not something there are some people that are proud of it i've had people yeah i'm a center and i'm you know i'm doing what i want to do but most of us feel like we're pretty good people and a lot of us are in a lot of ways hopefully in a whole lot of ways but but here's the thing when we think of somebody that's a good person we we compare them to others around them right well they're good they're they're a good neighbor they're a good friend they're always a good listener and and that is a good thing but ultimately when we look at it from a biblical standpoint there's only one standard and that is god himself and none of us can say well i'm that good you might think you are but we're not right and many of the world's philosophies the religions and those kind of things they see man as inherently good they look and say you know what there's just some goodness in there and and we should be able to rise up to a level of perfection just by our own efforts you know if i work hard enough at it if i i know what i need to do and if i just work hard enough i can just reach another level until finally you know i can just live this life and maybe move out to a mountain somewhere and just live in perfection all by myself let people walk up the mountain to hear how i did it i don't know only christianity really looks or maybe judeo-christian religions look at man and realize his nature is corrupt because of sin the world doesn't like that idea it

doesn't sit well that's why they don't like christians and from the first chapters of the bible we read of the fall of mankind from that perfection that god created him in in the image of god and we see it marred by sin but i'm thankful christianity not only informs us of our sinful nature but here's what it does that nothing else does it provides the solution it says you don't have to stay that way and it points us to the cross of jesus christ and so this lesson is going to establish first off hopefully our need for a savior and then point us to jesus who is the only answer to our sin without the narrative of the fall really there would be no need for redemption i've told other people this particularly people that minister the word of the lord we have to and even though we don't like it we have to preach against sin because you see if there is no sin there's no need for a savior if we don't point out that you need a savior then people say well what do i need that for you know there's one thing we can approach it to say this is the greatest thing in the world and you ought to have it well i got some pretty good stuff and i like what i'm doing or you can say you're living in sin and the only way to remedy that is through jesus christ and so without that narrative of the fall there is no need for redemption and how we view human nature either as inherently bad or inherently naturally good will determine really everything we do and everything we see in our lives and in the lives of others and indeed those who find man inherently good they never look to jesus as a redeemer because they figure they don't need him and so as we look through this story of the fall and what happens there we we need to seek to understand this carnal nature that we've all inherited that if we're not careful will lead us down a path of destruction now it's a well-known fact that any step to recovery

is first to understand the failure or the addiction right can't recover if you don't think you're addicted or you don't think it's a problem or so you don't worry about it but by identifying that addiction or that failure or whatever it is then we can say okay now what do i have to do to correct it and so by identifying our carnal nature we begin to see that we have a need for redemption and regeneration and that and we'll also see why the cross is the perfect solution to our dilemma now most of us could probably recite the story of adam and eve i'm not going to go into a lot of detail about the story other than read it from the bible but they were created in god's image we know and they were given authority over all of creation or all the other creatures in the earth and they were placed in the garden of paradise in eden and genesis 2 15 says this and the lord god took the man and he put him in the garden of eden to dress it and to keep it so that was the job he had and the lord commanded the man saying of every tree of the garden you may freely eat but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it from the day that you eat of it thou shalt surely die now the bible doesn't tell us the time span between genesis chapter 2 where this verse falls in genesis chapter three when they were in the god we don't know how long that is but what we do know is the very next story we read the serpent enters the garden and begins to tempt eve and in genesis 3 1 it says this now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the lord god had made he said to the woman hey did god really say that you shall not eat of every tree of the garden did he did he's not say that and the woman said unto him we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden but of the garden the fruit of the tree which is in the midst god hath said you shall not eat it neither

shall you touch it lest you die and the serpent said to the woman yeah you shall not surely die god knows that in the day that you eat thereof your eyes are going to be open and ye shall be as gods knowing good and evil and when the woman saw the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree to be desired to make one wise she took of the fruit thereof and did eat and gave also to her husband with her and he did eat and it was that act of disobedience that brought sin into the world of mankind and so i know we talk about that and we we go through that story and that's i said maybe another lesson will really delve into it a lot deeper but but the point is this is where sin enters in the world it was a direct disobedience to a command that god gave him and so let's begin here to look at some of the implications of this saga more than just being sinners adam and eve represent to us two different ways that people commit sin some do it by choice and some do it by a mistake or a bad decision the bible says this in first timothy 2 14 talking about that it says adam was not deceived the woman being deceived was in transgression you see eve was deceived satan told her one thing god told her once she had to weigh it and say well okay what what am i going to believe yeah this sounds good maybe maybe god's wrong or maybe he's hiding and so she she was deceived into that on the other hand adam was defiant he was fully aware of his sin he had received a command directly from god in fact when when god questioned him and in genesis 3 12 he says this the woman whom you gave to be with me she gave me of the tree and i did eat notice he didn't say i was deceived i didn't realize what was going on it was a mistake i really didn't mean to he said she did it she gave it to him and you know what i partook of it defiance he doesn't pretend to be deceived he made a willful

choice to eat the fruit that he offered her now whatever was going through his mind or whatever he's thinking or why he did it we don't know but the bottom line was he made a choice to partake and there is no discussion and deception there as there of deception as there it was with eve you see a rebellious spirit will choose to do what it wants without the commandments of god you'll hear songs about that out in the world you know i'm gonna well i don't i don't know them because i don't listen to them but i hear people talk about them you know something about it being five o'clock somewhere which is wrong it's 10 20 right now 10 18 so it's 5 18 maybe somewhere but it's not 5 o'clock just as an excuse to drink right or something like that willful sin is a direct affront to god and any time you just make a choice and say i'm going to do it because that's what i want to do that's a transgression it is a willful sin and that's what that's what adam found himself doing the writer of hebrews helps us understand the gravity of a willful sin he said if we sin willfully willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth there remains no more sacrifice for sins but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries that's some pretty stark words there isn't it some pretty strong thing if you will after you've received the knowledge so god said don't partake of the tree and adam so i'm gonna do it anyway well there remains nothing else but judgment and fire indignation god's gonna get mad you messed up you chose to do what you wanted to do in fact you say well what about that god's a god of love right he goes on to say a little bit later in that same passage for we know him that hath said vengeance belongs to me i will recompense saith the lord and again the lord shall judge his people and the writer says this it is a fearful

thing to fall into the hands of the living god well i don't want to hear about a god like that i just want to hear he says love everybody and love you and he and you know he's going to love us all and yes he does and he's provided a way out of your sin but the point is if you continually say i don't care what you say to me i'm gonna live the way he has no choice but to say then i have no choice but to judge your actions and so that's one way people sin the other is deception on the other hand and and i think this is really the more dangerous one for many of us i don't think a whole lot of people are here sitting here plotting your next sin i think when i leave here i'm going to go do this and you know i'm going to go shoot that person i'm going to go rape that person i'm going to go do this i'm going to do we think of terrible things that could happen when we sit there and and figure it out but more often than not it is deception because it feeds on the side of human nature and it requires discipline and development and discernment and seeking god and keeping in tune with god the lord said unto the woman what is this that you have done and her answer was the serpent beguiled or the serpent deceived me he lied to me he told me something and i did eat of it deception is comparable to seduction and it's it's often subtle it's something that we don't necessarily catch it immediately and paul warned us he said don't be deceived in descending he says it this way fornication and uncleanliness and covetousness let it not be once named among you as become saints neither filthiness or foolish talking jesting which are not convenient but rather the given of thanks for this ye know that no whoremonger no unclean person no covetous man who is an idolater hath any inheritance in the kingdom of christ and of god but then he says this let no man deceive you with vain or empty words for

because of these things cometh the wrath of god upon the children of disobedience and just as satan used vain words or empty words or lies to deceive eve he will use those same things to us today let me explain what i'm talking about here and how he does it you see the world often seeks to change a discussion by changing the terms you hear this a lot in in politics you know if we can just change the way we say it then it won't sound so bad it'll it'll be a little bit easier to get something through we're not just just change the discussion a little bit and so what the world calls an affair or an alternative lifestyle the bible says that's all fornication and that's uncleanliness change the terms it's not so bad right what some call well it's just an abortion god says no it's murder paul says don't be deceived about that and one thing is clear here though about both defiance and deception both require repentance of sin in order to achieve a forgiveness and restoration so we see here how men fall and here are some of the results adam and eve's disobedience had some dire consequences for them and for all of humankind let's look at just some of those first off sin cause and this is probably the most important thing a break in adam's fellowship with god the god that would come down in the cool of the day and meet with adam and talk to him and to commune with adam and eve in a relationship that god created and that god desired and and that was good for man suddenly stops because of sin the old song you say it this way sin can never enter there where into the presence of god into the presence of god god's holiness cannot allow sin to come in to his presence and they heard the voice of the lord god walking in the cool of the day and adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of god and god calls on them adam where are you that's the worst part of adam's fall is that wedge

that it drove between him and god and to take it just to the to the logical conclusion since we also have inherited adam's sinful nature and because we are born in sin and shape and iniquity that drives a wedge between ourself and god he is always standing at the door and knocking but there is a proper way and that for that fellowship to be restored we've got to open our hearts to him and we've got to allow him to change our hearts so the first thing of the fall is sin enters the world and it puts a wedge between us and god a barrier there the second thing is being aware of evil sometimes becomes our biggest problem doesn't it just being aware that evil is out there what did satan promise you'll know good and evil you know when we know what evil is the depraved human nature causes us to be drawn to what is wrong like a magnet tell any kid don't touch that don't do that what are they going to do tell any adult stay away from that what are they going to do they're no different we blame it on kids right the surest way to get someone not to do something is to tell them they can't don't tell anybody i said this hey don't tell anybody because i'd say you know i'm not supposed to say anything but that hits home with a lot of us doesn't it the surest way to get you not to do something just say you can't do that in some ways when we say you know what if you're a christian you don't need to be going here and you don't need to do that immediately just something in our spirit revise it you're not gonna tell me i can't do that you know what that is that's god speaking no no no that's your carnal nature well if you tell me i can't then i'm gonna wonder why can't i do it and what's what's the big deal about this adam and eve were drawn what to the only tree that god said don't touch you imagine everything else in its beautiful garden and everything else you can have it and oh man look

at that apple look at that orange look at this it all looks so good and it's just so pristine but look at that tree man why can't we have that one well this looks pretty good but look at that one it's our nature they didn't fence it off they didn't put it out of their minds and it's no secret that we will eventually succumb to the thoughts that we allow to captivate our minds that's why the bible says bring into captivity every thought if you're constantly thinking about boy i'd just love to go do this but i know i can't you continually dwell on that and dwell on that guess what eventually something's going to click something's going to happen the devil's going to put it there over and over because he knows that's what you're thinking about the writer of hebrews talks about all the hebrew heroes of faith in hebrews 15 and 11 15 and here's what he said and truly if they had been mindful of the country from once they came out of they might have had an opportunity to have returned in other words if that's what they were always thinking of mindful of the country it's kind of like israel leaving egypt oh man i sure missed the leaks and the onions i sure missed what we had back there and all we have here is something god's providing us and they wanted it and some of them said let's go back come on you come with us god had to open up the earth and swallow them up what we dwell on what we think on what we allow this carnal mind to follow after in a similar fashion people today justify them themselves for drawing near to things that god has forbidden they rationalize exposure to sin until the next logical step is to partake of it themselves you know i don't go to a place that i know is a sinful environment and it's all they're doing is there to say well that's okay i can enjoy this and not sin so what that everybody around me is why tempt your flesh you're not tempting god you're

tempting yourself why put yourself in those kind of positions we could build fences we can say don't we can do this we can do that but it really comes down to why do i want to be around sin if i'm living holy and i've got his holy spirit in my life why am i attracted to that paul instructed us he said abhor that which is evil and cleave to the things that are good and he told timothy flee also those useful youthful lust stay away from them the first curse came to the serpent but it had lasting implications for mankind and here's what it was he looked at the serpent he said i'm going to put enmity between thee and the woman in other words i'm going to make you enemies there's going to be war from now on between you and mankind it's going to be a struggle and so the struggle we have is a direct result of sin and of the curse god said i'm going to put the enmity there between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent and peter reminds us he said be sober be vigilant be on guard be looking for it because your adversary the devil he's a roaring lion he's walking about seeking whom he may devour oh no i don't worry about him anymore you better i don't think you got to be afraid of him but you better be on look you better because he deceives and it's so easy to get drawn away i'm warning us today by this carnal nature not only that but humans are the only creatures in the whole universe who took the blessing of god they corrupted it and caused it and changed it into a curse unto the woman he said i will greatly multiply thy sorrow in thy conception and in sorrow shall that bring forth children eve's destiny when she was created was to bring forth children and god cursed her with an impediment in the very process of what she was supposed to do eve could have happily helped populate the earth with joy and exuberance and everything instead she swapped it for excruciating

pain and fulfilling her destiny of motherhood originally adam's life was blessed with an easy as god said all you got to do is just dress and keep the garden and now he says because you did that he said the ground shall thou shalt not eat of it cursed is the ground for thy sake and in sorrow you're going to eat all the days of your life thorns and thistles will it bring forth and you shall eat of the herb of the field and then the sweat of thy face and thou shalt eat bread till you return to the ground for i took you out of it and you're going back why all you got to do is take care of this garden but now that they're sin you're going to work and you're going to sweat and you're going to do this and you're going to do that what a contrast from the life that god provided through creation you see we have inherited adam's nature although we may not understand it you might say well this isn't fair the bible says this wherefore as by one man centered into the world sin entered into the world and death by sin and so death passed to all men for all have sin 5 19 said for as by one man's disobedience many were made what sinners said we don't like that term the word of god teaches us that sin dwells within the carnal nature in fact it said it is the law that is followed by our carnal nature and while god did not create us as sinful he did create us with the ability to give ourselves to sin to make those choices and while we were created with a capacity originally for purity and righteousness through adam we chose a lower value system and the polluted nature of mankind has earned him much more than he ever possessed remember what we said the devil promised you're going to know good and evil think about it adam knew good he knew god and god said everything i created what did he say it is good and he got done and he said it is very good adam knew what was good so what was the devil

really often guess what if you follow me you'll get to know what evil is we can now sin we can feel sick and sorrow catch sickness we can feel the conscience we can create social conflict and rebellion we can have wars and rumors of wars we can experience pain and bondage and self and all of that because he said i want to know what evil is what a bargain satan offered mankind without god the bible teaches us is totally depraved i'm not saying you're all wild animals are going to go out and destroy everything but what i'm saying is we have this carnal nature that leans towards sin the bible says this way we are all as an unclean thing in all of our righteousnesses everything we do to be good he said it is as filthy rags even our good is is never up to as we said god's standard may be good in man's eyes but it never reaches there not only does the unregenerate man tend towards sin the bible says he even invents new ways to evil the carnal nature just has this propensity to sin our nature is literally hellbent if you will on sinning following in the sinful footsteps of adam all of mankind quickly degenerated in just a few chapters later in genesis 6 it said god saw the wickedness a man was great that every imagination of the thoughts and of his heart was on evil continually why because of this carnal nature you say well that was old testament that was before the flood here's what paul said in romans chapter 8. he said for they that are after the flesh in other words you're not following god you're doing things your own way he said you will mind the things of the flesh and they that are after the spirit if you're following after the spirit you will mind the things of the spirit and then he said this for to be carnally minded is death but to be spiritually minded is life and peace because the carnal mind its enmity there is that word again it's an enemy if you will against god

and he said that carnal mind without regeneration without god touching us he said it is not subject to the law of god neither indeed can be that's some harsh words no wonder people don't like christianity when they look at it and they want to do what they they want to do you're telling me i'm i'm at war with god and i can't be subject to god i can't be and then he says this so then they that are in the flesh cannot please god you're trying to do it on your own or when you're not following after the spirit are you spiritually minded or are we carnally minded before we look at the solution to man's sinfulness let's do a little recap let's nail this down most of the world's religions do not address sin the buddhists don't the hindus don't doesn't do not address sin sin is not a popular subject many religions see mankind as the highest being and they can ascend to higher and higher levels of existence until eventually they become god maybe it's reincarnation maybe it's through whatever reformation whatever but they they view sin not as a affront to god but they say well it's because i miss the mark on what i should be and so i'm gonna do better next time and i'm gonna hit the mark next time so sin is just not quite reaching my potential if you will even some christian religions fail to grasp the idea of man's sinfulness even teaching ultimately we're all going to be saved anyway he's all he's going to take had somebody once tell me you know i can god loves me so much i can live any way i want to do whatever i want and he loves me so much i'll go into heaven to be with him not sure what scripture you found that in if i do good enough there's a christian religions that believe that if we can transform society enough that it will usher in the millennial period we'll just get the right laws in place and put the right people in here you're not going to do it man is sinful without

god those that have no god the secular humanist that only believes in them they can't accept that man is sinful they see man is basically good they feel through proper education and training and doing the right things we can reach a utopia and so we see a proliferation of self-help materials and programs that don't admit inherent evil or sinfulness but only well you made some bad choices in your life if you make the right ones everything's going to be okay we'll reform you and since the world does not believe in sin it has no remedy to sin it may try to remedy here's what they do they try to remedy the consequences of sin but they don't eradicate the sin because they don't believe in it and start contrast the bible makes it clear that we are sinners for we all the bible says have sinned and we've come short not of what your neighbor does but of the glory of god that's the yardstick adam's sin was passed upon us because we inherited his sinful nature wherefore as by one man's sin entered the world death passed it passed all men for all have sinned in the old testament that sin was just pushed ahead right annually an atonement of sins for offering but the sins were never removed there was still a debt to be paid you see there is a debt to pay for sin the wages of sin is death the writer of hebrews said almost all things are by the law purged with blood and without the shedding of blood there is no remission and the law it was a shadow of things it wasn't the very image it could never he said with the sacrifices which they offered year by year by ear make the comers perfect it didn't do it that sin could only be satisfied by an offering of the perfect sinless sacrifice it was not possible the writer said that the blood of bulls and goats should take away his sin and no man could fill the requirements because of his inherent sinful nature but i'm thankful god had a plan from

the very beginning and that plan was jesus christ i said that plan was jesus christ let's talk about that for a little bit and here's really where we're at this is the no other way jesus lived a perfect life it was a life without sin let's just explain that and set this foundation a little bit his birth was miraculous it was caused by the over shattering of mary by the holy ghost right the holy ghost will come upon you you shall conceive in your room it was prophesied by men it was proclaimed by angels and and the bible lets us know that jesus was born of the seed of a woman it's an interesting phrase there because that seed of a woman he did not inherit in other words adam's sinful nature when you read about everybody in fact the new testament while they're arguing with the jesus and they said well we are abraham's seed they would point back and say he's where we come from and so the seed is always passed through the man but in this phrase in genesis this verse in 315 it said the seed of the woman what is he talking about there he's talking about jesus christ it breaks that sinful bloodline jesus is not in that way he was not born in sin as david was in shape and iniquity he had no sin you see all of mankind comes from the sinful seed of adam we won't go back and revisit this but we remember a couple months ago when we first started we talked about the image of god the book of the generations of adam the day that god created man he made him in his likeness made him in his image and then it said and adam lived 130 years he begat a son in his own likeness and after his image not god's atoms because it had been corrupted by sin we won't go back to that lesson today but you can remember that because here's what it what we're saying that is adam's bloodline and that is what we are all a part of but jesus came from the seed of the woman jesus did not have to say i was shapen

and iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me he was sinless by his very nature but not only that he was sinless by his life as a child the bible said he increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with god and man and contrary to what some might think jesus did not commit sin there were no affairs with mary magdalene as some modern people want to put out there was no relationship with john the baptist john the apostle disciple as the world would see it today he did no sin and at jesus baptism john could cry out this behold the lamb of god which taketh away the sin of the world you know when they brought their lamb to be sacrificed at the passover for the sin the priests that were going to offer that would stop and they would look that lamb over they would turn it upside down they'd look this way pull back look behind they would look and make sure there was going to be no blemishes on that lamb because if there was we're not sacrificing it and when john sees jesus he said there's the lamb there's no sin there's no guile there's nothing in him he understood that sacrificial lamb must be without blemish and he ascribes it to jesus well that's john's opinion well let's go on and lo a voice from heaven said this is my beloved son in whom i am well pleased from the beginning of his ministry the bible says jesus was full of the holy ghost we sometimes read of the temptations of jesus in matthew and we think well okay he was tempted to jump off the temple he was tempted to turn stones into bread and he was tempted to bow down to satan and receive the kingdoms of the world those those are far off that's not like what we're tempted with the writer of hebrews said he can be touched because he was in all points tempted just like we are yet without sin what a purity of life we get the experience of having our sins forgiven and remitted and it's a wonderful experience when we repent

and be baptized and what a wonderful feeling is when all those sins are washed away and we realize there's no condemnation any longer how much greater a life jesus lived to have never had that burden in the first place to never had to lay his head on a pillow at night and say god i hope you don't come hope this doesn't happen i hope it don't die because i know i'm not right what a wonderful savior the song says he is that pure spotless holy lamb of god and it's hard for us to conceive what it would be like to have never known the weight of sin and it's difficult to understand the depth of jesus communion with his father he said so close that he said i and my father we are one so perfectly he followed he said i don't do anything of myself it's whatever he directs me to do is it any wonder that calvary looms so dark on the horizon of jesus life when you think of calvary there are many things about the cross that could have caused jesus flesh to recoil to think about the mockery the betrayal peter's denial the rest of the disciples all turning and fleeing that had to weigh heavily on jesus mind knowing it was coming up and then the thought of being beaten until his back was in shreds and the crown of thorns being pressed into his head and the spittle running down his face and the nails that were getting driven in his hands and feet and his garment stripped off and while he's hanging there watch them gambling away for his garment and when he says i'm thirsty knowing that gall and vinegar is all he's gonna get the roughness of the cross tearing on his torn back but as bad as all that was i don't think that was the worst thing on jesus mind mark records this he taketh with him peter and james and john this is into the garden of gethsemane he began to be sore amazed and very heavy and he said my soul is exceeding he's sorrowful unto death terry here and watch those words sore

amaze literally mean to throw into terror or amazement to alarm thoroughly to terrify and as jesus thought about what was about to take place he was terrified and i don't think it was the physical things that he was going to endure so much because he said don't fear them that kill the body but are not able to kill kill the soul the real terror was the cup that he was gonna have to drink no wonder he cried abba father all things are possible if possible take this cup from me nevertheless not what i will but what thou wilt the perfect lamb of god who had never tasted the dregs of sin and never experienced it was not born with it knew nothing about what it was like to be sinful was going to drink the cup of sins of the whole world that's what terrified jesus not nails sin and as he hung silently on the cross and refused the cup of gall and the cup of vinegar he picked up the cup of sin and he drank every last drop your sin my sin the sins of thousands of years of past failures and 2 000 years of mistakes that had not yet happened and as it passed through his lips and contaminated that body that knew no sin he said eli eli sabach my that is to say my god my god why hast thou forsaken me for the first time in his life he suddenly knew what it was like to feel sin and not the presence of god he who from birth had known nothing but the presence of god now i knew what it felt to have that separation from the holy presence that was the terror of the cross the forsaking of god because of sin the bible says this and the lord hath laid upon him the iniquity and that word means the perversity or the depravity of us all that word literally that he laid him on it literally mean it all came to meet right there from every direction it means to rush upon it just rushed upon him all the sins right there on jesus christ we are born in sin and as such we know nothing of its oppression from

the moment we're born in concept jesus with no knowledge yet all of our sins were laid on him paul takes it even one step farther he said for he made him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of god in him the one that knew no sin became sin so that you and i could be righteous i could not paint sin black enough in the first half of this lesson i probably could have said a lot more and in the second half i can't describe jesus as pure enough maybe that's how isaiah felt when he wrote come now let us reason together sayeth the lord though your sins be a scarlet something so noticeable and so he said here's what's the promises they shall be white as snow though they be red like crimson they're going to be as white as wool or perhaps that's the words paul thought when he said he's going to blot out the writing of ordinances he's going to nail it to his cross or maybe the words of peter when he wrote for as much as ye know you were not redeemed with corruptable things they didn't do it with silver or gold from your vain conversation your empty lifestyle received by tradition from your fathers but it was the precious blood of christ as the lamb without blemish and without spot can i tell you there's no other way there's no other way and if this lesson accomplishes anything this morning i pray that it's this that if you need a savior do what the writer of hebrews says look unto jesus he's the author and he's the finisher of your faith who for the joy that was set before him he endured the cross and he despised the shame and he sat down at the right hand of the throne of god let's stand and i'll quit but just think for a moment not necessarily of the sins of the whole world because we know the world is sinful but think of your own life and then think of what he did for you why don't you just lift a hand right now and begin to thank him for the

cross and if you don't know jesus why don't you reach out to him in this last minute of class in jesus name thankful to know god the sacrifice of the lamb of god the pure and holy one that took upon my sin every sin everything i've ever committed every thought everything that was lord you did it and you gave yourself for me and we give you thanks we give you thanks hallelujah you