MAKING MY CHOICES HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT. A Life Governed by the Holy Spirit. by David Robinson. Lesson 8-October 21, 2018 Martha s Choice/Mary s Choice

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HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT MAKING MY CHOICES A Life Governed by the Holy Spirit by David Robinson 03 07 11 15 19 23 27 Lesson 1-September 2, 2018 Adam s Choice Lesson 2-September 9, 2018 Abraham s Choice

1 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT MAKING MY CHOICES A Life Governed by the Holy Spirit by David Robinson Lesson 1-September 2, 2018 Adam s Choice Lesson 2-September 9, 2018 Abraham s Choice Lesson 3-September 16, 2018 Moses Choice Lesson 4-September 23, 2018 Joshua s Choice Lesson 5-September 30, 2018 Vashti s Choice Lesson 6-October 7, 2018 Jonah s Choice Lesson 7-October 14, 2018 Daniel s Choice Lesson 8-October 21, 2018 Martha s Choice/Mary s Choice Lesson 9-October 28, 2018 Peter s Choice Lesson 10-November 4, 2018 Jesus Choice Lesson 11-November 11, 2018 Barnabas Choice Lesson 12-November 18, 2018 Paul s Choice Lesson 13-November 25, 2018 Your Choice Volume 18, No. 4, Fall Quarter, 2018 Editor in Chief: Kyle Elkins, kyle.elkins@bogardstore.org Business Manager: Wayne Sewell, wayne.sewell@bogardstore.org 2018, Bogard Press, 4605 N. State Line Ave. Texarkana, TX

September 2, 2018 Lesson 1 ADAM S CHOICE Scripture: Genesis 3:6; Romans 5:12-14 Aim: By the end of the lesson I will discuss the consequences of Adam s choice to sin.

God has given each of us the power of choice. Perhaps other creatures have this power to a limited extent, but mankind has it supremely.

2 September 2, 2018 Lesson 1 ADAM S CHOICE Scripture: Genesis 3:6; Romans 5:12-14 Aim: By the end of the lesson I will discuss the consequences of Adam s choice to sin. Today we begin a study about making choices. We will be looking at good choices and bad choices and learning how to make our choices within the will of God. God has given each of us the power of choice. Perhaps other creatures have this power to a limited extent, but mankind has it supremely. This ability, as much as any other, sets us apart from all other beings. Choice is the essence of intelligence and wisdom. It is the determiner for our future. What we are today is the product of the choices we have made in the past, and our future will depend on the choices we make today. The really sobering point here is that we must live with the choices we make. We all enjoy reaping the benefits of wise choices, but we must also live with the consequences of foolish choices. Often these consequences will involve others who themselves had no part in our particular choices. As you study these Bible lessons about making choices, take a look at your own life and the choices you are making. Will they get you where you want to go? We will see many Bible characters who made choices, some of them good and some of them bad. Evaluate these examples and consider how your choices can change you and the world around you. TAKING A CLOSER LOOK God created mankind and placed Adam and Eve in a sinless paradise. They must have had a wonderful life together. We can only imagine what it would be like to live in a world without sin, but that world still had rules. God told them that they could eat from every tree in the garden but one. The tree of knowledge of good and evil was off-limits. This seems like a simple enough rule to understand. Adam and Eve could eat from every other tree in the garden, and there is no indication they were ever hungry, but there was one tree they were told to avoid. 3

3 We learn in Romans 5:19 that this was a matter of obedience. God had set some limits on living and Adam and Eve were commanded to respect and to obey those limitations. The rules were not difficult to keep and there was nothing to be gained by breaking them; yet, in spite of this, both Adam and Eve made a choice to sin. Sin is always a matter of disobedience. In fact, this is one definition of sin. We know what we should do, but we don t do it. We choose another course of action and violate the rules God has given us. This is what Adam did and this was the way sin entered the world. Deception. When we read the account in Genesis and the commentary in 1 Timothy 2:14, we see that Eve was deceived by the serpent. This is not an excuse; it is an explanation. Eve was deceived, but Adam s choice was deliberate. Eve s choice was based on the false and misleading information supplied by the serpent. On the other hand, Adam knew exactly what he was doing when he chose to disobey God. The really important thing to consider here is that the consequences of the choice are seldom determined by the circumstances of the choice. Both Adam and Eve broke the simple commandment God had given. The consequences of that sin would fall on them and on their posterity, regardless of why they did what they did. Consequence. Adam deliberately chose to disobey God and eat of the fruit. He later tried to blame his choice on his wife. Eve then blamed the whole situation on the serpent. To some extent all were at fault, but knowing whom to blame will not erase the consequences of choice. This single choice plunged the world into sin. This choice was the doorway that allowed sin to enter into the physical creation. It was by one man and by one choice that all men and the whole world became touched by sin. Satan works hard at trying to conceal sin. We think up fancy and appealing names for it, but sin is still the operating principle of the world. There are two different views of the world, and how you live will depend on which one you take. Many people look at humanity as basically good. We may do some bad things occasionally, but basically, in our hearts we are good people. With education and training we could learn to be even better people and evil could be eliminated. This is a totally false view of humanity. The Bible plainly teaches that men are sinners. We are basically evil people. We may occasionally do good things, but our hearts are sinful. We need salvation, not education, to change us. When we realize that all men are sinners, we can begin to deal realistically with our problems. As long as we do not even admit that the problem of sin exists, we will never find a solution. 4

4 Adam sinned when he disobeyed God, and by him sin entered into the world. The consequence of sin is death. When sin came into the world, death came with it. Sin is a matter of human nature and so is death. Even those who have not sinned in the same way that Adam sinned will die. It is staggering to realize that every man, woman or child who has died in the history of the world has died because of the consequence of Adam s choice to disobey God. Sin does indeed have a serious consequence. Hope in a bad situation. If this all ended here, it would be a story of disaster for humanity, but it does not end here. Adam made a choice to disobey God and sin entered the world; however, Jesus would make a decision to obey God, and through Jesus Christ the remedy for sin would come. His decision to obey brought life where Adam s choice brought death. There is an important difference in the two decisions. Adam s choice brought death, even on those who had not made the same choice. In fact, it brought death on those who had made no choice at all. We do not get to repeat Adam s choice. We are sinners by our nature. The nature to sin entered Adam and has been passed down to every human being ever born, but the nature of Jesus is not imparted to us automatically. The nature of Jesus comes into our hearts through birth, but it is not our natural birth. It is through a process that Jesus called being born again (John 3:3-6). This is spiritual birth. It is available to everyone, but it comes through a deliberate choice to trust Christ and accept Him as our personal Savior. Because of Adam s choice, we do not have to do anything to be sinners. Because of the choice that Jesus made, we can be saved. To be saved, we have to repent of our sins and place our personal faith in Jesus Christ. When we do this, there is born in us a new, spiritual nature. This spiritual nature will not sin; indeed, it cannot sin. Eventually, it will be the controlling force in our new lives. In the resurrection we will get a new body to house the new nature, and the immortal spirit that lives in those who are saved will be united with an eternal body. PERSPECTIVES Have you ever heard anyone say, This is my business. What I do doesn t concern you. This is often our attitude, and we are often totally wrong about it. Your choices will have consequences. Perhaps they will only have consequences for you, but it is more likely that other people will be involved in the things that you choose. There are unforeseen consequences to any choice we might make. This happens all the time. When we make choices, we try our best to look ahead and see all the things that might happen; however, after the decision is made, we find out that things have happened that we could not even imagine. 5

5 There is one safe path to take. When we do as God teaches us, we can always be certain that things will be best for us and for all those in our lives. The way of the Lord is always the best way. God will do His best to see to it that we live a rewarding and fruitful life. This is the intent of the teachings of the Bible and the leadership of the Holy Spirit. When we step out in our own strength and use our limited wisdom and resources to solve a problem, we are likely to make bad choices. In fact, when we disregard the teachings of God, we have already made a bad choice. BUILDING BLOCKS Adam s choice was unique in all history. No one else will ever make a choice like his. Yet, the truth is that we are no different. We would make the same choice that Adam made. We are not only sinners by our nature, but we are also sinners by our own choice. We know right from wrong. We know we should do right, but we choose to do wrong even when we know there will be a harmful consequence to our sin. This begins in us the same way it began in Adam. We disobey, or set aside, the things God has said to us and the things the Bible teaches and we do what we want. We disobey and we suffer for it. If we can learn to obey the Word of God and walk in the will of God, we can make wise choices that will have wonderful and blessed consequences. Each one of us has a choice to make every day that we live. We can choose to listen to the Holy Spirit and follow the Lord, or we can do what our sinful nature leads us to do. We can trust and obey, or we can doubt and disobey. SPRINGBOARD Only God sees life as it really is. To Adam it must have looked as if it would make little difference which tree he used for his food. What was the big deal about that tree? How was it different from all the others? The fruit was good for food. It was pleasant to look at, and it was supposed to make one wise. Why wouldn t anyone want to eat it? All these were rational questions to the person who first disobeyed the instructions of God. God knew the future. He knew the horrible consequences of Adam s sin. He knew the price humanity would pay and He knew the great price Jesus would pay. God knew all this and He simply told Adam to leave that tree alone. God still sees life as it really is. This is why God forbids things that are harmful and encourages things that are helpful. He knows what is best for us and He only asks us to agree with Him and to obey Him. When we do, He rewards us for time and eternity. When we disobey, there are horrible and harmful consequences for us and for those who come after us. 6

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