Sunday, April 22, 2018 Roots: Examining our Core Beliefs and Values Message 3: Mankind & Salvation The Very Good, The Very Bad and the Good News In the Roots series we are examining the core beliefs and values of San Jose Baptist Church. Today we will discuss what we believe about Mankind and Salvation. To check out all of our Core Beliefs & Values, go to www.sanjosebaptist.com/core-beliefs. Mankind: We believe that mankind was created by God in his own image. Man was the crowning work of God s creation. From the beginning, God gave man the freedom to choose between following or disobeying God s plan. The result was man chose to reject God s plan and follow his own path. Because of this choice, sin came into the human race and created a barrier between God and man. Salvation: Because of sin, no one can achieve salvation on his own. No amount of good deeds can help a person become as holy as God. God s grace for salvation is received through faith in Christ alone. Through repentance of sin and accepting Christ as personal savior, salvation is available to all. Once saved, the believer is forever secure in that salvation through God s grace. The Bible teaches that once a person is a member of God s family through God s grace, no power can remove that salvation. 1. The Very Good When talking about mankind in the church, the topic generally starts with and focuses upon the depravity of man. We are all sinners. We are all corrupt. Our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked. There is none good, no not one! While these things are true, they don t paint the full picture of mankind. We must also remember that as human beings, we are special! 26 Then God said, Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground. 29 Then God said, I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground everything that has the breath of life in it I give every green plant for food. And it was so. 31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning the sixth day. (Genesis 1:26-31) 1
7 the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7) Why does this make us special? 1. We were formed by God s hands The word formed that is used in 2:7 describes the work of an artist. When God created Adam He did it differently than He created the other creatures: cf. 1:24 - And God said, Let the land produce living creatures according to the kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to their kinds. And it was so. When God created the heavens and the earth, the stars and planets, the water and sky, the plants and animals, he did so by the power of his voice. He said let there be and there was. When God created man there was a personal touch. He formed the man with his hands, unlike anything else he had created. 2. We were made in God s image Unlike anything else in creation, mankind was made in the image of God. This image was only given to humans. Because we are made in his image, and because we share in his nature, we are capable of having a spiritual relationship with him. The privilege of an intimate spiritual relationship is unique to human beings because we are created in God s image. 3. We were appointed to rule over the earth Note: God does not have a human form, so being made in the image of God does not mean that we physically look like God, simply that we share in certain aspects of His nature (imperfectly, mind you). Some of these attributes include personality, truth, wisdom, love holiness, and justice. In the creation account, we are told to fill the earth and subdue it and to rule over all the creatures. We are the stewards of God s creation. Mankind is given a unique responsibility and role as caretakers and rulers of God s creation. 4. We were brought to life by the breath of God Just as God formed Adam with his hands, he also breathed the breath of life into him. That breath of life came from God and went into Adam. Again, this is totally unique to all created beings, and it shows an even greater deal of personalization in God s creation of humans. Not only did God form man with his hands, putting his personal touch on him, he breathed life into him. Mankind is alive not because God told him to be alive, but because God gave something from himself to bring Adam to life. 2
Mankind is special! Unlike any other created being, mankind was created to live in relationship with God. The Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve lived, was not the greatest of places because of it s beauty, it s fertile soil, it s fruit-filled trees, etc. The Garden of Eden was the greatest of places because God was there. The beauty of the Garden was that Adam and Even could walk and talk with God whenever they wanted. They lived in communion with him every day. That was how God designed it to be, and that is how we were created to live. It was VERY GOOD! Notice that of all the creative acts of God in Genesis 1, only one of them was very good, and that was the creation of man and woman. It wasn t very good because of how good looking Adam and Eve were, or because they were hard workers tending the garden. It was very good because God had created a being suitable for living in relationship with him. The relationship between God and man was VERY GOOD! 2. The Very Bad 1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, Did God really say, You must not eat from any tree in the garden? 2 The woman said to the serpent, We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die. 4 You will not surely die, the serpent said to the woman. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, Where are you? 10 He answered, I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid. 11 And he said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from? 12 The man said, The woman you put here with me she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it. 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, What is this you have done? The woman said, The serpent deceived me, and I ate. (Genesis 3:1-13) 21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the Lord God said, The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever. 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden 3
of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:21-24) The very bad news is that mankind is fallen! 1. Disobedience led to a broken relationship Because of Adam and Eve s sin, their relationship with God was broken. They were still his creation, made in his image, but they no longer shared the same intimate relationship with their creator. Because of that sin, the relationship for everyone was broken Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned (Romans 5:12, emphasis added) For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23, emphasis added) All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. (Psalm 14:3, emphasis added) 2. A broken relationship led to separation Not only was the relationship between Adam & Eve and God broken, it meant that they could no longer live with God. They were expelled from the garden. The tragedy of being expelled from the garden is not that they could no longer be in their home, a place of beauty and bounty. The tragedy is that they were no longer in God s presence. This separation happens before we are even born, meaning that there is no chance for us to avoid our separation from God. We are born in sin, separated from God. Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward and speak lies. (Psalm 58:3, emphasis added) Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. (Psalm 51:5, emphasis added) Just like Adam & Eve, we are separated from God because of our sin. We are far from God. 3. We have no chance of repairing the relationship In most relationships, reconciliation is possible if both parties are willing to put their pride aside and seek to find common ground. It takes work, but relationships can be fixed. In our relationship with God, we cannot work hard enough to repair the broken relationship! The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. (Romans 8:7-8) Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. (Ephesians 2:12) 4
3. The Good News 1. A Perfect Life Was Lived We could not live up to God s standard of perfection. But, Jesus did live up to that standard by living a perfect, sinless life 2. A perfect sacrifice was made In order to pay for sin, a spotless sacrifice was required. Jesus met those requirements and gave himself on the cross as a substitute for us. 3. Jesus made a way for reconciliation Through Jesus blood, justification is available. By rising from the dead Jesus defeated sin and death forever. For these reasons, it is possible for us to be reconciled to God. 4. Salvation Comes By Grace Through Faith in Jesus Jesus made a way for us to be reconciled to God, but that doesn t mean that everyone now has a perfect relationship with God. Scripture is clear that only those who respond in faith to Jesus are restored in their relationship with God (saved). For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9, emphasis added) If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (Romans 10:9-10) Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Romans 10:13) If you are living outside of a relationship with God, there is something missing in your life, and you probably know it! Understand that you were specially created by God to live with him in a close relationship, but sin has driven a wedge between you. The only way to mend that relationship is through faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. Here are some verses that will help you understand how you can be saved: The Romans Road to Salvation: 1. Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 2. Romans 6:23 - The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 3. Romans 5:8 - But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 4. Romans 10:9-10, 13 - If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved for, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. If you want to know more about making Jesus the savior of your life, please contact us at the church by calling (904) 737-2141 or by email at info@sanjosebaptist.com. 5