THE L.I.F.E. PLAN BAD RELATIONSHIPS BLOCK 1 THEME 7 - MAN WITHOUT GOD LESSON 3 (27 of 216)
BLOCK 1 THEME 7: MAN WITHOUT GOD LESSON 3 (27 OF 216): BAD RELATIONSHIPS LESSON AIM: Show that man s behavior was changed after the fall. SCRIPTURE: (Genesis 6:1-2,4) 1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. 4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. The Bible covers a lot of ground in the first eleven chapters of Genesis. In these chapters, man s first two thousand years of history on earth is given in broad strokes. Obviously a lot of detail is left out. Naturally, we wish more detail had been included. We think if we knew more of the beginning, we would better understand the present. However, God has given us enough information to make the connection between two of the four epic events given in this section of Scripture. God would have us to see the downward progression of man between the fall and the flood. Our adversary works diligently to cause us to question and misunderstand the Word of God. Remember, this was his angle of attack against Eve in the Garden of Eden which led to the fall of mankind. The first recorded words of Satan in Scripture to Eve are, Yea, hath God said? It is therefore imperative that we know the Word of God so that we will not be soft targets for the enemy and become easy prey unto him. Genesis six is one of the early passages in the Bible which is very easily misunderstood. The term, sons of God, has been taken by some to say that fallen angels mixed with earthly women and reproduced a race of giants in the earth. This is an incorrect interpretation of the text. We can easily refute this interpretation with the words of Jesus himself when he explained some of the truths concerning angels in the New Testament. He said that angels do not marry and are not given in marriage. The Bible presents angels as spirit beings, sexless, and incapable of reproduction. Therefore, the notion that angels reproduced offspring through human women is denied by the Bible s teaching concerning angels. The probable explanation of Genesis six can be seen when we remember two things. First, God is making a bee-line in Scripture between the fall and the flood. In Genesis three, we have the fall. In the fourth chapter, we have the ungodly lineage of Cain, the sons of men. Chapter five presents the godly lineage of Seth, the sons of God. In chapter six, we see the mixing of these two very different lineages and what they reproduced. In chapter seven, God sent the flood to purge the earth of the direction in which it was going away from his intended purpose. The intention of the text here is that we make this connection; that we might see what happened to man as a result of his fall into sin. Second, we have here a good lesson in Bible reading. Bible reading is work. It requires that we be alert and engaged as we read. When we read the Bible, we have to read for communication and context. God wants to communicate with us through his Word and one of the ways he does this is through the context of the Scriptures. Many times when we read the Bible, we read in the same way that we drive our vehicles
down the road. We drive for miles, passing through each one of them, but forgetting what we saw along the way by the time we pass from one mile to another. We do this when we read the Bible as well. For example, we read Genesis four about Cain s line, and pass into Genesis five about Seth s line, but completely forget about both of them by the time we get to Genesis six when in the same context, God is showing us how these two very different lineages of people mixed with each other to continue to enlarge the snowball rolling down the hill toward the judgement of God which began with the fall in Genesis chapter three. We have to bring along the information with us that God provides through context as we read the Scriptures. This is one of the very first rules of Bible interpretation. Therefore, we conclude in Genesis six, that when the sons of God mixed with the daughters of men, we have the mixing of the lineages of the godly line of Seth with the ungodly line of Cain. Another way to say this is that people who believed in God built intimate relationships with unbelievers. The offspring they reproduced followed the unbelieving parent, increasing the terrible ungodliness in the world that moved God to destroy the world with the flood and start over. This is one of the first places in Scripture where we learn the lesson that God wants his people to be separate from the world. What does it mean to be separate from the world? Does it mean that God would have us huddle up in our own little corner of the globe and have nothing to do with everyone else in the world? Does it mean that we should all live in a monastery somewhere, keeping our relationship with God private and away from all the other peoples of the earth? No. God does not want us to completely isolate ourselves from the people of the earth who are unbelievers. On the contrary, he wants us to take the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ to them that they might become believers as well. Jesus explained the perspective in John seventeen when he said that his followers are in the world but are not to be of the world: it is not his purpose to take us out of the world but that we might go into the world to win the lost unto him. If we are going to accomplish this mission, we have to mingle with unbelievers. But, as we mingle with them, we must guard against mixing with them. That is, our relationships with them initially are for the purpose of sharing the gospel. It is only after they receive salvation in Christ that the believer is free to have intimate relationships with them such as marriage. God s Word teaches separation but not isolation. As we seek to prevent ourselves from being isolated from the world, at the same time we are to be separate from the world as believers. This is for the purpose of sanctification and holiness in our own lives. God has chosen us and set us apart for his glory and use. We have been given a mission to take the gospel to the world. We have to protect the integrity of our hearts if we will be able to do the work God has given us to do. God tells us to come out from among the world and be separate and touch not the unclean things. The separation God has in mind is to prevent the enemy from penetrating our ranks and destroying his missionary force in the world. God s Word tells us that a little leaven will leaven the entire lump of dough. In other words, unbelievers in our intimate relationships will reproduce more unbelief and will be detrimental to the purpose of God in and through our lives. It is not the mixing of races that God does not want but the mixing of hearts going in opposite directions. This is a recipe for division and destruction. The offspring of the union of Genesis six and the resulting flood of God s judgement is enough evidence to prove our case. Man without God moves further away from him. Believers who mix with unbelievers move further away from him as well. We must live in the world but not become shaped by it as were the sons of God in Genesis chapter six.
LESSON OUTLINE BLOCK 1 THEME 7: MAN WITHOUT GOD LESSON 3 (27 OF 216): BAD RELATIONSHIPS I THE SONS OF GOD A. An incorrect interpretation B. The probable explanation II BE YE SEPARATE A. Not isolation (John 17) B. Positive reason - For the sake of sanctification (2 Corinthians 7:1) C. Negative reason - A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump (Galatians 5:9) SCRIPTURES TO BROADEN YOUR UNDERSTANDING 1. Be separate from the world John 17:11-18 Romans 12:1-2 Romans 16:17 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 Galatians 5:9 2 Thessalonians 3:6,14 1 Timothy 6:5 2 Timothy 3:1-9 2 John 10 2. Jesus teaching on angels Mark 12:24-27 LINES OF THEOLOGICAL CONNECTION 1. THE DOCTRINE OF THE SCRIPTURES Hermeneutics 2. THE DOCTRINE OF SIN The fall 3. SOTERIOLOGY Sanctification Holiness Separation 4. THE GOSPEL Evangelism Building relationships with the lost
5. ANTHROPOLOGY Marriage as a Christian QUESTIONS ANSWER KEY 1. To whom do the phrases, sons of God, and sons of men refer? Sons of God = the godly line of Seth; sons of men = the ungodly line of Cain 2. What happened when the godly line of Seth mixed with the ungodly line of Cain? More people were reproduced who followed the ungodly ways of their parents 3. What two important things should we remember in our study of Genesis 3-7? God is connecting the flood with the fall; pay attention to the context of the Bible 4. How did Jesus explain the perspective we need to have on the world? We are in the world but not to be of the world; he does not want to take us out of the world but send us into it to help rescue the lost 5. Young people easily make the mistake of having the wrong kind of relationships with unbelievers. What should you know about a person before you allow yourself to pursue a deeper relationship with them? You should know if they are a believer in Christ or not 6. What should be our first goal in our relationships with unbelievers? That they come to know Christ 7. Are you presently in an improper relationship with an unbeliever? If so, what should you do about it? Find out where they stand with God; share the gospel with them; do not allow yourself to pursue a deeper relationship with them unless they become a believer
BLOCK 1 THEME 7: MAN WITHOUT GOD LESSON 3 (27 OF 216): BAD RELATIONSHIPS QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE THOUGHT 1. To whom do the phrases, sons of God, and sons of men refer? 2. What happened when the godly line of Seth mixed with the ungodly line of Cain? 3. What two important things should we remember in our study of Genesis 3-7? 4. How did Jesus explain the perspective we need to have on the world? 5. Young people easily make the mistake of having the wrong kind of relationships with unbelievers. What should you know about a person before you allow yourself to pursue a deeper relationship with them? 6. What should be our first goal in our relationships with unbelievers? 7. Are you presently in an improper relationship with an unbeliever? If so, what should you do about it?