Series 1
Lesson 7: Four Questions
Dear Friend,
Do you know what the most terrible thing in the universe is? It is SIN!
It was sin that changed Lucifer from a beautiful angel into Satan, the enemy of God. It was sin that ruined God's beautiful creation. It was sin that brought lying, cheating, stealing, hatred, murder, sadness, sickness and death into the world.
When we see all the terrible things that sin causes, we can understand why God hates sin. God has said that there will be no sin in Heaven, so if we want to go to Heaven, we must be saved from our sins.
In this lesson we are going to find the answers to four important questions.
1. What is sin?
The Bible talks a lot about sin, but what is sin? Sin is thinking wrong things, saying wrong things, and doing wrong things.
In the Bible, God gives us Ten Commandments. They are found in Exodus, chapter 20. These commandments tell us what is right and what is wrong in God's sight. When we disobey these commandments, we are sinning against God. Let us consider some of these.
God says, "You shall have no other gods before Me." This means that God must have first place in our life. We must not love anyone or anything more than we love God.
God says, "Honor your father and your mother." This means that we are to love our parents, respect them and obey them. When you talk back to your parents or disobey them, you are sinning against God because He said, "Honor your father and your mother."
God says, "You shall not steal." This means that we are not to take anything that does not belong to us. All stealing is wrong, regardless of what is stolen. All stealing is wrong, even if nobody finds out about it. Cheating in school is wrong because it is stealing information that does not belong to you.
God says, "You shall not bear false witness." This means, "You shall not tell lies." God hates lying. When you tell a lie, you are sinning against God because He said, "You shall not lie."
Donna came to her Bible teacher with a big problem. She said, "I tell so many lies. I lie to my teacher at school. I lie to the principal. And I lie to my mother."
"Why do you tell so many lies?" asked the Bible teacher.
"I tell lies to keep from getting into trouble," said Donna.
Surprised at this answer, the Bible teacher pointed toward Heaven and asked, "But, Donna, when you tell a lie, who do you get in trouble with?"
Donna thought a moment and said, "God!" It seemed as though she had never realized that telling a lie got her in trouble with God.
"Well, would you rather be in trouble with your teacher or with God?"
"My teacher," replied Donna.
"Would you rather be in trouble with your principal or with God?"
"The principal," said Donna.
"And would you rather be in trouble with your mother or with God?"
"My mother," replied Donna.
"Then quit lying!" said the Bible teacher. "If you have done something wrong, tell the truth and take your punishment, but don't lie. That gets you in trouble with God."
"I never realized that," said Donna. "No matter what happens, I don't want to tell any more lies."
Every Sin Is A Sin Against God.
You may ask, "Has anyone ever kept all of God's commandments perfectly?"
No, no one except the Lord Jesus has ever kept God's commandments perfectly. We have all said wrong things. We have all done wrong things. We have all sinned. The Bible says,
"For ALL have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23
2. Why do we sin?
Have you ever wondered why we say bad things and do bad things? The reason is this: We want to have our own way.
Choosing our way instead of God's way is sin. We have all chosen our own way. The Bible says,
"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way...." Isaiah 53:6
Down in the heart of every one of us there is something proud which will not obey God. We say in our heart, "I will do what I want to do!"
Is it right for us to have this attitude? No, it certainly is not right. We cannot go to Heaven with this attitude in our heart.
Jesus told of a father who had two sons. He was a good father and he loved his sons. One day he needed his sons to help him. He said to one son, "Go work in my field today." The son said, "I will go, sir!" But he did not go.
The father was disappointed in this son, so he went to his other son and said, "Son, go work in my field today." The second son said, "I will not go!"
The father's heart was hurt. He must have been broken-hearted as he walked away.
But something happened in the heart of the second son. He saw how he had hurt his father. He saw how wrong he had been. He saw how badly he had acted in talking to his father as he did. He had a change in his attitude. He went to the field and did what his father wanted him to do. The father was now pleased with this son.
Do you know why Jesus told us this story? He wanted us to see how we have hurt God's heart by our bad attitude.
We are like the son who said, "I will not go!" We want to have our own way. We do not want to obey God.
Have you seen how you have hurt God's heart by your bad attitude? Do you want to change your attitude? You can do this in your heart. You can say, "I know that I have hurt God's heart by my bad attitude. I don't want to be like that any more. I want to love God and obey Him."
3. What does sin do?
Now that we know what sin is and why we sin, let us consider another question: What does sin do? Sin separates us from God.
It was sin that came between God and the first man, Adam. And it is sin that comes between us and God.
The Bible says, "Your iniquities (your sins) have separated between you and your God...." (Isaiah 59:2)
God loves us but He hates our sins because they separate us from Him. Those who die with their sins unforgiven will be forever separated from God in a terrible place which the Bible calls hell.
4. Who can save us from our sins?
We have seen what sin is. We have seen why we sin. We have seen how our sins separate us from God. Now we want to find the answer to this question: Who can save us from our sins?
There is only one Person who can save us from our sins. That Person is the Lord Jesus Christ. His name, Jesus, means "Savior." The Bible says,
"You shall call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins." Matthew 1:21
How does the Lord Jesus save us from our sins? Jesus died on the cross so we could be forgiven of our sins. We know that we have sinned and sin must be punished. But the Lord Jesus took our sins upon Himself and died in our place. He shed His precious blood for our sins.
Because Jesus died for our sins, God forgives us of all our sins when we trust the Lord Jesus as our Savior. The Bible says,
"...whosoever believes in Him shall receive remission (forgiveness) of sins." Acts 10:43
Then the Lord Jesus does something else for us. He comes to live in us so we can stop doing wrong things. The Apostle Paul said, "Christ lives in me." (Galatians 2:20) We can say this too if we have taken Him as our Savior.
The Lord Jesus can save you from ALL of your sins. He died on the cross so you could be forgiven of all the wrong things you have done. He will come to live in you to help you stop doing bad things. The Bible says that He is "able to keep you from falling (sinning)."
(Jude 24)
Would you like to know that all of your sins have been forgiven by God? Do you want the Lord Jesus to come and live in your heart so you can stop sinning? If you have never taken the Lord Jesus as your Savior, you can do so right now.
Since this is just between you and the Lord Jesus, find a place where you can be alone with Him for a few minutes.
In your own words, tell the Lord Jesus that you are sorry for your sins and you don't want to keep doing them. Thank Him for loving you enough to die on the cross for your sins. Tell Him that you are trusting Him as your Savior. Ask Him to come into your heart and to keep you from saying and doing wrong things.
