But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin

Romans 3:23-24

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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Study Notes:

Born Into Sin:

Due to Adam‘s transgression, every human being that is born on this earth, has a propensity to sin. In other words, the blood line of mankind is contaminated with a sinful nature that every person is born with- optional reading Romans 7:14-20. Even as little child, the inherent selfish sinful nature is on display- the whole world revolves around him/her.

Romans 5:12

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.

Age of Accountability:

A baby or small child is spiritually alive unto God until they are old enough to choose to disobey.

Small children are innocent or not accountable for their actions until they reach a certain age of accountability. If they were to die physically, they would go to heaven, seeing that they have not had the opportunity to exercise their free will. However, a time comes for every human being, when they are fully aware and conscious of their decision to obey or disobey, they have reached their Garden of Eden. We know by Scripture that every person will choose to disobey, and when that moment comes to willfully disobey God‘s will, they die spiritually. At this moment they become children of the devil, and if they die in their sins, their fate is sealed and will be lost forever-

Romans 2:1-16; 7:7-25.

Romans 7:9-10

Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.

Through God‘s Word we can see why the world is all messed up. It was never God‘s will for Adam and Eve to sell out to the devil and choose death over life with God. All the misery, suffering, famine, and pain is a result of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. But praise God it does not end there. From the dark beginnings, comes a glorious hope of restoration, reconciliation and the elimination of sin and death in this world.

Genesis 3:15

―And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.‖

Having sinned, Adam and Eve condemned mankind to an eternal hell along with Satan and his crowd. But not so fast, God in his infinite mercy, made a declaration that a man would be born of a woman who would crush Satan‘s dominion over mankind, but in the process Satan would make it painful. Approximately, four thousand years later, God the Son became a man and his name was Jesus. As the divine God/man, Jesus defeated the devil as a man but paid an incredible price in the process through his death, burial and resurrection. Yet from the time of the promise in the garden, until the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, God had left himself with a witness for mankind to follow in order to reach out to God as a means of salvation until Jesus would come and redeem us all.

Note: What about those people who never get an opportunity to hear about Jesus?

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Study Notes:

Jesus made some incredible statements about man and finding his path to God. It is not a difficult thing for God to reveal himself to those who are sincerely seeking him. Throughout the ages, God revealed himself progressively to mankind. Since the beginning, God has never left himself without a witness, testifying to his existence.

God‘s first witness, lowest revelation: Creation Romans 1:19-20

Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God‘s invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

Unfortunately, over the ages, men chose to follow evil and worship Satan- 1 Corinthians 10:20, “No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be

participants with demons.” In the Old Testament, thousands of years ago, there are accounts of people doing horrible things like murdering and sacrificing their children in pagan rituals. In the book of Genesis, there was the account of Noah, who was a righteous man that walked in the light that he had of God; while others followed evil. Unfortunately, Noah was the only righteous one at the time.

Genesis 6:5-10

The LORD saw how great man‘s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the LORD said, ―I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth-men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air-for I am grieved that I have made them.‖ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.

The waters covered the earth for a hundred and fifty days- Genesis 7:24. Noah, his family and the animals on the Ark where the only survivors. The ark is a an example of what Jesus has done for us in that he saved us from the judgment of sin. From Noah‘s sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth came the decedents of the present day human population.

God‘s second witness, next revelation: The Law & the nation of Israel Romans 2:12-16

All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God‘s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.) This will take place on the day when God will judge men‘s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.

God had revealed himself to a man named Abram who lived back then in present day Iraq. God made a covenant or a contract with Abram that through him, a great nation would be created, the present day Jewish people in the land of Israel. Through this nation God would bring the Savior of the world, Jesus! The birth of Jesus did not occur until a few thousand years later.

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Study Notes:

Genesis 12:1

The LORD had said to Abram, ―Leave your country, your people and your father‘s household and go to the land I will show you.‖

God kept his promise and through Abraham‘s lineage came a great nation. God raised a leader named Moses, through whom God presented the law of the covenant (10 commandments) and the institution of the Levitical priesthood. The institution of animal sacrifice was used as an annual reminder that a price had to be paid to cover the sins that the people had committed. This institution of sacrifices was to reveal the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus would make on the cross to take away our sins- once and for all. Since the resurrection of Jesus, the old sacrificial system has been done away with.

John 1:17

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 10:1-14

The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming-not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, ‗Here I am- it is written about me in the scroll- I have come to do your will, O God.‘‖

First he said, ―Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them‖ (although the law required them to be made). Then he said, ―Here I am, I have come to do your will.‖ He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

From the time of Moses until Jesus, the way for people to be saved was to become a Jewish proselyte and convert to Judaism. To obey the 10 commandments and observe all the Jewish customs and sacrifices. God created the nation of Israel to evangelize the world with the message that was given to them.

Isaiah 49:6

―I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.‖

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Study Notes:

Unfortunately, they were not obedient to God‘s directive. Instead they built a wall of religion that shunned the gentiles as inferior and on the most part kept God all too themselves. The term

―Gentile‖ refers to all those people who are not of Jewish ancestry. However, God kept his promise and Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the land of Judah. During the ministry of Jesus, he pointed out the failure of the Jewish race to preach the message they had. Jesus spoke of another entity that would be given this task instead. This entity Jesus spoke of is the present day Church of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 21:43

Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people