Connecting The Dots - Week 16 Notes

      Connecting The Dots – Week 16

                      

                    Jesus Saves!

Key verse: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:17 NIV)

  Jesus came because all humanity needed him to come. We were irretrievably separate from God by disobedience, we were deceived by our own arrogance and sense of entitlement. By the time Satan spoke to Eve in the garden our immediate fate was all but set. The serpent needed merely to tickle our ears, twist what God said a bit, and make spiritual death appear appetizing to us. 

“Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4 NASB)

  Knowing that, the question then becomes, “Why does God so love us that he would've sent Jesus to die in our stead?” (Psalms 8:4) You might get a lot of different answers, but the one that matters most is this: We were from the beginning in his image, we were made to be his kids (Genesis 1:26-27). The evidence of this is in the truth that while we were estranged from him by sin, soiled beyond recognition, he still dealt with us mercifully, he was still patient with us, and he is still faithful to this day even if we are not. (Romans 5:8), (2 Peter 3:8-9), (2 Timothy 2:13). Sounds a lot like the love of a parent huh? God's Love is never conditional, but our Salvation, which comes by his Grace through Faith in Jesus, must go hand in hand with genuine repentance and surrender for us to receive it. (Ephesians 2:4-9)

  Whether it is in the macro: our lives renewed by Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross…

“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:14-16 NASB), (Numbers 21:5-9)

 …or whether it is in the micro of our everyday wanderings: our minds continually renewed to the Truth through contrition.

“If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 NASB), (Hebrews 10:14)

  We have a God who is full of mercy and is the furious love who delivered us from darkness into his light (1 John 4:10). We have a Savior who not only sacrificed his life for ours, but also delights to be in relationship with us and stands up for us daily in the face of any trouble or calamity that may come our way (Hebrews 7:25), (Romans 8:32).

Discussion Questions:

1. What is the first thought or emotion that rises up when you consider the Love of God who saved you?

2. What might your practical response be to that emotion or thought as you go back out into the world, into your workplace, etc…?