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BASIC BIBLE TRUTHS
Written by Dr. Lester Hutson

Copyright - Lester Hutson - 1986
This material is copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced without the express written permission of Dr. Lester Hutson.

Chapter Three

What God Has Done For The Lost World

'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,' John 3:16.

1. Your first objective is to show your student(s) that Jesus claims to be God's Saviour or Messiah for lost people upon the strength of His work on the cross.

2. Your second objective is to show that Jesus is the only legitimate, qualified Saviour.

3. Your third objective is to show that what God did in Christ is all that is necessary to bring lost people into relationship to God.

4. Teacher, your main and overall objective in this lesson is to present Jesus Christ as the one, but only, hope of lost sinners.

Remember teacher, the title, thought, and application accompanying each chapter is for you; not the student. They are here to help you with a better grasp on what you are trying to accomplish and how to go about accomplishing it. So, study these. Make them so much a part of you that they become natural to you, just as natural as opening your mouth when your hand heads a spoonful of food toward it.

TITLE

'WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR THE LOST WORLD.'

 

THOUGHT

Jesus Christ has done everything necessary to bring lost man into a proper relationship with Himself through the gospel.

 

APPLICATION

To cause the student to realize that though he cannot save himself, he can be saved by a saviour. To save men from eternal damnation, a saviour must meet many careful and specific requirements. Jesus Christ, but only Jesus Christ, has (or ever could) meet each and every requirement, and is capable. of saving each lost person without help of any sort from that person.

 

Remember to arrive at the house four to five minutes ahead of your appointed teaching time. Exchange warm and friendly greetings, find out how he (she or they) has been since you last saw him (her, them), but (do not sit down short of the teaching table. Remember that it is important to keep the atmosphere warm and relaxed; but never slouchy, and without direction and off your predetermined and announced goal of presenting all the materials in these six lessons within the "one hour per week for six weeks" time frame. To do that, you must get started with the teaching on time, and never deviate and "idle" or "tread water" too long at any given point or too often. You must get there, get with your mission, and stay with your mission. Don't be too formal and businesslike about it; be relaxed and at ease; but don't forget or neglect what you are there to do. You are not there just to socialize or visit in general. You are there to present specific truths within a specific time frame. The student(s) you are teaching needs it; but there are plenty of others out there who need it, too. As soon as you can finish with this student(s), you must go find others to teach. God expects it of you; He has given you a mandate to do it: Mark 16:15, Matthew 28:19-20, etc. So, never lose sight of your mission and purpose. You are not out there to do your work; you are there to do God's work; and His will is that as many as possible hear these glorious truths.

Once you are seated at the teaching table, spread the chart on the table, and begin with a brief review. Your review should never exceed five minutes; generally three minutes is adequate. Although, each lesson (two through six) should begin with a review sufficient to tie the new lesson into the previous lessons in such a manner as to generate a natural flow of the overall systematic material. Increasingly as you teach, "the big picture" or overview of Christianity should be developing in the mind of your student(s); not in six disjointed segments, but as one beautiful whole.

My review always starts with a reminder that we are looking at matters as God sees them. As I mention this, I point to "God" written at the top of the chart, which I always try to position so my student can read it with me. (If you are sitting across the table from your student(s), the chart will be upside down to him. So, as you add new data or point to the chart in a review, flip the chart around so he can see easily what you've entered or are pointing out.) As I move along in the review, I keep pointing to the appropriate points on the chart. I remind my student(s) that the only way we can accurately know what God thinks is through the Bible, which is where He has said what He thinks. So, we've looked at the Bible and see it to be true through its construction, its prophecies, and its claims. Now, God, whom ultimately every man must face (point to top left scriptures), sees the world in two basic groups: those who are not related to Him in any spiritual sense (point to Column One) and those who are related to Him as His own saved children (point to Column Two). Then I remind my student(s) that last week, we were looking at how impossible it is for any person in Group One to get himself into Group Two. That is true because human conduct is not the basis God uses in placing a person into either group. Too much evil didn't place those in Group One in that awful condition; and a great record of good conduct didn't place those in Group Two in that wonderful condition. Those in Group Two are there solely and only because they are forgiven and have been made right or "righteous" by God Himself. I usually conclude this review by pointing out again that a hopeless condition Group One is in, and how impossible it is for those there to change their condition. At this point, I am pointing straight at the scriptures in the lower left hand corner which show the futility of good works or conduct for salvation.

Teacher, do not underestimate the value of this review. These are weighty concepts and they need constant clarification and emphasis. They are probably pretty foreign to your student(s), so the review serves as a vehicle to further drive the truth home to him. As I've already pointed out, it enables you to link the previously taught lessons to the one you are so now teaching; but the review is far more than a linking device. Besides linking, and further deepening the truth in your student(s), the review also provides an opportunity for you to clarify a point in your student's mind or teach one he totally missed the first time you ran it past him. So, while you are reviewing, watch carefully. If you see your student(s) looks puzzled, blank, or wants to say something, stop and see what's on his mind. Take a little time and clear it up before you press on.

Also, you do not need to say "Now I've concluded our review, I shall proceed to teach you the lesson at hand." When you've finished the review, you'll know it; and your student(s) may know it too; but there is no need to even mention it. Just move right on into the new material in an easy, continuous flow of material, manner.

 

I. Begin the new material of Lesson Three by pointing out that just because one cannot save himself does not mean he cannot be saved:

A. Explain the word "saved":

1. "To save" means to rescue or deliver from some danger or peril. One saved is one who has been rescued or delivered from a danger or peril.

ILLUSTRATE HERE:
A drowning child is saved by a lifeguard. A cat trapped on a rooftop is saved by a fireman. A pilot saved himself by parachuting from a crashing plane. In each case, deliverance from a peril occurred.

2. To be "saved" in the Bible sense of the word, as in Eph. 2:8, means to be delivered from damnation and eternal separation from God in the lake of fire. Such a deliverance or salvation also means to spend eternity with God experiencing all the joys and blessings of eternal life in heaven.

B. One who finds himself in Group One cannot "save" himself in the Biblical sense of the word; yet, it is possible that he can be saved:

ILLUSTRATE HERE:
Tell your student that if he were on a ship from New York to England, and the ship sank in the mid-Atlantic Ocean, he'd face a very real danger and peril of dying. It would be utterly impossible to swim to shore; or row a life boat to shore, providing he be blessed enough to be in a life boat. Suspension in the cold waters would mean soon death from hypothermia, drowning, or maybe even sharks. Even in a life boat, survival would not be for long. Lack of food and water, plus exposure to the rough seas would soon take even the heartiest life. In terms of saving himself, a person in that situation would be in a helpless and hopeless condition.

But that would not mean there could be no help or salvation for such a person. Another ship might be in the immediate area and come to the rescue of your student(s) floating helplessly and hopelessly in the water. In such a case, your student(s) would have been saved, but not by his own efforts. He would have been saved by the efforts of another.

C. Now, God claims the Jesus of the Bible is the Saviour who can get hopelessly lost men and women out of Group One and into the saved condition of Group Two. They cannot save themselves; but He can save them:

1. Teacher, as you are making this point, you should begin adding the cross to the chart as illustrated at the end of this chapter.

2. At this point, I get really serious and personal with my student(s). I tell him that Jesus is not the only one who has claimed to be a Saviour. Through the ages of history, there have been many who claimed to be saviours. I tell my student(s) what a tragedy it would be for any man to put his confidence in a saviour, only to find out too late at the judgment of God that the one upon whom he depended for salvation was a fraud and no saviour at all. That would mean no salvation for all who depended upon him; and no salvation means eternity in the lake of fire, separated from God. So, I say to my student, suppose Jesus is not the Saviour? Suppose He is a fraud; an impostor? Where does that place all of us Christians? I tell my student(s) that if I'm going to sit here and teach him that Jesus is the Saviour, and ask him (my student) to base his whole hope for deliverance (from eternity in the lake of fire and look to heaven as his eternal home) upon Jesus as his Saviour, then I owe it to him to show him that Jesus really is the only legitimate, qualified Saviour. Therefore, I am going to spend some time showing him that what God did in Christ proves Him to be the one, and the only one, who can save men, getting them from Group One into Group Two.

 

II. At this point, tell your student(s) that the evidence establishes Jesus to be God's only Saviour:

A. The work that Jesus did whereby He can save sinners is called the "gospel":

1. Write "gospel" on the chart, as shown; and have your student(s) turn to Rom. 1:16 which you also add to the chart. This is a critical passage. I always have my student(s) turn there and look at it as I quote or read it.

Explain from the verse that it is upon the strength of the work Christ did which is called the "gospel,"that God is able to save the lost. The "gospel" is His means or "power" for doing so.

2. Now turn your student(s) to I Cor. 15:1-4 and add to the chart as shown. This passage is also vital. I, too, insist that they see it for themselves as I read or quote it.

First, explain from Verses 1 and 2 that the "gospel" is the means whereby we are "saved." Do not let the phrase "If ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain" confuse you or your student(s). With that phrase, Paul is simply saying that if they had not believed the gospel he preached (which he defines in the next two verses), then their belief was vain. In other words, it's not enough just to believe in anything called "the gospel." Salvation comes only from believing "the gospel" as defined here.
Now, from Verses 3 and 4, show your student(s) the Bible definition of "the gospel of Christ." It is the fact that Christ (1) "died," (2) "was buried," and (3) "rose again." As you point these three segments of the gospel out, add to the chart as illustrated. Make sure your student(s) realizes the saving gospel of Christ is not the whole Bible, or some good emotional illustration; but is the fact that Christ died, was buried, and raised again. God saves sinners (moves people from Column One to Column Two) wholly or solely upon the strength of that work of Christ. The sinner's conduct, for the better or the worse, has absolutely nothing to do with his relationship to God.

B. Now as to whether or not Jesus really is the Saviour of God, thus making this "gospel" work effective to the saving of the lost, I Cor. 15:3 & 4 brings up a means of verification. This passage says there is a way by which we can check the evidence which supports Jesus' claim to be the promised Messiah. The key phrase is that Jesus did what He did "according to the scriptures":

1. Explain to your student(s) that there are other proofs that Jesus is the Messiah. John 5:31-39 mentions five specific proofs. They are:

(1) Jesus' own claim to being the promised Messiah.

(2) The testimony of John the Baptist.

(3) The miraculous works Jesus performed.

(4) The direct confirmation of the Father.

(5) The testimony of the Old Testament scriptures. It is this latter line of proof to which Paul referred in I Cor. 15:3 & 4.

2. What both Jesus and Paul are pointing out is the fact that the Old Testament gives us a set of qualifications for the Messiah or Saviour of God. God does not ask us to believe that Jesus of the Bible is the Saviour just because He said He was, or because Paul said He was. They say compare Jesus point by point with all the Old Testament predicted the Messiah would have to be. If you find Jesus qualifying at every point (not just most points), then you know He is the Messiah; the real, bonafide Saviour of God. This, no one other than Jesus has ever done. He's the only one to fully qualify. Compare any purported saviour or means of salvation with the Old Testament qualifications; and you'll quickly see that all others are frauds and impostors. Only Jesus of the Bible was and did exactly what the Old Testament said. If we could find one place where He failed, we'd know He is not the Saviour; but He never failed.

3. At this point, start adding the lines as shown on the sample chart, the vanishing point of each which is the cross.
ILLUSTRATE HERE:
Tell your student(s) that the Old Testament is somewhat like a large glove never before known to man. God is saying that when saviours come on the scene, see if their hand will fit this glove. If the hand doesn't fit, the supposed saviour is a fraud; and can't save himself, let alone anyone else. All others have failed; but Jesus didn't fail. Put any other saviour to this same test, and you'll see instantly how vain and foolish it is to trust him (or it).

C. Tell your student(s) at this point that it would be impossible in a one-hour session like this to look at all the dozens of Old Testament proofs that Jesus is the legitimate, bonafide Saviour or Christ; but that you would like to point out a few:

1. One fascinating area of consideration was His birthplace. Old Testament Micah said the real Messiah or Saviour would be born in Bethlehem of Judah, Micah 5:2. Anyone claiming to be a saviour with a birthplace other than Bethlehem in Judah would not be the real Saviour. In Jesus' case, just before He was born, His mother, Mary, and His foster father, Joseph, were living in Nazareth of Galilee, Luke 2:4. The last thing any "about to be" mother would want to attempt would be to ride a donkey or walk right at 100 miles through rugged mountainous terrain. That's what it took for Mary to get from Nazareth to Bethlehem. But, at just the right time, the Roman Caesar sent out a decree that all his subjects pay a certain tax, Luke 2:1. This Roman Caesar was pagan, and didn't even believe in one God, let alone the God of the Jews. The Jews and their religion were just a source of trouble and constant friction to him and his Roman kingdom. This Caesar was located near 1,000 miles from Israel, and surely was not trying to decree a decree that would insure the accurate fulfillment of some ancient Jewish prophecy. Although, his decree necessitated Mary and Joseph taking the long, arduous trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem to pay this tax. The reason they had to go to Bethlehem to pay the tax was because they were both descendants of King David, which was another requirement for the Messiah, II Sam. 7:16. So, they went to Bethlehem; and sure enough, right on schedule in exactly the right place, Jesus was born, Luke 2:6-7. Later when Herod heard of Jesus' birth and would have killed Him, Matt. 2:16, an angel warned Joseph to take Jesus to Egypt, which he did. This enabled Jesus to fulfill Hosea 11:1 which predicted the Messiah would come out of Egypt.

2. Isaiah predicted the true Messiah would have to be virgin born in Isaiah 7:14. Jesus was virgin born, Luke 1:27, 34-35. But, the virgin birth requirement eliminates all other "would be" messiahs or saviours.

NOTE TO TEACHER: Be careful that you do not bog down here. Do not try to cover all Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah's first advent. Just pick out a few and cover them well. Do not try to use one you do not understand well yourself. It is better to handle a simple one well than a complex one awkwardly. Keep emphasizing as you teach this section that Jesus met every requirement imposed on the coming Messiah, but that no one else has even come close to meeting them. Tell your student(s) the proof is there. All it needs is an examination. You are not asking your student(s) to accept Jesus as the Saviour without evidence. No, sir! The evidence is there, and it all points to Jesus while it eliminates every other contender.

Just a few other Old Testament requirements for the Messiah with which you might want to deal, depending on your personal preference, are His descendancy through the tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:10), no bones broken (Ex. 12:46), the piercing of His hands and feet (Psalm 22:16), His words on the cross (Psalm 22:1), His life of sorrow and grief (Isaiah 53:4). There are many, many others.

3. One major line of Old Testament requirements for Messiah was that He would have to fulfill the Old Testament "lambship" typology.

Early in the Bible, Genesis 3, the first man and woman sinned and fell into condemnation by God, just as all of us have ever since. What the first man and his wife (Adam and Eve) did was just what all of us since have done. They tried to do something for themselves. They made figleaf clothes which didn't hide their nakedness from God. Those figleaf clothes are symbolic of human efforts, good works, better conduct. God came on the scene, killed an animal (probably a lamb), and made clothes for Adam and Eve. The death of the innocent animal in the place of Adam and Eve foreshadowed the coming substitutionary work of the Christ. Symbolically back in Genesis 3:21, God wss saying the Messiah would have to die the innocent for the guilty in order for sinners to be saved. Add to the chart as shown.

This point is again symbolically established in Genesis 22:1-14. God commanded Abraham to offer Isaac on Mount Moriah. As Abraham took Isaac, the lad saw the sacrifice wood and the fire to burn it, but he saw no sacrificial lamb. So he asked in Verse 7, "where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" Abraham answered, "My son, God will prouide himself a lamb for a burnt offering," Verse 8. Sure enough, God did provide a ram caught by his horns in a thicket, Verse 13. Abraham offered that innocent sheep in guilty Isaac's place. The typical teaching is again the substitutionary sacrifice of the innocent for the guilty. And, it was typical teaching concerning the coming Messiah, for after offering the ram, Abraham said in Verse 14, "In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen." Notice the "future" tense. It was at that place that later the Messiah (who would be God Himself) would die on the cross for sinners even as the ram had died in the place of Isaac. Add Genesis 22:1-14 to the chart as shown.

This lambship typology is further established in Exodus 12. The death angel was about to pass through the land. Only those with the blood of an innocent and blemishless lamb applied to the doorposts of their houses would escape. The perfect, spotless lamb said Messiah would have to be sinless. The shed blood said Messiah would have to give His blood. The blood on the doorposts said the blood of Christ would have to be personally appropriated by the lost, which occurs at the point of faith. Add Exodus 12 to the chart.

Case after case of the sacrifice of sheep in the place of guilty worshippers could be cited from the Old Testament which outlines the Levitical priesthood. Each one is a foreshadow and requirement for the coming Messiah. Perhaps Isaiah 53:7 puts it best, "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is broouht as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb,so he openeth not his mouth." Add Isaiah 53:7 to the chart as shown.

D. Now, tell your student(s) that each of these requirements and symbolic foreshadows is designed to point men to Jesus Christ and to convince them that He and He alone is the Saviour of lost people:

1 . Turn your student(s) to Hebrews 10:1 and add to the chart. From this verse, show him that the Levitical offering of sheep or other sacrifices for sinning Jews never took away even one sin. These sacrifices were not designed to take away sin. They were designed to point sinners forward to the coming Messiah.

ILLUSTRATE HERE:
Show your student(s) a picture of your mate, friend, or point to a picture in his house. Explain to him that the picture is not the person; not the real thing, just a likeness to point to the real thing. Nobody hugs or shakes hands with a picture.

Likewise, the law with all its sacrifices was not a means of salvation, just as no system of good works then or now is a means of salvation. Salvation is in a person, a Saviour; and His name is Jesus. All the sacrifices of sheeps and goats and bullocks were merely images to point men forward to the real lamb of God, Jesus; and the real sacrifice for sins, Jesus' death on the cross. Add Heb. 9:12 to the chart, and read or quote it.

2. Now, turn your student(s) to Gal. 3:24-26 and add to the chart. Show him right here in the Bible that all the aspects of the law were to bring men to Christ.

3. Now, add John 1:29 to your chart, and explain to your student(s) why it made so much sense for John the Baptist to call Jesus "the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world."

4. Now, add Acts 8:32-33 and show your student(s) that the Ethiopian man was reading from Isaiah 53:7, and Philip explained to him that the references were to "Jesus" in Verse 35.

 

III. Now, affirm to your student(s) that according to God in the Bible, upon the strength of the work Jesus did on the cross, every lost person can be saved:

A. When Jesus went to that cross, He went there the innocent God of heaven to die in the place of us guilty sinners:

1. Add I Peter 3:18 and read or quote it.

2. Add I Peter 2:24 and read or quote it.

3. Add Rom. 5:6,8 and read or quote them.

Teacher, you won't need to spend much time elaborating on these verses. After the case you've built from the scriptures, these passages speak for themselves.

B. Now, tell your student(s) that God has already, in Christ, done all the work necessary to save lost people. Nothing needs to be added to it:

1. Add Hebrews 10:10-14 to the chart, and turn Your student(s) to it. Show him from this passage that the Old Testament priests never sat down because they could never cure the sin problem. But Jesus "sat down" because His "one sacrifice" would "forever" be all that would be necessary to conquer the sin problem once and for all.

2. Then, turn to John 19:30 and add to the chart. Be sure your student(s) sees this verse. Show him that when Jesus said "it is finished" He was not conceding defeat. To the contrary, He was expressing triumph and victory. In view of His meeting every qualification and requirement for the Messiah, and in view of the work He was doing on the cross as the fully qualified one to do such work, He could say "it is finished." Not one work more would ever need to be done to get lost men into a saved relationship with God. That means that when it comes to getting from Group One into Group Two, baptism, church membership, good works, faithfulness, nor any other act of conduct is of any value. No further good from anybody is needed. Jesus has done it all.

1. Tell your student(s) that this concludes Lesson Three. Explain that next week you will teach a lesson titled "How to Appropriate What God Has Done." Tell him that in that lesson you'll explain exactly what God says it takes to make Christ's work personal. Explain too that in that lesson you'll show how any person can know for sure that he is saved or in Column Two.

2. Encourage your student(s) to review the chart during the coming week.

3. Always invite him to church.

4. Rise up and make your way to the door with a warm goodbye, and an assurance that you'll be back next week at the usual time.

 

"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"