Nuggets of Truth
- Every fundamental truth of Grace has its roots in the Book of Genesis. Either in picture, and type or in shadow.
- All who follow the Lord fully smooth the path of faith for feeble brethren, but all those who not do not follow fully roughen the path for other’s feet and create spiritual cripples.
It has been said about Jesus Christ that no other person on Earth has affected mankind as much as this one solitary life.
Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village. He worked in a carpenter shop until he was 30. Then for 3 years he was an itinerant preacher.
He never owned a home. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family. He never went to college. Ne never put his foot inside a big city. He never traveled 200 miles from the place where he was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompanies greatness. He had no credentials but Himself . . .
While still a young man the tide of popular opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied him. He was turned over to his enemies. He went through a mockery of a trial. He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves. While He was dying His Executioner’s gambled for the only piece of property he had on Earth–His coat. When he was dead he was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Nineteen long centuries have come and gone and today he is the centerpiece of the human race in the leader of the column of progress.
I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that were ever built, all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that have reigned put together have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as this one solitary life.
Dr James Allen Francis 1926.
Why was he so successful? Because His PR man was the Holy Ghost.
Before we get started today, I want to let you know some things that God showed me that will change your thinking. When your thinking lines up with God’s Word and you start to understand things about God, Man and the earth it will change your life.
Cain and Abel
Let’s start by reading in Genesis the fourth chapter. In the first few verses of this chapter we see where Eve bore Abel. When she did she said I got me a man child. This is kind of blind to us, but what she really meant was “I got a man child and this might be the Messiah”. Ever since God spoke in Genesis 3:15 Adam and Eve were looking forward to the Messiah. The devil was also looking for the Messiah because he did not want him to “break his lordship”. We all know the story of Cain and Abel but let’s read it starting with the fourth verse.
And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.
Genesis 4:1 KJV
Immediately we see what the devil did. He must have said, if this is the Messiah then I must get rid of him.
2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
Genesis 4:2-5 KJV
Here we see that Cain was not pleasing to God in the way that he presented his offering, but we see that Abel brought the first of his flock. This is the first place that I believe that we see in the Bible that it talks about bringing the first fruits which is really a “tithe” unto the Lord. Because Cain brought what was left over, it was not done in faith. Romans 14:23, tells us that “whatever is not of faith is sin.”
6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
Genesis 4:6-7 KJV
If you read this in the New King James Version is it a little clearer to us.
7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.
Genesis 4:7 KJV
God is telling Cain that sin is lying at the door. In other words… Cain if you sin then sin is going to rule over you. But he tells Cain that he should be ruling over sin.
But instead of Cain ruling over sin the devil put’s murder in Cain’s heart and lays a trap for him because of his pride and jealousy. If Cain sins, then he can not be the Messiah and the devil is safe.
8 And Cain talked with Abel, his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
9 And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?
10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.
11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;
12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
13 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
15 And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
Genesis 4:8-15 KJV
Cain kills his brother and the curse that follows is from the sin having dominion over him. If you will notice, God was simply telling Cain that sin would rule over him if he submitted himself to sin. There was not a whole lot that God could do about it if Cain went down this path.
Now let’s back up and look at what was given to Adam and Eve.
Adam and Eve are given dominion over the earth
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Genesis 1:28 KJV
Here we see in Genesis 1:28, that God gave Adam and Eve dominion over the earth.
The dominion and the world system was theirs.
Adam and Eve give their dominion to Satan
Now let’s see what they did with this dominion.
The devil borrowed the serpent’s body because he is a spirit being and does not have a flesh body.
1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Genesis 3:1-7 KJV
The glory of God that was covering them departed and so they were afraid.
8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
Genesis 3:8-13 KJV
Here we see that Adam and Eve sinned with the same sin that Lucifer (satan) fell. That sin was pride. They would be like the Most High. In verse 4 the devil says you shall not surely die. Instead, your eyes will be opened and you’ll be as gods.
That day they died spiritually. To be dead spiritually means that you are separated from God. In verse 10, we know that they died because fear entered in.
They became subject to sin.
But instead of ruling over sin, Adam bowed his knee to the devil. Sin caused him to be under sin with the consequences of sin.
How does everyone become subject to sin?
The devil tries to do the same thing to us today. He makes us become subject to sin. How does he do it? He tempts you and when you are drawn away by your own lusts, he has now made you subject to sin and the consequences are death and hell. In other words, that means you are separated from God and then destined for hell.
Even though the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof (Ps. 24:1), the world system belongs to the devil because Adam fell and bowed his need to sin and ultimately to the devil. Look at II Cor. 4:4 and see where the Bible calls the devil the god of this world.
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
II Corinthians 4:4 KJV
We see this truth about the devil again when Jesus was in the wilderness. The devil came and offered to give him the kingdoms of the world. Listen to what he says.
5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.
Luke 4:5-8 KJV
Satan tempts Jesus and offers him the kingdoms of the world. The devil offered Jesus a “shortcut”, but if he would have taken the bait, then we would still be lost and sin would have ruled over Jesus.
As a child, once you reach the age of accountability, and you do your own thing, like Cain you are separated from God. For sin separates you. At this point you need a new birth.
In Romans 7:9, the apostle Paul shows that once you reach the age of accountability and you do your own thing, then you need the new birth.
9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
Romans 7:9 KJV
Now you are subject to sin and the consequences of sin the same way Cain was.
In the third chapter of John, we see where Nicodemus came to Jesus at night. He was a rabbi and Jesus told him, unless you be born of water and born of the spirit you cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (John 3:5) Being born of water means that you are born of a woman. Being born of the spirit means that you are born again.
So is there a way out?
The only way out is to never sin.
The only way out is to never sin.
The only one that did that was Jesus!
I have heard people say that if God is really a loving God that he would not send anyone to hell. As with Cain, God simply told him the consequences of sin.
In the third chapter of John 16 through 18 we see that the person that does not believe on Jesus is already condemned. God does not need to condemn him, he is already condemned.
16 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.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
John 3:16-18 KJV
He that doesn’t believe on Jesus is already condemned.
But Jesus is throwing us a lifeline. Jesus has come to save that person out of his subjection to sin. Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages of sin is death.
In summary, all that I have told you is what Jesus summed up in John 10:1-10. Let’s read it and I will point out a few things as we go.
1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
John 10:1 KJV
What is Jesus saying here? The devil did not come through the doorway so he is a thief and a robber. The sheepfold is the earth. The doorway is to be born of a woman and to be housed in flesh and blood.
2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
John 10:2 KJV
Jesus is the good shepherd. He became as one of us.
3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
6 This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.
7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
John 10:3-7 KJV
Jesus shows us that he is now the door for the sheep because he came into the world through the doorway.
8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
John 10:8-10 KJV
Jesus took care of the sin problem.
Jesus came and paid the price.
He took care of the sin problem, and forgave the whole world.
Now the world is forgiven, but forgiveness alone will not allow you to go to heaven.
I found out that you don’t get to heaven based on your living right or wrong, but it’s the heart that matters depending on whose family you belong to.
After Jesus paid the price, God had entrance into the Earth through Jesus and he was able to now send the Holy Spirit.
He redeemed us back. But this time he did not make a covenant with us. The New Testament is a covenant between Jesus and God.
Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He said not, and to seeds, as of many; but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ.
Galatians 3:16 KJV
What must we do?
On the day of Pentecost, God gave the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2:37 those people that were listening to Peter asked what must we do?
Peter answered in the 38th verse repent, and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 2:38 KJV
To receive the Holy Spirit you must
- Repent and receive Jesus.
- Be baptized in the water.
- Receive the Holy Spirit.
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