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Module #2

15. Finding God’s Church

Finding God’s Church Lesson 15

In all ages, God has had a group of faithful people who, though often small, maligned, and persecuted, have been obedient to His commandments and faithful to His testimony. Guided by the gift of prophecy, they have proclaimed His Word, even to their death.

Satan’s attack on God’s people has been relentless. He has continuously corrupted each system of worship God has put in place down through history, and today the major part of Christendom has fallen prey to his deceptions as well. This apostasy is called Babylon and it is pictured in a fallen condition from which it will not recover. In every age of history, God has had a faithful group of people on earth who were willing to do His bidding. Many times they were few in number, as in the case of Noah and his family. Now we have come to the end of time and the final crisis of our world before Jesus comes. God is gathering a people from all walks of life to prepare them for His coming. He is calling people out of Babylon – out of the false systems of religion – into His special fold. This is the final call. But how can we identify His true people and thus be sure to be a part of this faithful group that He is getting ready for His soon coming? The answer is found in an amazing prophecy devoted to the complete history and future of God’s people.

Questions

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Response questions:

Can you see that God is in the process of gathering His last-day remnant people in preparation for Christ’s soon return?

Is it your desire to be part of this special group that is proclaiming the everlasting Gospel to the world?

14. Life in God’s New World

Life in God’s New World Lesson 14

When Marco Polo returned to his hometown of Venice after many years in the Orient, his friends thought his long journeys had driven him mad. He had such incredible tales to tell.

Marco had travelled to a city full of silver and gold. He’d seen black stones that burned, but no one had ever heard of coal. He’d seen a cloth that refused to catch fire, even when thrown into the flames, but no one had ever heard of asbestos. He talked of huge serpents, ten paces long with jaws wide enough to swallow a man, nuts the size of a man’s head and white as milk inside, and a substance spurting from the ground that actually set lamps alight. But no one had ever seen crocodiles, coconuts, or crude oil. They just laughed at such stories.

Years later, when Marco Polo lay dying, a devout man at his bedside urged him to recant all the tall tales he’d told. But Marco refused: “It’s all true – every bit of it. In fact, I have not told half of what I saw.”

The Bible writers who give us glimpses of heaven seem to echo Marco Polo’s sentiment. In vision they looked on a place so brilliant, so fantastic, that they could describe only a fraction of what they saw. And we face a challenge similar to that of Marco Polo’s friends. We must try to imagine the crocodiles and coconuts that we’ve never seen, because the glimpses we do get in the Bible show us that heaven is much more than our human minds are able to imagine.

Questions

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Response questions:

Can you see that God has made provision for a beautiful new world?

Is it your desire to be part of God’s new world and enjoy eternity with Him?

13. The Fate of the Unsaved

The Fate of the Unsaved Lesson 13

In the beginning God created a perfect world. But sin came in and brought disaster, decay, and death. If you returned home some evening and found your house ransacked and wrecked, would you leave it that way forever? Of course not. You would sweep out the dirt and rubbish, clean the place from top to bottom, and throw away items ruined beyond repair. God will do the same. He will take care of the wreckage and pollution of sin once and for all, creating a new earth in its place.

But God faces serious problems, because sin not only wrecked the physical world, it also infected people. Sin damaged our relationship with Him and with each other. Humanity continues to be plagued by child abuse, terrorism, pornography, and a thousand other cancers of the soul. God must someday destroy sin, because sin is destroying people. God’s dilemma is this: how to eliminate the deadly virus of sin from the world and yet not destroy all the people infected by it. His solution was to take on the virus in His own body; He allowed the cancer of sin to destroy Him at the cross.

In our last lesson we learned that the dead remain in their graves until Christ’s Second Coming, at which time they will come forth in one of two resurrections. The saved will go to be with God in heaven, while the unsaved will remain on earth and face the fire of hell.

Questions

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Response questions:

Can you see that a loving God would not put any of His children in an endless fire to torture them?

Are you anxious for that day to come when God will remove sin and its destructive results from the universe?

12. The Mystery of Death

The Mystery of Death Lesson 12

People say all sorts of things about death. “You go right to heaven when you die.” “Death is the end; there is no afterlife.” “Death is simply the transition into another existence.” “There is an afterlife, but you rest unconscious until the resurrection.” Why is there so much confusion concerning this vital topic?

The confusion began in the Garden of Eden. God told Adam and Eve that if they disobeyed, they would die. Satan, disguised as a serpent, told them that they wouldn’t die (Genesis 2:17; 3:4). Who was right?

Jesus often referred to death as a sleep. On one occasion, the sobs and wails of hired mourners filled the air at the house where Jairus’ daughter lay dead. When Jesus told the weeping crowd that she was sleeping, they laughed at Him. But their disbelief turned to joy when He awakened her from that sleep (Mark 5:35-42). Jesus also called the death of His friend Lazarus a sleep (John 11:11), and often spoke of the resurrection (Matthew 22:28-31; John 11:25). The resurrection would have no value if a person went straight to heaven or hell at death.

Man, with all his scientific tools of research, is still unable to answer the question about what happens in death. The only answer to the mystery of death is found in the Word of God and is tied in closely with how man was created.

Questions

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Response questions:

Can you see that the Bible teaches that man’s soul is mortal and death is an unconscious state?

Is it your desire to be part of the group who receives immortality when Christ returns?

11. God’s Coming Kingdom

God’s Coming Kingdom Lesson 11

Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He assured His followers, I will come back! He wants us to be with Him, and He promised to return and take all who trust in Him to the special place He has prepared for us.

The Second Coming of Jesus is a Bible fact. Scripture speaks of His return approximately 2,500 times. Interestingly, you will find more references to Jesus’ Second Advent than to His first. The fact that Jesus is coming to the world a second time is as certain as the reality that He lived on this earth two thousand years ago. That’s why the apostle Paul could confidently proclaim that because Christ gave Himself for us on the cross, we can experience a blessed hope – the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13).

Long ago, God promised that a Messiah would come, a Deliverer who would take our iniquities on Himself, and provide pardon for human sin. That promise seemed too good to be true for many in the ancient world. But Jesus did come and die on the cross. The promise came true more gloriously than the Hebrews imagined possible.

His promise to return to earth will come true also. We can rely on the One who loves us to return and gather up those for whom He has paid an infinite price.

Questions

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Response questions:

Can you see that we are living in the last days, and that Jesus’ Second Coming will be soon?

Is it your desire to be ready to meet Him when He comes?

10. Facing the Judge

Facing the Judge Lesson 10

God has always existed as judge over His creation. But we need to understand how He judges, when He judges and why He judges. Knowing how, when and why He judges helps us understand the judgment described in the Bible. When God determined to punish Sodom and Gomorrah for their sins, Abraham recognized that God is the judge of men’s actions (Genesis:18:20-25). In this case God passed judgment, issued a verdict and carried out the sentence.

The judgment of God is also described in the Bible as a process, not strictly the rendering of a verdict or passing of a sentence. For example, Peter tells us that “the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God” (1 Peter:4:17). From this we can see that judgment is an evaluation process that has already begun for those who are a part of God’s Church. This evaluation ultimately leads to a rendering of a decision or verdict.

Few thoughts could be more sobering: Every person who has ever lived must face a full accounting of his life before God, the righteous Judge (2 Corinthians 5:10). Does this alarm you? If so, take heart! Millions have found the Judgment news of this Study Guide thrilling and assuring. In the book of Revelation, on four different occasions, mention of the Judgment brings praise, thanksgiving, and rejoicing (Revelation 11:16-19; 15:2-4; 16:5, 7; 19:1, 2). The Bible refers to the Judgment more than a thousand times. Almost every Bible writer speaks of it. Its importance cannot be overemphasized.

Questions

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Response questions:

Can you see that the purpose of the Judgment is to convince the court that God’s people are safe to save?

Is it your desire to have Jesus Christ as your Defense Attorney by acknowledging Him as your Lord and Saviour now?

9. God’s Sign of Loyalty

God’s Sign of Loyalty Lesson 9

The society in which we live is becoming increasingly lawless and rebellious, which is reflected in the overcrowded jails and the building of new ones. The disregard for the law has become an epidemic. The tragedy is that some Christian groups are telling us that even God’s Law is not valid any longer. The Bible says that the Law of God is unchanging and therefore eternal. The Law is perfect, holy, just, and good. It is not the Law that needs changing, but us humans. God’s purpose in giving us the Ten Commandment Law was to expose our sinfulness so we will see our need of the saving grace of Christ and not continue on the path to self-destruction. It is His saving grace that empowers and enables us to be obedient to His great moral standard. How unfortunate that some religious groups contribute to lawlessness by teaching the discarding of the Law that gives freedom (James 2:12). Little wonder that people also feel the laws of the land are equally dispensable.

In Lesson 8 we learned that God put His Law, the Ten Commandments, in written form at Mt. Sinai to show His people how to live. He revealed Himself as Creator of heaven and earth, and set aside a special time each week for us to reflect on His love and creative power, and He began the fourth commandment with the words, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy…”

Questions

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Response questions:

Can you see that the only day God made holy is the seventh day, which is Saturday?

Is it your desire to honor God by obeying Him and keeping the Sabbath holy?

8. God’s Law of Love

God’s Law of Love Lesson 8

Many Christians today think that they know Christ. But Jesus says in Matthew 7:21-23 that at His Second Coming many of them will be very disappointed to hear from Him that He never knew them. Jesus is going to recognize only those who know Him. So, what does it mean to know Christ? To answer that question, we need to look at 1 John 2:3-4: “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, ‘I know Him’, and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” From this text we can see that only when we obey God’s commandments can we truly say that we know Him.

In lesson 7 we learned that baptism is a sign that one has made a complete commit-ment to Christ. It is devoting oneself as a disciple of Jesus Christ, surrendering the old sinful nature and its immoral practices for the new divine nature that lives for Christ. The follower of Christ no longer lives his life in a selfish worldly way, but seeks to live in harmony with God’s character and Law. Love for God will be the motivating and compelling power of the Christian’s life (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). In this lesson, we will discover the importance and application of God’s Law of love expressed in the Ten Commandments.

Questions

Click on the question to reveal the answer:

Response questions:

Can you see that God’s Ten Commandment Law is eternal, and therefore the moral standard for Christians?

Is it your desire to honor God by obedience to His Commandments as He gives you grace?