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- The NEW LIFE IN CHRIST
- Course 2
- Lesson 3
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- Dear Friend,
- In our first two lessons, we
have learned who the Lord Jesus is.
- He is the Christ, the promised Savior, and He is the mighty God.
- Jesus is also the greatest teacher who ever lived. There has never
- been a teacher like the Lord
Jesus. Every word that He spoke is
- true. His words are the words
of God. The Temple police said
- about Him, "The things he
says are greater than the words of any man."
- In this lesson we are going to study some of the things Jesus
- taught. We will be able to
study only a few of His wonderful teachings.
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- Jesus taught that our life here is like a journey. Jesus said
- that the path of life divides
into two ways-one is a broad road,
- and the other is a narrow
road. We are free to choose the way we
- will take in life, but we
should know where these two roads lead.
- Jesus said that the broad road leads to destruction (hell), while
- the narrow road leads to
Heaven. Jesus urged men to choose the
- narrow road. He said,
- “Enter through the narrow gate
that opens the way to heaven. The
road that leads to hell is a very easy road. And the gate to hell is very
wide. Many people enter that
gate.“ --- Matthew 7:13
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- Jesus taught us that Heaven is a real place. It is a place which is
prepared for those who love God. Jesus called it "My Father's
house." He told His disciples,
- "In My Father's house are
many mansions: if it were not so (true), I would have told you."
John 14:2
- Jesus also taught that hell is a real place. He referred to it as
"the fire that never shall be quenched (put out)." Jesus
solemnly warned men of the consequences (results) of sin.
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- The Lord Jesus taught us that God's law was good and holy. Jesus said, “Don’t
think that I have come to destroy the Law of Moses. Or the teaching of
the prophets. I have not come to
destroy their teachings. I came
to give full meaning to their teachings." Matthew 5:17
- The Lord Jesus taught us that keeping God's laws is not simply a
- matter of obeying them
outwardly, but we must keep them in our hearts. For example, the Bible
says that if you hate somebody in your heart, you are a murderer in
God's sight (see 1 John 3:15).
- You might ask, "Has anyone ever kept the law perfectly?"
- No, no one other than the Lord Jesus has ever kept God's laws
- perfectly. No one will ever
be saved by keeping the law. The
- Bible says, “We know that a
person is not made right with God by following the Law." Galatians
2:16b
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- "If no one will ever be saved by keeping the law, then why did God
give us the law?"
- God gave us the law (1) that we might know what is right and wrong in
God's sight, and (2) that we might see that we are sinners and need a
Savior. The Bible says,
- "...the law was our
schoolmaster (teacher) to bring us unto Christ “ --------Galatians 3:24
- Right now, as you read the Ten Commandments, think about your life and
see which commandments you have broken in word, thought, or deed
(action).
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- The Lord Jesus made it clear that no one can be saved unless he repents.
Jesus said,
- “—I tell you if you do not change
your hearts and lives (repent), then you will all be destroyed too!”
." Luke 13:5
- What is repentance? Repentance is a "turn-around"-a change of
mind that leads to a change in conduct (actions). It is turning to the Lord
- Jesus.
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- In Luke 15, the Lord Jesus told a story that illustrates what it means
to repent. He told of a father who had two sons. The younger son came to
his father and asked for his inheritance. The
- father did not want his son to
leave home, but the son insisted, so the father gave him the money he
was to inherit.
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- The son left and went into a far country where he wasted his money doing
sinful things. A great famine came upon the country, and the son began
to be in need. He became very hungry.
- At last, he found a job, taking care of a herd of pigs. He was so hungry
that he wanted to eat the husks (food) he was feeding to the pigs. Then
he began to think of the sinful way he had been living. He thought of
the good things back at his father's house.
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- Finally, he said, "I will arise and go to my father and say to him,
'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am not worthy
to be called your son. Just let me be one of your hired servants.“
- The son arose and went back to his father. When he was yet a long way off, his father saw him and ran to
meet him. He put his arms about him and kissed him. He forgave his son
freely and received him back into his home and commanded that a feast be
prepared for him.
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- This is a beautiful picture of how God forgives us and receives us when
we repent of our sins and come to him.
If a person has truly repented of his sins and been born again,
there will be a change in his life. The Bible says,
- “If any person is in Christ, then
that person is made new. The old
things have gone; everything is made new.“ ---2 Corinthians 5:17
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- A man named Nicodemus came one night to talk to the Lord Jesus. This man
was very religious. He attended the synagogue faithfully. He prayed
much. He gave money regularly. He did many good deeds; yet he must have
realized that something was missing in his life.
- Nicodemus thought that perhaps Jesus could give him some new
- teaching that would help him.
But Nicodemus needed more than new teaching-he needed to be born again
into God's family. Jesus said to him,
- “I tell you the truth. A person must be born again. If a person is not born again, then
that person cannot be in God’s kingdom." ------John 3:3
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- Nicodemus must have been shocked by Jesus' statement. He was a good man!
He was very religious. He
had given
- money for God's work! He was a teacher among the Jews!
- Yes, Nicodemus was all of
these things, but he was not a child of God.
- Jesus said again,
- “A person’s body is born from
his human parents. But a person’s
spiritual life is born from the Spirit.
Don’t be surprised that I told you, ‘ You must be born again.’“
- ------------- John 3:6,7
- This applies not only to Nicodemus but to every person. You –no matter
who you are--must be born again.
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- Because we are members of a sinful race that is condemned (blamed) by
God.
- The first man, Adam, was created in the image of God. But Adam rebelled
against God. He disobeyed God and he became a sinner.
- Because Adam was the head of the human race, he passed his sinful nature
on to the whole human race.
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- Because we are sinners, we are condemned (blamed) to eternal death which
means to be separated from God forever, in the lake of fire. How
terrible!
- But there is good news in the Bible. The good news is that Jesus Christ,
God's Son, died for our sins and rose again. He rose again to become the
Head of a new race-the children of God. By our first birth, we became
members of Adam's sinful family. When we receive Christ as our Savior we
become members of God's family. This is what it means to be “born
again”.
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- If you have been born into God's family, God wants you to know that you
are saved. We can know that we are saved because God says so in His
Word. Many believers do not have real assurance of their salvation
because they are looking at their feelings instead of believing God's
Word.
- The Lord Jesus often referred to His believers as "sheep." He
said, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me:
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish (die
forever), neither shall any man pluck (pull) them out of My hand.“
-----John 10:27,28
- What does Jesus say? He says that His sheep hear His voice and follow
Him. Jesus says that He gives to them eternal life. He says that they
shall NEVER perish (die forever). If we belong to the Lord Jesus, let us
take Him at His word and say, "I know that I am saved."
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- As soon as we know that we are saved, we should tell others that we have
taken Christ as our Savior. The Bible says, “Thank the Lord, because he
is good! His love is
forever! Every person that the
Lord has saved should say those words." -------------Psalm 107:1-2.
- In Mark chapter 5, we have the story of a man who was possessed
(controlled) by an evil spirit. Jesus cast the evil spirit out of the
man and said to him, "Go home to your family and friends. Tell them about all the things the
Lord did for you. Tell them that
the Lord was good to you.
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- If you have received the Lord Jesus as your Savior, the Lord wants you
to tell your friends about it. A new Christian should begin immediately
telling his friends, "I have taken (accepted) Christ as my Savior.“
- Jesus said that if we confess Him before men, He will confess us before
His Father in Heaven; but if we are ashamed of Him, He will be ashamed
of us when He comes again.
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- When Jesus was here on earth, He walked and talked with His disciples.
The disciples enjoyed having Him as their teacher and their leader. One day Jesus told them that He would
soon be leaving them. This made them very sad, but Jesus comforted them
with this wonderful promise:
- “I will ask the Father, and he
will give you another Helper (Comforter). He will give you this Helper to be
with you forever. The Helper is
the Spirit of truth. ---you know
him. He lives with you and he
will live in you.” ------John 14:16,17
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- This Comforter whom Jesus promised to send is the Holy Spirit. On the
Day of Pentecost, fifty days after Jesus rose from the dead, the Lord
Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in His disciples.
- From that time on, whenever a person is born again, the Holy Spirit
comes to dwell (live) in him immediately.
- "Does every believer have the Holy Spirit dwelling (living) in him?" Yes, he does. The Bible
says, “—if any person does not have the Spirit of Christ, then that
person does not belong to Christ." -----Romans 8:9
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- He teaches us about Christ,
- He guides us,
- He comforts us,
- He helps us pray,
- He gives us power to overcome sin, and
- He helps us to be more like the Lord Jesus.
- How thankful we should be that Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to dwell
in us.
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- Jesus taught us that we must forgive others freely, even as God has
forgiven us freely.
- We have committed (done) many, many sins against God. But God had mercy
on us and forgave us of all our sins-thousands of sins. Since God has
had such great mercy on us, we should forgive others of the few sins
they commit (do) against us. The Bible says,
- “Be kind and loving to each
other. Forgive each other the
same as God forgave you in Christ."
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--------------Ephesians 4:32
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- The Lord Jesus said that the greatest of all commandments (God’s Laws)
is to love God with all our heart. Since Jesus is God, when we love Him, we are loving God.
- The secret of a happy, fruitful Christian life is to love the
- Lord Jesus with all our
heart. The more we love the Lord Jesus,
- the more we will enjoy Him.
- Have you considered how much the Lord Jesus loves you? He loves you so
much that He died on the cross for you. Because He loves us so much, the
Lord Jesus wants us to love Him.
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- How do we show the Lord Jesus that we love Him? We show Him that we love
Him by keeping His commandments (laws). Jesus said,
- "If you love Me, keep (obey) My commandments. "
- ----------John
14:15
- There is a great reward in loving the Lord Jesus and keeping His
commandments (laws). If we love Him and keep His commandments, we will
be loved by the Father, and Jesus will make His presence real to us.
Jesus said,
- “If a person knows my commands
(laws) and obeys those commands, then that person truly loves me." --------------John 14:21
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- Jesus is my great-Teacher.
- I will love and obey Him.
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- Monday Read: John 4:27-42
- Verse(s) that I like most:
- This is what I like about the
verse(s):
- Tuesday Read: John 4:43-54
- Verse(s) that I like most:
- This is what I like about the
verse(s):
- Wednesday Read: John 5:1-15
- Verse(s) that I like most:
- This is what I like about the
verse(s):
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- Thursday Read: John 5:16-30
- Verse(s) that I like me most:
- This is what I like about the
verse(s):
- Friday Read: John 5:31-47
- Verse(s) that I like most:
- This is what I like about the
verse(s):
- Saturday Read: John 6:1-14
- Verse(s) that I like most:
- This is what I like about the
verse(s):
- Sunday Read: John 6:15-21
- Verse(s) that I like most:
- This is what I like about the
verse(s):
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- Would you like to seriously study a series of courses like this
one? You can, try these links.
- Original Mailbox Club: www.mailboxclub.com
- Studies on paper lessons and
mailed back and forth. There are tests at the end of each lesson.
- Internet lessons at Charity Baptist Church:
- www.charitybaptist.org/Mailbox/Main%20Pages/MBC%20Main%20Page.htm These are the same lessons as the
paper lessons, but only over the Internet.
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Notes
