Lesson 5: Have Hope
Purpose: to help the disciple see more clearly God's judgment of sin and take hope in the future resurrection
Objectives:
1. to explain God's wrath, justice, and righteousness
2. to review man's sinfulness and describe God's necessary reaction to it
3. to show how Christ satisfies God's righteousness, justice, and wrath
4. to explain Christians' certain hope for the future
Introduction: Christians have always looked
forward to the future, to the day when God would judge the wicked
and reward the good. This hope has sustained
many believers even under times of severe persecution, and still today
it gives us cause to look confidently into
the future. Today we're going to discuss God's attributes of wrath, justice,
and righteousness, and we'll see how these
promise justice and hope for eternity.
Read Psalm 71:19
Q. What word is used to describe God here?
A. Righteousness.
Q. What do we mean when we call God righteous?
A. The word righteous
means straightness in Hebrew. It connotes the idea of moral perfection.
God's
righteousness
is the standard by which He measures our morality. It is because of this
that He has
instituted moral
governments and imposed just laws on His creatures.
Q. What is God's standard for someone to be able to inherit eternal life?
A. A person must be righteous. (Matthew 25:46)
Read Romans 3:10
Q. Is any man righteous apart from Christ?
A. No.
Read Psalm 89:14
Q. What two things make up the foundation of God's throne?
A. Righteousness and justice.
Q. What does God's justice mean?
A. It is that
characteristic of God by which He always acts in a right or fair manner.
Through this He
executes His
laws involving reward and punishment.
Justice demands the punishment of the sinner,
but it may accept a substitute to endure the punishment, as in Christ's
suffering.
Q. In accordance with His righteousness and justice, how will God deal with sinful man?
A. Read Romans 2:5. He will pour out His wrath.
Q. What does God's wrath mean?
A. It is the reaction of a righteous God against sinful people and evil in all forms.
Read Psalm 11:6
Q. How is God's wrath described in this verse?
A. As fire, brimstone, and burning wood.
God's holiness, righteousness, and justice
set the standard of right and wrong. He cannot allow evil to go unpunished
without violating His perfect justice.
His wrath is an expression of eternal disgust and displeasure with all
sin.
Read 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10
Q. Who will receive the wrath of God (v. 8)?
A. Unbelievers.
Q. What will the result be to those who receive the wrath of God (v. 9)?
A. Eternal destruction, which means being separated from God's presence and glory.
Q. When will this take place (v. 10)?
A. When Christ returns.
Q. Do you ever
get frustrated because it seems as if God is letting evil and injustice
go unpunished?
Can you think
of any times in particular that you've felt this way?
A. When we feel
this way we must remind ourselves that God's justice will eventually win
out. Evil will
meet its just
reward when Christ returns to judge the earth. (Psalm 37)
Read Romans 12:14, 17-21
Q. Since God
will ultimately avenge all evil, how are we to treat those who are our
enemies or those
who mistreat
us and say evil things about us?
A. We are not
to seek our own revenge, but leave that to the Lord. Rather we are to minister
to their
needs. We are
to overcome evil with good and return a blessing for an insult.
Q. Why do you think God is delaying His justice?
A. Read 2 Peter
3:3-14, especially v. 9. God is waiting because He desires as many people
as possible
to come to repentance
and salvation.
All human beings have sinned and are deserving
of God's punishment. But as we saw in our first meeting, God has
sent His Son Jesus Christ to save those
who will believe.
Let's review some of the things that are true of Christians that we have discussed prior to now.
Q. How did Christ rescue us from the just punishment of our sins?
A. [Let them
answer to see if they remember what earlier lessons have said.] By dying
as our
substitute and
bearing the punishment in our stead (1 Corinthians 5:21), Christ has rescued
us from
God's wrath
against sin.
Q. What will be the result of this for those who believe?
A. We will receive
Christ's forgiveness. We will be justified, which means that God has declared
us
righteous. It
will be "just-as-if-I'd" never sinned, and we will receive eternal life.
Therefore, Christians may have hope on two
accounts. First we know that evil will eventually meet its just
punishment. God's justice will win out.
Second, we know that those who have accepted Christ will receive eternal
life. God's mercy will inevitably reign.
Read 2 Corinthians 5:10
Q. Who is included in the judgment mentioned in this verse?
A. All people, including believers (see also Romans 2:5-10 if needed).
Q. While salvation
and eternal acceptance is assured because our sins were punished in the
cross, how
should judgment
, which will include believers, motivate us to live?
A. We should,
first of all, seek to live a holy life. But when we do sin, we should be
quick to confess
our sins and
make restitution for our sins so we will not be ashamed on the day of judgment.
What will eternal life be like? How can we know people are really resurrected from the dead?
Read 1 Corinthians 15:12-26
Q. How does Paul say we can know the resurrection of the dead is valid? (vv. 20-23)
A. Christ was
raised first, proving that someday all believers would be raised to dwell
with Him. Jesus
is the first
of the resurrection harvest so the resurrection of the dead has already
begun with Jesus.
When the full
harvest is ready, we will be included.
Q. Why did Paul think that our faith was in vain if it applied only to this present world? (vv. 12-19)
A. If there were
no resurrection of the dead, then evil would never be brought to justice,
Christ would
not have been
raised, we would still be in our sins, Christians who have died would be
gone forever,
and Christ would
never rule over death.
Q. Have you ever
thought much about eternal life? Are you looking forward to it? Why do
you think
we American
Christians might not talk about it much? Do you think it's wrong for us
not to emphasize
it? why or why
not? Why should we look forward to eternal life?
Read Ephesians 2:6-7
Q. Why has God raised us to new life in Christ and identified us with Him in the heavenly realms?
A. He desires
to express the riches of His grace toward us. Salvation gives us a glimpse
of the grace
of God, but
in the future God will express the fullness of His kindness toward us.
Read 1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 49
Q. How does this passage describe the resurrection body?
A. Imperishable:
It will not end or deteriorate.
Glorious: It will be enveloped with the glory of God.
Raised in power: It will no longer be weakened by sin. (It will no longer
constantly need food and exercise
to stay healthy.)
Spiritual body: It will be empowered by the Holy Spirit. Like Christ's
heavenly body:
Imperishable, glorious, powerful, spiritual.
Read Philippians 3:20-21
As is obvious from these passages, the resurrection
body is a transformed body. It is no longer the same. It has both
gained and lost. It has gained the glory
of Christ, and it has lost the sinful nature.
Let's read a few passages that will describe what life will be like in eternity.
Conclude by reading and discussing Revelation 21:3-4; 22:3-5.
Assignment: Read Psalm 37 and list the Psalmist's reasons for
despair, then his reasons for hope. What is his
conclusion?