The Facts of Life By Bruce W. Robida 06/04/2017

The Facts of Life

Throughout human history, what is and has been known about God has been distorted in many ways. Today, there is so much confusion that even among most Christians, God has been made into the image of man (or woman) rather than the other way around. For too long, many of my family and friends have had a misunderstanding about who God is and what He expects from His people. This is an outline of some of the facts of life that are not generally known. Just as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west; gravity draws us to the earth and we need air to breathe, these are some of the facts of life that all people should know, especially those who consider them selves to be Christians. It is certainly not complete and is only in outline form so that you may investigate each claim in the context of the entire Bible.

1. God is.

A. Creator: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1

1. The God who is represented in the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible; the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

B. All knowing (omniscient).

1. Although God knows all things, He is not the cause of all that humans do. Some people believe that God is responsible for every human action or inaction, including causing evil and human suffering. The fact is, God gave humans the ability to make decisions and choices that are contrary to His will. For this reason, He holds us responsible for what we do. It is not God who causes us to act. We act as a result of our own will and desires.

C. All Powerful (omnipotent).

1. Although God can do anything, there are exceptions. God cannot go against His nature. God cannot sin and He cannot even look upon sin. God will do all that He promised and nothing less.

D. Misrepresented – the first time God’s Word is misquoted: The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” Genesis 3:2-3

1. This is what God actually said: And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Genesis 2:16-17

E. Not a Genie. God does not grant wishes as though He was a Genie. If you type "Amen" on Facebook just because someone tells you that God will bless you withsomething, He is especially not likely to bless you. Of course, you can pray for specific needs and He can and does answer some of those prayers. But, God will only do what He wants to do based on what He thinks is best for you. Do you want to be blessed? Be generous. Help the needy, love your neighbor, carry each other's burdens. God will bless those who do such things.

2. Jesus is.

A. God: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

1. The Christ who is represented in the Holy Bible especially the New Testament; Jesus of Nazareth, co-creator with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

B. Not created: He was with God in the beginning. John 1:2

C. Creator: Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. John 1:3

1. In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. Hebrews 1:1-2

D. The only way to God and heaven: Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

3. The Holy Spirit is.

A. God:  “If you love me, keep my commands.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. John 14:15-17

4. Heaven is.

A. Promised to believers: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.  You know the way to the place where I am going.” John 14:1-4

B. Not promised to everyone: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Matthew 7:21-23

1. “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Matthew 7:13-14

5. Hell is.

A. God’s Judgment: For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;  if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;  if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;  and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless  (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—  if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.  This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority. 2 Peter 2:4-10

B. Eternal torment: Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Revelation 20:14

1. Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:11-15

C. For unbelievers: Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:15

6. The Bible is.

A. God’s Word: The Bible is God’s Word, without error or contradiction, complete and able to teach mankind everything that is necessary for salvation and proper Christian living. There is no source greater than the Bible that can tell us about God and what he expects from His people.

B. The Final Authority: Everyone who tells us anything about God that contradicts His Word, is either ignorant or a liar. The Bible is the final authority on everything related to God, Jesus, The Holy Spirit, heaven, hell, sin, salvation and even the Bible itself.

1. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

C. To be revered: The Bible is not to be worshipped but to be revered as though God is speaking to us directly through all of its pages.

D. Disparaged – this is the first time God’s Word is called into question: Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” Genesis 3:1

1. The Bible is not corrupted – The world tells us that the Bible has been corrupted but this is a lie (except for some specialty bibles such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, New World Translation and White Supremacy bibles). But, typical Christian Bibles and even Catholic Bibles (excluding the apocrypha) have all been translated from original manuscripts that were hand written by scribes. These original manuscripts were written in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic. All legitimate Bible versions are strict translations of the texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls very accurately giving us what we are able to read in our own modern language.

E. Reliable -  Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

1. Paul: Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” Acts 9:1-4

a. The apostle Paul leaned directly from Jesus.

b. Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead. Galatians 1:1

c. I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. Galatians 1:11-12

d. But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.
Galatians 1:15-17

e. …these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit… 1 Corinthians 2:10

f. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. 1 Corinthians 2:12-13

2. Luke: Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. Luke 1:1-4

3. John: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. 1 John 1:1-4

F. Divided into two Testaments: The Old and New Testaments are two, very different collection of books, combined to give us the Holy Bible.

1. The Old Testament teaches humanity about God and His written laws. It is in the Old Testament that God established the Old Covenant. Under the Old Covenant, God demanded obedience to His laws. Deuteronomy chapter 28 shows us that there were blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. The laws under the Old Covenant were written because the Holy Spirit had not yet been given to mankind. The written laws were given so that mankind could learn the difference between right and wrong. People are often confused about certain laws that were mandated under the Old Covenant because some of those laws became obsolete after the establishment of the New Covenant. The New Covenant was established after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

2. The New Testament teaches us about the birth, life, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The major difference between the Old and New Covenants is that under the Old Covenant, there were blessings and curses and the laws that were established were written on paper and in stone. Under the New Covenant, all of God’s laws were and are written on our hearts and in our minds because of the Holy Spirit. The New Covenant that Jesus established only requires belief in Him and repentance of sins. Now, God speaks to us through our conscience as the Holy Spirit attempts to teach us. And reliance to the written laws only brings curses because no one is capable of obeying every one of God’s laws. God wants His people to listen to Him and obey Him through the power of the Holy Spirit. Study of the Bible should include both Old and New Testaments, but Christians should focus on the teachings of Jesus Christ, which He imparted to His disciples, by studying especially, the New Testament.

7. Mankind is.

A. Created: So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27

1. Man: Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Genesis 2:7

2. Woman: So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh.  Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”
Genesis 2:21-23

3. First Ancestors: Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. Genesis 3:20

4. All humans are descendants of Adam and Eve.

5. God did not create the earth and all its inhabitants through evolution.

a. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1

B. To worship and obey God: Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1

1. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Matthew 16:24

C. To be holy: Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”  
1 Peter 1:13-16

D. To Minister to the people of God: He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Corinthians 3:6

1. My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins. James 5:19-20

2. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”
1 Corinthians 5:12

3. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

4. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

E. To populate the earth: God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Genesis 1:28

F. All of creation was good: God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. Genesis 1:31

G. Mankind became rebellious: You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. James 4:4

H. Mankind became corrupted:  When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Genesis 3:6-7

I. Mankind is sinful: “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23

J. All Sins come from our own desires: but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. James 1:14-15

1. God never tempts us: When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; James 1:13

2. Temptations: To be tempted by sins and to struggle with temptations is not sinful. It is sinful only when you act upon the temptations.

a. No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.1 Corinthians 10:13

K. The remedy for sins: His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 2 Peter 1:3-4

1. All sins should be acknowledged: If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. 1 John 1:8-10

2. All sins should be repented of: Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Luke 5:31-32

3. Sin no more: Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” John 8:10-11

4. No sexual immorality: Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

a. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. Romans 1:25-27

5. Be Self Controlled: For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age…
Titus 2:11-12

6. Do not love the world: Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 1 John 2:15

7. The world corrupts: For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 1 John 2:16

8. Overcome the world: “…for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 1 John 5:4

8. Satan is:

A. Fallen angel: Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.  But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven.  The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Revelation 12:7-9

B. Roaring lion: Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
1 Peter 5:8-9

1. Satan cannot make anyone do anything. All he can do is tempt you by showing you things that he knows will entice you to sin.

2 Satan is not all knowing, all powerful or everywhere at once. He is limited by what God allows him to do. Satan cannot hear your thoughts or read your mind.

C. The spirit of the world: What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 1 Corinthians 2:12

D. The spirit of the air: As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. Ephesians 2:1-2

E. In the world: You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 1 John 4:4

9. The World is.

A. Foolish: Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 1 Corinthians 1:20

B. Dark: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12

C. Corrupting: See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.
Colossians 2:8

1. The remedy for corruption: Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:2

D. Polluted: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27

1. I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.
1 Corinthians 5:9-11

E. Controlled by Satan: We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. 1 John 5:19

1. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Revelation 12:9

The world is full of corruption and its inhabitants are also. The world tells you to go one way but our God tells us just the opposite. The ways of the world are on that broad road but the ways of God are on the narrow road. But according to God’s Word, which is true, the narrow road and the narrow gate are not easy to find and in fact, few will find it. God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, heaven, hell and Satan are all real. God has given us all that we need to know about spiritual things through His Word, the Holy Bible. He knows that we are all sinners in need of a Savior. But He also provides us ways to turn away from sins. God did not create us to sin because after the creation He said everything was good. But sin entered the world anyway so He provided a means by which we could receive salvation by belief in His Son, Jesus Christ. This does not give a believer the freedom to keep on sinning. When we confess our sins, God will forgive us, but we must never be tempted to live in perpetual sins. He expects His people to suffer through temptations just as His son, Jesus Christ did. That doesn’t mean we will be perfect. It just means that we should strive for perfection even though we may never achieve it.

Keep this outline and review it as often as possible until you have it committed to memory, and then keep it still.

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