Notes compiled with my BSF group
GENESIS 1–5
Man’s Need
Man feels ashamed and needs to be clothed. We were driven out of the Garden of Eden and now face death. We are cursed and need to be saved.
Jesus Christ is our redemption, a provision of God
Matthew 1:18–25
Luke 1:26–38
The Messiah will be born through Eve, and He will crush the power of Satan (Genesis 3:15).
True Faith
Hebrews 11:1–3
Many people in society like to laugh at faith. They think faith is blindly believing something. Here, we see that for Christians, faith is NOT blindly believing. It is having "confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1).
God has shown us His amazing power and love through prophecies and provisions. We may not see Him, but we have seen His works. We have seen His promises come true. Therefore, even though we do not see Him, we can still have confidence in God, because we KNOW God is there, and God is amazing. For Christians, our faith therefore is NOT blindly believing. It is not like children who believe in Santa Claus. For Christians, our faith is CONFIDENCE in God. There are many things we do not see. The future, to humans, is unpredictable and unknown. However, we have confidence in the future God has revealed to us because we KNOW God is faithful. Our faith is based on the Truth. Our faith is based on God.
Enoch was raptured because he "walked with God"
Any Christian knows, it is extremely difficult to faithfully walk with God. To be honored with such a title by the Holy Spirit, we learn exactly how faithful Enoch must have been. His heart belonged to God and never left God. And because Enoch was such a faithful man to God, God gave him visions about the future:
Jude 1:14-16
Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him." These men are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.
Inspired by Enoch, we should all strive to walk with God. No matter how hard it is, walk with God. Why? Look at Adam. Look at Cain. Look at the people who died in the Flood. And now, look at Abel. Look at Enoch. Look at Noah. Those who walk with the world – those who cave in to temptations, who conform to the world, they will be judged. Those who walk with God will be saved, because Jesus was judged in our place!
When we face temptations, when we face difficulties in this world, the question we should ask ourselves is who do we want to please? God or man? It’s hard to fight against pressure from family and friends, but the time will come when each one of us will have to face God. We may lose in man’s eyes, but if we win in God’s eyes, that's all that matters.
GENESIS 6–9
God protects the righteous
Matthew 24:36-44
2 Peter 3:1-10
God does not judge the righteous. We have proof -- This is why I am very confident in my choice to remain righteous in the eyes of God. I would rather be laughed at by man than to be judged by God.
As mentioned above, God's people will not be judged because Jesus has been judged in our place. And by accepting Jesus, we are declared righteous by God.
Righteousness is defined as those who have received Christ, allowing Christ’s blood to wash us of our sins, to redeem us in our sins -- Not through anything we do, but that everything that needed to be done, Jesus did it all.
I am in Christ because every day, I actively choose to follow God. The Holy Spirit reveals to me my sins. When my sins are revealed to me, I actively pray to God so that He may help me conquer them. I also make a plan to change my ways. I then immediately thank God that He sent Jesus to die for me, because when my sins are revealed to me, that also makes me realize that I am not perfect.
On my own, I cannot live up to God’s perfect standards, and I am so thankful that when I make a mistake, when I sin, I can look to Jesus and know that God loves me so much, He has already provided the perfect solution to help me when I fall. I thus do good works not because I think I can gain salvation -- I do good works because I am so grateful I have been saved!
Abram (Abraham) did not immediately heed God's call
Genesis 11:26-32
Acts 7:2-8
From Stephan (Acts 7:2-8), we learn that God told Abraham to "Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you" (Acts 7:3) BEFORE his family moved to Haran (Acts 7:2). Yet, we see in Genesis 11:31, that instead of leaving his family as God had instructed him, Abraham moved with his father to settle in Haran. Abraham was 75 years-old when he finally left Haran. Since Abraham was married BEFORE they moved to Haran, and men usually got married when they were 30 years old back then, this suggests that it took Abraham more than 30 years to finally act on God’s command.
Even though Abraham did not immediately follow God’s command, God was still there waiting for Abraham when he eventually did move out of Haran.
This shows us that God wants the best for us and will tell us what is the best for us. However, He will not nag, and He will not force us to do whatever He suggests. He tells us once, and He leaves it in our hands to make the decision to do something about it. If we don’t, then that is our decision -- and we'll have to deal with the consequences. If we do, He will be there waiting for us – no matter how long it takes us to get there.
Faith saves; Law condemns
Romans 4:13–25
Anyone who thinks he can save himself by being a good person or following the rules, that is legalism; that is living by the law. That is living like the Pharisees. And what did Jesus call the Pharisees? Why? Because they thought they were so good, so disciplined, they were better than everyone else.
Although the Pharisees LOOKED godly, inside they were corrupted by pride. They were not close to God because their heart desired glorification for themselves. They followed the Law not to glorify God but to show others how amazing they were at fulfilling the Law.The followed the Law so that they could look down at other people.
Saints, like Abraham, on the other hand, are devoted to God. They did not receive salvation because they followed the Law. They were declared righteous because of their faith in God. We are here to do God's work, not to fulfill our selfish desires.
True believers of all nations are bless through Abraham
Galatians 3:6-9, 16, 29
1. Abraham is the father of Israelites, whose line gave forth the birth of Jesus Christ
Galatians 3:16
The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ.
Galatians 3:29
If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
2. Nations that bless Israel will be blessed
Genesis 12:3
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
3. Gentiles are grafted into the Israelites
Romans 11:15-24
If the root is holy, so are the branches. If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in." Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
There are several critical concepts from this passage:
a. We are all God’s people.
Israelites are God’s appointed people, but God’s heart is to save ALL people. God appointed Israelites to show the world the love and grace of God, so that through Israelites, ALL will come to God. This is the concept of God grafting Gentiles into the olive tree. The root is Jesus, the "natural branches" are the Israelites, and the "grafted branches" are the Gentiles.
b. God is not done with Israel. Israelites are still God’s people.
There are churches today that champion Replacement Theology. This theology states that the Church has replaced the Israel. God is done with Israel and has given the Church everything promised to Israel. This is nothing new, really, In fact, back in Paul’s day, Christians shared a similar belief (Romans 11:18-19). Heed Paul’s warning: Do not be arrogant, but tremble. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either... After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree! (Romans 11:20-24)
Replacement Theology calls God a liar. All the prophecies found throughout the Bible about Israel (for example, those listed in the Book of Isaiah) have not yet been fulfilled. If we say that God is done with Israel, we are saying that God does not fulfill every prophecy, that God does not keep every promise or every covenant. But, GOD IS FAITHFUL. God will fulfill EVERY SINGLE ONE of those prophecies. Israel will be restored one day. And nations that bless and support Israel will be blessed and supported by God.
Romans 11:11-12
Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!
And so, Paul tells us to be grateful, not prideful. Yes, the Church rose as representative of God because the Israelites failed to represent God faithfully. However, we should not forget our place. The Israelites have stumbled, but they have NOT fall beyond recovery. They will always be the natural branches, and the day will come when they will return to God. And that’s why Paul said, "How much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!"
Abraham lived by faith
Hebrews 11:8–19
Abraham lived by faith. He left his home, he left his country, he left his family to a foreign land, where the people are hostile. He went from an extremely comfortable situation to an extremely dangerous situation. Yet, he did it because he knew God was the leader, and God’s plan is greater than any man’s plans. God’s protection trumps any man’s threat. And because of his faith, God led him to the land of his people – to this day, the land of Israel is that same piece of land. That piece of land is holy land, because it was given to the Israelites by God through Abraham!
Abraham was promised descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky
This is very impressive, because Abraham’s wife was barren! It wasn’t until God opened Sarah’s womb could she bear a child – and at 100 years old at that! Both Adam and Sarah were doubtful when God promised them to be ancestors of a great nation, because they were nearly a century old and had no child. However, through their only son, Isaac, they indeed became ancestors of a great nation – Israel. And through their line, our Messiah was born.
There are no if’s in God’s plan.
When God says something is going to happen, it doesn’t matter how impossible it seems to humans. That something will happen.
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