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Session 6: Forgiveness of sins for all nations

 

Intro and Recap:

  1. Last week we looked at the Resurrection of the Messiah.  The big idea was that the Christ had to rise from the dead on the third day.  The meaning of this resurrection was simple:  Christ was raised so now he is ruler of the world forever.
  3. Before we continue, does anyone have any questions from reading Luke’s gospel? Today’s big idea is that the forgiveness of sins is open to all people – to people from all nations.  We receive it by calling on the name of the Lord. 
  5. To stop you being surprised, let me tell you this about our final session:  At the end, I’m going to invite you to become a Christian if you haven’t already done so.  You won’t have to respond out loud, but I’m still going to ask.  So be ready for that.  I’ll invite you to join me in a silent prayer. But before we get to that, we have a lot to cover.
  6. Today we will start with the last idea which Jesus gave his disciples, taken from the key verse in our course.  In Luke 24:46-47, Luke wrote this:

He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

 

  1. It’s the section in bold that we will cover today.  We will leave the questions of preaching and Jerusalem to an Appendix.

 

Our Method:

  1. We will address these various topics be reading three passages from the Old Testament.  One thing the passages have in common is that they speak of the same point in time.  But they have other things in common too.  We will use the common points to draw the same conclusions that Jesus drew. 

 

Three passages which speak of the same events:

  1. Our first passage comes from the book of Zechariah.  Zechariah wrote around 500BC, after the return from exile [write Zechariah on your timeline, on the right side of the ‘box’.]  God is speaking.

NIV Zechariah 12:10 "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. 11 On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great, like the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. […] 13:1 "On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem , to cleanse them from sin and impurity.

 

  1. Our second passage is Joel 2:28-32, probably written about 600BC. [Write Joel on your timeline.  Add a question mark after your entry, since we are not sure of Joel’s dating.]
  3. Joel 2:28-32: And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. 29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. 30 I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 31 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. 32 And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem. there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls.
  1. The third passage is Ezekiel 36:25-27, also written around 600 BC.  [Write Ezekiel into your timeline.  Ezekiel writes from exile, on the left side of the ‘box’.]
  3. Ezekiel 36:25-27: I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

 

timeline01 (click on thumbnail to see picture in full)

 

The common elements in the passages:

  1. Notice that all of these passages speak of a time when God will pour out a spirit on his people in a new way (Zechariah 12:11 , Joel 2:28 , Ezekiel 36:26).  They all speak of people’s behaviour being changed because of the Spirit (Zechariah 12:10-14, Joel 2:28, Ezekiel 36:27).  Zechariah and Ezekiel both speak of people being cleansed from impurity (Zechariah 13:1, Ezekiel 36:25).  Joel says this same thing in a different way.  He speaks of people being ‘saved’, or of ‘deliverance’ (Joel 2:32 ).  He’s talking about being saved from sins.  He’s talking about that same cleansing as Zechariah and Ezekiel.  Through these common elements we can see that the same events are being discussed in all three passages.

 

How To Be Saved:

  1. So here’s an important conclusion: once the Spirit has been poured out, everyone can have their sins forgiven.
  3. Joel 2:32 tells us what to do, if we want this forgiveness.  We need to ‘call on the name of the LORD’.  It’s the turning away from whomever or whatever we were following before.  It’s the turning to the LORD, the God of the bible who we have been learning about in these studies.  As we have learned (see study 4 especially), this turning to the LORD is also a turning to Jesus Christ.
  5. Even though this is an Old Testament promise, it applies to us.  This is clear in Joel 2:32.  ‘everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved’. (Joel 2:32).  Since we live in the time promised by Joel (the time after the Spirit comes), this promise is in force.  Since you and I are part of everyone, we can call on the name of the LORD and be saved.
  7. Are there any questions, before we apply all of this to ourselves?

 

How Should We Respond?

  1. In the book of Acts, we read the time when the Spirit was poured out, as Joel, Ezekiel and Zechariah predicted.  Peter preached a very important sermon.  Peter explained the meaning of Jesus’ life and death, and the meaning of the Spirit’s coming.  He told people how they should respond.  To finish this course, we will read Peter’s sermon, and apply it to ourselves. 

1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs-- we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?" 13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine." 14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem , let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 "'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' 22 "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. […] 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. […] 36 "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." 37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" 38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-- for all whom the Lord our God will call."

 

  1. In this passage, we read things that we looked at in today’s session and in past sessions.  In the verses I’ve skipped, more is said that we have already studied in this course.  It would be worth reading this passage again at home, if you want revise what we’ve done.

 

A Challenge to accept Jesus:

  1. But Peter finishes with a challenge, and it’s a challenge that this course will finish with.
  3. The challenge is to accept Jesus.  It’s a challenge to repent.  It’s a challenge to call on the name of the Lord and be saved.  It’s the most important decision anyone can make in life.  It’s the difference between heaven and hell.  It’s also the difference between a good earthly life and a bad earthly life.  That’s the challenge I want to put before us now.  If you haven’t already, this is the thing you should do:  Repent and be baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of sins.  You will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit if you do so.
  5. In Peter’s day, people were baptized immediately.  If you want to get baptized, talk to me and we’ll get that organized.  But right now is a good time to do the most important thing – a thing which baptism symbolises: right now is a good time to repent.
  7. So here’s what I’ll do.  I’m going to ask if you have any questions.  Then I’ll take us through a prayer which you could say right now to give your life to Jesus.
  9. Does anyone want to ask questions, before I lead us in a prayer?

 

A Prayer to accept Jesus:

  1. Well, here is the prayer:
  3. ‘Heavenly Father, I’m sorry that I have sinned against you.  I don’t deserve your gift of forgiveness.  I repent of my sins.  Thankyou for sending Jesus to die in my place.  Thankyou that he rose again, as ruler of the world forever.  Please forgive me. Please send your Spirit into me.  Please change me, that I may live with Jesus as my ruler.  Amen.
  5. The words aren’t special, but the ideas are important.  So pray along in your own mind now, if you want to: [Repeat prayer]

 

Your Prayer Will Be Heard:

  1. If you’ve prayed that prayer, for the first time, and you meant it, then God has heard you.  You’ve been given forgiveness through Jesus’ death.  Well done.  Let me say that you can be sure that God has heard you.  He did the hard thing, and came to earth as a man to die for your sins.  He’ll do the easy thing, and accept your prayer.  He’s forgiven you.  Whether you feel the same or different doesn’t matter.  Just depends on whether you’re a ‘feely’ kind of person.  You can be sure that you have moved from death to life.
  3. Let me recap: The main point for today was that forgiveness of sins is available to all people.  We receive it by calling on the name of the Lord.
  5. I’d like to finish with a prayer for all of us.  [Give thanks for the time you’ve spent together over 6 weeks, pray for God’s spiritual blessings on all present.  Ask if people want to meet again to look at another part of the bible.  It’s over to you J]

 

Appendix A to Session 6

Appendix B to Session 6

 

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