TM

Bearing gods Image

fall 2013: Personal Study Guide Ed Stetzer General Editor Trevin Wax Managing Editor

the gospel project for students

personal study guide, Fall 2013 volume 2, number 1 PRODUCTION and MINISTRY TEAM Vice President, Church Resources: Eric Geiger General Editor: Ed Stetzer Managing Editor: Trevin Wax content editor: Andy McLean DIRECTOR, STUDENT MINISTRY PUBLISHING: Jeff Pratt DIRECTOR, student ministry: Ben Trueblood Send questions/comments to: Content Editor, The Gospel Project for Students Personal Study Guide, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234-0174, Or make comments on the Web at www.lifeway.com Send questions/comments to: Publishing Team Leader, The Gospel Project: Personal Study Guide, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234-0102; or make comments on the Web at www.lifeway.com. Printed in the United States of America

The Gospel Project for Students (ISSN 1939-0742; Item 005508013) is published quarterly by LifeWay Christian Resources, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234, Thom S. Rainer, President. 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources. For ordering or inquiries, visit www.lifeway.com or write LifeWay Church Resources Customer Service, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234-0113. For subscriptions or subscription address changes, e-mail subscribe@lifeway.com, fax (615) 251-5818, or write to the above address. For bulk shipments mailed quarterly to one address, e-mail orderentry@lifeway.com, fax (615) 251-5933, or write to the above address. We believe that the Bible has God for its author; salvation for its end; and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter and that all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. To review LifeWays doctrinal guideline, please visit www.lifeway.com/doctrinalguideline. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are from the Holy Bible, New International Version, copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189 USA. All rights reserved. Photos: iStockphoto and Getty Images

TGP Personal Study Guide

SESSION 8

Jesus Redeems

e often think the word freedom means the ability to do whatever a person wants to do. Unfortunately, left to our own passions and desires, the choices we make in life will lead us to a place of emptiness. Life becomes a series of pursuits that continuously end in frustration. The only way out of this cycle is to reverse the effects of sin on our lives and find our true purpose in life. Rather than continuing a life fueled by rebellion, we desperately need our lives to be redeemed and set on a different path. Far from seeing history as a cycle of endless repetition, Peter recognized that the work of Jesus was the climax of history. The religious rituals of the Old Testament sacrificial system were imperfect and could not ultimately satisfy the price required for our redemption. Jesus stepped in to rescue us from our sin and from the emptiness left in the wake of our rebellion.

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Ready Your Heart

Mr. Perfect
1 Peter 1:18-19 Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. Have you ever thought about perfection? What is perfect? Obviously perfection doesnt have degreessomething, or someone, is either perfect or is not. What would you consider to be perfect? Have you ever tasted the perfect steak or enjoyed the perfect dessert? Have you ever witnessed the perfect work of art or heard the perfect song? Is perfection seen in the shut-out of one football team over another? Is it in the perfect pitch, the perfect catch, or the perfect tackle? I remember many times growing up when I would walk into our house after having spent the day with Dad riding 4-wheelers and hanging out that I thought to myself, What a perfect day! Without paying too close attention, it is likely that you and I use the language of perfection more than we realize. And yet, even when we do realize we used that word to describe something or someone, chances are we dont actually mean what we think of perfection to mean. In other words, we dont think of that thing or person as being totally complete and flawless, without even a fraction or possibility of room for improvement. It means there is no flaw, no weakness, no defect, and no blemish. For us, it is just a way of speaking not in a technical sense, but in an exaggerated one. For we can always imagine that perfect steak having a little more juicy flavor or that throw being a little more spiral, etc. So whats the point of having the language of perfection if we only use it for exaggerated purposes? Is it just meant to communicate to someone else that I think this or that is pretty awesome? Not exactly. The word exists because it rightly and accurately describes the person of Christ. The only one ever capable of truly being considered perfect is the flawless, sinless Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. And because of perfection, He, and He alone, is able to be the perfect sacrifice for our sin.

Pause and Reflect

Why is it important to understand Jesus perfection? How does Jesus perfection affect His ability to be our redeemer? Are you aware that the perfect died for the imperfect when talking about Christs death and resurrection? What will your response to Him be in light of this?

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Ready Your Heart

Picking Up the Tab

1 Peter 1:20-21 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. During the summer break between my junior and senior years of high school I was able to take my first no-adults trip. Five of my friends and I took a trip to Dallas to attend a big event together. Being cash-strapped high school students, we had a plan to be as frugal as possible. We had already bought our tickets, so our plan was to pool our money for gas and hope that we had enough left over to grab a quick bite to eat at the conclusion of the event. The event was a big success. We all had a great time and made some wonderful memories. As we were leaving the area, we realized two things: 1) we had just enough money left to grab a bite to eat, and 2) it was pretty late so we had to find a place that stays open all night. Shortly after coming to these important realizations, we see a Waffle House sign just down the road. After a very brief discussion, we decided this was the perfect way to conclude our trip. As we sat at the table, we were all super excited about the event we just finished and loved getting to spend the time with great friends. At this point our night went from being awesome to being incredibly awesome. As we finished our meal, our waitress approached our table and said, You know that man who was sitting over there by himself? He told me how much he enjoyed seeing all this youthful enthusiasm and passion, and he paid your ticket. Youre all paid up and are free to leave whenever youre finished. More than anything else we experienced that evening, that single act remains most vivid in my memory. Our ticket had to be paid. And this man, this complete stranger, paid it on our behalf. The Bible teaches that we all have debt to pay because of our sin. This debt is death (Rom. 3:23). In other words, the only way that we can pay the debt that we owe is through death. Incredibly, Jesus has offered to pay that debt on our behalf. This is the picture we must see when we think of Jesus substitutionary death. Our ticket must be paid, but instead of us having to die a horrible death, Jesus did it on our behalf. Because of this substitutionary death, Christians are able to stand before God with a ticket that says, Paid in full!

Pause and Reflect

Why is death the necessary payment for sin? What does the phrase substitutionary death mean? Why is it important for us to understand that Christ redeems through His substitutionary death?

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Ready Your Heart

Forever and Ever

1 Peter 1:22-25 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever. During my freshman year of college I was discipled by a wonderful disciple-maker. This wonderful gentleman, now in his 70s, made a commitment to discipling four freshman guys every single year. He has now been doing this for over 40 years and has made an incredible impact on many, many young men along the way. I mention this great disciple-maker because he talked about eternity or forever in a way that stuck with me. He used to tell us to imagine a single bird being tasked with transporting the sand from the entire west coast to the east coast. In addition, this little bird could only take on one grain of sand at a time. He challenged us to imagine the incredible amount of time it would take this imaginary bird to fly each grain of sand from California to the Carolinas. Once every grain of sand was transported, the bird would still be at the very beginning of forever. This imagery stuck with me. We can talk about forever rather flippantly. But have you ever really sat down and pondered upon this weighty concept of forever? Thinking about forever helps us to gain a better understanding about the magnitude of Christs redemption. We see in the Scripture that while grass withers, Gods Word endures forever! That means that the victory that was accomplished through Jesus resurrection isnt a temporary victory. He doesnt ever have to renew His resurrection. This single event changed the course of history and allows believers to join Him in celebrating an everlasting victory!

Pause and Reflect

Take a moment to consider the gravity of forever. Why is it important to understand Jesus resurrection in terms of eternity? How does Christs everlasting victory impact you?

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Jesus redemption comes through...

Jesus redeems us through His perfect life, His substitutionary death, and His victorious resurrection. Jesus has redeemed us from an empty way of life so that we might be born again and live with faith and hope in God.

His perfect life.

Jesus is the unblemished Lamb who redeems us from an empty way of life. When we repent and believe, we are given a new life in Christ, an abundant life. Therefore, every genuine Christian believer has been redeemed from an empty existence to a life of abundance in Christ. After all, Jesus Himself said, I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance (John 10:10).

Christ lived a perfect life in order that He could be the perfect sacrifice for sins. But He also lived to provide us with this abundant lifethe opposite of empty existence. Some people think of abundance primarily in material terms, like wealth and riches and prosperity. But Peter contrasted the worth of silver and gold with the precious blood of Christ. There is something more precious than earthly wealth, and thats Jesus. The Christians life ought to be a testimony to the supreme value of Christ.

In what ways does Christs perfect life in our place provide us with hope when we fail? With strength to move forward and not give up when we are discouraged?  How does the contrast of the Christian life with the empty way of life influence the way we think of evangelism? In what sense is life apart from Christ empty?

His substitutionary death.

In the Old Testament the entire sacrificial system

was substitutionary in nature. Certain types of animals were to be offered as acceptable substitutes for worshipers who approached the Lord (Lev. 1:3, 10, etc.). The burnt offering, sin offering, fellowship offering, and restitution offering required certain types of animals to be sacrificed as substitutes for the worshiper. However, these substitutes could only anticipate the ultimate sacrifice of the Son of God, once for all. John the Baptist declared Jesus as the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). The phrase lamb of God signifies Jesus as the One whom God has provided as the substitute for our sins. Jesus blood has purchased our redemption. He is the only acceptable substitute and sacrifice for our sins. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Heb. 9:22). Christs substitutionary death on our behalf has earned forgiveness for our sins. Romans 3:23 says, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

For many of us, redeeming is a word we associate with coupons or a gift card we use online. A price has been paid so we have the freedom to make a purchase at no cost. We also use the word redemption to refer to someone who is trying to change themselves so they will no longer be known for his past. Its what fallen leaders try to doto redeem their image. Why is it important to focus often on the death of Jesus in our place? How does this truth stir our affections and motivate our hearts to be on mission for Gods kingdom?

His victorious resurrection.

Our faith and hope have a sure foundation. Why? Because of Christs resurrection from the dead. Without this sure foundation, our faith and hope are in vain. But because Christ has been raised from the dead, we have firm ground to stand on with faith and hope.  Is it possible to bask in the joy of redemption without considering what kind of life we are redeemed for? How does the truth of the resurrection empower our obedience?

Conclusion

Christ has redeemed us by His perfect life, substitutionary death, and His victorious resurrection from the dead. These are essential pillars of the content of the Christian gospel. Without these core elements there would be no gospel at all. Life would indeed be empty, and we would have no mission and purpose.  If any aspect of Christs redeeming work is distorted can we still call it the gospel?  Can one be properly considered Christian while denying any one of these three aspects of Christs redeeming work? Why are all three essential to our faith?

Encore

Jesus Redeems Jesus redemption comes through...

1. His perfect life (1 Pet. 1:18-25). The apostle Peter used the word redeem to describe Christs work on our behalf. But what did he mean? Lets take a look at one of Peters letters, which will give us a clearer picture of who is our Redeemer, what weve been redeemed from, and what weve been redeemed for. Up to this point in the letter, Peter has been writing about the need to set our hope on Christ and live in light of His return (vv. 13-17). Now, Peter turns to the reason why we should hope in Christ and live expectantly for His return: we have been redeemed. The for at the beginning of this passage is a clue that shows how our obedience is connected to our identity as Gods redeemed people. Jesus is the unblemished Lamb who redeems us from an empty way of life. When we repent and believe, we are given a new life in Christ, an abundant life. Therefore, every genuine Christian believer has been redeemed from an empty existence to a life of abundance in Christ. After all, Jesus Himself said, I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance (John 10:10). Jesus lived the abundant life He proclaimed. During the years of His life on earth, Jesus walked perfectly in fellowship with God the Father. Though He was tested in every way He did not sin. Christ lived a perfect life in order that He could be the perfect sacrifice for sins. But He also lived to provide us with this abundant lifethe opposite of empty existence. Some people think of abundance primarily in material terms, like wealth and riches and prosperity. But Peter contrasted the worth of silver and gold with the precious blood of Christ. There is something more precious than earthly wealth, and thats Jesus. The Christians life ought to be a testimony to the supreme value of Christ. The opposite of an empty way of life is not a life of health, wealth, and earthly possessions. Its a life on mission for Christ. Its a life that models the missionary heart of God who sent Jesus to be the unblemished Lamb we need as our sacrifice. Its a life that beckons others to come and taste and see that the Lord is good. 2. His substitutionary death (1 Pet. 1:18-25). Weve looked at how Jesus work of redemption hinges upon His identity as an unblemished perfect Lamb. He redeems us through His perfect life in our place. Next, we turn to the importance of His death on the cross. For many of us, redeeming is a word we associate with coupons or a gift card we use online. A price has been paid so we have the freedom to make a purchase at no cost. We also use the word redemption to refer to someone who is trying to change themselves so they will no longer be known for his past. Its what fallen leaders try to doto redeem their image. The people receiving this letter from Peter wouldnt have thought of coupons or personal transformation. Most likely, they would have associated redemption with the Exoduswhen God delivered the Israelites from bondage to Egypt. God raised up Moses, who went before Pharaoh and said on Gods behalf, Let My people go that they may serve Me! Notice there is deliverance (let them go) and purpose (to serve God). Redemption is purposeful.
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Encore

When Peter used the phrase with his precious blood, he was connecting Jesus blood to our redemption. We were set free from our old life, our old bondage, and our old emptiness. How? Through Christ. Jesus died in our place! He died for our sins. Jesus blood has purchased our redemption. He is the only acceptable substitute and sacrifice for our sins. Because of our sin we deserve eternal death, but Christ died for us instead in order to redeem us from the curse of sin. We deserved the punishment He endured for us. 3. His victorious resurrection (1 Pet. 1:18-25). 1 Peter 1:20-21 affirms that God had purposed before time to send His Son into the world to redeem us. The gospel is not Gods Plan B. God had determined from eternity past that He would send Christ to bring salvation to the world. Human sin did not surprise God. God always had the plan to deal with human sin. The gospel is Gods eternal purpose revealed in Christ. At the proper time, God revealed His Son and commanded all to believe in Him. Our faith and hope have a sure foundation. Why? Because of Christs resurrection from the dead. Without this sure foundation, our faith and hope are in vain. But because Christ has been raised from the dead, we have firm ground to stand on with faith and hope. The resurrection of Christ redeems us from sin and frees us to obey the truth and to love others with a pure heart (v.22). We have been freed from the shackles of sin like the ancient Israelite believers were freed from slavery to Egypt in the Old Testament. It was through the Exodus that God chose to redeem the Israelites from the Egyptians (Ex. 12:29-42). Redemption finds its ultimate expression in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. What Christ accomplished for us in His death and resurrection is truly amazing. Christs resurrection enables us to live the Christian faith in the most transformative and meaningful ways. Everything changes when Christ redeems us because everything changed when Christ was raised from the dead. The resurrection not only affects our vertical relationship with God but it also affects our horizontal relationship with others. We love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since we [you] have been born againnot of perishable seed but of imperishablethrough the living and enduring word of God (1 Pet. 1:22-23). Christs resurrection leads to our resurrection living. Being born again signifies that we have been saved to walk in the newness of life. Conclusion Christ has redeemed us by His perfect life, substitutionary death, and His victorious resurrection from the dead. These are essential pillars of the content of the Christian gospel. Without these core elements there would be no gospel at all. Life would indeed be empty, and we would have no mission and purpose. Christs sinless life is the basis for His substitutionary death. In order to be raised from the dead, Christ had to die. Each truth of the gospel builds upon the one before it. It is only because of Christs redeeming work that Peter can end his letter in 1 Peter 5:10-11 with the following benediction: Now the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will personally restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little. To Him be the dominion forever. Amen.
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