415 – The Finishing of Sin and Destuction of Man

SEMESTER 1

415 – The Finishing of Sin and Destuction of Man

BIBLE INSTITUTE OF CORRESPONDENCE

COURSE:  BIBLE SURVEY I LESSON # 15
THE FINISHING OF SIN AND DESTRUCTION OF MAN

Read: James 1:15

INTRODUCTION:

1. The analysis James gives of sin’s progress, seems to have worked in the past as it does today.

i. Man’s lust for dominion, when operating independently of God, led to selfish competition with God.
ii. This led to an act of disobedience.
iii. This led to death, in all its horrible depths.

I. THE 1600 YEARS OF SIN’S MANIFESTATION

1. We see idolatry (basic praise of self). (Gen. 4:3)
2. We see rebellion against God in Cain’s heart. (Gen. 4:5-9)
3. We see man’s lack of love for his brother. (Gen. 4:9)
4. We see the first and second murders and the hundreds that followed. (Gen. 4:8, Gen. 4:23, Gen. 6:11)
5. We see polygamy (Gen. 4:19) and general disregard for mar­riage. (Gen. 6:1-2)

II. MERE MANIFESTATIONS OF A HEART PROBLEM

It is natural but erroneous to see these deeds as the reason for God’s judgment.

1. The problem was in the heart. (Gen. 6:5, Mat. 12:34-35)
2. Their hearts were so corrupted that every imagination of the thoughts was corrupt. (Gen. 6:5)
3. This corruption was not a matter of frustration or bad moments, it was evil continually.
4. Let it be known that the flood was not to remedy this, but to judge it. (Gen. 8:21)
5. Thus, let us conclude that man is yet as depraved as he was then.

III. GOD’S DECREE OF DESTRUCTION

1. It is obvious that man’s sin was great, but do not imagine it was different then than now.
2. Let it be known that this non-remedial judgment included unborn, newborn, and if they existed, imbeciles.
3. The religious world of today (most Baptist included) would pronounce Gen. 6:7 repulsive, inconceivable and unlike God.
4. It is needful to see that the justice of this lies not in the degree or extent of the offense, but in and only in the sovereignty of the Creator, Owner, and Judge.

IV. THE EXTENT OF THIS JUDGMENT

1. It included all natural man and his offspring.
2. It included the animal life within all his dominion.
3. Please do not think of this as a few thousand people in a small part of the earth. The birth and death of the pre-flood popula­tion may well indicate a population equal to that of today.
4. This judgment also included Noah and his family.

V. NOAH FOUND GRACE – GEN. 6:8

1. Men commonly see Gen. 6:9 as the reason Noah found grace. This shows the darkness of their hearts.
2. If the conduct of Noah justified God’s action toward him, it would not be grace in any sense at all. (Rom. 11:6)
3. The perfections of Noah’s generations (Tawmeen Toledaw) meaning (undefiled descent) speaks of his lineage, not of his character.
4. His character and his walk with God, were absolutely the result of grace, not the cause of it. (Gen. 6:8-9)
5. Noah had brothers and sisters, as undefiled in their descent as he, who obviously died in the flood. (Note. Gen. 5:28-32)
6. The reason Noah found grace is totally in divine purpose. (Eph. 1:11)
1. We will cover this in the next lesson.