COJK,+Padawan+Assignment+1.11

Padawan Assignment 1.11
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Respond to this in your introduction topic.

All of the teachings of the Bible point toward the importance of loving relationships. First and most important is our relationship with God. The quality of all of our other relationships will be determined by the quality of our relationship with God.


 * Sins of the Garden and the Road to Redemption**

To begin, we need to accept some basic statements.

1. Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which led to the breakdown of all their relationships. Their relationship with God, with each other, with themselves, and with their environment.

2. God sent the Law as a starting point in resolving these issues. The Law was perfect, but it wasn’t complete.

3. Jesus came saying that he was the fulfillment of the Law. He said that he came not to judge, but to save. He called his followers to do the same things he did.

4. Paul said that followers of Jesus were no longer bound by the Law.

So, what does all this mean?


 * 1. Sin enters the Garden**

The first sin Adam and Eve committed was disobeying God. But what was it about the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil that really caused their downfall? Satan told them that eating it would make them like God. In a way this was true, but like everything that Satan has a hand in, it was twisted. Eating the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil gave them the ability to judge. But it did not give them the ability to judge righteously as God does, but self-righteously. This becomes apparent immediately as it says, “and their eyes were opened, and they knew that they were naked” (Genesis 3:7). God created them naked, so it wasn’t an issue for him. So, they immediately began to distort things according to their own human nature, and turned their judgment against themselves.

Then when God came looking for them in the garden what did Adam say? “I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself” (Genesis 3:10). Here we see how their relationship with God became distorted because they were able to understand that they deserved to be judged by God for disobeying him, and they alienated themselves from him by hiding.

When God asked Adam if he had eaten from the tree he had been commanded not to eat from, Adam replied, “The woman, whom you gave to me, she gave me the fruit from the tree…” (Genesis 3:12). Here Adam tries to shift blame for what he did so that judgment might be placed on another.

To which the woman responded, “The serpent tricked me…” (Genesis 3:13). So she also tried to shift blame, creating a cycle that we are still caught up in, and which effects all of our relationships.

And finally, God said to Adam, “…cursed is the ground because of you…” (Genesis 3:17), which created a rift between man and his environment.


 * 2. The Law**

The Law was based on the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were all about re-establishing relationships.

1. You shall worship no other God but me. 2. You shall not make for yourself an idol. 3. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord. 4. You shall remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy. 5. Honor your father and mother. 6. You shall not murder. 7. You shall not commit adultery. 8. You shall not steal. 9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 10. You shall not covet.

The first four are about re-establishing a relationship with God. The fifth is about right family relationships. The rest are about our relationships with everyone else.

However, since man was still intrinsically judgmental, it was very difficult for him to live according to the Law.


 * 3. Jesus**

Jesus said that he came to fulfill the Law. What did he have to say about judging others?

“You judge by human standards; I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is valid; for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me” (John 8:15).

“I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world” (John 12:47).

“There you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things.” Romans 2:1

What did Jesus say about how we, as his followers are to treat others?

“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven; give and it will be given to you” (Luke 6:36-38).

“Very truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12).

“Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).


 * 4. No Longer Bound by the Law**

Paul said that followers of Jesus were no longer bound by the Law. What does this mean?

“Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith” (Galatians 3:23-26).

“For you are called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another” (Galatians 5:13).

“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning, you as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:18-21).

Therefore, those who are led by the Spirit are given the freedom to make compassionate choices.


 * 1.** What are some ways that the 'sins of the garden' effect our lives today?


 * 2.** The Law was meant to show us how we are falling short as we live our lives. If you had to use one word to describe how we should be living, what would it be?


 * 3.** How do you think Jesus was the fulfillment of the Law?


 * 4.** Choose one of the following situations and write briefly about how you might make a 'compassionate choice' regarding it.


 * A.** You know an unmarried young woman finds herself pregnant and unable to afford to take care of a child. She decides to get an abortion.


 * B.** You know two men who have been living in a committed relationship for many years. One of the men is critically injured in an accident, but the other isn't allowed to visit him in the hospital because only family are allowed.


 * C.** A woman who lives next door to your church but has never attended a service, shows up asking for grocery money. You can see a television satellite dish on the side of her house.