Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Now, there is.
[00:00:01] I observed a big difference between a couple of things.
[00:00:06] You guys. Have you guys ever heard of the news?
[00:00:10] You guys ever seen the news?
[00:00:13] The news?
[00:00:14] Yeah. I'm not asking if you like it, but have you seen it? You ever seen coverage of, like, a crime in the area?
[00:00:22] You know, they're just talking about what happened. There might be a little picture of a suspect in the corner. That's kind of the traditional way to see it.
[00:00:29] Well, I've kind of thought about that, and I've compared it to, like, a true crime podcast. Has anyone ever listened to that? Any sort of true crime podcast or documentary generally looks like she likes those.
[00:00:41] Yeah, no, I've listened to some, especially on long drives in the past. There's a big difference between the two. You know what that difference is?
[00:00:50] I'm sorry.
[00:00:52] Yeah, it could be. Well, it could be visuals, but honestly, I think the podcasts are even more engaging because even more than just reporting facts, you know, sometimes the news will make it interesting with interviews and whatnot, but it's mostly just trying to report facts for people to know.
[00:01:07] A podcast kind of weaves it all together into a story. It adds suspense and little details, withhold some things to kind of keep you drawn in. It ends episodes with cliffhangers, so you listen to the next one right away and binge it.
[00:01:21] That's kind of the main difference. The content is the same, the event is the same, but it's a lot more engaging, even without the visuals. I think to listen to someone who has woven this together in such a way.
[00:01:34] Now, as we're talking about Bible basics, I talked in the first lesson about some reason that the Bible can be hard to understand and read just because people don't know what it is, what it's saying.
[00:01:46] Well, that's true. Again, here.
[00:01:48] One of the issues with how Christians read the Bible is that we sometimes think about of the Bible, like the news segment, a recitation of facts reporting what has happened, or just a list of helpful bits of wisdom here and there.
[00:02:05] But when we understand the Bible for what it is as a grand storybook, we get more of this beautiful podcast, like the true crime podcast. It's a beautiful, grand story containing a grand drama, and it weaves together all of the relevant information together.
[00:02:26] And if we understand that, then we hopefully will not only understand the Bible better, but we'll have a greater appreciation for it. We'll see that it is beautiful, it is magnificent, it is interesting, not boring. It is something that we can build our lives on.
[00:02:41] That's what knowing the story of the Bible can do for us. The Bible is fascinating and fun. It's not drab and boring.
[00:02:49] You know, sometimes people act like it's boring. They may not say as much when they refuse to really get into the Bible. They only want to teach the basics or topical things. But the Bible is fun. We don't need to spruce it up and make it fun. When we understand the grand drama of the Bible, I think we will love it.
[00:03:08] So the main idea, kind of my goal for this lesson is for you guys to know that the Bible tells of creation, the fall, redemption and restoration as God's plan to glorify himself in salvation through judgment by Jesus christ.
[00:03:25] Every word contributes to the storyline in some way or another. Every single word.
[00:03:31] One of our chief jobs as Christians is to discover how each passage relates to that grand story.
[00:03:40] We want to be able to do that.
[00:03:41] Sometimes it's harder than other times, and that's okay. But we can do it. You can do it. You can understand how every passage relates to the main story.
[00:03:53] So earlier we read a verse from Luke 24. We're going to read a little bit more than now. So go to Luke 24.
[00:04:00] That's where we'll start, Luke 24.
[00:04:10] And then find the little number, the verse 25.
[00:04:13] Luke 24, 25.
[00:04:22] And he said to them, o foolish ones and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.
[00:04:31] Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?
[00:04:36] And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
[00:04:45] Now skip down to verse 44.
[00:04:49] Then he, this is Jesus still. He said to them, these are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled.
[00:05:03] Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures and he said to them, thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
[00:05:21] So this is what Jesus believed about the Bible.
[00:05:25] What we just read was that everything written in the law, the prophets and the psalms of the writings was about Christ.
[00:05:34] In the New Testament, which was written after Jesus said that, it's clearly also about Christ and his church. Therefore it is all about Jesus, every single bit of it. If we read any passage of Scripture and we miss where Jesus is, then we've missed the direction that the passage is pointing us.
[00:05:54] The way that the words go has been lost. We want to know how these words are pointing us to Christ. We can read it and say, this is about Jesus, but we need to know how it does again. Sometimes that's harder than other times. So let's kind of see just a basic storyline for the Bible, starting with point number one, creation, creation. All the way back, Genesis 1 through 2. And I'm going to read a couple bits there, so if you want, you can flip there. We're going to look at Genesis 1 through 2. But let me ask, what does creation teach us?
[00:06:32] You can shout out some answers. What does creation teach us?
[00:06:37] Yeah, God is all powerful. That's good.
[00:06:48] There was a beginning. There was a beginning.
[00:06:51] That's right.
[00:07:00] God created us, right? Yeah. He's the creator. We are creatures. Yes.
[00:07:05] I'm sorry, can you say that again? Everything was purposely designed. Yeah, everything was purposefully designed. That's very good.
[00:07:13] Nothing was just. I don't know. We'll just make a tree that has coconuts, you know, Everything had a purpose to it.
[00:07:21] Jin Lee, are you leaving?
[00:07:23] Everyone say bye, Jinlee. We'll miss you.
[00:07:27] Hi, Junior.
[00:07:32] Yeah. So everything was purposely designed. There are many answers. Those are all really, really great answers.
[00:07:37] Here are a few things I wrote down, some of which we kind of covered, at least in part. We come from somewhere.
[00:07:44] We come from somewhere specifically. We come from God. We do have an origin. He is the creator. We are his creatures.
[00:07:52] We come from God. Everything we have, from our bodies to the oxygen we breathe to the food that we can have on this planet is from God. Even our authority and dominion over the earth and the animals is from God.
[00:08:07] Another thing that creation teaches us is that God is in charge.
[00:08:12] God is sovereign is the fancy word. God is in charge. There's a song that they sing, I think in children's ministry, for at least little kids, God is in charge. And he's had coloring sheets that say that that's very important. It means God is in charge.
[00:08:30] It's like having kids. I and Katie, you know, we made the kids, so we're in charge of them. It's simple. It's authority. It's how it works. Authority does not come out of nowhere. It is given from a higher authority.
[00:08:43] And as we trace it back, ultimately, God has given authority to parents over children, authority to governments over people.
[00:08:51] But no matter what the authority structure he is on top of, God is in charge. He delegates all authority downward. Therefore, when God commands something, it is binding. We have to obey it when he commands something.
[00:09:09] So look at a command. Genesis 2, verse 15.
[00:09:13] Genesis 2:15.
[00:09:18] The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden, and to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, you may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of Good and evil you shall not eat. For in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.
[00:09:36] So God told the man two things.
[00:09:39] Do watch over and care for the earth and its creatures. So do exercise authority and dominion over the earth. And do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
[00:09:51] So do have dominion. Do not eat of that one particular tree.
[00:09:58] From this we learn that our authority as people is over the earth, but it is still under God. We must obey God. Even as God gave man dominion over everything, he still reminded him, you must obey me and not eat of the tree.
[00:10:17] Which, of course, they did. We'll talk about that more in a minute.
[00:10:20] Another lesson we learned from creation is that we have a special relationship with God.
[00:10:26] It is different than all other creatures, different than, of course, you know, zucchinis and other squashes, but different than animals, even the most intelligent of animals. We have a special relationship with God. We see this in the special commands that he gives Adam and Eve.
[00:10:42] But we also read in Genesis 1:27 that God created man in his own image.
[00:10:48] We are in his image. We are in his likeness. We are like God in a special way.
[00:10:54] We have a special dignity, and we have special responsibility that no other category of creation has. Not even the angels.
[00:11:03] We think of the angels, marvelous and glorious and powerful. But we have a special relationship that they don't even understand.
[00:11:12] There's something really special about our relationship with God by nature.
[00:11:19] And then a final lesson that creation teaches us. So there are more we could parse out. God will return the world to its original, intended perfection. Because, as Alona said, there was purposeful intent to everything.
[00:11:33] This is how God wanted it.
[00:11:35] The Garden of Eden was the ideal, and it will return to that. And again, we'll talk about that more towards the end.
[00:11:43] But there is something else that happened. We know this. The Fall.
[00:11:49] So this was perfection, harmony between God and man.
[00:11:53] But man disobeyed God and fell. They sinned.
[00:11:57] They brought a curse upon themselves and all of their descendants. And even the entire world and everything in it. Every creature, everything made by God was cursed. Look at Genesis 3:16.
[00:12:14] After they sinned, God says this to the woman. He said, I will surely multiply Your pain and childbearing. In pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.
[00:12:27] And to Adam he said, because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, you shall not eat of it. Cursed is the ground because of you in pain. You shall eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you. And you shall eat the plants of the field.
[00:12:44] By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground. For out of it you were taken, for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
[00:12:57] They were shut out of paradise because of their sin.
[00:13:01] And now we are subjected to the futility of this world and are part of that futility.
[00:13:07] We can see the examples of this in plentiful ways.
[00:13:12] One is in sin, the sin we do. James 1:14, 15 says, but each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin. And sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death.
[00:13:30] We are in that cycle because of sin.
[00:13:34] We are in the cycle of desiring, being tempted, sinning, and taking another step towards death.
[00:13:42] That is where we are. We inherit sin from conception, but. But we also do sin ourselves.
[00:13:49] We too deserve to be shut out of paradise, each one of us, as Adam and eve were.
[00:13:55] Ephesians 2:1:3 even tells us that we are all children of wrath, which means that we deserves God's wrath so much. It is like we were born for it. We were made for his wrath.
[00:14:09] You have been given up to the lusts of your flesh. Do doing whatever you want to do. We are by nature now selfish.
[00:14:18] We dishonor our bodies. We exchange the truth of God for lies.
[00:14:23] We do whatever it takes to make ourselves feel better.
[00:14:27] Every person in here and every person you know is capable of the worst imaginable sin.
[00:14:33] That's the extent of sin. It doesn't mean most of us commit the most unthinkable sins, but we are all capable of it.
[00:14:40] If we deny our conscience, if we deny God's leading, we can devolve and go down that cycle of desire, temptation, sin, over and over and over and over and over and over again.
[00:14:54] That's the reality of sin in the world.
[00:14:57] So is there hope for us?
[00:14:59] Well, yes, there's hope for us.
[00:15:02] And this is just three chapters into the Bible.
[00:15:05] We see the effects of sin for the rest of the thing.
[00:15:09] But even more Importantly, from Genesis, 4. Onward. While we see the effects of sin, we start to see God weaving together a tapestry of grace. We see him putting down plot points of his story of redemption. So point number three, we have creation, fall and redemption.
[00:15:29] redemption is next.
[00:15:33] Even before what we just read in Genesis 3, we got a hint of redemption. We just didn't read it.
[00:15:38] Genesis 3:14.
[00:15:40] The Lord God said to the serpent, because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field. On your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
[00:15:52] I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring. He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
[00:16:00] There's one offspring of Eve that will destroy the serpent and the wicked effects of his deception. And it is Jesus christ, the one offspring of Eve. He's the solution to the problem that we've created.
[00:16:13] So we see even before they have left the garden. God has redemption in mind. He wasn't taken by surprise by this, but he has redemption in mind.
[00:16:26] To further see this, look at Romans 8 all the way over. Romans 8.
[00:16:38] And we're going to start looking at verse 23, Romans 8, 23.
[00:16:47] And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
[00:16:59] For in this hope we were saved. Now, hope that is seen is not hope.
[00:17:04] For who hopes for what he sees?
[00:17:06] But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
[00:17:12] We await, as he said, adoption as sons or daughters. If we have faith in Christ, we can go from exiled out of the garden to children in the family. At the family supper table. We can go from outsiders to insiders. redemption is possible for us.
[00:17:35] Even our bodies, according to this text, can be redeemed. And this is another hope of salvation. Our bodies too will be redeemed.
[00:17:44] God will redeem all of creation, the entire world, from the dirt to the skies to our bodies. Pain, sickness and death will be no more. Natural disasters and predators will be no more. God can redeem us, all of his beloved children. He will. We can once again have perfect unity with God in a blessed friendship. We can be freed from that cycle of desire, temptation, sin and death. From. From James 1, from Genesis 3 onward.
[00:18:16] Here's how God does this. Here is how he brings redemption.
[00:18:20] Well, we see just from the several chapters Following Genesis 3, man devolves into more and more and more sin, and he starts over with Noah after sin pervades the world.
[00:18:36] Later on, we see God chooses from among men one man, and from him his one family, through whom to bless the whole world. With Christ, he chose Abram, and he blesses Abram and keeps this family even through sin and slavery and exile.
[00:18:58] Israel, who are the descendants of Abraham, are brought out of slavery, given the promised land, established under a king, all before devolving into more and more sin, more and more idolatry, and eventually being punished through exile out of their homeland into a foreign land.
[00:19:17] All throughout this, though, God shows us how he relates to his people and reveals to us his promises through covenants.
[00:19:29] Covenants are very important in the Bible.
[00:19:32] We want to pay attention to when they happen. There are a few that are of especial importance. So, of course, before Israel existed, God made a covenant with Adam, which Adam broke.
[00:19:45] God made a covenant with Noah, which was also for the whole world, like Adam's was for the whole world. You know, him and his wife.
[00:19:52] He made a covenant with Noah that he would not destroy the world via flood again. And he established things like government and the covenant with Noah.
[00:20:01] But then he does something different. Whereas with Adam and Noah, he's kind of making these broad general covenants with mankind. Then he makes a covenant with just Abraham, just with one man from among the world. And he promised Abraham land to live in, numerous descendants and blessing, Namely, that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through Abraham.
[00:20:30] So land, descendants and blessing are promised to Abraham in this covenant.
[00:20:35] We'll see how this gets picked up later on. He then covenants with Israel, kind of through Moses. Moses is like an intermediary, but the covenant is with the whole nation. And he shows them the standard which God requires through the law.
[00:20:49] They need to be holy.
[00:20:51] They need to be very, very, very holy.
[00:20:55] He also gives them a means to approach God.
[00:20:59] Since being removed from the garden, man cannot be in fellowship with God anymore. But God gives them a means. He gives them a temple, sacrifices, priests, so that they can have their sins forgiven. They can approach through a priest, the presence of God once again.
[00:21:16] Then he covenants with David, and he promises David that one of his sons would be the king forever.
[00:21:24] Enter Jesus christ.
[00:21:26] Through Christ, all believers will live in the promised land, the land promised Abraham.
[00:21:33] And we will live in the promised land, which is the new heaven and the new earth.
[00:21:37] Also, about the Abrahamic covenant through Christ, all the nations will be blessed. And that someone from any nation can believe in the gospel and be saved. And we're promised that people of all nations, tribes and Languages will be in glory worshiping God. That one's fulfilled too, through Christ, the spiritual descendants of Abraham, the church already is and will be numerous.
[00:22:03] Another fulfillment through Christ. The holy requirements of the law have been accomplished through him, another fulfillment through Christ, a perfect and lasting sacrifice has been made so that any sinner can approach God through Christ and receive forgiveness through Christ.
[00:22:20] Another fulfillment through Christ, the true Israel. The church has a king forever, the Son of David, King Jesus. Yet another fulfillment.
[00:22:30] All of those promises are fulfilled in Christ. And it's very clear these are. That's why I'm saying these covenants are so important. They show us the promises of God. So as you're reading, you kind of know what promises have been made, what promises are being kept, even what promises seem to be threatened. As Israel is exiled, what do we do? They're going to lose their king. I thought the Son of David has to sit on the throne. But if you pay attention. And even during the exile, one of the sons in the royal line lives.
[00:23:01] Though all of his family were slaughtered during the exile, he lives.
[00:23:05] And we pick up with Zerubbabel when we get to Haggai and Zechariah, he's the next in line. And from him, a few generations later, we have Jesus. It's amazing how these promises are kept even when they're on the brink of failure. Christ kept them all. Through Christ, redemption was accomplished in his life, death and resurrection.
[00:23:24] Every promise has been or is being fulfilled in Him. Every single one.
[00:23:30] That's amazing.
[00:23:32] And through His Spirit, redemption that has been accomplished can then be applied through repentance and faith conversion in Christ alone.
[00:23:44] That is the redemption that has been promised.
[00:23:47] That takes up most of the Bible.
[00:23:49] We see this progression. So as we read parts, we kind of want to see how is God progressing and his plan of redemption for his people in this part of the Scripture. And how is Christ going to fulfill what is being said here? That can go a long way in helping us understand the Bible.
[00:24:09] But then the last point, the fourth chapter of the story is restoration.
[00:24:15] We haven't gotten to this chapter yet, but we're told about it in the Bible.
[00:24:20] Now we await restoration, the restoring of all things.
[00:24:26] Now we've seen hints like Romans 8 that creation and mankind will be restored by Christ. This is our hope. But go to Revelation 21, nearly the very last chapter of your Bible, right before the last chapter, Revelation 21.
[00:24:48] We're going to start at the beginning of that chapter and read a little bit.
[00:24:55] Revelation 211 8.
[00:25:00] John is reporting A vision, he says, Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
[00:25:17] And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people. And God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.
[00:25:41] And he was seated on the throne, said, behold, I am making all things new. And he also said, write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. And he said to me, it is done.
[00:25:53] I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage. And I will be his God, and he will be my son.
[00:26:07] But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.
[00:26:25] So though that ends on a note of the reminder of judgment, here we see the new heaven and the new earth, the new creation.
[00:26:35] It is how God will restore the heavens and the earth to its original perfection, the way that it was, but in a lasting way. That was always God's plan. He made the world exactly like he wanted it. And he will remake the world exactly how he wants it, and he will make it last.
[00:26:55] He wants to live in perfect harmony with his people.
[00:27:00] And he accomplished this. He's making it happen. The check has been written, and at the right time it will be cashed.
[00:27:08] It is good as done. All those promises will come to completion in Christ.
[00:27:14] And that's the story of the Bible.
[00:27:18] If you want in on the promises of God and eternal life, then repent of your sins and trust in Jesus christ, the main character in this story, the fulfiller of it all, what all of it points to.
[00:27:33] You cannot. There's a big emphasis in our youth ministry. You cannot fake your faith by pretending to be a good person.
[00:27:42] God sees your heart clear as day.
[00:27:46] He sees it way clearer than you do. So you should do some prayer and consideration and look at your heart, because he sees it perfect perfectly. He knows exactly what is there. You cannot fake him out you can't pull a fast one on him.
[00:28:00] I don't want you to think you can and go on and on in life. Deceived. He knows your heart better than you do. He's the architect of it.
[00:28:09] He built it. He designed it.
[00:28:12] This is what the story of the Bible tells us.
[00:28:15] We were made in his image. We have fallen into sin. He. He has provided and accomplished a way of redemption. He can apply that redemption if we believe in Him. And he will restore all things.
[00:28:29] Every single passage in the story tells us of this. It is another progression, another chapter, another step in this story. So as we read the Bible again, our job is to find out how that passage relates to this story that I've told.
[00:28:47] Sometimes that's difficult to do, but it is necessary. It takes practice.
[00:28:53] How do we practice? I say this a lot. Periodically.
[00:28:57] Read the Bible cover to cover, and when you're done, do it again.
[00:29:03] That's how we do it. That's how we practice. We read the Bible again. You can read other parts here and there, but read the Bible cover to cover and do it again.
[00:29:11] Keep doing it throughout your life.
[00:29:14] It will help you a lot.
[00:29:16] The Bible tells of creation, the fall, redemption and restoration as God's plan to glorify himself in salvation through judgment by Jesus christ.
[00:29:29] Let's pray.
[00:29:31] Father, we ask that you would help us to understand the Bible better.
[00:29:35] Lord, help us each time we open the Word to be able to see. Give us illumination by your spirit to see how each passage relates to this story. Help us to see Christ in the text.
[00:29:48] God, use your word to call us to repentance, to call us to faith again, to call us to love you more, to call us to holiness in your son.
[00:29:58] Lord, we need your help in this.
[00:30:01] We pray all this in Christ's name. Amen.
