Florida Bible Institute
Level One
Lesson Four
Page 1 0f 3 Pages

 

                          God's Response to Man's Rebellion
Scripture Reading: Genesis 3, Leviticus 16 and 17:1-11

 Memory Verse: Hebrews 9:22

Introduction: In our previous study we discovered that man, in his original created state, had a "sinless nature". There was no "bent toward sin" in him, no natural inclination to sin. (Sin is rebellion against God). He was totally sinless.

Then we saw that, as an act of his will, man made a decision - a deliberate choice and rebelled against God. In that moment of rebellion, man suffered a twofold death:

(1) In the spiritual realm, (he became a sinner with a sin nature), and (2) in the physical realm, (he became subject to disease and death).

God, in His mercy, did not choose to leave man to his own fate, without recourse. Nor to continue to live, procreate as a sinner, and then to die eternally separated from God. Nor did God choose to destroy His creation. God is a loving Heavenly Father, and man is His prize creation. The Bible tells us "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believed on Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

God has ALL knowledge and has never learned anything new. If He did, He would not be God. God knew man was going to rebel and sin before He created man. God also knew man was going to develop a ‘sin nature’ when he sinned. So, before God created man, He devised the plan to remedy man's fall. God had THE plan -- THE ONLY REMEDY -- that would allow man restoration to a right relationship and fellowship with Himself - God!.

That plan -- God's response to man's rebellion -- was a blood sacrifice. (Read Leviticus 17:11 very carefully and examine that verse in light of Hebrews 9:22.)

God decreed that only a 'willing and sinless blood sacrifice' would satisfy His requirement for a ‘blood sacrifice’. We find God, Himself, instituting the ‘blood sacrifice’ in Genesis 3.  Using an animal for the sacrifice. The animal God used was ‘sinless’ in that an animal cannot sin, but it was not ‘willing’. From that point on in the Bible, one can trace the blood sacrifices.

In the Old Testament, God decreed that certain types of animals could be used as a blood sacrifice; however, all of them were only substitutes until God Himself became man, in the incarnation and called Himself ‘JESUS’, then offered Himself as the final, ultimate blood sacrifice on The Cross at Calvary.

The need for any further blood sacrifices ended at Calvary. JESUS, THE CHRIST, was [and is] the final blood sacrifice. JESUS was [and is] the final, ultimate response of God to man's rebellion. Jesus, "The Lamb of God" (see John 1:36) was God's ‘sinless and willing’ blood sacrifice.

With that information as a background, answer the following questions

 

1.       When Adam sinned, he tried to cover his nakedness with fig leaves (Genesis 3:7).    
          Why do you think he did that?


2.       What do you see in God's actions towards Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:21?

       
3.       In Leviticus 17:11, God said that He had given the blood ‘to you upon the altar to make an
          atonement for your souls:’  The meaning of the word ‘atonement’ is: ‘to cover’, to ‘cover sin’,
          or to ‘secure the sinner from guilt and punishment’.  Now considering that:

                

                  (1)    What do you see in Genesis 3:21 with respect to the sin of Adam and God's response
                  to Adam's sin?

 
          (2)     What do God's actions toward Adam tell you about God's attitude toward man and sin?
   

          (3)     How could the blood of an animal meet God's requirement, even on a temporary
                   basis, as a ‘blood sacrifice’ for sin?

 

4.     How did the death of Jesus Christ on the cross satisfy God's requirement for a ‘blood
        sacrifice’?  (II Corinthians 5:21)

 

5.     When a sinner brought his sacrificial "blood offering" to the priest to offer it for the sin he
        had committed, he had to lay his hands on the head of the sacrifice and confess his sins.
        (See the Leviticus 1:1-5) He then had to kill the animal.             

 

6.     In what way does the question above, (#5), speak to you about your own sins and the death
          of Jesus Christ?

 

7.    Why do you think Jesus Christ was called the ‘Lamb of God’?

 

8.    What do you think happened to the sins of a sinner when he offered a sacrificial animal for his
        sins?
      
9.    What do you think happened to your sins, (and what happens to your sins) when they were
       confessed or are confessed?

 

10.   Explain your understanding of God's response to man's rebellion, and how the death of Jesus
        Christ satisfied God's demands for a ‘blood sacrifice’ for your sins.

Next Week’s Lesson: God's Response to Man's Rebellion -- the Atonement - Part 2