The words of Jesus are in red text.

Introduction We live in a world that is filled with the consequences of the myriad of Satan’s lies that are rapidly increasing and influencing the multitudes across the globe. And as his lies are propagated, it becomes increasingly difficult to identify truth amidst the progressing darkness. However, there are four foundational spiritual truths that enlightens; encompasses and encapsulates the Bible; and are extremely important to understand and embrace as the world deteriorates during the last days. 1 . God loves us and desires a relationship with us. 2 . We are all sinners —which separates us from a relationship with God. 3 . God crucified His Son , Jesus Christ, so that we may be forgiven for our sins. 4 . We must believe in what Jesus did for us on the cross to receive God’s grace and eternal life. But what’s more, how we respond to these four spiritual truths will define: • Our relationship with God. • Receipt of spiritual benefits or consequences. God loves us Many have a misperception of God due to the deceptional lies of Satan. The entire Bible—from Genesis to Revelation—is interweaved with examples of His desire for a loving relationship with His creation—including you and me. Because of our sinful nature and finite capabilities it is difficult for some to fully comprehend the width, length, depth, and height of God’s love—which is experienced by actively seeking and learning of Him. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29: 11-13 Paul proclaimed our need to seek and know God’s love in Ephesians 3:19: “To know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Our love towards God grows as we discover and receive the love that God’s has towards us—which is evidenced by God’s grace and mercy towards our sin through His Son. God’s grace is comprised unmerited (unearned) forgiveness for what we have done. Whereas, God’s mercy is comprised of not punishing us for what we have done. “We love Him because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19   We are all sinners “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23 Every person born from their human father’s seed has a sinful nature. Our sinful nature may be defined as our propensity to transgresses against God’s law and rebel against His desires for us. God gave us a simple list of 10 Commandments to obey—which are based upon relationships. Listed in Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21 , the first four define our relationship with God and the remaining six define our relationships with others. As you read, you will likely identify one or more you have broken. Note how these commandments are primarily based upon our external behavior (what we say and do). However, Jesus revealed God is more interested in what occurs within our heart, soul and mind. “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.” Matthew 5:21-22 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:27-28 Our sinful nature becomes more evident as we take a closer analytical look at our thoughts, words and deeds and compare them against the righteousness of God that was demonstrated by His Son, Jesus. In addition, all of the darkness that exists in the world is another indicator of man’s propensity to sin against God and believe the lies of Satan—for every war, every battle, every murder, every argument, and every sin…began as a lie. Our sin has present and eternal consequences. While we are alive, the consequences of our sin separates us from God, causes spiritual death from within, and harms those around us. From an eternal perspective, those who reject Jesus while alive and die in unforgiven sin will receive everlasting punishment in the lake of fire. For biblical references regarding God’s eternal punishment click on these links: Matthew 13:37-42 , 18:8-9 ; 2 Thessalonians 1:3-10 , Revelation 20:11-15 , 21:6-8 . God crucified His Son “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:9-10 Imagine you are guilty of committing a crime and are standing before a judge to receive the consequences for your behavior. As the judge is preparing to declare your sentence, someone enters the courtroom and declares He will personally receive the punishment for your wrongdoings—thereby absolving you of your wrongful actions. The judge agrees and executes his punishment upon this person. This scenario correlates to what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross as a propitiation and appeasement of God’s wrath towards our sin. Jesus Christ bore the punishment of our sins into His body as He shed His blood on the cross to die. “You were not redeemed with corruptible things…but with the precious blood of Christ.” 1 Peter 1:18-19 As Jesus was dying on the cross, He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”. Luke 23:34 Thereafter, just prior to His death, He received the punishment of our sins into His body. “Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’” Matthew 27:46 To those who believe in Jesus—each time we sin, each time we feel the internal remorse, pain and shame of what we have done, and each time we sense the relationship with God is broken—we have a means through Jesus to ask for forgiveness and restore our relationship with God. “Whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Romans 3:25- 26 It is important to understand that God is more interested in the desires of our heart than He is with our sins—because He will change us from within if we believe in and accept His Son, Jesus Christ, as our Savior and Lord. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 Jesus declared, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:9-10 We must believe The key to salvation and eternal life is believing in what Jesus did for us on the cross for our sins. Jesus declared, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:16-17 “ Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” Acts 16:31 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12-16 Belief may be defined as an intellectual ascent (acceptance) that something is true or exists. The next important step beyond belief is to place our faith and trust in God. For example, when we approach a chair to sit upon, we likely have a belief that it is built to support our weight. We transition from belief to faith and trust when we sit on the chair. As such, it is possible to also define faith as being indicated by “external actions” (words and behavior). “For by grace you have been saved through faith , and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6 It is important to note that forgiveness is a gift from God through His Son. There is nothing we can do (by our behavior) to earn God’s free gift—other than seeking to grow our faith in His Son. Thereafter, we become His workmanship as He takes care of the rest. For anyone who thinks there is another way to salvation, Jesus declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6 Jesus also declared, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7:13-14 What to do Each person must decide whether or not to accept and believe these four spiritual truths: 1 . God loves us and desires a relationship with us. 2 . We are all sinners —which separates us from a relationship with God. 3 . God crucified His Son , Jesus Christ, so that we may be forgiven for our sins. 4 . We must believe in what Jesus did for us on the cross to receive God’s grace and eternal life. Those who accept and believe will begin to experience: • A spiritual change deep within the heart and soul. • A new life as He directs our paths. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20 Through Jesus, we can speak (via prayer) directly to God who knows more about us than we do—for Jesus revealed, “God knows how many hairs you have on your head.” Luke 12:7 Here is an example of a prayer that you may speak to God. Holy God, I come before you in the name of Jesus Christ, your Son. I am a sinner, and I thank You for loving me. I believe You gave Your Son as a sacrifice for my sins so that I may be forgiven. I therefore ask You, Jesus, to enter into my life as my Savior and Lord. Holy Spirit, change me from within. “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:14-19 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6 All for His Glory Harold D. Thomas Important Note: If you desire to share the four spiritual truths with others, you should first read “How to Share the Gospel” on UniqueBibleStudies.com. Thought Provoking Questions The purpose of the questions is to facilitate a deeper understanding of the Bible, this Bible study topic, and ourselves. The questions may be answered by each reader, or used by a Bible study group leader, or church pastor. The questions should be answered or discussed after reading “4 Spiritual Truths That Determine Where Your Soul Will Spend Eternity.” In addition, the questions are designed to enhance learning via the determination of personal opinions and/or discovering how the lesson content relates to our personal lives. As such, no answers are provided. Questions The lesson states the four spiritual truths are “foundational.” • What does the word “foundational” mean? • How does the word “foundational” apply to the four spiritual truths? When sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a non- believer, do you think it is important to explain these four spiritual truths? Explain. Why would someone accept these four spiritual truths? • What type of rationale would they use to justify their decision? • What are the benefits? Why would someone reject these four spiritual truths? • What type of rationale would they use to justify their decision? • What are the consequences? Why do people not understand that God loves us, and wants us to have a relationship with Him? Why would God give us the 10 Commandments? • Do the Commandments seem logical or irrational? Explain. • Identify at least 3 Commandments that have been broken (by yourself or someone else). How did Jesus add a deeper dimension to the 10 Commandments (Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28)? • Why did He do this? • Which do you think is more important to God: o What we say and do. o The desires of our heart. Romans 6:23 and Ephesians 2:8-10 states God’s eternal life in Jesus Christ is a gift. What must we do to receive His gift? God designed within each of us 4 attributes that He did not design within the animal kingdom: hope, belief, faith and trust. • Why did He design these attributes within us? • Which of the four attributes do you think God desires the most? As a means to explain how Jesus is a propitiation and appeasement of God’s wrath against our sin, the lesson used an analogy of a courtroom scenario where someone agrees to receive the punishment for a crime that was committed by someone else. Can you think of a different analogy or scenario that reveals the essence of what Jesus did by dying for our sins? “No one can have greater love than to give his life for his friends.” John 15:13 Did you learn anything new from this lesson? Explain. You may download a P DF version of the questions by clicking on this button.