GOD’S PLAN IN DETAIL – THE STUDY GUIDE

Human History – a lesson in learning the hard way

After Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, God allowed men to follow their own desires and to decide for themselves what is right and wrong. The resulting human experience has been a lesson in the inevitable consequence of following our own way as each generation became progressively more corrupt. Romans 1:18-32 NLTBut God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who push the truth away from themselves. For the truth about God is known to them instinctively. God has put this knowledge in their hearts. From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God.

Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn't worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. The result was that their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they became utter fools instead. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people, or birds and animals and snakes.

So God let them go ahead and do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other's bodies. Instead of believing what they knew was the truth about God, they deliberately chose to believe lies. So they worshiped the things God made but not the Creator himself, who is to be praised forever. Amen.

That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relationships with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men and, as a result, suffered within themselves the penalty they so richly deserved.

When they refused to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their evil minds and let them do things that should never be done. Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, fighting, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They are forever inventing new ways of sinning and are disobedient to their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, and are heartless and unforgiving.

They are fully aware of God's death penalty for those who do these things, yet they go right ahead and do them anyway. And, worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too..

In choosing to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve set the path for themselves and all of their descendants. Instead of accepting what our Creator has told us is right and wrong, our minds are now driven by the desire to decide for ourselves what is right and wrong. Genesis 2-3.

The Old Testament is filled with examples of men choosing to do what seemed right to them and then ultimately paying the penalty in pain, suffering and death. It is important to understand that these were people like you and me who were genuinely trying to do and be the best that they could. It was not just about those who set their minds to do evil and commit crime. We all have within ourselves the natural desire to want to decide for ourselves what is right and wrong. And we have all written, in our own lives, our personal record of what are the real consequences of choosing to live our own way.

That is why Yeshua stressed that we must be willing to obey him if we really love him. John 14:15 CEVJesus said to his disciples: If you love me, you will do as I command., John 15:9-15 NLTI have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey me, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father and remain in his love.

I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!

I command you to love each other in the same way that I love you. And here is how to measure it - the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends.

You are my friends if you obey me. I no longer call you servants, because a master doesn't confide in his servants. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.. By believing Yeshua and obeying him, we are effectively reversing the most ingrained of all human sin – to want to decide for ourselves what is right and wrong.