God created the universe, and everything that is in it, about 6 thousand years ago in 6 ordinary 24 hour days. (All bold are my emphases added. Square brackets [ ] indicate meanings of words. King James Version Easy-Reading Bible (KJVER) used.)
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
God created man in His own image – male and female
Genesis 1:26-28 And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion [authority] over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. 27 So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.
The first man and woman lived in a beautiful garden and were originally vegetarian.
Genesis 1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat [food].
Animals also were originally vegetarian.
Genesis 1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creeps upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat [food]: and it was so.
God finished his work and said it was ‘very good’, that is a perfect paradise
Genesis 1:31 And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
His work complete, God rested on the 7th day. Here God’s rest means He finished off creating and forming the world and all that is therein.
Genesis 2:1-3 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which he had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all his work which God created and made.
On the sixth day, God created Adam, and commanded that he (and by extension his wife Eve) not (i.e. prohibited) to eat of one particular tree in the Garden. The warning is that if they eat of it, God said, they would die.
Genesis 2:7-9, 16-17 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. 8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die.
God creates Adam’s wife Eve from one of his ribs. Interesting that is the only bone in the human body which will grow back if removed, provided the periosteum, the outer covering cartilage, is left intact. (Periosteum: a dense layer of vascular connective tissue enveloping the bones except at the surfaces of the joints)
Genesis 2:18, 21-23 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet [a wife] for him. 21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her to the man. 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
The Serpent (which represents Satan) tempted Eve to eat, by lying to her, and so Eve and Adam eat of fruit of tree of knowledge. They rebelled against God’s commandment.
Genesis 3:1-7 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, Yea, has God said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, You shall not surely die: 5 For God does know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also to her husband with her; and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Eve seems to add to the commandment of God by saying “neither shall you touch it,” which God never said. But it would be inconsistent with God’s nature to judge them for accidentally stumbling into the tree.
The serpent tempted Eve with very common temptations that we know today. She saw the tree was “good for food” (sin of lust which can lead to the sin of glutony), “pleasant to the eyes” (sins of vanity and pride), and a “tree to be desired” (sin of lust) “to make one wise” (sin of pride).
After they ate the fruit, Adam and Eve could know both good and evil and they recognised that they were naked and they were ashamed and attempted to cover their nakedness; that reflected that they now felt their sin nature. God then cursed the serpent, and the whole creation.
Genesis 3:14-19 And the LORD God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, you are cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon your belly shall you go, and dust shall you eat all the days of your life: 15 And I will put enmity [hatred, hostility] between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; it shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
Here is a prophecy that Satan will try to destroy the seed of the woman, i.e. Christ—”bruise his heel”—but Christ will bruise Satan’s head, meaning get the victory over Satan on the Cross. On the Cross, just before He died, Jesus said “It is finished” (John 19:30). He won that battle—the devil was defeated.
Genesis 3:16 To the woman He said, I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in sorrow you shall bring forth children; and your desire shall be to your husband, and he shall rule over you. 17 And to Adam He said, Because you have hearkened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree, of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it: cursed is the ground for your sake; in sorrow shall you eat of it all the days of your life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to you; and you shall eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread, till you return to the ground; for out of it were you taken: for dust you are, and to dust shall you return.
Life became very hard for Adam and Eve and all their offspring. Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden and hence they could not live forever, because they no more have access to the Tree of Life (the other important tree in the Garden, symbolic of Christ, giving us eternal life).
Genesis 3:22,23 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of Us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from where he was taken.
ALL HUMANS ARE THE OFFSPRING OF ADAM AND EVE. The history is recorded in the book of Genesis. Read it.
1) The Law / The 10 Commandments, given by God to Moses when the children of Israel formed a nation for the first time. Commandments are numbered # below.
Exodus 20:1-17 And God spake all these words, saying, 2 I am the LORD your God, which have brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 (#1) You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 (#2) You shall not make unto you any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 You shall not bow down yourself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me; 6 And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep my commandments. 7 (#3) You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain. 8 (#4) Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shall you labour, and do all your work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD your God: in it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger that is within your gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. 12 (#5) Honour your father and your mother: that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God gives you. 13 (#6) You shall not kill [murder]. 14 (#7) You shall not commit adultery. 15 (#8) You shall not steal. 16 (#9) You shall not bear false witness [lie] against your neighbour. 17 (#10) You shall not covet [lust after] your neighbour’s house, you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is your neighbour’s.
All humans have broken these commandments at some time, maybe many times. These are what God commanded man do to be saved from hell fire. These commandments form part of God’s law.
But as I said, no man or woman can keep all the law, and to break even one is breaking all. This breaking of the law we call sin. We all know what sin is, because our conscience tells us, unless it has become severely hardened against the inner voice.
Romans 3:19,20 Now we know that what things soever the law says, it says to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
But no human seeks after God to be saved from his inherent sin nature, which we inherited from Adam, since he is the father of all humans, and he passed down to us this sin nature. That is what is called original sin. But the current sin nature in man is manifest in his natural tendency to sin. He freedom of choice is only within his carnal nature. He has free will to choose, but only according to his inherent sin nature.
Romans 3:11,12 There is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that does good, no, not one.
All have sinned, no human is righteous, nor is any capable of not sinning. Adam’s actions saw to that.
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Death (we will all die someday) follows all men because of Adam’s sin. No man can escape physical death, and even worse spiritual death (without Christ’s redemption).
Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
But we deserve death only because of our sin. And death means Hell eternally.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
2) The good news – the Gospel
We see the good news though in the latter part of Romans 6:23. Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of God, was born of a virgin as prophesied.
John 1:1, 14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Christ died for us to take the penalty of our sins. God is a righteous judge and only a sinless man could step in and be a substitute for our inherited sin. So God the Father provided the perfect sacrifice, His own Son.
Romans 5:8-10 But God commends His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
You must be born again!
John 3:3-7 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say to you, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus says to Him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say to you, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said to you, You must be born again.
To be born of water is your first birth from your mother’s womb and the second birth—the important rebirth—is when you are born of the Spirit.
God’s love means eternal life and forgiveness of sins to those who believe.
John 3:15-21 That whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 He that believes on Him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that does truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
God hates our unrepentant behaviour. Unrepentant means our minds are still under control of the ‘old man’ or ‘the flesh’ and not subject to the transformative power of God. God hates the wicked everyday.
John 3:36 He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides [rest, remains] on him.
God provided the solution, but His anger stays on those who believe not.
Psalm 7:11 God judges the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.
Psalm 5:5 The foolish [meaning unbeliever] shall not stand in Your sight: You hate all workers of iniquity.
Repent (turn your heart/mind to God) and be baptized!
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
The good news: We are justified by Christ taking the required penalty of our sins on the cross, which the law of Moses could not do for us.
Acts 13:32,33,38,39 And we declare to you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, 33 God has fulfilled the same to us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, You are My Son, this day have I begotten You. 38 Be it known to you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins: 39 And by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
Jesus’ sheep hear His voice and they follow Him. Salvation is forever, eternal, cannot be lost.
John 10:27,28 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: 28 And I give to them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.
Believe and be regenerated by the will of God, not of man.
John 1:12,13 But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Repent of your sins; He is faithful and will forgive all. No sin is too bad for God. No sin cannot be forgiven, if we truly repent to God.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Keep all Jesus’ commandments!
John 14:15 If you love Me, keep My commandments.
John 15:10 If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in my love; even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love.
How do you do that? By staying in Christ and remaining in His Love.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.
3) Assurance
John 6:37,44 All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me; and him that comes to Me I will in no wise cast out. 44 No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent Me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
1 John 5:18-20 We know that whosoever is born of God sins not; but he that is begotten [born] of God keeps himself, and that wicked one [Satan] touches him not. 19 And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in wickedness. 20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
Deuteronomy 5:10 And showing mercy to thousands of them that love Me and keep My commandments.
God chose you!
1 Corinthians 1:27,28 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound [shame, disgrace] the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base [lowly] things of the world, and things which are despised, has God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nothing things that are:
Ephesians 1:4 According as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love:
2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should show forth the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvellous light:
Revelations 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful
Bible Science Forum 