Introduction:
Christians faces all sort of struggles. Most are
internal fights with temptation. Some are fights against the growing
evil in society. All 'in-fightings' are battles against
spiritual forces of evil. One struggle that crosses these lines is
the struggle for the family. It takes work to play our proper role in
our own family. The nature of the protected family in society is
currently under attack. This lesson is all about the
family. We start by considering the Bible's definition of
the family.
I. First Family
A. Read Genesis 2:18.
What was God's view of a solitary life
for Adam? (It was not good.)
B. Read Genesis 2:19-20.
Is God joking with us? Were God and
Adam really considering all of the "living creatures"
individually to see if any of them would work as a
"suitable helper" for Adam? Can you imagine Adam saying
about a cow: "Sorry, I cannot speak 'cow.'" "If Bessie
were my helper we would have a serious communication
problem."
C. Read Genesis 2:21-22.
What is special about Eve? (She was
purpose made for Adam. She was not something that was
already created that would "just do" as a companion.)
1. What do we learn from her creation from a rib? (There
is symbolism of equality in this. It suggests that
God's original plan was that she would be an equal
helper.)
D. Read Genesis 2:23-24.
Would "one flesh" allow anything
other than equality? (Read Ephesians 5:28-29.
Paul uses
the phrase "his own body" to convey the "one flesh"
concept of God about the relationship between husbands and
wives.)
II. Jesus and the Family
A. Read Matthew 19:3-6. What conclusion about the break-up of
marriage did Jesus draw from the Genesis plan? (If a man
and a woman became one flesh in marriage, they should not
separate.)
B. Read Matthew 19:7-8. Was Moses off on a "toot" of his own?
Or, was this a rule given by God because of the hardness
of the hearts of the people? (I do not think it is
appropriate to say that Moses was writing without the
permission of God. The New Bible Commentary says this:
"The divorce regulations [of Moses] were a concession to
deal with sin, not an expression of the way God intended
things to be. Divorce might be necessary, but it was never
good.)
1. Let's look at the text to which the Pharisees
referred: read Deuteronomy 24:1. Does anything about
this seem unfair? (The IVP Bible Background
Commentary points out that men could divorce women
unilaterally, but the same was not true for women.
"Jesus opposition to this sort of divorce is also a
defense of married women.")
C. Read Matthew 19:9. What "escape clause" from marriage does
Jesus allow? ("Marital unfaithfulness." For those
concerned that only men may divorce, see Mark 10:12.)
1. A friend who is going through a divorce said this to
me, "I don't know why Christians are so ready to
defend against homosexual marriage when heterosexual
marriage makes the definition of 'marriage' a joke."
Have Christians made marriage a "joke?" Have they
lost the moral right to speak against homosexual
marriage? (If only perfect people were allowed to
stand against sin, no one would oppose sin. But, the
underlying point is well-taken. Those who profess to
follow Jesus need to be as ready to protect marriage
against divorce as they are to protect it against
homosexual attack. We should not have two standards:
one for sinners "like us" and another for sinners
with different temptations.)
D. Read Matthew 19:10-12. What was the reaction of the
disciples in response to Jesus' teaching that the rules of
marriage should go back to those established at Creation?
(They were stunned. It seemed an impossible standard to
keep.)
1. When Jesus responded by saying, "The one who can
accept this should accept it," to what was He
referring? Was he talking about the rule against
divorce or the rule that you should not marry if you
will not abide by the rules against divorce? (I do
not know the answer. It is clear Jesus is laying down
a very firm rule on marriage and divorce. The ideal
is not in doubt. On the other hand, when Jesus says
the "one who can accept should accept" may be
referring back to God's past willingness to be
flexible on divorce given the sinful nature of
humans. Since Jesus died because of the sin issue, it
is hard for me to teach that God is "flexible" on the
subject of sin.)
III. Single Adults
A. Look again at Matthew 19:11-12. What positive reason does
Jesus give for being unmarried?
B. Read 1 Corinthians 7:1 and 1 Corinthians 7:7-8. Between
the statements of Jesus and Paul, how should an unmarried
person look at life? (Read 1 Corinthians 7:32-34. Being
single allows you the opportunity to focus on promoting
the kingdom of God.)
C. Consider again Genesis 2:18.
How can you explain the
apparent conflict between the teaching in Genesis ("it is
not good ... to be alone") with the teaching of Paul and
Jesus that being single is good for promoting the Kingdom
of Heaven? (Read 1 Timothy 4:1,3. The issue is whether you
forbid marriage. Marriage is supposed to be good. It is
the ideal. However, some may choose to deprive themselves
of this good in order to promote the Kingdom of God. To
make that voluntary decision is also good.)
D. Are single adults a family? (If Christians, they are part
of the family of God. See 1 Timothy 5:1-2.)
IV. Family Fraud
A. Read Romans 1:18-20. At the beginning of this lesson we
learned that God custom made Eve to be Adam's partner. Is
it logical and intellectually appropriate to argue God's
intentions regarding heterosexual versus homosexual
marriage from the way He created things? (We see a
progression of ideas in the Creation. First, God examines
all of His creation for a suitable helper. He then custom
creates Eve. He did not custom make another man, although
He certainly could have done that. Finally, and most
importantly, God instructs that man and woman will be
united as "one flesh." My children are the "one flesh"
that resulted from my marriage. The entire scheme of the
original family argues against the validity of a
homosexual family.)
1. You must have heard it said, "If God intended humans
to smoke, He would have created them with a
smokestack." What do you think of the logic of that?
(Romans 1:20 seems to say that it is the large issues
about God that can be understood from the creation.)
B. Read Romans 1:21-23. What does this suggest is the logical
progression of those who reject the authority of God?
(Their understanding is darkened. They foolishly begin to
worship things they have made rather than the Maker of
everything.)
C. Read Romans 1:24-25. Why would sexual impurity be part of
rejecting the authority of God?
D. Read Romans 1:26-27. What does the Bible call homosexual
sex? (A perversion.)
E. Consider Paul's line of argument here. We start out with
an argument about the existence of God based on His
creation. We end up with a conclusion about homosexuality.
How does that make any logical sense? (When God created
the earth, part of His creation was this template of male
and female being part of the continuing creation process.
You see this template in both humans and animals. This is
one of those "big picture," "large issues" things that
anyone with an open mind can see. As humans became
wicked, and began to worship what they had made instead of
their Maker, they also rejected their Maker's template for
the continuing creation process. Viewed in this light, the
promotion of homosexual marriage becomes a foundational
issue, like evolution and the Sabbath. Evolution is an
attack on the authority of our Creator. Rejection of the
Sabbath is an attack on our weekly memorial to creation.
(Genesis 2:3
; Exodus 20:11 ) Homosexuality is an attack on
the master template of creation. Satan is not stupid. He
does his best to sever the lines of logic that reinforce
our allegiance to our Creator God.)
F. Friend, God created the family when He created the world.
Will you do your part to promote God's original plan for
humanity?
V. Part 2: God's Word on Family Living.
Lord of Our Desires
(Genesis 2 & 3; Romans 7 & 9)
Introduction: Disney has a ride where you pretend that you are in a
microscopic "boat" and you go sailing into a person's mouth, then
lungs, then deeper and deeper into the circulatory system. That is
how I feel about these lessons. Last week we learned that sin begins
with the thoughts, not with what we do. We sailed from the hand into
the heart. This week we sail even deeper into the mind and study our
desires and our nature. Let's jump into our boat and set sail into
the topic of desire!
I. Creation of Desire
A. Read Genesis 2:8-9. We learn that God created a garden for
Adam. What is the purpose of a garden?
1. What purpose is mentioned in Genesis 2:9? (That the
trees in the garden were pleasing to the eye and
provided good food.)
a. Why would God want to create trees that were
pleasing to the eye? What need is there for
that?
b. When it says that the food God created was
"good," do you understand that to mean it was
tasty? (Although the word translated "good,"
means good in every way, I believe that it was
tasty for the simple reason that God created in
us the ability to taste.)
B. Read Genesis 2:21-24. What do you think Eve looked like?
Beautiful or not? (It is hard to believe that God would
creates trees (Genesis 2:9) that were pleasing to the eye
and create a woman who was not.)
1. When it says that Adam and Eve became "one flesh," to
what does that refer? (It refers to the process of
having children.)
2. Why did God make conceiving children fun?
C. Are we seeing a pattern here? God creates surroundings
that are pleasant to look at, food that is good to eat and
a method for reproduction of the race which is highly
enjoyable. (The pattern is that God created pleasure for
humans.)
1. What does this teach us about God and desires? (That
God created desires in us.)
(1) Would it have been better for God to
create tasteless food and pleasure-less
sex? (We would be thinner - and there
would be fewer of us. But life would not
be the same.)
II. Desire and the Creation of Sin
A. Read Genesis 3:1-3. Why did the serpent ask Eve to repeat
what God had said? (My guess is that he wanted no later
debate about what Eve did. He did not want her to claim
she stumbled and accidentally took a bite.)
B. Read Genesis 3:4-5. What is Satan's argument for
disobeying God? (That God wants to keep Eve from being
like God. That if she eats she will know the things that
God knows.)
C. Read Genesis 3:6. Why did Eve eat the fruit? Was it her
hunger? Her desire for food? (The claim Eve sinned because
of her appetite makes no logical sense to me. She was
surrounded by trees with good fruit. It was not food which
made her sin, it was her desire to be like God.)
1. If I am right that it was not appetite that caused
Eve to sin, then why does Genesis 3:6 say the fruit
was "good for food and pleasing to the eye?" (Do you
think that Satan would have handed her a moldy, wormy
apple? It had to be appealing.)
D. Let's step back a minute. We learned that God created
desire in us as a good thing. How did Satan use human
desire in this story? (He uses our desires to attract us
to sin.)
1. What lesson does that teach us about sin and desire?
(Desire is not sin. Desire is a tool that Satan uses
to attract us to sin. The issue becomes whether the
object of our desire is appropriate. In law school
they taught me that the most important step in
correctly resolving a legal dispute was to determine
the issue. The issue in the Eve account was not
appetite. If it were, you could argue that desire
itself was sin. Instead, the issue was whether one
could use his own schemes to become like God. That is
a consistent problem from the fall of Satan through
to the issue of acquiring righteousness today.)
III. Deeper Into Desire
A. Read 1 Peter 1:13-16. So far we have learned that God
created desire and that desire is not inherently good or
evil. How do we square that conclusion with Peter's
statement about "evil" desires? Is our conclusion wrong?
(If you look at these three verses the overall theme seems
to be to set proper goals. Aim to be holy. This suggests
that if our aim is wrong, our desires are evil. If our aim
is proper, our desires are proper.)
1. What does this suggest about the relationship between
thoughts and desires? (In tracing the line of sin we
went from hands, to hearts to desire. Desire was
found by drilling deeper than thought. Peter suggests
to us that our thoughts, Godly goals, and Godly
learning control our deeper desires.)
B. Read Romans 7:7. Do you recall that last week we discussed
that the commandment against coveting was a recognition
that sin began in the mind? Why do you think Paul chooses
that commandment over any other to use as an illustration?
(A failure in the thought department leads to the
violation of the other commandments. Paul teaches us that
the law is critical to help us learn about this kind of
sin.)
C. Read Romans 7:8. Does Paul disagree with Peter? If we
correctly understand Peter to say that our thoughts
control our desires, how can Paul teach that controlling
our thoughts (learning we should not covet) produces all
sorts of evil desires? Are evil desires produced by good
thoughts? Are evil desires produced by the knowledge that
we should think good thoughts?
1. Have you ever seen a sign telling you not to do
something that makes you think about doing it? For
example, you see a sign in the bathroom that says,
"Don't write on the walls." Does that make you want
to write on the walls? (Normally, I would not even
consider writing on the wall of the bathroom. I'm in
the bathroom for something other than literary
pursuits. But the sign makes me consider what others
have written and the entire issue. Paul says that
being told not to do something, makes us think about
doing it.)
D. Let's read a little more. Read Romans 7:18-21. Here Paul
tells us he has the right desires, the right thoughts, but
the wrong actions. Should we determine that the conclusion
to our carefully thought-out study for the last two weeks
is just wrong? Can we realize the battle over sin is in
the mind, put the right stuff in, have the right aims, the
right desires, and still be swamped with sinful actions?
(Paul is adding two very important points to our
discussion. Although we learned that God created desires
in us and those desires in themselves were neutral, after
Adam and Eve, the rest of us were born with what Paul
calls "my sinful nature." This powerful force pushes our
thoughts, desires and deeds towards sin. Compare 2 Peter 2:10
to see that Peter agrees on this point.)
1. Remember we started out with the illustration of
Disney's boat ride? It seems that when it comes to
our conduct, we are traveling down from our hands, to
our hearts (thoughts) to our desires to our sinful
nature. We drill down to a nature which Paul (and
therefore us) cannot control.
2. What is the solution to the problem of our sinful
nature? (Paul's second important point is that God,
and only God, can rescue us from our sinful nature.)
a. How does the Eve account, the account of the
fall of humans, fit into this? (Eve wanted to be
like God through her own devices. God calls on
us to trust Him. We need His power to overcome
our sinful nature.)
E. Read Romans 9:16.
How does what Paul is writing fit our
discussion so far? Is he now saying that our relationship
with God has nothing, zero, to do with our thoughts and
desires? Or, are we wrong in concluding that our thoughts
and desires have an extraordinary amount to do with our
relationship with God? (The answer, again, is the "God
component" of things. We must realize that all of our
efforts to be good, even those focused on our thoughts,
are simply not sufficient without the power of God's
Spirit in our life. It is an acknowledgment that God has
the power to give effect to our choice of right thoughts.
Acknowledging the place of God's power and authority, also
acknowledges that we defer to Him on the issue of
salvation.)
1. Those of you who are troubled by this verse may read
further (Romans 9:17-18) and become even more
troubled. Will God, because He has the ultimate
power, be arbitrary in His decision on salvation? Was
He arbitrary with Pharaoh? (If He were to be
arbitrary, we would have no basis to complain. See
Romans 9:20-21. However, what has been revealed to us
shows that God was not arbitrary when it came to
Pharaoh. If you compare Exodus 8 with Exodus 9, you
will see that Pharaoh hardened his heart towards God
before God hardened Pharaoh's heart.)
F. God created our desires. He asks us to set our
thoughts on those things which will encourage a desire for
good. But, in all aspects of our Christian walk, whether
in our thoughts or in our deeds, we must remember that we
depend completely on God for our salvation. Will you ask
God for that power in your life?
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
