Chapter # 1 Paragraph # 1 Study # 12
September 19, 2010
Dayton, Texas
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<024> Thesis: Our deliverance is tied to Christ's "removal" of us from "this present evil age". Introduction: In our study last week we considered the self-giving of the Lord Jesus Christ as the foundation for the extension of "grace" and "peace". We saw that two major issues have to be resolved: the aggression of the Justice of God toward men who sin; and the aggression of the selfishness of men toward God Who sits as the final Sovereign. The self-giving of the Lord Jesus Christ was both humanly selfless and a human satisfaction of the precisely equivalent retaliation of Justice so that His action is an adequate solution to the lack of peace between God and men. However, the issues are complicated by one fact: without faith it is impossible for what the Lord did to have any impact on either side of the fence. Thus, the self-giving must be believed at both levels ("for our sins" and "gave Himself"). It must become the foundation for the choices "believers" make and the actions they take. This evening we are going to look into what Paul declared was Christ's objective in His self-giving. He declares it to be a "deliverance" of us "out of this present evil age". What does this mean? What is the relationship of "this present evil age" to us and why do we need "deliverance"?