C.A.C Sunday School Manual For November 22, 2020 The Unity Of Brethren. Lesson Nine : Topic – THE UNITY OF WICKED PEOPLE

Memory Scripture

The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God

(Psalm 9:17).

The conspiracy of Ananias and Sapphirra to deceive the Holy Spirit in His Church is an example of unity of wicked people. They paid dearly with their lives for cooperating with the devil, as they sought vain glory. The rebellious never go unpunished.

We have not just begun to see people who are united in doing what is evil. We have heard about gang rape, church members have conspired against their pastors, members of national or state assembly have had to conspire and impeach a governor, or house leader for unjust cause, etc. So, unity is not only talking about about godly oneness. There are partners in wickedness. May we not be one in Jesus’ name. Amen.

This passage identifies the possibility of having wicked people in collaboration to perform wicked act against God and His people. It states what shall be the conclusion of such people who have chosen to tread the path of wickedness. The wicked shall be turned into hell, …hell, hades or or geena (Greek) is the place of (state) departed souls, or everlasting punishment. Geenna is of Hebrews origin, valley of the son of Hinnom, gehenna (or Ge – Hinnom) is the home of the finally impenitent. That is where the wicked shall have their final home, if they fail to repent of their wickedness before death comes. And all the nations that forget God… Apart from the people who choose wickedness as way of life, the other people to be entertained in everlasting punishment (hell) are those nations that forget God. To forget God is considered a great crime against His holiness and righteousness. We all belong to God but whoever that chooses to forget God has decided to cut tie with Him and is bound for hell, if such does not repent. May you not be among those enlisted for hell in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Devotional Bible Readings For Week One

Mon. 16: The Wicked Heart Is Worth Little (Pro. 10:20)

Tue. 17: The Wicked Shall Not Go Unpublished (Pro. 11:21)

Wed. 18: The Wicked Are Like Corrupt Tree (Matt. 7:17)

Thur. 19: The Lord’s Sermon Hates Evil (Job 1:8)

Fri. 20: The Danger Of Evil Communication (1 Cor. 15:33)

Sat. 21: The Word Warns Against Abhorring Evil (Rom. 12:9).

1. Don’t cooperate with the wicked in their ways, even though they are in the majority. No sinner will go unpunished.

2. The Bible clearly warns: Do not join the multitude to do evil. If you say majority are doing it, are you prepared to receive the consequences that will soon accrue to them? Beware!

AIM: To show that sin is wickedness before God, and that the wicked, especially, the finally impenitent, shall face the hot judgment of God in the end.

OBJECTIVES: At the end of the lesson, readers should able to:

i. define the innocent state of man before the Fall;

ii. describe what man turned to, the moment sin came into him;

iii. show clearly that what makes man wicked is the emergence of sin, as introduced by Satan; and

iv. differentiate between the wicked and the regenerated from the standpoint of the Bible.

In the course of the last two weeks in our Sunday school series, we discussed THE REPERCUSSIONS OF DISUNITY. We looked at the miracle of unity showing God as the source of unity., as well as His greatest desire for the church to be united in Christ. However, we were warned of Satan’s subtlety in attacking the unity of the church. We should have better understood that disunity is a spiritually cancerous agent that has dealt the church serious blow, even from the early times. May we be more empowered and determined to reduce this scourge to the barest minimum, wherever God has placed us. Amen.

We must have understood by now, that wickedness originated from Satan, assisted by the fallen angels from heaven, and that is what he shared with, transferred to people on earth, through Adam, because all inherited sin from Adam.

Satan knew the bliss in heaven, because he was once there. He knows that he cannot go back there; never! He is privy to the fact that hell has been prepared for him and his cohorts. Little wonder he is fighting tooth and nail, looking for anyone who would cooperate with him to take along to hell. For that reason, he is subtly gifting all manners of his evil/sinful tools to men: wickedness is one of them. His aim is to make it difficult for Jesus to find faith on earth on His return (Lk. 18:8). However, Satan has failed, the moment we have Christ in us. Hallelujah! Beware! His focus is on believers. If anyone compromises, then the part of such person has ended in the kingdom of God. May that not be our lot, in Jesus’ name.

This is a two-week lesson broken into two divisions I and II, with each division further divided into A and B.

DIVISION I: WHO IS MAN?

This division describes who man is. It states man’s position in the beginning, that is, before the Fall. Prior to the Fall, man was innocent. He was without sin and any knowledge of sin. Sin was alien to man, until the Devil showed us as a serpent. It also discusses man and sin. It traces the origin of sin to when the devil subtly committed Adam and Eve to eat of the fruit God warned them not to eat. So, this section looks into who man is, both before and after the Fall.

DIVISION II: WHAT DIFFERENCES EXIST AMONGST MEN?

This section is direct. It distinguishes between the different kinds of people, or persons that are on the earth. Part A discusses the wicked ones and the second, which is the part B, discusses the regenerated ones. These two categories are considered from the perspectives of Jeremiah 17:9, 2 Cor. 5:14-17.

I. WHO IS MAN? (Genesis 1:27,31; 6:5,6)

Man, Adam (Hebrew) means ruddy, a human being, mankind. Man is a human being made in the image and likeness of God. There are many grounds on which man can be described. One may decide to look at him from the functional aspect, and personality ground. Above all, man is answerable to God, his Maker and he is bound to receive the consequences of all his choices and actions when he finally returns to God.

Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good (1:31).

i. 1:27,31: ‘Man’ here is generic, referring to both male and female. He is capable of making choices. In the beginning, God created man in His own image and likeness, and… saw everything that He had made, man inclusive, and indeed it was very good.

ii. By implication, man carried a perfect heart in Creation. The heart determines man’s attitude, and attitude defines a man, not beauty or appearance (Matt. 12:34b).

iii. Man’s heart was in the state of innocence, which made him to enjoy intimate fellowship with God, as He obviously regularly visited them in the garden, in the cool of the day (cf. 3:8).

iv. Aside Adam and Eve, God never created any other person like them. By His command, Adam and Eve started giving birth to offspring (4:1). This is so, given the fact that the whole humanity was already in Adam, when he was created.

v. At birth ans to some level, the heart of a child is like a ‘blank-slate’ (tabula rasa). Whatever is written on it, defines the child.

vi. Godly heart that leads to godly attitude and behaviour begins from home, hence the divine command to train up children even from home (Prov. 22:6; 29:17).

vii. Man was good (innocent and godly), until sin through the Devil, the enemy of man’s Soul, crept in. Glory be to God who has brought us back to that first state through the atonement ans reconciliatory role of Christ.

B. MAN AND SIN (6:5,6)

Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (6:5).

i. Sin is any violation of the perfect holiness of God. Satan first practiced this in paradise before he was eventually hauled out (Isa. 14:12ff; Ezk. 28:15ff; Rev. 12:9).

ii. Being a master deceiver, he craftily swung some of the angels to his side, and they fell with him from heaven, down to earth, grace to grass. In like manner, he influenced and deceived Adam and Eve. Shun evil influences around you.

iii. 6:5,6: Sin became part of man, without exemption (Jer. 17:9; Rom. 3:23). Man who was created with a pure heart became contaminated by sin, through the devil. Intimacy with God was hampered. What a tragedy!

vi. The wickedness that became deep-seated in the once-perfect man is evident in situations such as when… Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him (4:8). The tares (sin) Satan sowed in the midst of wheat or our first parents (cf. Matt. 13:38-39) germinated, and has ever since become an inheritance from generation to generation. But not without its wages-death (Rom. 6:23; cf. Gen. 6:7).

v. At last, God has given us the antidote to sin — Jesus Christ. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive (1 Cor. 15:22; cf. Rom. 6:23b). Anyone who refuses to accept Jesus as/her Lord and Saviour is a hardened sinner and candidate of hell (Jn. 3:16ff; Rom. 1:20-32). Repent today and be saved.

vi. Sin corrupts man and turns man into a wicked, terrible and deadly soul, bill for eternal destruction. Only those who eventually accept the salvation and love of God through His only begotten Son shall be free and saved from eternal damnation. What are you waiting for?

1. Out heart should be guarded, for out of it comes one’s actions. Don’t allow undue influences to swing you away from the Holy God; He doesn’t take it lightly (Prov. 4:23)

2. The work of salvation of Jesus Christ is meant for all who believe in, and accept His work of atonement — redemption and salvation.

How powerful can the influence of wickedness in the world today be on the soul of anyone? How can we overcome it?

i. The influence of wickedness is so strong on man, he was born into it and cannot free himself from it. He was brought forth in iniquity, and conceived in sin (Psa. 51:5).

ii. Where did Cain learn how to murder?

iii. Do you need to teach a child how to lie before this spirit of deceit grows in him?

iv. It is a contaminated ans corrupted world, which corrupts automatically (2 Pet. 1:4c).

v. Man was born with the tendency to be wicked. Only the first man and woman exhibited innocence. Since the Fall, that state has been corrupted and it has given room for state of sin. Man inherited sin and its guilt from Adam.

vi. It is therefore unnatural for anyone to be innocent or morally upright. If you are fortunate to exhibit some level of morality, you only receive the grace of God. However, morality, either by self-discipline or otherwise, does not translate to salvation eventually.

vii. The solution to the influence of wickedness is the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed away (1 Cor. 5:17).

viii.Take the provision of God in Christ and be free from the sting of wickedness and the influence of sin ans corruption.