SUNDAY
SCHOOL OUTLINE FOR JULY 10, 2016
THEME FOR THE MONTH: A
WORLD GONE WRONG
TOPIC FOR TODAY: UNDER SIN'S POWER
TEXT:
ROMANS
3:9-20
MEMORY
VERSE: “No one
will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather,
through the law we become conscious of our sin.” – ROMANS 3:20 (NIV)
INTRODUCTION
Do you believe what you see in the mirror?
Certainly we all know that the images we see there are those of ourselves, not
someone else. But do we really recognize the significance of what we see in the
mirror? Do we notice that we no longer look as we once did? Or do we still
mostly see the person in the mirror from years back? Do we see the way we have
become different, or do we imagine we look and can act as we once did?
The reality of changing appearance is hard
to admit as years pass. Harder still are the intangible realities regarding who
we truly are as people. Some have an unrealistically negative view of
themselves: I’m a failure; no one can love me; surely God is very unhappy with
me. Others may have the opposite: an unrealistically positive view of
themselves. In either case, we may arrive at our unrealistic view because we
compare ourselves with others, concluding that we are markedly better or worse
than the people we know.
The gospel is a reality check, like an
honest look in a mirror, on our estimate of ourselves. Today’s text summarizes
a key aspect of that reality check.
LESSON AIMS: To help class members
to:
·
SUMMARIZE
humanity’s situation in relation to God’s law.
·
REBUT the
argument that, since everyone sins, it’s not a problem; God will save us
anyway.
·
WRITE a
prayer of confession and repentance for one area of sin that besets him or her.
THE
LESSON
1. NO
ONE IS RIGHTEOUS — ROMANS 3:9-18
a. What misconceptions do people hold
regarding sin? How do we correct these?
b. How does the cross of Christ help you
grasp the depth of the human problem of sin?
c.
How
should an appropriate “fear of God” be demonstrated?
You are justified when you repent and accept the
offer of sacrifice Jesus made for you.
2. PURPOSE
OF THE LAW — ROMANS 3:19-20
a.
How has Scripture helped you understand your
position as one who has rebelled against God?
b.
From
verse 20 we see that we are not as good as we think we are. How do we keep from
fooling ourselves in this regard?
You are made right with God by faith in Jesus
not by observing the law. Galatians 2:16.
THE CONCLUSION:
The words of today’s text are quite
discouraging if read by themselves. But thanks be to God, they bring to a close
what is only the beginning of the message of Romans! The problem of human sin
is deep and wide. It goes back to the very beginning of the human family and
extends to every member in every place in the world. This problem cannot be
solved by human endeavour; we know only how to create and perpetuate the
problem. If the problem is to be solved, then God must be the one to solve it.
We modern-day Christians can easily
fail to hear how this message addresses us. Certainly we see Israel’s failure
as we read the Old Testament. But, we think, that is them, not us. We have no
problem affirming the power of sin in our own world. We see it all around us in
others’ degraded, chaotic, ruined lives. But, we think, that is them, not us.
Forgetting what our lives would be
without God’s work in Christ, ignoring how sin’s power still reveals itself in
us, we can imagine that the universal power of sin is not a factor in our
lives. If we succumb to such thinking, we become the kind of people Paul
corrected in Romans: those who imagine that their position as God’s people
gives them a superior status over others.
May our study of this text remind us
that we, like they, are victims of sin’s power, to be saved from it only by
God’s grace.
PRAYER: Gracious
God, grant that we can see ourselves as we really are, as you see us. Purge
from our hearts the power of sin. Help us to utterly rely on your forgiveness
in Christ Jesus.
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