Here's something that I'm including in Summit's new web site. It's the redemption story made simple. You can use this information to minister to those who have not yet received Jesus as their Savior and Lord.
The Bible is not a history book (although it contains history). It is the story of God’s redemption plan for mankind. Here’s the redemption story in a few simple statements.
1. Man is made up of spirit, soul, and body (1Thessalonians 5:23).
You are a spirit; you have a soul; and you live in a physical body.
Spirit -- the real you; the part of you that's been made in the image of God
Soul -- your mind, will, intellect, and emotions
Body -- your physical, earthly house that you live in
2. Adam was created to live in fellowship with God, to be like Him, and to have dominion on the earth.
3. God told Adam (God’s first created man) not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16,17). He told him that the day he eats of the tree, he shall surely die. Adam disobeyed God and ate fruit from the tree. Sin is disobedience to God. He (and his wife Eve) sinned when they ate of the tree (Genesis 3:6).
4. Adam was the head of the human race. When he ate from the tree, he died spiritually.
The death God was referring to was spiritual death. Spiritual death is separation from God. Death in the Bible never means to cease to exist. Generally speaking, death means separation. You will never consciously cease to exist - ever. You will live forever. When Adam ate of the tree, he continued to live physically. But he died instantly spiritually and his spiritual death spread to all mankind born after him (Romans 5:12).
5. Redemption. The spiritual death that we inherited from Adam put us in the hands of the devil. Redeem means to regain possession of (someone) in exchange for payment. Jesus came and regained possession of us in exchange for His blood. When we accept the free gift of salvation by making Jesus Lord of our life, we are born again and redeemed. Jesus said that you must be born again. The new birth is the recreation of the human spirit (Ephesians 1:7; Rom 10:9,10,13; John 3:3,6-7).
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