CHAPTER 2

GODS WORK OF SALVATION IN JESUS CHRIST

(Bible source: Ephesians 4:32 and Colossians 3:13)

Pray and Sing
A. Introduction
In chapter 1 you have learned about the beauty of forgiveness. In this lesson
you will comprehend the Work of Gods Forgiveness in Jesus Christ. Read and study
the text bellow.
Apostle Paul said that we must forgive just as God forgave us (Ephesians 4:32)
After studying the above text, write down your comment to fill in the blanks
below! Dont forget to pick up the Bible and read Ephesians 4:32 and also Colossians
3:13. Are you able and willing to do as written by Apostle Paul in the text? What is
the meaning of to forgive just as God forgave us?

B. The Meaning of Forgiveness
Activity 1
Read the story below, then discuss with your friends about the story and its
correlation to forgiveness.
An Irish man, Gordon Wilson, with his 28 years old daughter, Marie, went to
see a parade in the city of Enniskillen in North Ireland. When they were standing next
to a stone wall while waiting for a battalion of British soldiers and cops passing by, a
bomb planted by terrorist blasted just behind them. Six persons died right away,
while Gordon and his daughter were buried and covered by the stone. Gordon knew
that his arm and shoulders were injured, however he was not able to make a move.
Then he felt someone touched his fingers. Dad, is it you? whispered Marie. Yes,
Marie, replied him. Gordon started to hear people crying in pain, and then he heard a
louder voice crying, which belonged to Marie. He squeezed his daughters arm and
asked her several times if she was alright. Among her painful cries, Marie assured her
father that she was okay. Dad, I really love you, was the last words Gordon heard
from his daughter.
Four hours later, after the rescue came, Marie died in the hospital due to terrible
damage occurred to her brain and spine. That afternoon, a BBCs reporter
interviewed Gordon. After Gordon described the situation of what happened, the
reporter asked him, How do you feel toward the people who had planted the bomb?
Gordons reply was surprising, I do not hate them. Bitter words would never bring
Marie Wilson back alive. I will pray tonight and every night after so that God will
forgive them.
Some people assumed that his statement eventually calmed military groups who
were really furious because of the tragic bomb incidence, and it consequently
prevented them from another bloody revenge. The next month, many people asked
Gordon of how he could forgive such brutal act which was motivated by hatred. My
heart was hut, said Gordon. I have lost my daughter, but I was not angry. Maries
last words to me, words of love, have caused my love to grow. I have received the
grace of God to forgive through His power of love to me. For years after the tragedy
which took his daughter away from him, and also almost took away his own life,
Gordon Wilson had worked tirelessly to attempt for peace and reconciliation in North
Ireland until his last breath.
(Downloaded from Meity Mamahit Ministry, 14
th
of January 2013)

Join in a group and discuss these questions below.
1. What is the meaning of Gordons action?
2. Why Gordon Wilson was willing to forgive the terrorists who had caused his
daughters death?
3. If you were Gordon Wilson, what would be your attitude toward the terrorists?

C. Gods Forgiveness
Activity 2
Comprehending Gods Forgiveness in Jesus Christ and Discussing It
Since the man fell into sin, God had planned the salvation for human. It was
proven through the flood in which God destroyed everything on earth and yet saved a
family who lived according to His will. Noah and his family, also plants and animals
in couple which were with them were saved by God. The flood also proved that
humans wickedness has hurt God so badly. However, He still forgave and saved
human who lived righteously before Him. God has never quitted in doing His
salvation since the past, the present time, and until the future.
Why did God send Jesus to come to earth to forgive and save the human?
Below are several reasons why God sent Jesus to earth.
a. Because God loves human
However great His disappointment toward human being, it never degrades His
deep love for them. God loves all His creatures and He always gives them
opportunity to repent and to come back to Him. Actually, it is not easy for human to
live in obedience in faith. Why? Because there are so many temptations around us.
That was the same was people lived in the age of Noah. They were tempted by the
fun of life filled with evil. Life in debauchery, sexual crimes oppressing and torturing
other people, also abusing power. All those things bring satisfaction to human being.
Apostle Paul refer it to live by flesh and not live by Spirit. Desire of the flesh will
bring human to death; however desire of the Spirit will lead to salvation. To live by
Spirit refers to a life led by the Spirit and to live in obedience to Gods commands.
You also have experienced facing temptation, havent you? Temptation at
school, at home, in the environment where you hang out with your friends, from TV,
internet, electronic game and so on. Even though you need your friends to hang out
and to share, but sometimes friendship can also lead you to do depressing and
disappointing activities. Even though you need TV and internet to learn and to play,
but sometimes the media offer you many things that are in contrary with your faith.
So, we can imagine that human have faced temptation since long time ago in
the past until today. Should they give up to the temptations? How to face all those
temptations? Before He ascended to heaven, Jesus had promised to send Holy Spirit
to assist His people. That promised had been fulfilled since the day of Pentecost
where Holy Spirit came upon the apostles and lived in the heart of every believer,
including you. Therefore, you can ask to Jesus to let Holy Spirit lead you. How? By
praying and reading the Bible faithfully.

b. God is omni-forgiving
He is willing to forgive human who repent and turn back to Him. When Jesus
was asked of how many times we should forgive those who sin against us, Jesus
replied 70x7 times. It means that forgiveness has no limits, we can forgive others any
time just as Apostle Paul said that we must forgive others the way Jesus forgave us.
Sometimes we are willing to forgive, but we still have hatred left within whenever we
recall all wickedness somebody had ever done to us. Have you ever felt like that?
Christ has forgiven and saved you, you are obliged to forgive other people, also ask
forgiveness from others when you are guilty. What if that person refuses to forgive
you? Keep praying and do good things toward him/her, one day his/her heart will
melt and eventually forgive you. Do not stand on other peoples attitude that refuses
to forgive. Your model is Jesus Christ who is willing to forgive you, do the same.
Forgiveness with no limit does not mean to negate alertness or critical power toward
other believers. It means that we forgive others, and yet we maintain a critical
thinking so that nobody will misuse our forgiveness. For example, Joseph examined
his brothers to verify that they had changed.

c. Because God is the Savior
He has saved human many times through the prophets until finally He came to
the earth through Jesus Christ His Son. God descended to earth to save human. Why?
Because sinful human will never be able to save other human. Therefore God acted
by coming to the human to save them. Jesus Christ is God and also human. How
could it be possible? He was born as a human, felt everything that human feel; He
became hungry, thirsty, sad, and also angry. He also felt the suffering just like any
other human. But He was not sinful because He was conceived of Holy Spirit, He
was God who rose from the death and ascended to heaven. He had redeemed human
from sins. There is no one able to do anything that Jesus has done. He was not sinful,
and yet he had to suffer and died like a sinful man, according to Apostle Paul, He
bore all our sins.
God forgives us in Jesus Christ by making reconciliation between us and
Himself. Through such forgiveness, God has restored His relationship with human.
According to Apostle Paul, human are indebted people, which is debt of sin and
Christ has paid all our debts through His blood, through His death on the cross. The
Lord God has forgiven us in Christ by annulling our debts to Him.

After comprehending this topic, discuss several things below.
1. Various temptations that you experience at home and at school!
2. How you solve the temptations!
3. Why God has to save human through Jesus Christs safrice?

Activity 3
Comprehending the Bible
Read John 8:1-11, then recite Jesus attitude when people brought up to Him a
woman who committed sin. Why did not Jesus punish her? If people who committed
mistake and mischief came to you and admitted his/her fault to you, what would you
do to him/her? You can share in a group. For instance, the first group would recite the
introduction of how people had brought the sinful woman to Jesus. The second group
would tell of Jesus response. The third group would give their opinion of why Jesus
did not punish the woman. The fourth group could propose your possible action when
a friend or other people come and admit their faults to you.

Activity 4
Playing Resist From Temptation
Time: 30 seconds
Instruments: Papers and pen
Create a group, consisting of 5-10 people, if there are only a few students then
consisting of 2-4 people.

How to play
1. Teacher will announce that participants will have a trip abroad.
2. Every participant will decide what items to carry abroad (30-40 items)
3. Items: bags, foods, medicines etc. Should they carry an item with quantity of
more than one, let us say two, then the items will be counted as two items.
4. Participants are not allowed to carry items which are difficult to carry such as car,
horse, also items which do not exist in the reality.
5. Write your name on the paper.
6. After choosing and writing the items you should carry, there will be an
announcement.
7. The teacher will announce that your plane falls on a tropical area and you cannot
bring all the items. You are then allowed to carry only two items.
8. You are given the time to discuss of the two items your group will carry. Make a
circle on the item list, of the two items you decide to carry.
9. The teacher will ask the participants to mention the two items and the reason why
they choose both items.
10. The teacher will decide the end of this game.

The good groups who choose the necessary items to carry which are suitable with the
situation, condition, and the need of the groups are those who are always able to
anticipate problems and likely to be able to resist from trials or temptations.