Simeon Sunday School

Unit 2 | Lesson 1: Messed Up!
Lesson Passage: Romans 3:9-18,23

“Just tell me the truth, doc.” Nobody wants a doctor who can’t share the truth. When big momma went for a second appointment with her oncologist, the doctor danced around the truth. Unwilling to accept a soft-peddled message, she demanded the truth—did she or did she not have cancer? Unfortunately, many people are more concerned about their physical condition than they are about their spiritual condition. People who would never want a doctor to sugar coat the truth have no desire to hear the truth about their relationship with God. Today, we will ask ourselves an important question.

What’s the truth about your sin? The truth is that your sin is real, God sees it, and it destroys your fellowship with Him. Hiding your sin is not doing you any good. Blaming others for your sin gets you no closer to God. Only by confessing your sin does God promise to forgive your sin (1 John 1:9). Commit yourself to living humbly before God, realizing that you are a Christian because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, not because of anything you have done. As you encounter people who are not saved, encourage them to take responsibility for their own sin and accept the work of Christ on the cross by faith. Commit your life to His service by spreading the truth about a faith-based salvation in a works-based world.

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
People want a religion that makes them feel good, one that focuses only on the positive. Before we can get to the positive, and there are many wonderful messages and promises in the Bible, we must acknowledge our sinfulness before God. We must acknowledge that we are lost and have no hope of saving ourselves. We can’t keep blaming our predicament on our father, mother, environment, or upbringing. We have to take responsibility for the one who wears our shoes.

This text applies to unbelievers because it helps them to acknowledge their sin, which is the first step toward salvation. This text also encourages the Christian in a couple of ways. First, it challenges us to remain humble. We are no better than our neighbor, and it takes the same price to redeem everybody—the blood of Jesus. Second, it instructs us in how to work with the lost. We must help people to see that they are in great need and that Jesus is a great Savior. People who lose sight of either one of those points continue to live hopeless lives.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Two main points surface from this week’s lesson:

• No one is perfect (Romans 3:9-12)
• But it’s still your choice (Romans 3:13-18, 23)

Here are several questions about this week’s lesson.  We are interested in what you think.  Please share your thoughts about these questions by submitting a comment below, just beneath this post.  Answer some or all of the questions.  Or, answer all the questions at one time or just one question at a time.  We want to hear what you have learned from God!

Do you think that it’s important to admit that we are not perfect?  Why or why not?

How does religion sometimes keep us from God rather than leading us to Him?  Conversely, how does culture sometimes lead us away from God rather than to Him?  Look back at this week’s Bible passage and think about who Paul was talking about, Jews and Gentiles.

Are sinners born or are they made by their choices? (Romans 3:12-18, 23)

Romans 3:23 says that we all fall short of God’s standard.  Does it help or hurt to compare our sin with the sin of others?  Please explain.

FOR REFLECTION
Are you a Christian in need of a closer fellowship with the Lord? Once we recieve Christ, we cannot lose our salvation, but habitual and unconfessed sin distances us from the Lord. Read 1 John 1:9. What do you need to confess and do to walk closer with the Lord?