Four Basic Facts of the Gospel

Basic Doctrinal Worksheets
for New Believers
Lesson 5

Salvation

Why Was It Necessary for Christ to Die?

The Four Basic Facts of the Gospel
(Justification)

SALVATION

Why Was It Necessary for Christ To Die?

In Matthew 16:21 the Lord Jesus said He ______________ go to Jerusalem. He knew that He would __________________ many things and be __________________ and on the third day He would be ______________ _________________ Did Jesus believe His death was necessary?________ Read Matthew 16:22. Did Peter believe it was necessary for Jesus to die? ________ Who inspired Peter to contradict what Christ had spoken (see verse 23)? _____________________________

Let’s study John 10, verses 11-18. According to verse 11, did Jesus freely give His life or did others take it from Him? __________________________________________ In verse 15 Jesus said, "I _______ ________ my life for the sheep." How many men were able to take the life of the Son of God (v.18)? ________Who was it that freely gave His life on the cross? __________________ Read Luke 4:28-30. What happened when the angry mob tried to kill Jesus (verse 30)? _______________________________________________ Do you think it would have been possible for the Lord’s enemies to kill Him before it was time for Him to die on the cross (see John 7:30)? ________

Read Matthew 26:47-54. We learn in verse 53 that Jesus could have prayed and the Father would have given Him _______________________________________ to rescue Him from those men who were seeking to kill Him [Note: a "legion" was part of an army that comprised between 3,000 and 6,000 men). Did Jesus pray this prayer? ________ Read John 18:2-6. What happened to the band of officers when Jesus said, "I AM HE"? _______________________________________ Who was really in control of the situation, the officers or the Son of God? ___________________

Read John 3:14. Was it necessary for the Son of man to be lifted up on the cross? ________ The Son of man (circle the correct answer):

a. should be lifted up
b. might be lifted up
c. must be lifted up
d. may be lifted up.

We have seen that is was absolutely necessary for Jesus to die on the cross. Now we must learn why He had to die. To understand why the Lord Jesus had to die we must study the FOUR BASIC FACTS OF THE GOSPEL.

FACT NUMBER 1– All men are guilty before God.

Romans 3:19: "that _____________ mouth may be stopped and ________ the world may become before __________________ before __________." We have already studied that all men are sinful and wicked. As we stand before God, the Righteous Judge, is the verdict "GUILTY" or "NOT GUILTY"? _________________________

FACT NUMBER 2– There is a penalty for our guilt.

Not only are we guilty, but there is a penalty involved! We learn in Ezekiel 18:4 that the person who sins shall _______________. Therefore, because of our sin we deserve (circle one):

Because of my sin I deserve the _________________ penalty. In Genesis 2:17 we found that the penalty for Adam’s sin was also the ______________ penalty. What is the wages of sin (Romans 6:23)? _____________ If you were paid $10.00 per hour and you worked a 40 hour week, then you deserve to be paid how much money that week? ___________________ If your boss were fair and honest, then your wages for that week would be___________________. God is perfectly fair and just. Because of our ______________we deserve to die. We have earned for ourselves the _____________ penalty. God the Righteous Judge knows what kind of work we do as we live in sin each day and God's Word tells us that the wages of _______ is _________________.

What is this death penalty?

We must remember that this death penalty (Rom. 6:23) is more than just physical death, although physical death is certainly included as part of the consequences of sin (Gen. 3:19). DEATH as God's penalty for sin involves basically two things: 1) SEPARATION FROM GOD 2) PUNISHMENT BY GOD. The following verses speak about the punishment that the wicked deserve. For each verse write down the part of the verse that indicates separation from God and also the part that indicates that punishment by God is involved.

2 THESSALONIANS 1:9
SEPARATION __________________________________________________________________
PUNISHMENT __________________________________________________________________

SEPARATION __________________________________________________________________
PUNISHMENT __________________________________________________________________

MATTHEW 25:46
SEPARATION __________________________________________________________________
PUNISHMENT __________________________________________________________________

REVELATION 20:15
SEPARATION ___________________________________________________________________
PUNISHMENT ___________________________________________________________________

MATTHEW 7:23
SEPARATION ___________________________________________________________________

Hell was prepared for whom? ___________________________________________ The wicked shall suffer what kind of punishment (Matthew 25:46)?____________________________ In Revelation 20:14 we learn that this eternal separation from God is called the _______________ death. According to Revelation 20:15, what will happen to those who are not found written in the book of life?______________________________________ In Revelation 21:8 the lake of fire is called ____________________________.

FACT NUMBER 3--The penalty must be paid.

God the Righteous Judge cannot say, "You deserve the death penalty, but because I’m a merciful God I’ll forget about that and I’ll let you live!" Now if God were to do that, it’s true He would be merciful, but He would no longer be Just and He would no longer be Holy and He would no longer be Righteous! Imagine a human judge saying to a criminal, "I know you robbed that bank and shot the teller at the window but because I’m so merciful I’ll forget it ever happened and I’ll let you go free!" Would such a judge be exercising justice? ______ Do criminals deserve to be punished? __________ Do guilty people deserve to be punished?_________ According to Romans 3:19 and 3:23, are you a guilty person? ______ Do you deserve to be punished? _______ What punishment (penalty) do you deserve? ____________________________

Read Deuteronomy 25:1-2. If a person is righteous (innocent) then the judge should justify him (declare him to be innocent). If the person is innocent then the judge should say, "You’re not guilty!" If the person is guilty, then he should be condemned. Read Deuteronomy 25:2. If the guilty man deserves to be beaten, should the judge let him go unpunished? ________

Remember, God is the Perfect Judge. Is God ever unfair? _____ Does God ever make a mistake? _______ Does God see and understand all things? ______ Does God know all the facts? ______ Is God ever wrong? ______ Is God ever unrighteous? ______ Is there ever a crime that God does not observe? _______ Is anything hidden from the eyes of God (Hebrews 4:13)? ___________ Is God’s verdict ever wrong? ______ Therefore, as God the Perfect Judge sees you, what is the verdict? ____________________________ Because of this verdict, what is the punishment? ____________________________________

FACT NUMBER 4--Christ paid the penalty as our Substitute!

We deserve the ___________ penalty and this penalty M____________ be paid! We are all condemned sinners deserving an eternal death in the LAKE OF FIRE which is called the _______________ ______________ (see Revelation 20:14 and 21:8), BUT, God sent His beloved Son into the world (read John 3:17) not to _________________ the world, but that the world through Him might be ________________.

The Lord Jesus Christ came to pay the DEATH PENALTY for Me! He took my place and He died for me!

According to 1 Corinthians 15:3, what did the Lord Jesus do for you? ______________________________ Jesus paid the death penalty that I deserved! In Romans 5:6 we learn that Christ ___________ for what kind of people? ____________________ In Romans 5:8 we discover that even when we were yet ________________ Christ_____________ for _____. In Galatians 1:4 we learn that Christ gave Himself on the cross for whose sins? _______ Therefore, who paid the penalty for our sins? ___________________ Who deserved to pay the penalty for our sins? _______________ Who paid the penalty even though He didn’t deserve it? _____________________

Christ bore whose sins in His own body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24)? ________ What do you think "tree" means in this verse (compare Acts 5:30 and 10:39)? ____________________ How many times did Christ suffer for sins (1 Peter 3:18)? _____________ Therefore, is it necessary for Christ to die again on the cross? _______ Who is the Just One (the Righteous One) that this verse is talking about? _________________ Who are the unjust ones (the unrighteous ones)?_________________ Christ died for us in order that He might B_____________ us to __________. Read 2 Corinthians 5:21. Who knew no sin? __________________ Who was made sin for us? ________________ Why was He made sin for us? _____________________________________________________________________

Read Isaiah chapter 53 and circle every verse that tells us about Christ dying for our sins:

The following statements are either True or False. Put a T before those statements that are True and put an F before those that are false:

3. _______ It was absolutely necessary for Christ to die so that we could be saved.

5. _______ As the Righteous Judge of the Universe sees you and sees the way you have lived, the verdict is "Not Guilty!"

6. _______ All men are guilty before God, but because God is loving and merciful, there is no penalty for our guilt.

8. _______ The death penalty which sinful man has earned for himself has nothing to do with eternal separation from God and punishment by God, but it merely means that someday we must die physically.

12. ______ The lake of fire is called the second death which involves separation from a Holy God and eternal punishment.

19. ______ God showed His great love towards us by sending His Son to die for our sin.