God's Principles In Dealing With Man
 Have Been The Same In Every Age

  1. INTRODUCTION:

    1. THREE ETERNAL PRINCIPLES IN DEALING WITH MAN HAVE BEEN THE
      SAME IN EVERY AGE:
      1. Grace.
      2. Faith.
      3. Obedience.
    2. THIS IS TRUE IN ALL THREE DISPENSATIONS:
      1. Patriarchal.
      2. Jewish.
      3. Christian.

  2. DISCUSSION:

    1. EXAMPLES UNDER THE PATRIARCHAL LAW: PATRIARCHAL DISPENSATION.
      1. Adam and Eve:
        1. God’s grace:
          1. They were created in the image of God.

            2. Genesis 1:27 = "So God created man in his own image, in the
            image of God created he him; male and female created he 
            them.            "

          2. Placed in the Garden.

            3. Genesis 2:8 = "And the LORD God planted a garden 
            eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had
            formed.            "

          3. Given a law.

          Genesis 2:16-17 = "And the LORD God commanded the man, 
          saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But 
          of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not 
          eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt 
          surely die.          "

        2. Faith and Obedience: They had to believe and obey

        Genesis 3:1-6 = "Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast 
        of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the 
        woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
        And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the 
        trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of 
        the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch 
        it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely 
        die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes 
        shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And 
        when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was
        pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took 
        of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with 
        her; and he did eat.        "  Genesis 3:22-24 =  "And the LORD God said, 
        Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and 
        now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and 
        eat, and live for ever: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from 
        the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So 
        he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden
        Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the 
        way of the tree of life.        "

      2. Noah.
        1. Grace was extended to him.

          2. Genesis 6:8 = "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD."

        2. He had to believe.

          3. Hebrews 11:7 = "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not
          seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his
          house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of 
          the righteousness which is by faith.          "

        3. He had to obey.

        Genesis 6:22 = "Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded 
        him, so did he.        "

      3. Abraham.
        1. God’s promises came to him through grace.
        2. He had to believe.

          3. Hebrews 11:17-19 = "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered 
          up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only
          begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be
          called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from 
          the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.          "

        3. He had to obey.

      Genesis 22:1-14 = "And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt
      Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And 
      he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get 
      thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon 
      one of the mountains which I will tell thee of      . And Abraham rose up early in 
      the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, 
      and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, 
      and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day
      Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said 
      unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go 
      yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of 
      the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his 
      hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto
      Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And 
      he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt 
      offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a 
      burnt offering: so they went both of them together. And they came to the 
      place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid 
      the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon 
      the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay 
      his son. And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said,
      Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand
      upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou
      fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me      . 
      And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram 
      caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and 
      offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham 
      called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the 
      mount of the LORD it shall be seen.      "

    2. EXAMPLES UNDER THE JEWISH LAW: MOSICAL DISPENSATION
      1. Deliverance of the children of Israel.
        1. An act of God’s grace.

          2. Exodus 3:8-10 = "And I am come down to deliver them out of the 
          hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto 
          a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey;
          unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the 
          Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 
          Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come 
          unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the 
          Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore, and I will send thee
          unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children 
          of Israel out of Egypt.          "

        2. Moses had to believe God and obey.
      2. Looking on the brazen serpent.
        1. God provided the plan.

          2. Numbers 21:8-9 = "And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a 
          fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that
          every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And
          Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came 
          to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the
          serpent of brass, he lived.          "

        2. The people had to believe and obey.
      3. Naaman the Leper.
        1. God through Elisha, provided the cure.

          2. II Kings 5:1-5 = "Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of
          Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by
          him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a
          mighty man in valour, but he was a leper. And the Syrians had gone
          out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of
          Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife. And she said
          unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that 
          is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy. And one 
          went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid 
          that is of the land of Israel. And the king of Syria said, Go to, go,
          and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, 
          and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of 
          gold, and ten changes of raiment.          " II Kings 5:10-14= "And Elisha 
          sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven
          times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be 
          clean. But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, 
          I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on 
          the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place,
          and recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of
          Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in
          them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. And 
          his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, 
          if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou 
          not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, 
          Wash, and be clean? Then went he down, and dipped himself 
          seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of 
          God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child
          and he was clean.          "

        2. An act of God’s grace.

          3. II Kings 5:10 = "And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go 
          and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again 
          to thee, and thou shalt be clean.          "

        3. Naaman had to believe and obey.

      II Kings 5:11-14 = "But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, 
      I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of 
      the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. 
      Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters 
      of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away 
      in a rage. And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My 
      father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not 
      have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be 
      clean? Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, 
      according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like 
      unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.      "

    3. EXAMPLES UNDER THE CHRISTIAN DISPENSATION.
      1. The form of God’s grace.
        1. Came in the form of teaching.

          2. Titus 2:11 = "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath
          appeared to all men,          "

        2. God’s Word is the word of His grace.

          3. Acts 20:32 = "And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to 
          the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give 
          you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.          "

        3. Hence, God’s grace can be received in vain.

        2 Corinthians 6:1 = "We then, as workers together with him, beseech you 
        also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.        "

      2. Examples:
        1. People on Pentecost [Acts 2].
          1. Grace was extended to them: they were not worthy, they were murderers.
          2. They believed.

            3. Acts 2:37 = "Now when they heard this, they were pricked 
            in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the
            apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?            "

          3. They obeyed.

          Acts 2:41 = "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized:
          and the same day there were added unto them about three 
          thousand souls.          "

        2. Eunuch [Acts 8]
          1. It was grace that caused the Lord to send Philip to preach to him.

            2. Acts 8:26 = "And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip,
            saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that 
            goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert            ."

          2. He believed and obeyed.

          Acts 8:37-38 = "And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine 
          heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that 
          Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot 
          to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both 
          Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.          "

        3. Paul.
          1. Grace was bestowed upon him.

            2. 1 Corinthians 15:10 = "But by the grace of God I am what I 
            am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in
            vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not 
            I, but the grace of God which was with me.            "

          2. He believed.

            3. Acts 9:6 = "And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, 
            what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him,
            Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what 
            thou must do.            "

          3. He obeyed.

    Acts 26:19 = "Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly
    vision:    "

    Acts 22:16 = "And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy
    sins, calling on the name of the Lord.    "

    Acts 9:18 = "And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he
    received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.    "

  3. CONCLUSION:

    1. THE ETERNAL PRINCIPLES IN DEALING WITH MAN HAVE NOT 
      CHANGED DOWN THROUGH TIME.
    2. THE SAME PRINCIPLES OF GOD WERE PRESENT IN EVERY AGE OR
      DISPENSATION.
      1. God’s grace to provide the plan.
      2. Man’s need to believe in the plan.
      3. Man’s need to be obedient to the plan.
    3. THE QUESTION FOR US TODAY IN THE CHRISTIAN AGE IS:
      1. Will we believe and obey God’s plan?

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