The Life of Jesus Christ Easy English Bible

Lesson 2, Section 1

Read this teaching by Jesus. Look at the vocabulary list for help with new or special words and phrases (bolded words are defined below). Then write answers to the questions.

Jesus called the people to Him and said to them, "Listen and understand this! It is not what goes into a man's mouth that makes his mind and heart sinful. It is what comes out of a man's mouth that makes him sinful…

"…Whatever comes from the mouth has come out of the heart. These things make the man [and woman] unclean inside. For out of the heart come bad thoughts, killing other people, sex sins of a married person, sex sins of a person not married, stealing, lying, speaking against God. These are the things that make the man unclean inside…" (Matthew 15:10-11, 18-20).

• heart - Here Jesus does not mean the part of the body that moves blood inside the body. He means the part of us that cannot be seen. This is where our thoughts and feelings are. (See Lesson 2, Section 4 for more on blood.)
  
• sex sins* - Sins that use sex in a bad way, in a way that is not part of God's plan for marriage. The phrase in common English is "sexual sins." Note: The Bible teaches that God gave the gift of sex as part of His plan for faithful, loyal marriage between a husband and a wife. A faithful, loyal husband loves only his wife and no other woman. A faithful, loyal wife loves only her husband and no other man. (Jesus teaches about this plan in Matthew 19:4-6. In the plan, Jesus also teaches that a man should not marry another man and that a woman should not marry another woman.) A plan is an idea that you first think about and then want to do.
  
• sinful - A sinful heart is filled with evil thoughts and desires. God is true and right and good. He made everything and knows everything. So He can help us know what is evil and what is good. What is evil is called sin. The main way that God tells us about what is evil and what is good is through the Bible.

1.    Jesus says that some things are sins. What are they?

2.    What makes people do these bad things? Write your answer using the teaching of Jesus.

Lesson 2, Section 2

Read this teaching by Jesus. Look at the vocabulary list for help with new or special words and phrases (bolded words are defined below). Then write answers to the questions.

Jesus saw many people. He went up on the mountain and sat down. His followers came to Him. He began to teach them, saying,…

"You have heard that men were told long ago, 'You must not kill another person. If someone does kill, he will be guilty and will be punished for his wrong-doing.' But I tell you that whoever is angry with his brother will be guilty and have to suffer for his wrong-doing. Whoever says to his brother, 'You have no brains,' will have to stand in front of the court. Whoever says, 'You fool,' will be sent to the fire of hell.

"You have heard that it was said long ago, 'You must not do sex sins.' But I tell you, anyone who even looks at a woman [or a man] with a sinful desire of wanting her [or him] has already sinned in his heart" (Matthew 5:1-2, 21-22, 27-28).

• brain - The part inside our head that helps us to think and to have ideas.
  
• court - A place where a judge or a group of judges decides if someone is guilty and should be punished. In the United States, a group of common people is often given this job of deciding. This group is called a jury.
  
• guilty - Having broken a law or rule. (In the Bible, most laws and rules are from God.)
  
• hell - A place where people who do not know God will go after they die. They will live forever far from God. Fire burns forever there. (For more on hell, read Matthew 18:8; Matthew 25:46; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9; Revelation 21:8.)
  
• punished - To be punished is to have something painful done to you because you broke a law or rule.
  
• suffer - To feel pain or unhappiness.
  
• wrong-doing - Another word for sin.

3.    In the Old Testament, God tells us that we must not kill another person. Does Jesus teach that the only meaning of this law is that we must not make another person to die? Or does Jesus teach more than this. If so, give an example from his teaching.

4.    In the Old Testament, God tells us not to do sexual sins. Does Jesus teach that this law is only about what we do using our bodies? Or does he teach that there is another way that a person can sin sexually? If so, what is this way?

5.    Jesus teaches that you must not sin in your heart and in your thoughts. Do you think that you can always obey, or do, what he says to do? Explain your answer.

6.    What does Jesus say is the punishment for a person who breaks God's law?

Lesson 2, Section 3

Read more of Jesus' teaching. Look at the vocabulary list for help with new or special words and phrases (bolded words are defined below). Then write answers to the questions.

"You have heard that it has been said, 'You must love your neighbor and hate those who hate you.' But I tell you, love those who hate you…Pray for those who do bad things to you and who make it hard for you. Then you may be the sons [and daughters] of your Father Who is in heaven. His sun shines on bad people and on good people. He sends rain on those who are right with God and on those who are not right with God. If you love those who love you, what reward can you expect from that?…If you greet only the people you like, are you doing any more than others? The people who do not know God do that much. You must be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:43-48).

• hate - To dislike (not like) someone very much, to want bad things to happen to someone.
  
• reward - This is what you should receive for doing something good or hard.
  
• greet - To say hello.
  
• perfect - Right and good always, without even a single sinful thought or act.

7.    Jesus teaches about people who hate you. These are people who dislike you very much and make life difficult for you. What does He say is the way that you must feel and act toward these people?

8.    Do you believe that you always feel and act toward all these people in the way that Jesus teaches? Explain your answer.

9.    Jesus says that you must be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect. What does Jesus mean? Does He mean that you will be punished if you break God's laws even one time? Explain your answer.

Note: Heaven is the place where people live with God forever in happiness and joy after death. (For more on heaven, which the Bible sometimes calls the New Jerusalem, read Matthew 5:12; Philippians 3:20-21; Hebrews 12:22-24; Revelation 21:1-4, 22-27; 22:1-5. See also Lesson 1, Section 3.)

Lesson 2, Section 4

Read this teaching from the prophet Isaiah. It will help you understand more about the teaching of Jesus. Look at the vocabulary list for help with new or special words and phrases (bolded words are defined below). Then write answers to the questions.

[Isaiah speaks to people who are not following God's laws:] "But your wrong-doings have kept you away from your God. Your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.…"

[Using words that are like pictures for the reader, Isaiah then speaks for these people:] "What is right and good does not come to us. We hope for light, but see darkness. We hope for bright light, but we walk in the dark. We feel for the wall like blind men. We feel our way like those who have no eyes…All of us make noise like bears, and cry inside ourselves like doves. We hope for what is right and fair, but it is not there. We hope to be saved, but it is far from us…Our wrong-doing is with us, and we know our sins. We have gone against the Lord and have acted as if we do not know Him. We have turned away from our God. We have made it hard for others. We have thought and spoken lying words from the heart. What is right and fair is turned back. What is right and good stands far away. Truth has fallen in the street, and what is right cannot come in…And he who turns away from sin comes under the anger of sinners" (Isaiah 59:2, 9-15).

• bear - A big and very strong animal that usually has long brown or black hair. It has sharp claws on its feet. It looks slow but can run fast. It makes a low sound of danger called a growl. It usually turns away from people but it can hurt or kill them.
  
• dove - A kind of bird that is very afraid. It flies away rather than fight.

10.  What sins does Isaiah talk about in the last part of his words?

11.  Isaiah talks about bad things that come to people who sin. Write a list of these bad things.

Lesson 2, Section 5

Read more of Jesus' teaching. Look at the vocabulary list for help with new or special words and phrases (bolded words are defined below). Then write answers to the questions.

"When the Son of Man comes in His shining-greatness, He will sit down on His throne of greatness. All the angels will be with Him. All the nations of the earth will be gathered before Him. He will divide them from each other as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on His right side, but the goats He will put on His left side…"

"Then the King will say to those on His left side, 'Go away from Me! You are guilty! Go into the fire that lasts forever…'" (Matthew 25:31-33, 41).

• goat - An animal like a sheep but with a thinner body and longer neck and legs. Humans get milk, meat, and skins from goats but not wool. A male goat has a beard under its chin. Here Jesus uses goats as a picture of people who have sinned.
  
• Son of Man - Jesus often used this name for Himself. (For example, see Luke 5:24; John 5:26-27.) It is from the Old Testament book written by the prophet Daniel (Daniel 7:13-14).
  
• throne - The chair of a king when he rules. He sits in it when he tells people what to do and what not to do.

12.  Jesus uses a word picture to tell what He will do with all people one day in the future. Use his word picture and write what He says that He will do.

13.  Read again all the teachings of Jesus and Isaiah in Lesson 2. Now write what these teachings say will make Jesus send people away from Himself when He rules the world.

14.  Using the teachings of Lesson 2, do you think that it is possible for a person to live a perfect life? Explain your answer.

Note: Jesus taught many other things. You can read about them and the rest of His life in the first four books of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Lesson Two Answers

1.    Jesus says that bad thoughts, killing other people, sex sins of a married person or of a person not married (that is, using sex in a bad way—in a way that is not a part of God's plan for marriage), lying, and speaking against God are all sins.

2.    Jesus says that bad and sinful hearts make people do these bad things.

3.    Jesus teaches that we can break the law about killing just by our words or thoughts. For example, He says that we break this law if we say or think that someone is a fool (has no understanding of right and wrong).

4.    Jesus teaches that someone breaks this law if he or she looks with sexual desire at another person and he or she is not married to this person.

5.    The answer comes from the reader's thoughts.

6.    Jesus says that a person who breaks God's law must stand in front of a court. If the person is said to be guilty, he or she will be sent to live forever far from God in the fire of hell.

7.    Jesus says that you must love and pray for these people who hate you.

8.    The answer comes from the reader's thoughts.

9.    Yes, Jesus means that you are guilty and deserve punishment if you break God's laws even one time. Jesus says that God is perfect and so you must be perfect. To be perfect means to be always right and good, without even a single wrong thought or act.

10. Isaiah talks about these sins: To go against God, to turn away from Him, and to act as if we do not know Him; to hurt or make life difficult for other people; to think lies, speak lies, and not follow the truth; to do what is not right, fair, and good; and to be angry with people who decide not to sin.

11. Sins keep people away from God. Sins get between people and God so that it seems that He does not see or hear. What is right, good, and fair does not come to people who have sinned. Instead of walking in God's light they walk in darkness. Not able to see, they have to feel their way. They sound brave (without fear), but they are afraid inside. They cannot save themselves.

12. Jesus says that He will come back as a great king and sit on His throne to judge all people. He will divide them into two groups just as a shepherd divides sheep from goats. He says that the people who are like goats are guilty, and He will send them away to a fiery hell far from Himself forever.

13.  People who have sins now or in their past are guilty. Their sins have kept them away from God. Now Jesus must send these people away from Himself.

14.  The answer comes from the reader's thoughts.

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Source: https://ism.intervarsity.org/bible-study/simple-english-2-teaching

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