Questions and
Answers from Generation Word Bible Teaching Ministry
1. How does anyone know God exists?
2. How does anyone know the Bible is true and reliable?
3. Do science and the Bible conflict?
4. How could God allow suffering and evil?
5. Aren’t other religions good, too?
6. What difference does Jesus make?
7. Is Jesus the only way to God?
8. Why become a Christian?
9. What difference does following God make?
10. What happens to those who have never heard?
11. Why would a good God send someone to hell?
12. How can I tell the difference between true and false teachings about
God?
13. Does God approve of alternative lifestyles?
14. Can I lose my salvation?
15. What is the unforgivable sin?
16. What do I say to my patients who may not be Christians when they ask
why God has allowed this to happen to them and their families?
17. How did Satan come to be?
18. Why did Jesus’ death pay for our sins today?
19. Why do we need to go to church?
20. Why do we need to study the Bible?
21. Why did God command us to be baptized?
22. What disciplines do we need to study to be effective in our witness
for Christ in this community?
23. What does a good pastor/church or shepherd/flock look like for
Audubon?
24. Does God cause our death?
25. If God knows everything about us why do we need to pray?
26. How do we know what our gift is?
27. What happens in the end times?
28. What happens at the death of a believer?
29. What happens at the death of an unbeliever?
30. What are we to think of the teaching in Mark 10:2-12 concerning
divorce?
There are some very good questions that believers of every age have
asked. There is
also some very good and solid answers for those questions. People have asked and answered these
questions since the beginning of time so there has been a lot of work,
thought and experience that has gone into these answers.
God is not afraid to be questioned or challenged. In fact, it is an absolute reality that men,
even believing men, will have apparently unanswerable questions about God. Man is finite, created and limited to their
experiences. God is infinite, eternal
and knows everything. Is it not obvious
that it is NOT wrong to have questions or doubts. Nor is it unforgivable to have
misunderstandings about God. Common
sense would say that the thing that would be very unnatural would be:
If you, a mere man, did not have
any questions
If you, a physical being, never
doubted
If you, a finite creature,
believed you had all the answers
1. How does anyone know God exists?
This is a good question and needs to be resolved. If someone does not believe in God nor miracles then it is fruitless to tell them about God
resurrecting Jesus from the dead.
With out the existence of a personal, moral God then there can be no sin
and no need for salvation.
Four basic arguments for the absolute need for God to exist:
a) Creation
1) Since there is a
universe it had to have a creator.
2)You
can not have a watch without a watch maker
3) Paul uses this in
Romans 1:19-20
4) Plato developed this as
the immovable mover.
5) Follow the Kalam Cosmological Argument:
b) Design– all design implies
a creator
c) Moral law– describes what
ought to be seen among men but is not always there. It is a standard of behavior that exists
because of God.
d) Being– The human concept
of perfection exists, yet it is not seen in creation. Since we strive for perfection in all areas
but have never seen it then perfection must exist. The concept of God encompasses the concept of
perfection.
The Universe Exists
Was
there a beginning?
No beginning There was a beginning
-impossible
since it exists -if universe is eternal then it
-impossible since everything would have run out of energy long ago
in universe has beginning
Was the Universe Caused?
Not Caused It was Caused
-everything
is caused
What was the Cause?
A random directionless force A
Personal Agent
- Can shaking the parts of a
watch
put the watch
together? No.
- Can a tornado build a house
when
it hits a lumber
yard? Never.
What is this Agent like?
Limited to Universe Separate from Universe
-worship creation or of things in creation
is idol worship
-here god is found in things, nature, animals
-many religions make it this far, but
fail to see the true holy God.
Three religions line up
here: Many Idol Religions
1. Islam 1. Buddhism
2. Judaism 2. Hinduism
3. Christianity
3. Ancient Religions
2. How does anyone know the Bible is true and reliable?
Before we can say the Bible is inspired from God and that it is the
revelation from God, we must first show that the Bible
contains authentic documents.
An authentic
document would be a written letter or book that is:
Written by the person who claims to be writing it
Written at the time it appears to have been written
Sent to or given to the people who where to
receive it
The opposite
would be a writer from a later date writing a false document to be passed of as
supposedly being from someone else at an earlier time.
The authenticity
of the Bible would be destroyed if someone where to go into the Bible and add
things under the pretense of making the additions seem to have been there from
the first writing.
The New
Testament:
The is abundant and accurate copies of the
letters and books of the New Testament.
Copies made by hand are called manuscripts (MSS)
117-138 AD John Rylands
Fragment John 18:31-33,37-38
200 AD Bodmer Papyri Jn.,
Lk.,
Jude, 1,2 Peter
325-350 AD Codex
340 AD Codex
350 AD Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus NT and part of OT
There are 5,686 Greek manuscripts from
100-1400 AD. There is
a total of 24,633 manuscripts of portions of the New Testament. Compared to:
10 manuscripts of Julius Caesar’s
Gallic War
20 manuscripts of Livy’s Roman History
20 manuscripts of Tacitus’ Annals
The most of any writing from the ancient world
other than the Bible is 643 of Homer’s Iliad.
The New Testament has 24,633.
Elapse time of ancient texts with their
manuscripts:
Author/Time Earliest MSS Elapse Time
Julius
Caesar, 50 BC 900 AD 950 years
Tacitus, 100 AD 1100
AD 1000 years
Aristotle,
350 BC 1100 AD 1450 years
Gospel
of John, 85 AD 117 AD 27 years
Effects must have an
adequate cause. Something happened in 30 AD that
effected history. After 30 AD history
records that the synagogues were infected with Christian teaching; by 40 AD it
had spread to synagogues in Rome; by 65 AD Nero was killing Christians; by 95
AD Christianity was illegal; by 150 AD Christianity was in Africa, India, and
Spain; by 325 AD it was a legal religion in the Roman empire; by 350 AD it had
taken over as the religion of the Roman empire.
All this happened before the church ever formed an army or a
denomination.
The believers of the first
century took the writings of Paul very serious.
In fact, people died for the scriptures and for what they said. The chance of someone in the church who was
forging documents or changing the scripture was highly unlikely. Peter calls Paul’s writings scripture in 2
Peter 3:16. Paul knows he is writing the
rest of God’s revelation in
Colossians 1:25. Luke knew
legends and false stories where spreading that where not true so he “carefully
investigated everything from the beginning. . .to
write an orderly account” around 60 AD.
John writes at the end of the New Testament in 96 AD “if anyone adds to them. . .if anyone takes words away. . .” and adds a curse
to them. No one in the first century
would have tampered with them or tolerated someone doing so.
By 85 AD we have letters with the
New Testament being quoted by men like Clement who quotes from Matthew, Mark,
Luke, Acts, 1 Corinthinas,
1 Peter, Hebrew and Titus in a letter to the Corinthian church. This continues for the next two centuries
until there are preserved 32,000 New Testament quotes written before 325
AD. In fact, if we did not have any
Bible manuscripts we could reconstruct the entire New Testament just from the
quotes of church writers between 85–325 AD.
There were too many people
watching and coping the New Testament letters for a
false document or an alteration to occur with out someone taking note of
it. Indeed there where false books
written during the first and second century:
Gospel of Thomas, Acts of Peter, and more at http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/bible/noncanon.stm
The Old Testament:
The biggest attack on the Old
Testament is that the first five books were not even written until 700 BC
instead of by Moses around 1400 BC. The
reason for this is from the school of liberalism that states:
a) Writing was unknown in Moses day
b) Cultural evolution does not line up with the
Old Testament
c) Miracles come from mythology because they are
impossible
d) Prophecy is always a forgery because it can
not happen
Each of these is wrong. First
writing has since been proven to have been around long before Abraham. B-D are based on philosophical presuppositions and not on archeology, anthropology, history,
or any other facts.
If the first five books where not
written until 700 BC but where forged documents at this time then all these
things would have had to have been passed of onto
an entire generation who had never heard of Moses, the Law, the priesthood, the
temple ect:
a. A priesthood b. A
system of worship
c. A temple d.
Power of the priesthood
e. A national history f. A legendary leader named Moses
g. All the Bible stories h.
Tithes, offerings to support priests
i. Holy Scriptures j. Circumcision
of all the men
k. An annual Passover instituted to
remember something they had never heard of.
Archaeology:
a. Hittites from Genesis 15:20 discovered
in 1906
b. Walls of
c. Belshazzar
from Daniel 5:16 found on an inscription
f. More at http://www.christiananswers.net/archaeology/
or go to generationword.com and select Bible school then scroll down
to the web sites under “apologetics.
e. The Flood is recorded not only in
scriptures but in legend form in over 200
different ancient cultures.
See more at:http://www.seekgod.org/links/noahsark.html
Below is a copy from
© Copyright 2004 Institute
for Creation Research. All Rights Reserved.
One of the strongest evidences for the global flood which annihilated all
people on Earth except for Noah and his family, has
been the ubiquitous presence of flood legends in the folklore of people groups
from around the world. And the stories are all so similar. Local geography and
cultural aspects may be present but they all seem to be
telling the
same story.
Over the years I have collected more than 200 of these stories,
originally reported by various missionaries,
anthropologists,
and ethnologists.
While the differences are not always trivial, the common essence of the
stories is instructive as compiled below:
Is there a favored family? 88%
Were they forewarned? 66%
Is flood due to wickedness of man? 66%
Is catastrophe only a flood? 95%
Was flood global? 95%
Is survival due to a boat? 70%
Were animals also saved? 67%
Did animals play any part? 73%
Did survivors land on a mountain? 57%
Was the geography local? 82%
Were birds sent out? 35%
Was the rainbow mentioned? 7%
Did survivors offer a sacrifice? 13%
Were specifically eight persons saved? 9%
Putting them all back together, the story would read something like this:
Once there was a worldwide flood, sent by God to judge the wickedness of
man. But there was one righteous family which was forewarned of the coming
flood. They built a boat on which they survived the flood along with the
animals. As the flood ended, their boat landed on a high mountain from which
they descended and repopulated the whole earth.
Of course the story sounds much like the Biblical story of the great flood
of Noah's day. The most similar accounts are typically from middle
eastern cultures, but surprisingly similar legends are found in South
America and the
Anthropologists will tell you that a myth is often the faded memory of a
real event. Details may have been added, lost, or obscured in the telling and
retelling, but the kernel of truth remains. When two separate cultures have the
same "myth" in their body of folklore, their ancestors must have
either experienced the same event, or they both descended from a common
ancestral source which itself experienced the event.
The only credible way to understand the widespread, similar flood legends
is to recognize that all people living today, even though separated
geographically, linguistically, and culturally, have descended from the few
real people who survived a real global flood, on a real boat which eventually
landed on a real mountain. Their descendants now fill the globe, never to
forget the real event.
But, of course, this is not the view of most modern scholars. They prefer
to believe that something in our commonly evolved psyche forces each culture to
invent the same imaginary flood legend with no basis in real history. Instead
of scholarship, this is "willful ignorance" of the fact that
"the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished" (II
Peter 3:5,6).
*Dr. John Morris is President of
ICR.
Note: The biblical account of the
Flood is accurate because it is the written diary and records of Noah himself
that was handed down through Abraham to Moses.
That is why the diary entries begin with the day, the month and the
year.
3. Do science and the
Bible conflict?
Nature and the Bible can not conflict if there is a creator who has revealed himself in creation and in the
written word.
Nature:
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies
proclaim the work of his hands.”
Psalm 19:1-4
“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible
qualities, - his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being
understood from what has been made, so that men are without
excuse.”
Romans
1:19-20
Bible:
“You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed.”
Psalms
119:4
“Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the
proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden
for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings
by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and
obey him. . .” Romans 16:25
The conflict is not between nature and the Bible.
The conflict is between men who study nature & men who study the Bible.
Science is man’s study of God’s created natural world.
Theology is man’s study of God’s inspired scriptures.
FACTS THAT NEED TO BE ACCEPTED TO
UNDERSTAND:
Both groups are subject to error.
Either group is subject to correction by the other.
The Bible is not a science textbook.
Science is constantly changing.
Both Groups have made errors in
the past.
a) Bible believers and
scientist believed the earth was flat.
Galileo (1564-1642) was charged as a
heretic in 1633 and kept under house
arrest by the church for 8 years for supporting the Copernican theory that
the earth revolved around the sun.
b) Science once believed
in the eternal cosmos. It was known as the Static Universe
theory and said the earth had no
beginning. Einstein proved this wrong in
the 1920’s. The Bible had
said for years that God created the universe.
The Big Bang theory was then developed to explain
the beginning of the universe.
Where the Bible was ahead of scientist:
Life produces after its kind.
Genesis
1:24 “Each according to its kind.
An
Agnostic Paleontologists: “Most species exhibit no directional
change during their tenure on earth.”
The earth is round.
Isaiah 40:22 “He sits
enthroned above the circle of the earth.”
The return of the Lord
will be at night, in the morning and during
the work day:
Matthew 24:40,41 “Two men will be in the field; one will be taken
and the other left. Two women will be
grinding with a hand
mill; one will be taken and the other left.”
Luke 17:34, “I tell you,
on that night two people will be in one
bed; one will be taken and the
other left. Two women will be grinding grain
together; one will be taken and the
other left.”
The earth hangs in space.
At a time when the earth
was believed to be covered with a solid
dome (1400 BC) the Bible says: Job 26:7, “He spreads
out the northern skies over empty space; he
suspends the earth over nothing.”
The sea has paths and channels.
Matthew Fontain Maury (1806-1873) was the first to recognize that the seas were
circulating systems when he heard Psalm
8:8, “. . .and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the
seas.”
5) Disease can be spread by physical
contact.
In the 1840’s a doctor in
Numbers 19:11 “Whoever
touches the dead body of anyone will
be unclean for seven days. He must
purify himself with the
water. . .”
Lev. 14:8, “The person to
be cleansed must wash his clothes. . .bathe with water; then he will be . . .clean.”
Archeological Evidence for Scripture’s accuracy:
http://www.parkstreet.org/pulpit/Historicity2.pdf
http://www.biblehistory.net/
http://lionofjudah.tribulationforces.com/general/archaeology.html
http://www.biblestudysite.com/arch.htm
a.
Hittite civilization (Genesis 15:20) discovered in 1906
b. Quirinius Governor of Syria (Luke 2:1-3) confirmed
as a double duty by coin
c. Correct titles of government praetor, proconsul, first man, politarc (Luke’s
)
d.
John alone mentions The Pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-15),
it was found as described
e. The walls of
Rahab’s house??? (Heb.
11:30-31) - found in 1950. They were burned and
fallen from the inside out.
f. Census taking in first century (Gospels) method of family counting used is
accurate
g. Pilate the Governor’s (John 19) existence confirmed by inscription found in
1961
h. Jesus’ direction of travel (Mark 7:31) probable route through mountains
makes sense
i. Daniel accurately recorded Belshazzar’s
position (5:16) as co-regent
j. Nazareth’s existence (John 1:46) confirmed by family lists and tombs in
vicinity 1962
k. Method of crucifixion confirmed in 1968
l. The method and fact of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19)
verified
m. Lysanius the Tetrarch (Luke 3:1) confirmed as
correct name for that time period
n. John alone mentions the Pool of Siloam (John 9:7) found as described
o. Jacob’s Well (John 4:12) found as described
p. Cities of Lycaonia included Iconium (Acts 14:6) confirmed as correct
q. Erastus the city treasurer (Romans 16:23)
inscription found in Corinth in 1929
r. Ecclessia meeting in theater (Acts 19:23) found
s. The proper title “meris” used of Philippi of
Macedonia
t. Jesus’ probable home unearthed in Capernaum (Mark 1:29-34)
u. Millstones (Luke 17:2) unearthed in Capernaum
v. First century Galilean boat found to hold crew of 13
1986
w.
John (3:23) correctly identifies John the Baptist as being in Aeno
x. John (2:1) distinguishes the two Canas, and the
two
y. John (4:5-6) specifies the city of
z. Evidence has also been found for the
a.
The method and destruction of the city of Tyre is
100% accurate (Ezekial 26)
b. Christ was tried by Pilate in the "Gabbatha"
(or pavement) found (John 19:13)
c. Personal and place names in the Patriarchal accounts are genuine
"Canaan" "tehom” (Ebla)
d. In 1977 an inscription mentioning Dan was found near the high place (1 Ki 12:28-29)
e. The Mesha Inscription found in
f. The Babylonians recorded the fall of the "city of
g. The palace at
h. The east gate of Shechem where the forces of Abimelech approached the city found
i. The Temple of Baal/El-Berith in Shechem,
j. The pool of
k. The royal palace at
l. The Pool of Samaria where King Ahab's chariot was washed after his
death found
m. The water tunnel beneath
n. The royal palace in
o. The royal palace in
p. The royal gate at
q. The Square in front of the royal gate at
r. The foundation of the synagogue at
s. The house of Peter where Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law and others found
t. The tribunal at
u. The theater at Ephesus where the riot of silversmiths occurred found
v. Herod's palace at Caesarea where Paul was kept under guard found
w. Graves of Caiaphas the High Priest (John 18:13),
Caesar Augustus (Luke 2:1-7), Cyrus
the Great (Isaiah 45), Darius-I the Great (Ezra 6) known
x. The cave of the Patriarchs (Sarah, Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah,
Leah and Jacob) known
y. Grave of David and Solomon known
z. Grave of Uzziah (an inscription was found on the
Mount of Olives in 1931 which
reads, "Here were brought the bones of Uzziah,
King of Judah - do not open."...evidently
because of leprosy)
4. How could God allow suffering and
evil?
Sooner of later each of us must ask this question.
This is the greatest challenge to faith in a good God.
Two approaches:
1) The apologetic question of the skeptic
who doubts God’s
existence.
2) The theological question of the believer
who has experienced
an evil in their life.
Two areas of evil:
1) Moral Evil—murder, crime, hate that result
from free creatures.
2) Natural Evil—earthquakes, fires, hurricanes
that can result from
events outside of the control of free agents.
The logic that leads to the question goes something like this:
1. A good God would destroy evil.
2. An all powerful God could destroy evil.
3. Evil is not destroyed.
4. Therefore, there cannot possibly be such a
good and powerful
God.
Since God is both good and all-powerful he can destroy evil and desires to destroy evil, but
it is clear he has not.
Just because he has not destroyed evil does not mean he will not eventually destroy evil.
This logic goes like this:
1. God is absolutely good
so He will defeat evil.
2. God is omnipotent so He
can defeat evil.
3. Evil is not defeated at
this time.
4. Therefore, God will
totally defeat evil in the future.
Now we ask, “Why wait?”
Apparently God has a reason.
With in God’s plan and purpose he can not violate his character. While the Bible says:
“with
God all things are possible.” Matthew
19:26
The Bible also says there are things that God can not do:
“God, who does not lie. .
.” Titus
1:2
“God cannot be tempted by
evil.” James 1:13
“nor
does He tempt anyone.” James
1:13
God can not do anything that is outside of his character.
God must do things that a rational being does in a rational world:
- He can not undo the
past.
- He can not create a
round square
- He can not make the
false true
So, it may be that it is impossible for God to achieve his purpose with out the existence of evil.
It may be true that God could not eliminate evil without at the same time making it impossible to accomplish His
goals.
Would it have been better to have no creation and no world than to have the world with evil in it?
This is the response of Job and of Solomon.
Could God have made a different world without evil?
By eliminating evil God would have had to eliminate other things also:
God
Nothing Something
Not Free Free
No sin Sin
All
saved Some saved
God could have made no free will and had a amoral
world.
But, this would eliminate a moral world.
Where there is no game there is not victory.
Once there is freewill there is the chance of victory and the chance of defeat.
Our world may not be the best of all possible worlds but it is the best way to the best world.
Best
Possible World
Creation Fall
Age of Free Choice
Judgment
Eternal Judgment of Evil
There is a difference between:
1) Us not knowing the purpose for evil
2) God having a purpose for evil.
Just because we do not know the purpose does not mean a purpose does not exist. Just because we do not know a person, a place
or a thing does not mean they or it
would not exist.
But, we do know God. Our trust is
not in knowing all but is in the all-knowing
One.
This is what the book of Job teaches.
This is made more difficult in our Christian world where some are preaching miracles, prosperity and health
for the faithful.
The logic that spins from this false teaching is that evil happens to:
1) those who have no
faith or knowledge to prevent it. This becomes a 21st century
form of the second century Gnosticism.
2) who
deserve it for a variety of reasons.
Confusion occurs because sometimes these are true:
1) “My people are destroyed
from lack of knowledge.” Hosea 4:6
2) “The soul who sins
is the one who will die.” Ezekiel. 18:4
But, there are more options for the reason for evil than just individual responsibility.
Consider Job. Three times Job’s
righteous character is identified. Once by the author of the
book, once by God himself, and finally
by Job. They all say the same
thing: “This
man was blameless and upright; he feared God
and shunned evil.” Job 1:1, 8; and 23:11, 12
When Job complained of being treated unfair God said these things:
“Where were you when I
laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if
you understand.
Who marked off its dimensions?
Surely you
know!” Job 38:4
“Surely you know, for
you were already born! You
have lived so many years!” Job
38:21
“Will the one who
contends with the Almighty correct him?
Let
him who accuses God answer him! . . .
Would you discredit my justice?
Would you
condemn me to justify yourself?. . .
Do you have an arm like God’s,
. . .
Then I myself will admit to you
that your own right hand can save you.”
Job
40:2, 8, 9, 14
Some of the reasons for evil:
1) Warn us of greater evils.
- Lev. 26
cycles of discipline
2) Pain keeps us from self destruction
- Adam labor
would be his source of food
3) Some evil brings a greater good
- Joseph said
to his brothers, “You meant evil against me,
but God meant it for good.”
4) Some evil causes spiritual growth and
understanding
- Job
5) Some evil helps defeat evil
- Jesus on the
cross
6) Reasons unknown to finite creatures known
only by God:
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but
the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever.”
Dt. 29:29
5. Aren’t other religions
good, too?
Hinduism
Hinduism is one of the oldest
of the living religions. It has no founder, no one deity,
no absolute authority, and no creed. Hinduism developed
some 3,500 years ago out of
an earlier nature worship.
God
Hindus worship numerous
deities, the most important of which are Brahma,
Shiva, and Vishnu. Personal deities, however, are only
reflections of the impersonal
Absolute or Reality, which is Brahman. Everything that exists has evolved
from
Brahman and ultimately, after
countless eons of time, will return to Brahman.
Scriptures
Hindus have many holy books,
the most prominent of which are the
Vedas. No scripture is fully authoritative or final as far as
Hinduism is concerned.
Man
“Karma” means deed and is
a Hindu adaptation of the idea of sowing and reaping.
Transmigration means that men are constantly dying and being reborn to lower or
higher planes of existence. Bad deeds (or, karma) becomes like a weight which pulls men down and good works insures that the individual will be
reborn on a higher plane -- perhaps even as a deity of some sort.
Salvation
The only hope for man is that
he will be "enlightened" by recognizing that in his own soul (atman)
he is Brahman, and after "many existences" will
return to the "universal Brahman."
Buddhism
Guatama Buddha founded his religion in
God
Buddha rejected both Brahman
and the many deities of Hinduism. Later, however, Buddhism developed its own deities, and for many Buddhists, Buddha himself became a god.
Scriptures
Like Hinduism, Buddhism has
many scriptures. Among the most prominent is the Tripitaka
(Three Baskets), which includes the teachings of Buddha
himself.
Man
Buddha taught man's problem is
that he has a thirst or desire to "exist apart," to be unique and permanent. He
can rid himself of this desire, and the inevitable "suffering" that
it occasions, by treading an "eightfold path" of
discipline which leads to "enlightenment."
Salvation
"Salvation" is
hardly the right word for it, but enlightenment for the Buddhist ultimately
results in nirvana, a final state of "peace" in which
all individuality and desire is transcended.
Chinese Religion
The
basic notions of traditional Chinese religion were furnished by the ancient
Chinese and by Confucius, Lao-tze,
and, later, by Buddhists.
God
Before
it was recorded in history the Chinese have had the idea of a high God, often
called Shang Ti. Throughout history numerous other
deities have been worshipped. The worship of ancestors is also very prominent.
Scriptures
Though
their status as scripture will be disputed by some, the most prominent religious books among Chinese are the
Classics and Four Books of Confucius, the Tao-Teh-Ching
of Lao-tze, and various Buddhist sutras.
Man
Both
Confucius and Lao-tze taught that man is basically
good. The problem is, How can he be kept
good? Confucius said that he can be kept
good by education. Lao-tze advocated that people
return to nature and learn how to live in accordance with the Tao (Law,
Way) that results in nature's "harmony."
Salvation
In
essence, Chinese religion was very much oriented to this world rather than the
next. But certain Chinese elements have blended with Buddhist ideas to cause
the Chinese to be concerned about the next life and the need to placate the
spirits and provide offerings for the safe passage of the dead to the other
world.
Islam
Islam,
the latest of the major religions to develop, was founded by Muhammad, who
lived A.D. 570-632.
God
Muhammad
misunderstood the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, thinking it was similar to
the belief of pagans who worshipped many gods. He preached the religion of one,
absolute God (Allah), the Creator, Judge, and Ruler of the universe.
Scripture
Muhammad's teachings are contained in the Koran (Reading), which is believed
to have been dictated to him from a book in heaven. Of the various books
"sent down" by Allah, only the Pentateuch of Moses, Psalms of David,
Evangel of Jesus, and the Koran remain. Among these, only the Koran is
uncorrupted.
Man
Man
is the creation of Allah and is responsible to obey him completely. He will be
judged and assigned to one or another of seven heavens and seven hells.
Salvation Specifically, man's responsibility is
to believe in Allah and his Koran and to keep the Five Pillars: 1) recitation of the
creed, 2) prayers, 3) fasting, 4) almsgiving, and 5) a pilgrimage to
Buddhists
Deny the existence of a personal
God
Believe salvation is by
self-effort only
Believe Jesus was a teacher but
Buddha was greater
Hindus
Believe in two major gods (Vishnu,
Siva) plus millions of lesser gods
Believe salvation is by devotion, works
and self-control
Believe Jesus was one of many sons
of God. All men are as divine as
Jesus.
Muslims
Believe in one God, Allah
Believe salvation is earned and
people pay for their own sins
Believe Jesus was the greatest of
the prophets below Muhammad. Jesus did
not die for sin.
Christian
God created man in his image. He loves them and wants a relationship with
them.
Jesus died for the sins of
men. Through faith in Jesus’ work men
can be saved
Jesus is God and became a
man. He was sinless and died to redeem
sinful men.
All these
religions leaves one logically wondering if ultimate
truth is known?
All religions:
stress goodness and avoid evil
Seek to worship the power or person behind the
physical world
These religions
should in the proper perspective earn our interest, study, respect so we can assure our position and
speak the Truth to them more clearly.
At times these
religions inspire us and set examples for us:
The faithfulness to prayer and fasting by the
Muslim
The honorable self-discipline of the Buddhist
We should shudder
when we consider the dark deeds done through out history in the name of
Christianity by the worldly church.
6. What is our confidence that Christianity is the Truth?
The answer is always Jesus.
The long history of
God’s progressive revelation
being revealed through promise, prediction or types and shadows of the One man who was to come.
“When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of
a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the
full rights of sons.”
Galatians 4:4
3) The undeniable historical reality
of Jesus that includes:
a) His teaching
b) His impact on his
generation
c) His death is recorded
even in secular writing of His day
d) The undeniable fact
that something of immense proportions
happened around 30 AD (recorded in the
documents of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul and
Peter as Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.)
“For what I received I
passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, that he was buried, that he
was raised on the third day according to the
Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.
After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom
are still living, though some have
fallen asleep. . . this is what we preach, and this is what you believe.”
1 Corinthians 15:3-11
The
fact that Paul could call on over 500 eye witnesses of the resurrected Jesus 20
years after the resurrection. Paul was inviting a generation to believe his message
or prove it wrong if they could.
Other religions could be from the following groups:
They may be the remains of
the truth of God revealed early in man’s history that has been
distorted through time and worldliness.
This happened to Adam’s message, Noah’s message,
They may be the mark of an
eternal Christ speaking to men in their own cultures and religions.
They may be imitation
religions whose source is the devil as he tries to replace the Christ
and mislead men to follow a deception.
They may originate in the
soul of man who is looking for the Creator and needs to please
him. In their ignorance men have
replaced the truth of God with a imitation from man.
The Christian’s response to the other religions:
1) We can not accept them as a
divine stepping stone to truth.
We can use some of the
elements of their doctrines or practices to connect their understanding
to the truth that is in Christ. (Example:
The reality of the sinfulness of man that is seen in sacrifices or the
teaching of judgment for disobedience)
We must not ridicule what
other men mistakenly believe in their ignorance to be their hope. We will always need to clearly speak the
truth which at times will directly confront ignorance just as light overpowers
darkness.
We must plead with all men
to consider Jesus Christ and the doctrines of his revealed Word.
Jesus is the answer the seekers in world religions is
looking for:
Jesus said, “I am the
way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me.” John
14:6
Jesus said, “All things
have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the
Father except the Son and those
to who the Son chooses to reveal
him.” Matthew
11:27
The Apostles taught, “Salvation
is found in no one else, for
there is no other name under heaven given to men
by which we must
be saved.” Acts 4:12
What difference does
Jesus make?
Our Advocate “We have one who speaks to the Father in our
defense.” 1
John 2:1
Atoning Sacrifice “He is the atoning sacrifice for our
sins.” 1
John 2:2
Takes us to Glory “In bringing many sons to glory. . .” Hebrews
2:10
Source of Grace “. . His glorious grace,
which he has freely given us in the
one He loves.” Ephesians
1:6
Bread of Life “If anyone eats of this bread, he will live
forever.” John
6:32,35,48,-51
Cornerstone of Faith “Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” Ephesians
2:20
Deliverer “The deliverer will come from
Eternal Life “He is the true God and eternal life.” 1
John 5:20
Foundation “No one can
lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is
Jesus Christ.” 1
Corinthians 3:11
Gate “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be
saved.” John
10:7
Good Shepherd “I am the good shepherd.” John
10:11
Guarantee “Jesus has become the guarantee of a better
covenant.” Hebrews
13:20
Wisdom “Christ Jesus, who has become for us
wisdom from God.” 1
Corinthians 1:30
Holiness “. . .that is, our
righteousness, holiness and redemption.” 1
Corinthians 1:30
Hope “Christ Jesus our hope.” 1 Timothy 1:1
King “You are right in saying I am a king.” John
18:36
Living One “I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am
alive for ever
and ever!” Revelation
1:18
Mediator “Jesus the mediator of a new covenant.” Hebrews
12:24
Peace “For he himself is our
peace.” Ephesians
2:14
Perfecter of our Faith “Jesus the author and perfecter
of our faith.” Hebrews
12:2
Redeemer “The Redeemer will come to
True Light “The true light that gives light to every
man.” John
1:9
Truth “I am the way and the truth and the life.” John
14:6
Counselor “He will be called Wonderful Counselor.” Isaiah
9:6
Word “The Word became flesh.” John
1:14
Word of Life “This we proclaim concerning the Word of life.” 1
John 1:1
7. Is Jesus the only way to God?
Christianity is a narrow religion.
Christianity teaches that there is only one way to God or heaven.
Logically, if there is some other way(s) to God why did Jesus have to
die? In fact, he pleaded with God in the
Garden for another way when he said:
“My Father, if it is
possible, may this cup be taken from
me. Yet not as I will, but as you will. . . My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away
unless I drink it, may your will be
done.” Matthew 26:39,42
Remember this is not your doctrine from your own mind, but this is the
doctrine of God that you had to have your mind renewed with. You may not have liked it either when you
heard it. It is not arrogance on your
part, but humility and submission to the truth of the word of God. Some would ask why God would only provide one
way of salvation?
The obvious response would be why did God have
to provide even one way. He could just
let us try to be good enough on our own.
Instead of calling God narrow minded why not instead be thankful that Jesus
has already provided that one way?
I think those who reject God’s offer of Christ work on the cross are too
narrowed minded because God did not save them by using one of their ideas.
The way some churches and Christians preach you would think that only
people who are unhappy need Jesus. With
church sermon menu’s continuously offering you messages on:
“Secrets of a Great Marriage”
“How to be Debt Free Like Solomon”
“Eight Steps to an Addiction Free
Life”
“Join a Small Group and Find a
Friend”
“How to be a Fisher of Men” (or,
“Dating God’s Way”)
“The Rod and the Word: Raising
Children God’s Way”
When I was looking for a church for my family I heard a lot of sermons like
these and came to the conclusion that I really did not need to be in
church. I was happily married. I was making enough money. I was not addicted. I didn’t want anymore friends. My children knew that I had already heard the
rod and the word message. It appeared
that people like me had no need for church or Christianity.
It is wrong to promote church as a problem solving station.
Christianity and the Church are the light of the world.
Without a relationship with Jesus and knowledge of his word we are living
in a world without really understanding what it is all about.
First, God is absolutely holy and we are sinful. We need salvation
through Jesus Christ just to begin a relationship with God.
Second, God created us with a purpose and a plan. Our ignorance of God and of his plan leaves us destined to pursue something much far short of our
potential.
Third, to live only for this age, for this world will
result in our suffering great loss
when the age of the Messiah is revealed.
Christianity, the true church and Jesus Christ reveals what life is really
all about and who you really are.
“You are the salt of the earth. But
if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.”
Matthew 5:13
“If anyone would come after
me, he must deny himself and take
up his cross and follow me. For whoever
wants to save his life will
lose it, but whoever loses his life for me
will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the
whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what
can a man give in exchange for his soul?
For the Son of Man is going
to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. I tell you the truth some who are standing
here will not taste death before they
see the Son of Man coming in his
kingdom.” Matthew
16:24-28
I think it is true that if all the church is doing is teaching you to
balance your check book or resolve conflicts with co-workers then you really
don’t need that church. Neither
does God. He has moved on to a church
that he and you both need.
The best advice you could get is to find a church that does more than solve
your earthly problems.
9. What difference does
following God make?
A new attitude toward life
A new attitude toward our nation
A new attitude toward marriage
A new attitude toward family
A new attitude toward work
A new definition of success
Purpose: Everything we think, say or do matters in
God’s plan for us, others and history
Perspective: Life and events make
sense
Hope: Knowledge that God
makes things work out in the end
Right and wrong: A basis for morality.
Promise: Replenished to continue
to serve because we know we do not labor in vain.
l) Fearless of Death
Rewards: God notices and records everything. He will reward all the unknown things
we accomplished or resisted.
“Do not conform any
longer to the pattern of this world, but
be transformed by the renewing of you mind.
Then you will be able to test
and approve what God’s will is— his
good, pleasing, and perfect will.”
Romans
12:2
"Expecting the world to treat you fairly
because you are an honest man
is like expecting the bull not to attack you
because you are a vegetarian."
10. What Happens to those
who have never heard?
Acts
4:12—No other name, no other way
There
is a difference between using a computer and understanding a computer.
There
is a difference between building a house with a power saw and building a power saw.
There
is a difference between having your life changed by the power of the Christ’s work and understanding (knowing)
Christ’s work on the cross
Romans
1:20
Acts
14:15
Acts
14:17
Romans
2:12-15
Lost
in a dark cave and see a flicker of light.
If you do not move towards that light it will not get brighter.
If you remain lost it is your fault.
John 3:19 for those who reject the light.
Acts
10:34-38, 1-48, if we seek God he will reveal himself to us:
1) OT, 2) Abraham, 3) Melchizedek, 4) Jethro,
5) Magi, 6) Balaam, 7) Job
Romans
2:6-7 seek immortality
2
Timothy 1:10 Jesus brought immortality to light
Methods
of Special Revelation:
1) Preachers, Romans 10:14-15
2) Angels, Revelation 14:6
3) Bible
4) Visions, Paul on road to
5) Dreams, Nebuchadnezzar
6) Other miraculous methods
7) Other natural phenomenon
11. Why would a good God send someone to Hell?
This is a fairly
simple question when you consider that God is perfect, holy and absolutely
righteous. He is eternal and is the source
of reality and truth.
Man on the other
hand is a created being. Man’s
righteousness is relative, which means it must be compared to something. It can be compared with other men’s
righteousness, or with the righteousness of other believers, or with your past
righteousness.
Ultimately our
righteousness must be compared to the absolute righteousness of the Eternal
Being. With out possessing this absolute
righteousness a person can not enter into the
Because all men
have fallen into relative righteousness and failed to meet God’s level of
absolute righteousness they are called sinners.
Isaiah 64:6 “All of us have
become like one who is unclean, and
all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.”
All mankind was
destined for eternal separation from God.
To deliver us
from this hopeless situation God had an eternal plan to pay for
our sinful
condition, redeem us from the judgment and cloth us with
his absolute
righteousness, if we would accept it.
Romans 5:6, “You see, at just
the right time, when we were still powerless,
Christ died for the ungodly. . . While we were
still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Jesus Christ
death and resurrection was God’s merciful remedy for man’s sinful state and ultimate damnation.
John 3:17 “For God did not send
his Son into the world to condemn the
world, but to save the world through him.
Whoever believes
in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe
stands condemned already because he has not believed
in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
Why will men go
to Hell? Is it because God sends them
there? No.
If a heart cries out to God that heart will be saved.
Romans 10:13, Joel 2:32,
“Everyone who calls on the name of the
Lord will be saved.”
Men go to hell
because they reject God’s answer for man’s problem of being a created being
with relative righteousness, or “mere men.”
Heaven is the abode of the Almighty God.
Man does not belong there.
Men were never
even allowed to be there until Jesus had entered heaven as the resurrected man.
Why do men go to
Hell?
John 3:19, “This is the verdict:
Light has come into the world, but men
loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for
fear that his deeds will be exposed.”
As C.S. Lewis
said, “The gates of Hell are locked from the inside.”
The question,
“Why would a good God send someone to Hell?”, is
really a bad question because it assumes God’s character is at fault or needs
to be explained.
God is good.
God paid the
price for man’s redemption.
God has extended
time and sent the message into the world.
God urges each
man by the Holy Spirit to come to their senses and be saved.
In response to
this man says “no” and turns his back on God.
I think the
question is:
“Why would man choose Hell
instead of humbling himself
before a good and loving God?”
12. How can I tell the
difference between true and false teachings about God?
Jude
3 2
Peter 3:16
Characteristics
of Cults:
New Truth—the leader promotes the
idea that God has revealed something new and special to them.
New Interpretations of
Scripture—the group holds to the belief that they have the key to correct
interpretation of the mysteries in the Bible.
Non-biblical source of authority–
The Bible is the correct source of Christian authority. Cults will have another source of authority.
Another Jesus—They
will use the name of Jesus, but they follow that with false teaching and false
descriptions of Jesus.
“For if someone comes to you and
preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, . . .” (2 Cor. 11:4)
Rejection of Orthodox Christianity
Continual Changes in their
Theology—false theology does not have the rock solid foundation of the truth so
it is continually moving around trying to avoid the natural contradictions that
continually appear. A cult could not do
a question and answer series because questions are the doorway to the
truth. Questions expose contradictions
and illogical conclusions.
Strong Leadership
Salvation by Works
False Prophecy
Ask
these questions:
1) Does the teaching recognize Jesus as the
Son of God?
Does the teaching present Jesus
Christ as the only way of salvation?
Does the teaching agree with
scripture?
Do people, activities, programs, works bring glory to God or to men?
Is their ultimate hope to be
pleasing to God and spend eternity with him?
Or, is their goal materialistic, self-advancement, or fleshly?
What is their hope based in? Works, following a teaching, or in Jesus?
Is the church or group aligned
with historical Christian doctrine? Or, is their teaching more aligned with
their surrounding culture than with scripture?
1
John 4:1-4
13. Does God approve of alternative lifestyles?
Romans 1:21-32
1:21— “For although they
knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their
thinking became futile. . .”
Fail to respond positively
towards the truth revealed in creation.
Man needs God but refuses
to submit to his truth and his goodness
They are void of His truth
and His reality
“Futile” is passive and
means this rejection of God moved them to a position of worthless
thinking. “Futile” refers to that which
is without success.
1:21— “. . .and their foolish
hearts were darkened.”
“Foolish” means “without
understanding”.
“Hearts” refers to the
seat of feeling, intelligence, and moral choice.
Because they reject God
they have no understanding in their intelligence, their emotions and their
morality.
JUDGMENT
ONE -they
now must evaluate life with an empty soul.
1:22—
“Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools. . .”
They believe they are wise
and compare their views with other “wise” men
In reality they are locked
into a state of indiscernible stupidity
1:23—
“and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like
mortal men and birds and animals and reptiles.”
Notice the declining
order: man to birds to animals to reptiles.
Spiritual Principle: Man becomes like his God.
JUDGMENT
TWO– they are now
hopelessly enslaved to their sin natures
1:24—
“Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to
sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.”
“Gave them over” means “to
deliver over” as a judge would hand a convicted criminal over to their sentence
1:25—
“They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, . . .”
They are out of touch with
truth and reality
1:25— “. . .and worshiped
and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.”
JUDGMENT
THREE- punishment: sin of homosexuality complete with penalty
1:26—
“Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts.”
1:26—
“Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.”
1:27—
“In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were
inflamed with lust for one another.”
1:27—
“Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due
penalty for their perversion.”
JUDGMENT
FOUR–
given to the sentence of operating in complete depravity
1:28—Furthermore,
since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God he
gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.”
1:29-31—
They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, . . .
evil greed depravity envy murder strife
deceit malice gossips
slanderers God-haters insolent
arrogant boastful
senseless faithless heartless ruthless
invent
ways of doing evil disobey their parents
JUDGMENT
FIVE–
personal death and cultural overthrow
1:32—
“Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things
deserve death. . .”
1:32—
“they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who
practice them.”
Imagine a culture whose
people not only are demanding that they have the right to be homosexual but
they are also protesting for the right (for the freedom) to be all that is
listed in verses 1:29-31
2 Timothy 3:1-9
Homosexuality and its acceptance is a sign of the times.
We
are approaching the most disastrous days of our culture.
Identifying sinful activities as sin is part of loving people
It
is the faithful Christian’s responsibility to hold to the truth of the Word and
call
homosexuality a sin in hopes that the person
may find deliverance. The
alternative is to continue in the
path of judgment and ultimate disaster of the individual and of the society.
Christians are responsible to present the answer.
“Do
you not know that the wicked will not inherit the
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Homosexuality is listed along with other sins.
No one should try to justify any of the other sins
as acceptable.
Homosexuals were delivered, washed, sanctified,
and justified and then welcomed into the
Homosexuals were not considered to be living an
acceptable lifestyle for a Christian in
Genesis 19:1-29
Ezekiel 16:49-50 “Now
this was the sin of your sister
The
Our job is to be a light to our society.
If we accept the standard of our culture we are aiding in the decline and failing to be the salt that will preserve
our nation.
Should homosexuals be ordained into the ministry?
If you are asking this question you and your denomination need to take a serious look at your hearts and ask
yourself if you really believe in a God
who is holy and true.
If you are even considering this question as serious then you have clearly abandoned the standard of the
Creator and replaced it with
our societies expectation.
You can read about yourself in Romans 1:21-32.
You need to plan on renewing your mind to the divine viewpoint or
face
a continuous series of personal and social disasters.
Hebrews 4-9
“enlightened”
refers
to being empowered by the Spirit to understand their sinful condition and their
need of salvation
“tasted
the heavenly gift” refers to the gift of salvation
achieved by Jesus Christ work on the cross.
“shared in the Holy
Spirit” refers to the gift of the Holy Spirit who is the one who enters the
believer at the point of salvation (Rm. 8:9) and seals them for the day of
salvation (Ep. 4:30)
“tasted
the goodness of the word of God” refers to the instruction and understanding of
God’s revealed message. “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may
grow up in your
salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” 1 Peter 2:2
“powers
of the coming age” the supernatural
empowerment given to each believer by God through the Holy Spirit to serve him
as members of the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12-14)
“It is impossible . . .if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance.”
It does not say:
1) they
can not be forgiven
2) they
can not be restored
“Repentance” is referring to the born again experience or to their point of
salvation when they repented and believed in Christ.
This says they can not get born-again again.
Once they have been saved they can not get saved again because they are still saved.
They are saying that they were saved by Christ work but their most recent
sin/failure used up all that Christ did and they need more.
The example of the land not producing can be seen in
1 Corinthians 3:10-15
“For no one can lay any
foundation other than the one already
laid, which is Jesus Christ. . .If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be
saved, but only as one escaping
through the flames.”
SALVATION OF THE BELIEVER
Phase One Phase Two Phase Three
Salvation
of Spirit Salvation of Soul Salvation of
Body
Occurs once at a Occurs through Occurs at the Rapture
point in time out your lifetime
Achieve by
believing Achieved by renewing Achieve by God’s
in Jesus Christ your mind to Word divine command
“To
all who received “Be
transformed by the “For a time is coming
him, to those who renewing
of your mind” when al who are in
their
believed in his name, Romans
12:2 graves will hear
his voice he gave the right to “continue
to work out and come out.” Jn. 5:28 become
children of God” your salvation
with
John 1:12 with fear and trembling”
Phil.
2:12
Results
in Eternal Life Results in
Eternal Results in
Resurrection Rewards Body
This
can not be lost This can be lost This
will occur
Consider the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration:
“Do not grieve
the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Ephesians
4:30
“Now it is God
who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what
is to come.” 2 Cor.
5:5
“Not only so
but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our
adoption as sons, the redemption
of our bodies.” Romans 8:23
Things to
consider:
Not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” is a believer.
Not everyone who walks the aisle is accepting the
Lord.
Responding to a preacher’s message may not be a
response for salvation but could be for a variety of reasons all of which are
not salvation through Jesus Christ. (For
example: life is a mess, want a favor, hoping for deliverance from some
bondage.)
Eternal Security is revealed in
these truths:
Positional Righteousness -Every believer is in
eternal positional union with Christ (
If Christ died for us while we were sinners will
he not do enough to keep us saved? “He
who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also,
along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)
Nothing can separate us from God including the
present or the future which includes the sins committed in the present or the
future. (Rm.8:38)
God is faithful for he can not deny himself even
when we are unfaithful. “If we are
faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” (2 Tm.
2:13) (“Disown” or “Deny” in 2:12 is to deny us rewards
You can not be un-born from a natural family and
your natural father can never be changed.
We are born into God’s family (Gal. 3:26) and born of God (John 1:12)
We are part of the body and one part can not say to
another part “I do not need you.” The
head (Jesus) can not then say to another part of the body “I don’t need you.”
(1 Cor. 12:21)
Greek Verb Tense:
- “Believe in the Lord
Jesus and you will be saved” is in the aorist tense and means saved once and for all. (Acts
16:31)
- “For it is by grace you have
been saved” (Ep.28) is in the perfect tense
and means saved in the past with the result that you keep on being saved forever. Also, Col. 2:6;
If you can get saved and
sin to lose it then Jesus work on the cross is no different than the offering
of bulls and goats.
(Hebrews 10:14.)
“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word
and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, he has crossed over from death to life.” John 5:25
“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;
the old has gone, the new has come!”
2 Coir. 5:17
15. What is the
Unforgivable Sin
Matthew 12:31,32
John 16:8-11
1 John 5:6-10
The unforgivable
sin is the rejection of Jesus Christ as savior.
The Spirit
enlightens the natural man to understand it, but the natural man rejects the testimony of the Spirit and
is left to perish.
16. What do I say to my patients who may not be Christians when
they ask why God has allowed this to happen to them and their families?
It may be hard for them to hear and understand about a loving God if they
have never understood the love of God on the cross.
You may want to assure them that God is good. He is the answer. Evil happens as a result of:
1) The fallen, cursed earth that
we live in . . .
but Jesus
has died on the cross to deliver us from it.
2) The sin and free will of man. . . But
God is supreme and he is fair.
3) Satan who is against God and man. . .
but “greater is He
who in me than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)
“We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” Romans
8:28
Comfort them with the comfort
Christ has given you. “Praise be to the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from
God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also
through Christ our comfort overflows.” 2
Cor. 1:3-5
If you see some one in need don’t
say be blessed, but do something.
Sometimes there is nothing to say, but you are ministering to their
needs with out explaining things.
Instead you are simply there for them or helping them. “Suppose a brother or sister is without
clothes and daily food. If one of
you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed, but
does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?” Jm.2:15 “I will show you my faith
by what I do” James 2:18
You are the hand of God in their
lives: “I tell you the truth, what ever you did
for one of the least of these
brothers of mine, you did for me.” Matt25:40
17. How did Satan come to be? Ezekiel 28:12-19 Isaiah 14:12-17
Psalm
148:2,5 Angels
were created Job 38:5,6 Angels were created before the universe.
Four Beginnings
John 1:1 – The
story’s beginning with God’s existence
Job 38:4-7 – The
angels where in existence at the universe’s creation
Genesis 1:1 – The
creation of the universe
Genesis 1:26,27 – The creation of man
Genesis 1:1 – “In
the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” “Created”
is the Hebrew word “Bara” to “create something
out of nothing.”
Four Words for
“Create” or “Make”
Bara - create
something out of nothing (Gn. 1:1, 27)
Asah – make something from something (Gen1:26)
Jatsar – mold
(2:7)
Banah – build (2:22)
Words used in
Isaiah 45:18.
“For this is what
the Lord says – he who created (“bara”) the heavens,
he is God; he who fashioned (“jatsar”) and made (“asah”) the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be
empty (“tohu”) but formed it to be inhabited.”
Genesis 1:2 –
“Now the earth was
formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, . . .(NIV)
“And the earth
was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.” (KJ)
“Now the earth
had become waste and wild, and darkness was on the face of the roaring deep, (
“was” – the Hebrew word “hajah”
is “had become.” It is translated into English as “was.”
“formless” – the Hb. word “tohu”
which means “chaotic, catastrophe”
“empty” – the Hebrew word “wavohu” is described by
“formless and empty” together the phase is a
word play on sound: “tohu wavohu.” The words are used together two other times
in the Old Testament. Isaiah 34:11 and Jeremiah 4:23. Both times they
refer to a the result of a previous overthrow.
“darkness” – the Hebrew word “choshek” and means “darkness.” Strong’s
Concordance’s Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary state: Figuratively it means “misery, destruction,
death, ignorance, sor-
row, wickedness.”
“deep” – the Hebrew word “tehom” and means “an abyss as
in a surging mass of water, especially
the deep, main sea or the subterranean water-supply.
In his 1872
translation
“In the beginning [of the
present order of things] God created
[that is, shaped or formed according to his own divine idea] the heavens
[above] and the earth. [below] Now the earth [emphasized idiomatically
for the purpose of singling it out for first remark] had become waste and
wild [probably by previous catastrophe] and darkness [emphasized as
about to be dealt with] was on the face of the roaring deep; but [preparing
the mind for a new order of things] the Spirit of God was brooding [with
quickening effect] on the face of the waters.”
Before “tohu wavohu”
Ezekiel 28:12-15
Model of
Perfection (KJ “sealest up the sum”)- a copy
of Jehovah, with authority
Full of Wisdom –
wiser than any other creature. The word means full and abundant
Perfect in
Beauty – perfect means
complete. Other cherubim in Ezekiel 1:4-20
In
Every precious
stone –the best of creation, and similar to high priest 12 stones
Settings and
mountings were gold –
Gold speaks of deity. A
priest for God.
Fiery stones – sin could not stand in the presence of
God
Blameless – This creature was blameless
Isaiah 14:12
Morning star – Hb is “hay-lale” meaning brightness from Hebrew word for “praise” The Hb. was
translated into Greek to a word that meant “Light
Bearer.” When the Greek was translated
into Latin it was the Latin word
“Lucifer” and in 1611 the translators of the KJ left the word untranslated. NIV uses “morning star” and
Ezekiel 28:16 “Through
your widespread trade”
NAS “your trade
they filled your midst with violence, & you sinned.”
Roth. “ thy traffic they filled the midst with violence & thou
didst sin.”
KJ “the merchandise they have filled the midst of thee
with violence, and thou hast
sinned”
NIV “filled with
violence and you sinned.”
“Violence” HB.
“chamac” meaning unjust
gain, cruelty, damage, false, injustice,
oppression. It comes from the Hb. word that means “to
be violent.” The next chronological occurance
for this word is in reference
to men’s violence before the flood of Noah.
It was the
reason for God sending judgment in Noah’s day. (Gn. 6:11,13)
1
Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is a of all kinds
of evil.”
Matthew
6:24 “No one can serve two masters”
Rm.
1:25 “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, & worshipped and served created things rather than the creator – who
is forever praised.”
Jehovah
Confronts the Sin
Ezekiel
28:16, KJ: Therefore I will cast thee
as profane out of the
“Profane” in Hebrew means the staining of what is beautiful and glorious.
“Destroy” refers to Lucifer’s position as the Guardian Cherub, not his person.
Lucifer
Rejects any offer of Restoration or Grace
Ezekiel 28:17 – “Your heart became proud on account of
your beauty, and you corrupted your
wisdom because of your splendor.”
Lucifer
rejects grace due to Pride.
1 Timothy 3:6, “He (reference to one who wants to be
a church leader) must not be a
recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.”
Lucifer’s
process of chain sinning:
1)
Love of created
things – “Widespread trade” (“Love of money”
1 Tim 6:10 and “worshipped
and served created things” Rm1:25)
2)
Violence (unjust gain and oppression)
Sin exposed and expelled
3)
Pride because of his God created beauty
4)
Corrupted his Purpose (Wisdom)
5)
Rebels against God saying, “I will be like the Most High
Lucifer’s
5 “I wills” in Isaiah 14:13,14
Angels Make Their Choice
a. Satan and his angels - Revelation 12:7, 9 and Matthew 25:41
b. Angels sinned – 2 Peter 2:4 and Job
4:18
c. a third of the angels went with
Lucifer – Revelation 12:4 “swept” means to
drag forcibly as with a net.
Court Case and Lucifer is Sentenced
Matthew
25:41, “Depart from me you who are cursed into eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
Lucifer
Appeals the Verdict
Since
it is clear that Lucifer sinned and it is clear the sentence is the
Gen.
3:1, “Now the serpent was more craft than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made He
said to the woman. . .”
Job
1:6,7, “One day the angels came to present themselves
before the Lord, and Satan also
came with them. The Lord said to Satan,
‘Where have you come from?’
Satan answered the Lord, ‘From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.’ ”
Matthew
4:1, “Then Jesus was led
by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.”
1
Peter 5:8, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
Ephesians
2:2, “. . .when you followed the ways of this world
and of the ruler of the kingdom
of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.”
Court cases are common in heaven
Zechariah 3 and the trial of
Joshua the High Priest Daniel
7:9-14, “. . .The court was seated and books were
opened. . .”
Councils and meetings are common
in heaven 2
Chronicles 18:18; Job 1:6
The title “Satan” means
“adversary, accuser, attorney.” An attorney is someone who goes to court and
appeals.
Satan’s accusations against the character (glory) of God:
1) God is ultimately responsible
for Lucifer’s creation. God is
omniscient and knew Lucifer’s actions before
creation. Why did God create him then?
2) God is not just if Satan gets
sent to the lake of fire.
3) God is not love since he did
not take responsibility.
4) God is incapable of
maintaining order and creation.
5) God’s character is
inconsistent.
Lucifer
is Cast to the Earth Resulting in Genesis 1:2 from Ezekiel 28:17; Luke 10:18;
Lucifer
is on the earth today as prince of power of the air: Gen. 3:1; Job 1:7; 1 Peter
5:8
God was going to prove his character (or, his glory) through man:
Men would prove God was worthy to
follow by rejecting the things that Lucifer loved
and choosing God. Men would choose God
instead of the world.
Jesus would demonstrate the wisdom
of God by dying on the cross to save men from the same damnation that Satan
faced.
Jesus would demonstrate that God
was more than just power and justice when he died on the cross for
mankind. Jesus revealed God’s love and
mercy. Character
traits that Satan and the angels can never personally understand.
Ephesians
3:9-11, “His intent was that now, through the church the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and
authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he
accomplished in Christ Jesus
our Lord. In him and through faith in
him we may approach God with freedom
and confidence. I ask you therefore, not
to be discouraged because of my
sufferings for you, which are your glory.”
1
Corinthians 4:9, “We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels
as well as to men.”
18. Why did Jesus death
pay for our sins today?
Before Jesus came the OT believers would place their hands on an animal and
acknowledged his sin before God. The
animal was then sacrifice as a substitute for the worshiper.
The sacrifices never removed sin, but merely covered the sin.
The Hebrew word for “atonement” (kaphar) means
“covering”.
It does not mean “taken away.”
God accepted the sacrifices because he stood in anticipation for Chirst’s death on the cross.
Hebrews 10:4, “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
Romans 3:25, “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, be cause in his forbearance he had left the
sins committed before hand
unpunished.”
Adam sinned once and brought condemnation on all men.
Romans 5:18, “Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result
of one act of righteousness was
justification that brings life for all men.
For just as through the
disobedience of the one man that many were
made sinners, so also through the obedience of one man the many will be made righteous.”
Jesus died for sins once and paid for all the sins of men.
Hebrews 9:26, “But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the
sacrifice of himself. . .Christ was
sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to
bear sin, but to bring salvation
to those who are waiting for him.”
Once the sacrifice of Jesus was made the sins of mankind were punished and paid for.
In a sense the OT was a time when men where living on credit concerning the payment for
their sin.
Since Christ death has occurred the ultimate payment has been made on the credit account of sin. In other words, the payment of Christ’s death was such an incredible
price that it is surely enough to pay
for all the sins of all mankind that is yet to come.
19. Why do we need to go
to church?
Church needs to be relevant to your life.
Two categories for attending church:
Worship God—to have an encounter,
an experience with God, his truth, his character. (1 Timothy
3:15, “Pillar and Foundation of Truth”
Fellowship with other believers
(Hebrews 10:25, “Let us not give up meeting together.”)
A church should be doing two basic things (Revelation 3:15, hot water for
healing, cold water for refreshing)
Healing and helping the broken
lives of people
Refreshing and encouraging the Christian
warriors who are doing the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:12)
20. Why do we need to
study the Bible?
Christianity is based in reality and truth.
These are revealed in the scriptures.
The scriptures have been deposited into the church for safe keeping for men
of this time.
Paul tells Timothy (and the rest of us) to guard the good deposit:
What you heard form me,
keep as the pattern of sound teaching,
with faith and love in Christ Jesus.
Guard the good deposit that
was entrusted to you-Guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” (1
Tm.1:13,14)
If we lose the truth, we lose the sphere of reality we are to operate in as
believers. We will then lose
Christianity.
Peter tells us:
“There were also false
prophets among the people, just as there
will be false teachers among you. They
will secretly introduce destructive
heresies. “(or, “deviations to the truth)
2
Peter 2:1
If you do not study the Bible you will end up with a religion like the
Samaritans had. Jesus said to them:
“You Samaritans worship
what you do not know; we worship
what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.”
21. Why did God command us to
be baptized?
Baptism is an outward sign of an inward change.
Baptism is not required for salvation.
Church attendance is not required for salvation.
Obedience to God’s plan requires that we be involved in a church.
Obedience to God’s plan also tells us to be baptized.
God commanded us to be baptized so we would have a sign or a picture of
what has happened to us spiritually.
Baptism is a sign of:
Our participation in Jesus’ death
Our participation in Jesu’ resurrection
Our inward cleansing from sin and
guilt
Our outward washing of
regeneration
Our being baptized into the body
of Christ
Our being baptized by Jesus with
the Holy Spirit
Our being separated from the
world and set apart (made holy) for God’s plan
Romans 6:3,
“Or don’t you know tat all
of us who were baptized into Christ
Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order
that, Just as Christ
was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”
Galatians 3:27,
“For all of you who were
baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”
1 Corinthians 12:13,
“For we were all baptized
by one Spirit into one body.”
Acts 22:16,
“Get up, be baptized and wash your sins
away, calling on his
name.”
Colossians 2:12,
“Having been buried
with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God,
who raised him from the dead.”
1 Peter 3:21,
“This water symbolizes
baptism that now saves you also—not the
removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God.”
Types of baptisms:
The baptism of John (Acts 10:37;
18:25; Matt. 21:25)
Jesus own baptism into the office
of the Christ
Jesus’ baptism on the cross (Luke
12:50; Mark 10:38,39)
Baptized into Moses (1
22. What disciplines do we
need to study to be effective in our witness for Christ in this community?
Webster’s meaning of the word “discipline” is:
Teaching; instruction
That which is taught to pupils
Training which corrects
, molds, strengthens, or perfects
Punishment; chastisement
Orderly conduct as in troops
noted for their discipline
Rule of system of rules affecting
conduct or action
So, “disciplines” are understood to be the teachings and instruction that
will mold and strengthen our character so that our conduct becomes orderly and
in agreement with that of Christ character and his purpose.
By definition then, if our goal is to have Christ’s character and fulfill
our purpose we will need to be instructed in”
Matters concerning the character
of Christ. Including:
- how he thinks
-what are his motives
-what does he value
-what is his reality
-what is his truth
Matters concerning God’s purpose
so we can be about his business.
-history past, where has
God been, where have believers been, where
has the church been
-history future, where are
we going, what is God going to be doing
to get us and the kingdom there
These remain the same for every person, every where, in every time:
A) God’s character and thoughts
B) God’s purpose and plan
Every believer needs to know and understand these.
These are the sphere of truth and reality that God’s kingdom operates in.
To separate yourself from these is to severe
yourself from the head of the body.
Now, the application of these in your community is going to vary endlessly
depending on:
A) You and your gift, calling, background,
personality, etc.
B) Those to whom you
are ministering and their background,
perspective, understanding, interests.
“Now to each one the
manifestation of the Spirit is given for
the common good.” 1 Corinthians 12:7
23. What does a good
pastor/church or shepherd/flock look like for Audubon?
A good pastor and a good body of believers that minister to the church on
Sundays (and during the week) should focus on making God real to the people who
worship at that local church.
The people of the church (or, the flock) should then be the ones who take
the reality and truth that they have experienced into their daily lives.
The pastor and ministries in the church should be healing the broken,
refreshing the weary (Rev. 3) and ministering to “strengthen, encourage, and
comfort” (1 Cor. 14:3) the church or the flock. The flock, or the body of
believers, are the ones who are going to empowered to do the work of the
ministry.
The pastor does not do the work of the ministry.
The pastor prepares God’s people for the work of the ministry.
“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be
evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare
God’s people for works of service so that the body of Christ may
be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and
in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature,
attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
Ephesians 4:11-13
“prepare” (karartismos)
“equipping” A technical medical term for
setting of a bone.
Describes a dynamic act by which
persons or things are properly conditioned
and placed in order.
“works of service” (ergon diakonias) ergon is where we get
our word energy. Diakonias is where we
get our word for deacons or servers. Thus, the
translation “works of ministry.”
“built
up” (oikodomen) oikodomen
is a compound word that comes from “oidos” meaning “house” and “demo”
meaning “build.” The
word an expression for
development. Translators
would use: edifying, deification or building up.
POINT: Notice who is building up the house of the
church?
The pastors or those the pastors are preparing?
The pastors and teachers prepare
or equip the people or the flock.
The people or the flock build up the church.
The church should
NOT look like this:
Pastor/Teacher
Here
the pastor/teacher has
x x the vision and does the work
x $ x of the ministry. The people
x $ x x x x (or, flock) are simply there to x x x x x $ x x support the vision and ministry
x x $ x x x x x x x of
the pastor and usually with money. Here, the sheep are
fleeced. x
The church should
look like this: x x x
x x x x x x
In this model the pastor/teachers x x x x x x x x
“prepare God’s people” (not the pastors people) x x x x x x x x
For the gift and
ministry God has called each x x x x x x
person to. The people do the “work of the x x x x
ministry” and build up the body of Christ. x x x
Here the
pastor/teacher is the servant to those who x
are doing the
work. They return to the local church
for refreshing and
healing. Here the sheep are Pastor/Teacher
Empowered and led
by the Spirit
“unity in the faith” - meaning an understanding of the
doctrinal concepts of the faith
“once for all entrusted to the saints”
(Jude 3) This is the purpose
and plan of God
“knowledge of the Son of God” - meaning an understanding of
how God thinks,
what
are his motivations. The
character of God.
“mature” -(teleion) that which has reached
the set goal, mature, perfect.
“whole measure” (metron halikias) metron is that which is
used to measure. A graduated rule for measuring. Halikias means full age, a mature age. Together
they mean the measurement of completeness.
The sovereignty of God decides:
1) the
time of our death
2) the
manner of our death
Psalm 68:20, “Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.”
Matthew 6:27, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life.”
Our time of death is not determined by health or age.
If someone dies young or in good health it is just as much in God’s will as any other time.
Psalm 31:15, “My times are in your hands.”
God decides your time of death and nothing can remove you until that time.
Revelation 11:7, “Now when they have finished their testimony,
the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill
them.”
Your attitude toward God and your conformity toward scriptural truth and
reality will affect God’s decision:
Psalm 102:19-24
Psalm 118:18
Isaiah 38
Your spiritual condition is reflected in your attitude toward death.
A believer should face death as he faces life.
1) Stay in fellowship with God,
2) Understand that he is in control,
3) Test and circumstances will
a. Reveal your faith
b. Strengthen your
faith
Death is the last and sometimes greatest test for the believer.
Faithfulness to God at the time of death will result in:
1) God being glorified
2) The believer being rewarded
Death of a mature believer is viewed as promotion:
Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
Types of Death in Scripture:
Spiritual
death—no relationship with God in time.
We are born physically alive but spiritually dead.
Physical
death—separation of the human soul from the body.
Second death—the continuation of
spiritual death (#1) into eternity that results in being cast into the lake of
fire with all unbelievers and fallen angels forever
Positional
death—where the Holy Spirit baptizes all believers into Christ’s death on the
cross. So, positionally
before God believers are then seen as being dead in relationship to sin and with the sin
nature.
Operational death—failure to
produce the good deeds God has prepared for you.
Temporal death—the state of the
believer who is out of fellowship with God through personal sin
25. If God knows everything
about us why do we need to pray?
Two reasons that both involve human will:
What do you want?
God has given you freedom
to choose:
a) Salvation
b) Obedience
c) righteousness
d) decisions: foods, activity, jobs, friends, spouse
. . .and. . .
e) the option to ask God to help you, assist you, to be involved in your life.
Matt. 7:7—ask and be
given, seek and find, knock and
it is opened.
-
The opposite would also be true:
don’t ask—not given
don’t seek—won’t find
don't’ knock—won’t open
2) Submit your will to His will and plan
Matt. 26:42, if it is possible
do it my way, if not I submit to your
will and let your will be done in my life.
26. How do we know what our gift is?
George Barna Poll:
88% of believers have
heard of the spiritual gifts
39% know what their
spiritual gift is
The Church should help believers:
1) Discover Gift
2) Develop Gift
3) Deploy Gift
1 Corinthians 12:4
1) There are a variety of gifts
2) There are a variety of ministries
3) There are variety of effects
Gifts are not talents but gifts may manifest through talents.
Piano is a talent that a gift may manifest.
A person with the talent of playing piano may manifest their gift of:
a) encouragement
through piano
b) teaching through
piano
c) leadership through
piano
d) helps through piano
Spiritual Gift Inventory:
(developed
by Earl D. Radmacher, Th.D)
Preaching (Prophecy)
The God-given ability to
set before people the Word and wisdom
of God persuasively through personality as a herald ( 1
strong emphasis on biblical
authority
speak clearly, organize
material well
encourage and challenge people in
matters of biblical conduct
look for response, results
comfortable in working with groups
of people
confident
ability to confront people when
they are doing wrong
Exhortation
The God-given ability to
draw alongside of someone in order to
comfort to encourage, to rebuke, and to lead into insight toward action (
people-centered
stick with people through
thick and thin
see creative alternatives
when facing problems
enjoy people, understand their
feelings and attitudes
can be confrontive
without being offensive
comfortable in either group or
one-to one setting
not easily discouraged,
persistent
see problems and struggles
as an opportunity for growth
have a deep concern for
people who are going through difficulties
Teaching
The God-given ability to
lay down in systematic order the complete
ladder of a doctrine and to apply it incisively and diligently to life (1 Cor. 12:29; Rom.
12:7)
Employ a logical, systematic
approach to biblical study
Heavy emphasis on responsible
action in light of what is known
Ability to explain things clearly
and concisely
Summarize, evaluate, or pick out
main points in a presentation quickly
Set an example in behavior ( a model for others)
Careful in study
Give attention to detail
Like to be prepared, to avoid
impromptu situations
Prefer group setting to
one-to-one setting
Word of Wisdom
The God-given ability to
locate formerly unknown principles as
well as to combine known principles of God‘s Word and to communicate them to fresh situations (1 Cor. 12:8; 1 Cor. 13:2)
Understand complex matters
quickly
Easily pick out main points ( a view to the practical)
Can come up with alternatives
when faced with difficult situations
Consistent
Try to discern God’s mind in
daily activities
Assist people sometimes at the
risk of being misunderstood
Very responsible in tasks
undertaken
Ability to make decisions quickly
and to put ideas into words
Confident
Able to take details and to put them together to make a complete picture
Word of Knowledge
The God-given ability to
arrange the facts of Scripture, to categorize
these into principles, and to communicate them to repeated or familiar situations (1 Cor.
12:8; 1 Cor. 13:2)
Enjoy study, digging for facts of
details
Persistent, thorough
More task-centered than
people-oriented as a rule
Tend to become impatient with
people who fail to learn
Very precise
Patient, stay with a project
until completed in all its details
Continually looking, searching
for new information or data
Enjoy talking to well-informed
people
Logical, scientific, serious
Tend to avoid games or discussion
on deeply personal matters
Faith
The God-given ability to
see through mountainous problems to the
Ultimate Resource with the vision that it is timely to rely absolutely on both God’s ability and
willingness to perform in this
particular matter (1 Cor. 12:9; 1 Cor.
13:2)
Can quickly change from one task
to another
Confident
Persuasive in getting others to
join in on a project
Challenge people to assume
greater responsibilities to accomplish what needs to be done
Set a pace for others
Determined in spite of difficulties
when working on a project
Make decisions quickly, act
quickly
Willing to tackle the seemingly
impossible
A strong rest in God
A leader
Giving
The God-given ability to
make and to give things most liberally
and beyond all human expectation (
Dislike emotional appeals, want
the facts
Ability to invest wisely
Set and achieve long-range goals
Use resources to get the most out
of them
Work to aid those needy people
who are worthy of assistance
Determine merits of a project
before investing or getting others to invest
Dislike waste
Make decisions quickly, but hold
back when uncertain
Mercy
The God-given ability to
be sensitive or empathetic to people who
are in affliction or misery and to lift internal burdens with cheerfulness (Rom 12:8)
Perceptive to people in need
Find it hard to say “no” when
asked to help
Jump in quickly to help. . .
Sometimes without evaluating fully
Lay aside personal desires to
help others
A peacemaker
Avoid arguments or controversial
situations
Rely heavily on feelings
(sometimes hold them inside)
Give up personal plans to help
others
Love people in spite of their
faults
Cheerful
Try to find the best in people
without doubting them
Helps
The God-given ability to
see tasks and to do them for or with someone
in order to lift external burdens (1 Cor. 12:28)
Choose short-range projects on
which to work
Like to be told what to do
A hard worker
Stick to a task until it is
finished
Like to be reassured that efforts
are needed and appreciated
Consider any job important
whether large or small
Support an
d help those in leadership
Take orders well
Join in quickly to assist when
needed
Ruling
The God-given executive
ability to stand before people and to inspire
followers by leading them aggressively but with care (Rom. 12:8)
Assume responsibility to see that
a job is done Develop efficient plans
Confront people enthusiastically
Get a high level of productivity
out of people
Able to delegate responsibilities
to others
Good organizational skills
Creative in finding new
approaches
Stay with a program until the
work is accomplished
Administration
The God-0given legislative
ability to stand behind people in order
to collect data, to set policy, to develop plans which h will guide a course of action with skill and
wisdom (1 Cor. 12:28)
Follow plans precisely
Plan carefully
Get the most out of available
resources
Work hard to achieve efficiency
Stay on a course once it has been
established
Ability to confer, negotiate,
supervise
Express opinions freely
Keep calm in spite of obstacles
Guide the efforts of the team on
a project
Discerning Spirits
The God-given judicial
ability to stand over people in order to detect
a genuine or non-genuine motive by distinguishing the spirit-source behind any person’s speech or act (1 Cor. 12:10)
Evaluate situations quickly and
accurately
Good intuitive sense
Quickly spot weak points in a
presentation
Willing and able to speak out
See hidden motives or agendas
Keen insight in seeing biblical
principles and in bringing them into practical situations
Pinpoint difficulties in a
situation when things aren’t going well
Can apply principles to the
decision-making process
27. What happens in the end times?
Church age will end in apostasy
Tribulation will be terrible times, most terrible in history
Jesus will set up his kingdom
The universe will be burnt up and God will create a new heaven and a new
earth that will be our home and the home of righteousness forever.
View of millennium:
A-millennial—viewpoint that the present age of Christ’s rule in the church is the
millennium; holds to one resurrection and judgment marking the end of history
as we know it and the beginning of life eternal
Post-Millennial—Viewpoint that Christ will return after a long period of expansion and spiritual
prosperity for the church, brought about by the preaching of the gospel; the
Spirit’s blessing, the church’s work toward righteousness, justice, and
peace. The period is not a literal
thousand years but extended time of spiritual prosperity.
Historical pre-millennial - Viewpoint that Christ will reign on earth for a thousand
years following His second coming; saints will be resurrected at eh beginning
of the millennium, non believers at the end, followed by judgment
Dispensational Pre-Millennial—Viewpoint that after the battle of Armageddon
Christ will rule through the Jews for a literal thousand years accompanied by
two resurrections and at least three judgments
Rapture Second Coming
Church Tribulation Millennium New Earth
7 years 1000 years
28. What happens at the death
of a believer?
Phil. 1:23 “I am town between the two: I desire to depart and be with
Christ, which is better by far”
1 Cor. 15:54—No sting of death
Psalm 23—pass through the shadow of death
Luke 16:22—Angels come to get
29. What happens at the death
of an unbeliever?
Luke 16:22-23—No angels
1 Cor. 15:54—experience the sting of death
Psalm 23—shadow of death becomes reality
30. What are we to think of the
teaching in Mark 10:2-12 concerning
divorce?
All Pharisees agreed that according to Deuteronomy 24:1-4:
1) Divorce was permitted
2) Only the husband could
initiate divorce
3) Divorce implied the
right to remarry
Shammai said that Dt. 24:1 referred to
the woman having done something morally shameful or disobedience to the Jewish
law.
Hillell added to Shammai’s
interpretation anything which caused annoyance or embarrassment to the husband
as grounds for divorce.
The fact that the Pharisees came and “tested” Jesus means their question is
a trap. This is the final six months of
Jesus ministry.
The trap was probably to bring Jesus against Herod Antipas and Herodias just like John the Baptist came against them in
Mark 6:17.
Jesus bi-passed the teaching of Shammai and Hillell and went right to OT scripture.
Genesis 2:24 indicates that divorce was never in the plan of God.
The Pharisees responded with the exception that Moses had given
In Deut. 24:1.
Here divorce is given as an option but the reasons are not clarified.
The reason for divorce was allowed by God was due to man’s sinfulness. Divorce was not accepted by God but used to
limit sinfulness and to control its consequences.
Moses’ permission was a departure from the original purpose of
creation.
“The two shall become one” shows the indissolubility of marriage.
Divorce shows mans inability to live in God’s plan
and purpose.
In verse 9 “let man not separate” refers to the husband and not the
judicial authorities since a husband would simply announce he was divorcing his wife.
Verse 10 shows that the disciples themselves did not grasp this.
Jesus adds here the concept that the husband is committing adultery against
his former wife.
In the law a man could commit adultery against another married man by
seducing his wife and a wife could commit adultery against her husband.
Jesus teaching elevated the position of the wife in the marriage
relationship.
Verse 12 could be seen as Jesus agreeing with John the Baptist
pronouncement against Herodias.
