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TABLE OF
CONTENTS for BIBLE STUDY
INTRODUCTION TO BIBLE
DOCTRINE
JUMP DOWN TO
INTRODUCTION
A. Why are we here?
(1) challenge regarding faith
in Jesus Christ
BIBLE LESSON ONE
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON ONE
A. Do you have problems?
(1) the importance of Bible
Doctrine in solving problems
(2) learning and applying Bible
Doctrine
BIBLE LESSON TWO
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON TWO
A. Thinking vs Emotionalism
B. How Bible Doctrine helps us use
Divine Viewpoint rather than human viewpoint
BIBLE LESSON THREE
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON THREE
A. Lessons we MUST learn about PRIDE
(1) the causes and effects of
pride in our lives
B. Carnality
(1) cause and solution for
carnality
BIBLE LESSON FOUR
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON FOUR
A. The value of TIME and how we should
use it wisely
B. Best use of time through fellowship
with the Lord
C. Eternal Security and what it means to
us
D. The ministry of God, the Holy Spirit,
in the life of the believer in Jesus Christ during the Church Age
BIBLE LESSON FIVE
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON FIVE
A. A reference library of things
learned
B. How your memory will help you
C. Building a vocabulary that is
bible-oriented
D. Thinking categorically
E. How our conscience helps us make
decisions
F. Wisdom and the importance of having
it
BIBLE LESSON SIX
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON SIX
A. Motivation
B. God's Word and your spiritual
growth
C. How Jesus handled temptations
D. The four meanings of the word "IF"
E. The importance of Bible Doctrine
BIBLE LESSON SEVEN
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON SEVEN
A. Why being in fellowship is vital in
the Christian's life
B. Spiritual victory for Elijah on Mt.
Carmel
C. Ahab, an apostate, carnal believer
D. Elijah's failure to trust the Lord
and the consequences
E. The importance of Elijah's ministry
and what he represents
BIBLE LESSON EIGHT
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON EIGHT
A. The Doctrine of Hamartiology (SIN)
(1) meaning of the word sin
(2) all sin is against God
B. 3 categories of SIN
C. 3 categories of people
D. 7 areas of not thinking grace
E. 7 sins the Lord hates most
F. The Sin Unto Death ... what is it?
BIBLE LESSON NINE
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON NINE
A. Who is God and what is He
like?
B. RELIGION in contrast to CHRISTIANITY
C. The ATTRIBUTES of God and what they
mean
BIBLE LESSON TEN
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON TEN
A. Rightly dividing the Word of Truth via
Dispensational interpretation
B. Why Dispensational teaching
of scripture is important
BIBLE LESSON ELEVEN
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON ELEVEN
A. The evidence of carnality in the
believer's life
B. The fruit of the Spirit in contrast
to Old Sin Nature
control of our thoughts and
actions
C. Fruit of the Spirit characteristics
listed and explained
BIBLE LESSON TWELVE
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON TWELVE
A. "THINKING" ... is this foreign word
in our society today?
B. "STUDY" ......... why should I bother
to study the Bible?
C. "FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD" ... how is it
possible for sinful man to have fellowship with God who is Holy?
D. "BILE READING" ... where should I
begin?
E. "BIBLE DOCTRINE" ... what is it?
... why is it so important?
... what do I do with it?
BIBLE LESSON THIRTEEN JUMP
DOWN TO LESSON THIRTEEN
A. Satan's strategies to destroy
mankind
(1) ENVIRONMENT as an issue
(2) PEACE as an issue
(3) ECCUMENICALISM as an issue
(a) why not have a
one-world church?
(4) SOCIALISM and how it
affects a nation
(a) what the Social
Gospel presents
(5) INTERNATIONALISM as an
issue
B. The Anti-Christ ... world dictator
during the Tribulation period
(1) what he will be able to
accomplish
(2) his final end
BIBLE LESSON FOURTEEN
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON FOURTEEN
A. RESPONSIBILITY
(1) what is personal
responsibility?
B. Old testament characters who
illustrate the importance of having personal responsibility
C. National Responsibility
(1) who is responsible when a
nation is disciplined or destroyed?
BIBLE LESSON FIFTEEN
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON FIFTEEN
A. Using the "Follow- through"
technique in the Christian's life
(1) are we involved or content
to watch others succeed?
B. How do we grow spiritually?
C. How can we help to preserve nation?
BIBLE LESSON SIXTEEN
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON SIXTEEN
A. Is ours a heathenistic society?
B. What is Liberalism?
C. What is the Christian's attitude to
be toward both?
BIBLE LESSON SEVENTEEN
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON SEVENTEEN
A. What is Internationism?
B. How does the Lord view
internationalism vs Nationalism?
C. How does the Bible illustrate both
of these?
BIBLE LESSON EIGHTEEN
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON EIGHTEEN
A. What is Heathenism all about?
BIBLE LESSON NINETEEN
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON NINETEEN
A. Buried Treasure can be found in
the Bible
(1) How do we find it?
(2) What equipment do we need?
B. The Doctrine of Death in the
Scriptures
(1) The 7 deaths
C. The Doctrine of Dispensations
(1) Why is this important for
us to know?
BIBLE LESSON TWENTY
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON TWENTY
A. A THIRST FOR POWER
(1) How a thirst for power
affected king David's family
BIBLE LESSON TWENTY ONE
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON TWENTY ONE
A. Foolishness vs Wisdom
B. King Solomon's request for wisdom
C. Rehoboam takes bad advice
1.) nation
is divided
D. Jeroboam becomes king over 10 tribes of
the Children of Israel
1.)
idolatry the result of foolishness
BIBLE LESSON TWENTY TWO
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON TWENTY TWO
A. Getting to know God
B. Emotions vs thinking
C. Importance of knowing God's thoughts
BIBLE LESSON TWENTY THREE
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON TWENTY THREE
A. Picture of salvation for Adam &
Eve
B. Abraham's offering of Isaac
C. Moses and the Rock
D. Lessons from the life of Joseph
E. Significance of Jonah's experience
BIBLE LESSON TWENTY FOUR
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON TWENTY FOUR
A. Avoiding Mistakes
B. Learning from the Failures of
Others
BIBLE LESSON TWENTY FIVE
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON TWENTY FIVE
A. After death, what?
B. What is life?
C. The soul is eternal
BIBLE LESSON TWENTY SIX
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON TWENTY SIX
A. Do you want to be popular?
BIBLE LESSON TWENTY SEVEN
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON TWENTY SEVEN
A. Two secret Disciples
B. Why were they afraid to witness
about Christ
BIBLE LESSON TWENTY EIGHT
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON TWENTY EIGHT
A. Looking at Our Human and Spiritual
Intelligence
BIBLE LESSON TWENTY NINE
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON TWENTY NINE
A. Manna
BIBLE LESSON THIRTY
JUMP DOWN TO LESSON THIRTY
A. What is the spiritual life?
INTRODUCTION TO BIBLE DOCTRINE
WHAT ARE
YOU DOING HERE?
No doubt,
every thinking person has asked that question at some time in their
life.
Well, the
answer can only be found in a careful study of God's Word!
Let's explore some facts that the Lord has given us: Yes, He has an
answer to EVERY problem you and I could possibly face, but it must be
done by a concentrated effort to study the 66 books contained in the
Holy Scriptures we commonly call the Bible.
If
you have never personally put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as
your saviour, stop right now and consider the following facts I'm
going to relate to you:
(1) Jesus Christ is God and man in one person forever
(2) He came into the world and became true humanity for the sole
purpose of dying on the cross for the sins of the world
(3) Because He is sinless, Jesus Christ was able to bear every sin
that has been or ever will be committed, and took our place as a
substitute for each one of us
(4) When you accept that fact by faith and add NOTHING you do to
that simple faith in the work of Christ on the cross, you become a
Christian. No one can decide for you, because the Lord has given each
of us a decider known as a free-will to make that decision. When you
become a Christian you are then able to understand spiritual truth. To
the unbeliever, the Word of God is a closed book which they not only
do not understand, but they distort the meaning God intended for us.
I'll
be using the terms "believer" and "unbeliever" as we look at the big
picture of why we are here and the purpose for our existence.
A
believer is a person who has believed in Jesus Christ for salvation.
An unbeliever is a person who prefers to accept his OWN good works
rather that the ONLY work that God, the Father can accept which is
God, the Son in true and perfect humanity paying the penalty for our
sins.
Each
one of us has a nature to sin, and we are born with that "Sin Nature".
Nothing we can do, good or bad, is acceptable to God!
Well, now let's get to our original question of what we are doing
here.
In
eternity past, before Adam and Eve were created, God created angels.
The most beautiful angel of all was Lucifer, the son of the morning.
His position was to be guardian of the throne room of God. That was
the highest rank possible for a created being to hold. All the angels
were also given a free-will to make their own decisions.
One
day Lucifer became very proud of his magnificent beauty and talent and
decided he would exalt himself above all the angels and that he would
be exactly like God. We are told about his words in Isaiah 14:13,14.
Also, one-third of the angels decided to go with Lucifer. They are
called demons.
God's response to Lucifer's arrogance was to give a sentence of
eternal judgment. He also changed Lucifer's name to Satan, which means
ADVERSARY.
Satan appealed that sentence and said it wasn't a fair decision. God
cannot be unfair to anyone, so He created a new creature ... man ...
to prove to Satan that given a free-will like the angels had, man
would decide whether or not they would choose God's will for his life
or decide to go the same arrogant way Satan and his angels did.
Now,
we have the basic reason for our being here, which is to make that
decision during our lifetime whether to obey God or to follow Satan.
During this contest, angels are observing us, but we cannot see them
except through the written pages of God's Word.
God
has set a time limit for this contest, but he has not told us exactly
when it will end. He has told us that when it does end, Satan and his
demons will be cast into a Lake of Fire which will never be quenched.
Also, people who refuse to accept the work of Jesus Christ on the
cross will join them in that place of eternal torment.
Those people who accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour will spend
eternity with Him where there will be no more tears, no more pain and
no more death.
That
decision is the responsibility of each one of us, and I trust that you
have made that all-important choice, because that is why you and I are
here on this earth today!
Today's Verse - John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave
his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life.
Study to
show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Tim. 2:15)
All
Scripture is God-breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the
man of God might be mature, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
( 2 Tim. 3:16-17)
End of
Introduction Jump to top
BIBLE
LESSON ONE
DO YOU
HAVE PROBLEMS?
When you
tell people your problems, 50% don't really care and the rest think
you had it coming!
Before,
we talked about "why we are here", and now if you have put your faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ, He has a plan for your life!
God has a
perfect plan for your life ... that's God's DIRECTIVE WILL, he also
will allow you to go your own way under certain circumstances ...
that's God's PERMISSIVE WILL. But wait ... He also has an OVERRULING
WILL which prevents you from going a certain way. There are examples
of these wills in the Bible, but today let's talk about
PROBLEM-SOLVING.
You don't
need counseling to solve your problems! (that is the popular way to go
today in our society, of course) What you really need is GOD'S
VIEWPOINT... or DIVINE VIEWPOINT as we will refer to it.
What is
DIVINE VIEWPOINT? Psalm 119:105 tells us, ''THY WORD is a lamp unto
my feet, and a light unto my path."
How do we
get DIVINE VIEWPOINT? 2 Timothy 3:16 ''Study to show thyself approved
unto God; a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing
the Word of truth."
Why
should we study? Psalm 119:11 "Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that
I might not sin against thee."
How do we
begin to learn God's Word?
(1) we must correctly understand and analyze what the Lord wants us
to know.
(a) are you teachable or are you negative?
(b) are you willing to listen or read and concentrate?
If you are, you will learn and then you will think the way God thinks.
After that, you will be able to apply what you have learned and
believed (metabolized) to every problem in your life. (this doesn't
happen overnight ... it takes time to learn and absorb the truth of
God's Word! You don't go from simple fractions to calculus!) BE
PATIENT AND BE FAITHFUL TO FIND GOD'S WILL FOR YOUR LIFE!
Where do
we begin?
You
need to find a man who has the spiritual gift of Pastor-Teacher, and
who knows the original languages of scripture so that he can give you
the tools with which you can study and learn BIBLE DOCTRINE.
What
tools are we talking about?
(1) principles: ie: truths which are the foundation upon which
we build knowledge of Bible Doctrine
(2) categories: ie: classified thoughts or actions through
knowing Bible Doctrine
(3) Doctrines: ie: learning what the Bible teaches about
specific subjects from Genesis to Revelation, and then coming to a
conclusion about each of those subjects that is correct... GOD"S
VIEWPOINT
To wet
your appetite for more Bible Doctrine, here's just a sample of what
I'm talking about. This sample is one that always divides Christians
because they don't have the "big picture"...the Bible Doctrine...
about the subject.
BAPTISM (the word means IDENTIFICATION...in every case throughout the
Bible)
There are
two categories of Baptism, and they are as follows:
(there are a total of 7)
DRY (Real
Baptisms)
Baptism of Moses: (the children of Israel are IDENTIFIED with
Moses as they pass through the Red Sea 1Corinthians 10:1,2)
Baptism of the Cross or Cup: (the Lord Jesus Christ is
identified with the cross. Matthew 20:22)
Baptism of Fire: (for the unbeliever only... it is a baptism
of judgment) Matthew 25:31,33; Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16; 2 Thess.
1:7-9
Baptism of the Holy Spirit: (for the believer only...the Holy
Spirit enters believers into union with Christ at the moment of
salvation. Acts 1:5; 1 Cor. 12:13;; Romans 6:3,4; Gal.3:27;; Col.
2:12; Ephesians 4:5
WET (Ritual
Baptisms...water symbolic of something else, but the individual is
really identified with the water)
Baptism of John: (Matthew 3:6, 11a... water symbolic of the
Kingdom of God, which John preached. Acts 19:4. The people who came to
John were saying in effect "I have trusted in Christ"
Baptism of Jesus: (water is used for his UNIQUE BAPTISM which
symbolized the Father's will for him. He said by his baptism that He
would go to the cross and die for the sins of the world. Matthew
3:13-17)
WE CANNOT
FOLLOW THE LORD IN BAPTISM because of the above!)
Baptism of the Believer in Jesus Christ during the Church Age in which
we live: (Matthew 28:19. Water represents the person of the
Lord Jesus Christ in His DEATH, BURIAL AND RESURRECTION)
Jump to top
BIBLE
LESSON TWO
HELLO
THERE . . . The last time we met here on the Website, we looked at the
importance of knowing how God thinks .., ie: BIBLE DOCTRINE, and we
had a small sample of what BIBLE DOCTRINE is.
When we
hear what God thinks, our lives should improve, and our problems can
be handled.
Right
actions come from our thinking! They do not come from our EMOTIONS!
We are
overly passive today, because it is the "easy way" to live. Sadly,
however, when we let everyone else do our thinking for us, we become
lax in thinking for ourselves, and we fail to analyze what we read and
hear by comparing those things with what God thinks.
Do you
believe everything you read and hear from the media which surrounds
our lives every day? If you said "yes", you don't have Bible Doctrine
as a believer in Jesus Christ. In that case, you will be a "loser"
when it comes to living a life which is honoring to the Lord.
When we
get correct teaching from a pastor-teacher who knows the original
languages of scripture and can give us a foundation on which to build
our faith in the Lord, we must first of all want to be taught ... we
call that BEING TEACHABLE!"
When we
desire and LEARN Bible Doctrine, we get UNDERSTANDING. Our
understanding becomes our THINKING. When we think Bible Doctrine, we
can APPLY it to our lives and to our many problems which face us on a
daily basis. Then we can SOLVE those problems!
Think of
your life as being in a frame that you can study and look at in order
to check your progress in this 'game of life' in which we are all
involved:
HERE'S
THE BIG PICTURE:
1.) In this frame, you can put thoughts and actions together in
order to look and examine them closely.
(a) Proverbs 1:5 "A wise man will hear, and will
increase learning and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise
counsels."
2.) Next, you build a new vocabulary with which you can arrange
and define your thoughts.
(a) Proverbs 4:7 "Wisdom is the principal thing,
therefore get wisdom; and with all thy getting, get understanding."
3.) All the things you hear and read about can be classified into
certain categories where they can be divided into usable and
worthwhile thoughts and actions.
(a) Proverbs 5:1 "My son, attend unto my wisdom, and
bow thine ear to my understanding."
4.) We can distinguish right from wrong so that we may change our
ways and thoughts to agree with God's thoughts and ways.
(a) Isaiah 55:8-11: For my thoughts are not your
thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the
heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your
ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh
down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth
the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to
the sower and bread to the eater. So shall my word be that goeth
forth out of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void, but it shall
accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing
whereunto I send it."
5.) We learn to overcome the pressures in life ... little by
little, as we take in Bible Doctrine.
(a) Isaiah 28:10 "For precept must be upon precept,
precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little
and there a little."
6.) Through the intake, on a regular basis, of Bible Doctrine, we
will be able to form sound judgment, and make the BIG PICTURE of
ourselves pleasing in our own eyes. When we are able to do that, we
build self-esteem.
(a) Proverbs 16:7 tells us: "When a man's ways
please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him."
Jump to top
BIBLE
LESSON THREE
WELL! I
STILL HAVE MY PRIDE!!! Have you ever heard that statement
before?
Pride was
the original sin in the universe, and it was committed by Lucifer. He
was the most beautiful creature God ever created! One day, he decided
he was going to be exactly like God. Isaiah 14:12-14:
"For
thou hast said in thine heart, I WILL ASSCEND INTO HEAVEN, I WILL
EXALT MY THRONE ABOVE THE STARS OF GOD: I WILL SIT ALSO UPON THE MOUNT
OF THE CONGREGATION IN THE SIDES OF THE NORTH, I WILL ASCEND ABOVE THE
HEIGHTS OF THE CLOUDS: I WILL BE LIKE THE MOST HIGH."
As a
result of Lucifer's arrogance, God changed his name to Satan
(adversary), and sentenced him to the Lake of Fire.
The Lord
has many things to say to us about PRIDE. Here are a few to consider:
"Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your
mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are
weighed." 1 Samuel 2:3
"The
Wicked, through pride of his countenance, will not seek God; God is
not in all his thoughts." Psalm 10:4
"Only by pride cometh contention; but with the well-advised is
wisdom." Proverbs 13:10
As a
believer in Jesus Christ, we are in carnality when we are proud, and
we have no fellowship with him in time. 1st John 1:9 tells us "If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and
cleanse us from all unrighteousness." At that moment you are Filled
With The Holy Spirit and now have fellowship with God in Time.
Some of
the results of PRIDE are: jealousy, bitterness, self-pity, temper,
anger, hatred, murder and refusal to take responsibility for our own
actions.
NOT A
VERY ATTRACTIVE PICTURE, IS IT?
Let's not
confuse pride with self-esteem!
If you
take care of your body and look your best at all times, it doesn't
mean you are PROUD! (some people may think so, but just stay with
Bible Doctrine and move on)
As a
believer in Jesus Christ, you and I are here to please Him ...not
always trying to please people. When you are in fellowship with the
Lord, you will please people ... remember Proverbs 16: 7 which we
looked at last time ... "When a man's ways please the Lord, He maketh
even his enemies to be at peace with him."
I'd like
to leave you with the following thought expressed by the Lord in
Proverbs 12:15:
"THE WAY
OF A FOOL IS RIGHT IN HIS OWN EYES, BUT HE THAT HARKENETH UNTO COUNSEL
IS WISE."
Jump to top
BIBLE
LESSON FOUR
TIME is a
very precious thing, and we ought to use it wisely!
Each one
of us uses time in a different way, because each of our lives are
unique to the others.
Time
spend in fellowship with the Lord is the most profitable time spent
for the Christian. When we have no unconfessed sin in our life, God's
Word tells us we are in fellowship with Him, and we are filled and
controlled by the Holy Spirit.
When the
Holy Spirit controls the believer, he/she is teachable. The Holy
Spirit teaches our human spirit the things of God, which are not
understandable by the carnal believer or the unbeliever.
In the
Church Age in which we find ourselves every believer, upon simple
faith in the work of Christ on the cross, is regenerated, baptized
into the body of Christ ( the Church ), indwelt perpetually by the
Holy Spirit, sealed by the Holy Spirit and given the privilege of
being continuously FILLED with the Holy Spirit. All of this is unique
and distinctive to the ministry of the Holy Spirit to the believer in
the Church Age.
God, the
Holy Spirit, is the revealer of all Divine Truth ... the scriptures
are the product of the Holy Spirit. He guides the believer and calls
the Christian to various service in the body of Christ ... the Church.
Before
the Church Age began officially ... on the day of Pentecost, the Holy
Spirit did not indwell believers, but He came upon some of them for
special services like kings, prophets and priests. that is called
INDUEMENT, which means to put on. He could be taken away as He was in
the case of king Saul. Remember, David prayed, "Cast me not away from
thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me." Psalm 51:11
We can't
pray that prayer today. The apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:30
"And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the
day of redemption." We can grieve or quench the Holy Spirit, but never
lose Him!
Believer
... STOP WORRYING ABOUT LOSING YOUR SALVATION because you have
committed a sin which is unforgivable! Your salvation was secure at
the moment you put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. John 10:28
tells us clearly, "I give unto them ETERNAL LIFE, and they shall never
perish; neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand."
YOU
CANNOT UNTO WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR YOU ... THAT IS THE HEIGHT OF
ARROGANCE!
Keep
short accounts with God regarding your personal sins! Confess them to
the Lord, forget about them and MOVE ON TO MATURITY through learning
Bible Doctrine, applying Bible Doctrine and solving your own problems.
You can do that only by a consistent intake of God's Word.
Are you
ready to accept that Challenge?
Jump to top
BIBLE
LESSON FIVE
Greetings!!! The last time we met here on the Website we saw how
it is absolutely necessary for the believer in Jesus Christ to confess
his/her known sins to the Lord in order to be in fellowship with Him.
When you
hear good, doctrinal teaching, the Holy Spirit teaches your human
spirit, and He makes the things taught understandable. When you
believe what you hear, you store those things in a reference library
in your mind.
When you
have a question or a problem that needs solving, you can go to that
reference library and recall what you learned, and then you can apply
the necessary doctrine to the situation.
If you
are persistent in knowing and doing God's will, you will also begin to
build up a vocabulary that is Bible-oriented. (often, you will find
things to be contrary to what you believed before and/or learned from
your human resources, ie: the media, books, etc.) It will be up to you
to examine and sort this information correctly!
The
result of having a good reference library built up in your memory will
be your ability to put what you learn into specific categories. Then,
when you hear certain words, you will automatically refer to your
memory in that reference library, and you will be able to use the
information to help yourself as well as those who may come to you with
their questions, (I'm not talking about counseling, but instead, that
would be giving correct information which you have learned so that the
person needing help can decide for themselves about your advice)
The Lord
has given each one of us a conscience so we may make decisions about
whether or not something we think or do is right or wrong. God's Word
will convict us of wrong-doing so that we may confess it and move on.
(hopefully, we will not keep repeating the same sins over and over
again, because discipline will surely follow if we do!) Look at
Isaiah's word ... "And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee,
saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right
hand, and when ye turn to the left." (Isaiah 30:21)
Finally,
if you really want to be wise in everything you do, you will listen,
concentrate, learn, categorize, think and apply Bible Doctrine to
every situation in life!
WISDOM is
the application of Bible Doctrine to experience. Solomon was the
wisest man who ever lived. God gave him this great wisdom when Solomon
asked for guidance in ruling over Israel. (2 Chronicles 1:9-12)
Solomon
gave us some excellent advice in Proverbs 1:5 ... "A wise man will
hear and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall
attain unto wise counsels."
Also
Solomon said, "The fear of the Lord (ie: reverence for Him) is the
beginning of knowledge; but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
(Proverbs 1:7)
Jump to top
BIBLE
LESSON SIX
WHAT
MOTIVATES YOU?
When was
the last time you were really motivated and excited about doing
something? Maybe it was about taking a special vacation, going
anywhere you think might make you happy? Some people spend all their
lives in a FRANTIC SEARCH FOR HAPPINESS ... not that the things you
want are not legitimate, but if you are a Christian, you should have
certain priorities regarding finding what the Lord wants you to do. Of
course, don't neglect your family or your responsibilities to your
employer, etc., but you can always find time to do what you really
want to do, can't you? BE HONEST ABOUT IT ... MOST OF US ARE
NATURAL-BORN PROCRASTINATORS, AND WE KNOW IT!
Every
Christian knows he/she is told by Peter to: "Desire the sincere milk
of the Word, that ye may grow thereby." (1 Peter 2:2) Then Timothy
tells us to: "Study to show thyself approved unto God; a workman that
needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth. (2
Timothy 2:15) Did you notice that Timothy said "rightly dividing the
Word of Truth?" Anyone can take the Word of God and make it mean what
they want to have it say, but that only leads to a lot of confusion
... and what's even worse ... FALSE TEACHING. That's why we have so
many cults in the world today. Satan knows scripture too, and he
influences unbelievers as well as untaught believers about twisting
the scriptures to their liking!
Satan did
that when he tempted Jesus right after Jesus was identified with the
Father's plan for his 3-year ministry. In Matthew chapter 4 we have
the details of that temptation, and it is in three parts, (1) Jesus,
in perfect humanity, had gone without physical food for forty days.
God the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness where He would be
tempted (not tested, you understand), by Satan himself.
Wait ...
before we really study the discourse between Jesus and Satan, we must
understand that the word "IF" can mean four differerent things in the
Bible. Only understanding that principal can clarify the way Satan
used scripture in trying to get his way with Jesus. The four meanings
of the Word (if) are as follows:
(1) If ... and it's true
(a) Satan said, "If you are the Son of God ... "(and you
are)
(2) If ... and it is NOT true
(a) Satan said, "If you will fall down and worship me,
but you will not ..."
(3) If ... maybe "yes" and maybe "no"
(a) "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1
John 1:9)
(4) If ... a wish that it was so
(a) Paul told believers, "If you were suffering for
righteousness sake ..." (I wish you were, but you're not)
READY TO
TACKLE MATTHEW CHAPTER 4 and apply what we just said about the word
"IF"?
Satan
said to Jesus, "If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones
be turned into bread."
Jesus
answered with scripture and said, "It is written, Man shall not live
by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of
God". (Deuteronomy 8:3)
Next,
Satan said to Jesus, "If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down;
for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning thee;
and in their hands, they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou
dash thy foot against a stone." (Satan used scripture, but twisted the
word!)
Jesus
answered again with scripture, "It is written again, "Thou shalt not
tempt the Lord thy God."
Finally,
Satan misused scripture when he said as he took Jesus up to a high
mountain where they both could see all the kingdoms of the world, "All
these things will I give thee, If thou wilt fall down and worship me."
Jesus
ordered, "Get thee hence, Satan for it is written, "Thou shall worship
the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve."
All four
uses of the word (IF) are found in Matthew 4:1-11. Satan knows that
Jesus is the Son of God in perfect humanity. Satan thought he could
destroy Jesus if He jumped from a high place. Satan is now, at this
present time, ruler of the world, and his offer to give Jesus the
kingdoms of the world was LEGITIMATE! The last temptation is a kind of
combination of "maybe" and "wish", because Jesus had volition (a free
will) to do what the Devil asked him to do.
We are
also tempted as Christians, and 1 John 2:16 tells us clearly, "For all
that is in the world, the LUST OF THE FLESH, the LUST OF THE EYES, and
the PRIDE OF LIFE, is not of the Father, but is of the world." Satan
tempted Eve in the same way also. Examine Genesis 3:6 to see that Eve
hungered for the forbidden fruit, it was beautiful to look at, and she
believed the lie Satan told her that she would be as wise as God if
she ate the fruit of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
LET'S GET
BACK TO OUR ORIGINAL SUBJECT ... MOTIVATION. If you are a Christian,
you ought to want to please the Lord. If you don't, we have an
illustration that can be like a mirror to look into when we just plug
along not caring about God's plan and purpose for our lives. The
illustration is found in PROVERBS 24:30-32 (Use your imagination, and
think of yourself as a vineyard which the Lord planted ...)
"I went
by the field of the slothful, and the vineyard of the man void of
understanding. (no Bible Doctrine) And, lo it was all grown over with
thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall
was broken down. Then I saw, and considered it well; I looked upon it,
and received instruction".
Then the
next two verses in chapter 24 tell us what happens to the Christian
who let's the cares of this world, etc. overtake his thoughts and
actions. "Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of
the hands to sleep; So shall thy poverty come as one that traveleth,
and thy want as an armed man."
The
believer with no Bible Doctrine in the thinking part of his mind, will
be frantic under adverse situations. Remember, adversity is
inevitable, but stress is what we do to ourselves!
BIBLE
DOCTRINE which has been LEARNED, UNDERSTOOD, BELIEVED and APPLIED can
be used when we face any adversity in life!
We're
looking forward to seeing you on the Web again soon!!!
Jump to top
BIBLE
LESSON SEVEN
In
previous lessons we talked about the importance of being in fellowship
with the Lord. Remember, we must NAME our sins to Him! It is a PRIVATE
MATTER between you and the Lord!
Let's review the verse that best illustrates the principal: "If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) There are many
other verses in the Bible to illustrate that principle ... one of them
is Job's confession after he blamed God for his misfortune and
complained about it to his friends. His confession is found in Job
40:4 where he says, "Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I
will lay my hand upon my mouth." Then, after David's sin of adultery
with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband which followed, David
confessed those sins to the Lord, and tells us about it in Psalm
51:4: "Against Thee, Thee only have I sinned and done this evil in
thy sight ..."
Conviction of sin doesn't always come from our own conscience or
thought pattern where we have stored information regarding right and
wrong ... it comes from getting into contact with God's Word! The Lord
provided men with the gift of Pastor-teacher to study and give us the
Bible Doctrine we so desperately need ... then we can take the things
we've learned to the pages of scripture ourselves, where God the Holy
Spirit can speak to us as believers in fellowship with the Lord. He
then will point out our sins ... privately ... so we can confess them.
The prophet Isaiah tells us, "... this is the way; walk ye in it."
(Isaiah 30:21) Paul tells us in Colossians 2:6 & 7, "As ye have
therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. Rooted
and built up in Him, and established in the faith, as ye have been
taught; abounding therein with thanksgiving." We become believers
through faith, and we are to walk by faith! We must be ROOTED IN
BIBLE DOCTRINE, GROW SPIRITUALLY, and eventually become MATURE and
EFFECTIVE for the Lord while we are alive on this earth.
Well, we've seen how important confession of sin is by which to stay
in fellowship with the Lord. It is only then that we are TEACHABLE,
because God the Holy Spirit teaches our human spirit ... not our soul.
When we sin, we are quenching or grieving the Holy Spirit and we
cannot learn spiritual things.
Did
you know that right after a great spiritual victory we are most
vulnerable to defeat? One of the great Old Testament prophets. Elijah,
is a very good example to look at. Let's see what happened to him as
we look at the events of his victory and his failure.
Elijah is introduced to us as he was sent to minister to Israel in the
days when Ahab was king. Ahab was an apostate, carnal believer who had
married a beautiful woman by the name of Jezebel. She was the daughter
of the king of Tyre and Sidon. Jezebel had great influence over Ahab,
and because of that, he made very bad decisions which brought judgment
upon the nation of Israel. Jezebel brought her idolatrous practices to
Israel when she became queen, and she supported 450 prophets of the
idol Baal and 400 prophets of the Astarte. Through her influence over
Israel, Bible Doctrine was mixed with false, pagan doctrines which
engulfed the people of Israel in idolatry. DISCIPLINE UPON THE KING
AND THE ENTIRE NATION FOLLOWED.
A
judgment of no rain for a three-year period was the message which God
gave Elijah to take to king Ahab. After telling Ahab the bad news,
Elijah was told to keep out of Ahab's sight to save his own life.
During the time of drought and famine which followed, the Lord took
care of Elijah's every need.
At
the end of the three years, Elijah was told to go back again to Ahab
to announce that rain was on the way to relieve the land. However,
before that would happen, Ahab was told to gather the prophets of
Baal, the prophets of the groves where idols were worshipped, and then
to invite all the Israelites in the area to Mt Carmel where a
sacrifice would be made.
When the people were gathered together before Elijah, he said to them,
"How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow
Him; but if Baal is god, follow him." The people listened to his
words, but did not answer. Elijah went on speaking, "I, even I only,
remain a prophet of the Lord; but Baal's prophets are 450!
Next, Elijah told the people to bring two bullocks for the sacrifice.
The prophets of baal were to choose one for themselves to offer, and
he would take the other. They were instructed to build an alter of
wood on which to lay the offering, but put no fire under it ... then
the false prophets were to call upon Baal to accept their offering.
They did so, and then called upon Baal from morning to evening without
getting any response. In the middle of that day, Elijah mocked them
and said, "Cry aloud, for he is a god .. either he is talking, or
pursuing, or he is on vacation ... or maybe he's asleep and you have
to wake him." The prophets even cut themselves in an effort to please
Baal, but still no answer!
Then Elijah gathered the people to him. They watched while he
repaired the altar for the Lord which was broken down. He took twelve
stones ... one for each of the tribes of Israel ... and built an altar
in the name of the Lord. He made a trench around the altar which
would contain much water, placed wood on the altar, the pieces of the
bullock and ordered the people to fill four barrels of water to pour
into the trench as well as on the sacrifice itself. They did this
twice, and everything was saturated with water. Next, Elijah came near
to the altar and prayed aloud so that the onlookers could all hear
him. "Hear me, O Lord; hear me that this people may know that Thou art
the Lord God, and that Thou has turned their heart back again." When
he finished his prayer, the fire of the Lord fell upon the sacrifice
and consumed not only the animal, but the wood, the stones, the dust
and all the water that was in the trench! When the people saw that,
they fell on their faces and said, "The Lord, He is the God (the only
God)"
After that, Elijah commanded that they bring all of the prophets of
Baal before him, and the prophets were executed! Then Elijah turned
to Ahab and said, "Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of
abundance of rain." Ahab gathered his robes about himself and
high-tailed back to the palace to tell Jezebel about the events he had
witnessed.
Jezebel was furious to learn that her prophets were slain by Elijah,
and she sent a threatening note to Elijah. She could have sent an
assassin with a dagger to finish him off, but instead, she frightened
him with a note saying that by the next day he would be dead!
Well, our great, victorious Elijah ran for his life when he got that
message from Jezebel! He went a day's journey into the wilderness and
sat down under a tree where he asked the Lord to take his life ... it
just wasn't worth living anymore ... poor Elijah! well, the Lord gave
him food and rest and sent him on his way again. He spent forty days
and forty nights on the strength of that food, and then he found a
cave in which to hide. (He is fearful and not trusting the Lord ...
he's out of fellowship!) (Fear is a sin)
The
Lord spoke to Elijah in the cave and said, "...what doest thou here,
Elijah?" By Elijah's answer, we know he was completely centered on
himself and his problem when he said, "I have been very Zealous for
the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Thy
covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the
sword; and I, EVEN I ONLY, AM LEFT, AND THEY SEEK MY LIFE TO TAKE IT
AWAY!" Then the Lord told Elijah to look out of the opening of the
cave where he was hiding, and He sent a great wind that tore up the
mountains and broke rocks around him. After that, the Lord sent a
great earthquake, and followed it by fire to remind Elijah the LORD
GOD IS OMNIPOTENT. After all the noise which the wind, earthquake and
fire had made, God sent a STILL SMALL VOICE OF SILENCE. When that
happened, Elijah wrapped his mantle about his face, and he went to the
mouth of the cave to look out and see what was happening. God spoke
to him again and said, "What doest thou here, Elijah?" The same
answer containing all of the "I's" came back again. Then, because
Elijah wouldn't confess his sin of fear and not trusting the Lord, the
Lord said he would be replacing Elijah with another prophet ... Elijah
could no longer have the respect of the people when he failed to trust
the Lord! You can fill in all of the details to this story of Elijah
by reading 1 Kings chapters 17, 18 and 19. Also see Ahab's confession
in 1 Kings 21:27-29.
Elijah was still used by the Lord to some extent before he was taken
up in a chariot of fire in a whirlwind before the very eyes of Elisha
who was his replacement to minister to Israel. (2 Kings 2:11)
Elijah appeared with Jesus and Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration.
(Matthew 17:3) Again, he will appear with Moses as one of the two
witnesses in the first 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation. Revelation
11:3-12 give all the details of the event. Moses was the
representative of the LAW, and Elijah was the representative of the
PROPHETS ... the Law and the Prophets embrace the Old Testament
scriptures and present them to the Jews as a witness to the truth of
the Word of God.
Well, I trust you will read and digest all the information we have
briefly touched on in our study ... it is important to understand how
a great believer can fail ... we should profit from his mistake and
learn to trust the Lord in our problems.
Jump to top
BIBLE
LESSON EIGHT
THE
DOCTRINE OF HAMARTIOLOGY
Hamartiology is a theological word for SIN. The word hamartiology
comes from the Greek word HAMARTIA, which means to fall away or to
miss the mark. It embraces the fact that EVERYTHING which is contrary
to the expressed WILL OF GOD is SIN! Even though a sin is committed
against another person or people, it is primarily against the LORD!
King David said it beautifully in Psalm 51:4. This Psalm was written
after David confessed his sins of adultery with Bathsheba followed by
the murder of her husband to cover his sin of adultery. "AGAINST THEE,
THEE ONLY, HAVE I SINNED, AND DONE THIS EVIL IN THY SIGHT: THAT
(purpose of his confession) THOU MIGHTEST BE JUSTIFIED WHEN THOU
SPEAKEST, AND BE CLEAR WHEN THOU JUDGEST."
THERE
ARE 3 CATEGORIES OF SIN:
1. IMPUTED ... "Wherefore, as by one man (Adam), sin
entered into the world, and death (spiritual death) by sin; and so
death passed upon all men, for that ALL sinned." (because we are
Adam's seed) (Romans 5:12)
2. INHERENT ... "For all have sinned, and come short of
the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) (we sin because we have a nature to
sin)
3. PERSONAL ... "They are all gone of the way, they are
altogether become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good and
sinneth not." (Romans 3:12)
THERE
ARE 3 CATEGORIES OF PEOPLE:
1. GOOD ........ Moral, kind, good citizen, etc. (this kind
is hard to reach because he thinks he's okay)
2. BAD ............ This one knows he's bad, and is the
easiest to reach with the Gospel. (a good illustration of "bad" is in
the King James Bible: Acts 17:5, "But the Jews which believed not,
moved with envy, took unto them LEWD FELLOWS OF THE BASER SORT ..."
3. RELIGIOUS .. This kind of person is extremely difficult to
reach, because they are always busy doing good deeds in the name of
God.
Religion
is in contrast to Christianity, because religion attempts to please
God by their good works. Christianity is relationship with God through
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
About all
three of these categories of men, God says, "as a man thinketh in his
heart (mind), so is he." (Proverbs 23:7)
THERE
ARE 7 AREAS OF NOT THINKING GRACE: "...Galatians 6:1
1. SPIRIT OF PRIDE: Exalted feeling based on success
or position, good training, appearance, having a natural gift or
ability, and having inner feeling of self-importance.
2. HAVING A LOVE FOR HUMAN PRAISE: Secretly wanting to be noticed
or recoqnized by other Christians. Wanting supremacy drawing attention
to yourself with conversation, exhibitionism or trying to make
yourself look like a spiritual giant.
3. INTERACTION IN A GROUP: Showing anger or impatience with
people, being touchy and sensitive., having resentment and retaliate
when contradicted. Displaying jealousy, sour grapes attitude, being
envious , etc.
4. BEING VERY SELF_WILLED: Having a stubborn or unteachable
nature. Ready to be argumentative, a nit-picker, one who is critical,
and who wants to mind everyone else's business.
5. MAGNIFYING OTHERS FAULTS: Showing the faults and failing of
others while emphasizing your own virtues. Resenting it when others
succeed and prosper.
6. HAVING A NEGATIVE DISPOSITION: Being peevish,
fretful, wanting to be coaxed and honored. Being dishonest, deceitful,
showing discouragement when under pressure after failure. Trying to
solve your problems by hysteria and tantrums.
7. BEING APATHETIC: Being generally indifferent to Bible Study and
Bible Doctrine in particular.
THERE
ARE 7 SINS WHICH GOD HATES THE MOST ... Proverbs 6:16-19
1. "A proud look" ... comes through the eye-gate. A MENTAL SIN
2. "A lying tongue" ... being a habitual liar. SIN OF THE TONGUE
3. "Hands that shed innocent blood" ... MURDER (killing during war
is not murder!)
4. "A heart (mind) that deviseth wicked imaginations" ... a mind
that has jealousy; jealousy breeds suspicion; suspicion thinks the
worst about someone.
5. "Feet that be swift in running to mischief" ... going
around making trouble, mostly by use of the tongue.
6. "A false witness that speaketh lies" ... downgrading
someone to make yourself look good to other people.
7. "He that soweth discord among the brethren" ...
maligning someone; deliberately trying to separate one friend from
another.
SIN
UNTO DEATH:
Sin unto
death is no specific sin that a believer can commit, but it is a
PRINCIPLE. In short ... it is caused by CONTINUAL CARNALITY in the
believer's life! It is a sin which ignores GRACE, WARNING and
DISCIPLINE. It is also a sin which has maximum adverse effect on other
Christians.
CASE
HISTORIES OF THE SIN UNTO DEATH:
1. Corinthian incest ... 1 Corinthians 5:1-5
2. Lying to the Holy Spirit ... Acts 5:1-10
3. Persistent carnality at the Lord's Table ... 1
Corinthians 11:30,31
4. Disobedience to the Word of God ... 1 Chronicles
10:13,14; 1 Samuel 13:9-14.
(a) Saul had no business offering sacrifices.
He was King, not a priest. A priest didn't show up when Saul thought
he should, so Saul acted against the known will of God. Saul was told
to utterly destroy the Amalakites, but he didn't kill their king.
5. Being self-righteous and depending upon man instead
of God. (Isaiah 38 in the life of King Hezekiah.)
6. Turning apostate (standing off from the Word of God
and using human viewpoint instead of Divine Viewpoint! Numbers 31-8 in
the life of Balaam; 1 Timothy 1:19,20 in the lives of Hymenaeus and
Alexander.)
SOME OF
THESE SINS ARE OVERT AND SOME ARE MENTAL ATTITUDES. As you look at the
verses we've listed, see if you can distinguish one from the other,
and then consider what they mean and what you should avoid in your own
life.
That's it
... until we meet again, KEEP STUDYING THE WORD OF GOD!
Jump to top
BIBLE
LESSON NINE
Let's
take a close look at God today ... who is He and what is He like?
Since
time began, man has worshipped someone or something, because there is
something in man's nature which prompts him to some sort of faith or
worship.
Adam and
Eve taught their children how to worship the true God, but the boys
decided for themselves as to how they would worship. Abel sacrificed
a lamb in obedience to the acceptable sacrifice ordained by the Lord,
and it was pleasing to the Lord. Cain didn't obey God, and he brought
some beautiful produce he had grown as a sacrifice, God did not accept
Cain's offering, and when Cain saw that he was rejected and his
brother was accepted, he became angry and jealous with the result that
he murdered his brother Abel.
A great
many men and women through history have been murdered and martyred in
the name of RELIGION. Technically, religion is what man thinks will
please God ... it is by something he himself does. In contrast,
CHRISTIANITY is what God has done ... namely, Jesus Christ dying for
the sins of the world on Calvary's cross over 1900 years ago.
Let's
take a closer look at RELIGION. In a sense, it is IDOLATRY in which a
person gives outward religious service to an object or even to a
person.
In
idolatrous practices, people worship inanimate objects, such as
stones, trees, rivers, animals, the sun, moon, stars, fire, their
deceased ancestors, etc. All ancient civilizations, had their heathen
gods. The Egyptians worshipped many gods and portrayed them as a bird
or animal-headed Egyptian deity. The Canaanites were famous for their
worship of fertility and moral abandonment. Theirs was so degrading
that the Lord ordered the Israelites to kill every man, woman, child
and even their animals in order to prevent the spread of their evil
practices to Israel. Babylonia and Assyria worshipped the sun, moon,
fire, angels and fertility gods, All of those false gods had eyes,
but could not see; and they had ears, which could not hear.
In sharp
contrast, we have the ONLY TRUE GOD who has many attributes which we
need to look at and understand. They are as follows:
1.) God is the supreme ruler of the universe! Psalm 10:16 tells us,
"The Lord is KING forever and ever...."
2.) God's absolute RIGHTEOUSNESS and JUSTICE are synonymous with His
HOLINESS. 1 Samuel 2:2 says it this way, "There is none HOLY as the
Lord; for there is none beside thee."
3.) God's perfect LOVE is displayed to man on Calvary's cross where
Jesus Christ paid the penalty for the sins of the world. John 3:16
says it all: "For God so LOVED the world, that He sent His only
begotten SON, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but
have everlasting life."
4.) God is ETERNAL. He had no beginning, and He has no ending. In
Revelation 22:13 we read, "I am Alpha and Omega (the first and last
letters of the Greek alphabet), the beginning and the end, the first
and the last."
5.) God has perfect and complete KNOWLEDGE about anything and
everything in the universe. He is OMNISCIENT. In Proverbs 15:3 we
are told, "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil
and the good."
6.) God is all powerful. He is able to do anything and everything
that is in harmony with His wise and perfect nature. He is
OMNIPOTENT. Jeremiah 32:27 tells us, "Behold, I am the Lord, the God
of all flesh; is anything too hard for me?"
7.) God is everywhere. He alone is free from the laws of limitation
of space. He is OMNIPRESENT> David said in Psalm 139:7&8: "Whither
shall I go from Thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from Thy
presence? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there; if I make my
bed in the heart of the earth, behold Thou art there.
8.) God never changes. He is IMMUTABLE. Malachi said, "For I am
the Lord, I change not..." Malachi 3:6
9.) God is absolute TRUTH. That means He is VERACITY. Jesus told
some of his listeners,"...I am the way, the TRUTH and the Life; no man
cometh to the Father but by ME". John 14:6
Well, we
have had a brief look at the characteristics or attributes of God. If
you want to hear the Lord speak about Himself, read what He said to
Job in Job chapters 38, 39, 40 and 41. It is truly awesome and very
humbling for all believers.
End of
lesson nine Jump to top
BIBLE
LESSON TEN
Here's a
question I'd like you to think about ... if you had a party and had a
beautiful 4-tiered cake on the table, would you cut it for your
guests, or would you just have them dig in with their hands and get
what they could for themselves?
If you
said they should dig in with their hands, ...UGH...SHUDDER...THUD!
Well, I'm sure you didn't give that answer, but that's the way a lot
of people interpret the Bible ... no kidding!!!
We are
told in 2 Timothy 2:15 that we are to "Study to show thyself approved
unto God; a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly D I V D I
N G the Word of Truth," What does DIVIDING mean? Well, the writer of
Hebrews explains it this way ... "God who at sundry times, and in
divers manners spake in time past ... "(Hebrews 1:1) In the original
Greek language the "sundry times and diverse manners" means BY MANY
PORTIONS. The "many portions" are called DISPENSATIONS by
theologians.
From the
time of Adam and Eve until we meet a Chaldean Gentile by the name of
Abram, we have the AGE OF THE GENTILES. There was a specific time
period given to that particular DISPENSATION. Then, Abram, who was a
Gentile, became the first Jew through obedience to the Lord. The Lord
told Abram that he would be the father of a new race of people called
the Jews, and He also told Abram how much time those people would have
on the earth to represent Him to the world. Here is how the Lord
explained it to Abram: "And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep
fell upon Abram, and lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
(he had a nightmare!) And He (the Lord) said to Abram, "Know of a
surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs,
and they shall serve them, and they shall afflict them for
four-hundred years. And also, that nation whom they shall serve, will
I judge. Afterward, shall they come out with great substance, and
thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace! Thou shalt be buried in a good
old age. But in the fourth generation, they shall come hither again;
for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full." (before the people
would be brought back to the land which God promised to them, certain
people had to reach total depravity and be eliminated)
God had
promised Abram a son, but when Abram was 99 years old and sexually
dead, he still had no son by his wife Sarah. Of course she had passed
the child-bearing age too. Finally, Abram believed that what God
promised, He was able to do ... it was then that God changed his name
to Abraham, which means in the Hebrew language, "Father of many
nations." Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah
The Lord
promised the Jews that they would have 490 years to be His
representative nation on the earth. That period of time is called the
AGE OF THE JEWS. It includes the 33 years when Jesus Christ, in
perfect humanity as the God-man, ministered on this earth.
Theologians call that "THE HYPOSTATIC UNION" ... ie: God and man in
one Person forever.
When the
Jews rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah, God cut their 490 years
short by seven years. That 7-year period is know as the TRIBULATION,
and it will follow the CHURCH AGE in which we now live.
The
Church Age was a mystery to the Old Testament prophets. They saw the
CROSS (read Isaiah 55); they saw the TRIBULATION (read Isaiah 34); and
they saw the KINGDOM, or MILLENIUM. (read Isaiah 35)
The Lord
did not give a specific period of time to the CHURCH. Only the Lord
Himself knows when it will end, but we are told what will happen when
it does come to an end. I Thessalonians 4:13-18 gives us the
picture: "But I would not have you to be ignorant, Brethren,
concerning them which are asleep (death is temporary for the
believer), that ye sorrow not, even as others who have no hope. For
if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which
sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by
the Word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the
coming of the Lord shall not prevent (preceed) them which are asleep.
For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, and with
the trump of god, and the dead in Christ (believers who died during
the Church Age) shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord
in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort
one another with these words." Then in 1 Corinthians, Paul said,
"Behold, I show you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, but we shall
all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruption (our
physical bodies) must put on incorruption (resurrection bodies), and
this mortal must put on immortality." 1Cor 15:51-53
There is
only one Person in the universe who has a resurrection body, and that
belongs to Jesus Christ. (Many people were raised from the dead, but
it was not resurrection ... it was rescussitation) Jesus Christ, in a
resurrection body, is now seated in the 3rd heaven (beyond our
atmosphere and beyond outer space) where He is waiting for the time
when He will meet the Church Age believers in the air and take them,
in resurrection bodies, to heaven. Theologians call that event "THE
RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH". When the RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH takes place,
the Church Age will come to an end, and the age of the Jews will
resume right where it was cut off after the death, burial,
resurrection and ascention of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let me
give you a simple little illustration I like to use...it is something
almost everyone understands. In a football game, time is very
important while the game is in progress. In Bowl games especially, a
lot happens during the half-time period when the clock has been
stopped temporarily. When the game begins again, time is
all-important, and the players come back on the field to resume the
game. Eventually, the game comes to an end. The Church Age
interrupts the Age of the Jews in a similar way.
The
TRIBULATION period of 7 years will complete the 490 years which were
promised to the Jews. While the Jews are on the earth during that
seven years, the Church Age believers will be evaluated and then
rewarded accordingly at the JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST.
The
TRIBULATION will begin with only unbelievers, but many of them will
find Jesus Christ as their Saviour shortly after the RAPTURE, because
the Gospel was given to them during the Church Age. The 7 years is
divided by 3 1/2 years of peace, and 3 1/2 years of the worst
bloodshed the world has ever known.
During
the first 3 1/2 peaceful years, the nations which were part of the old
Roman Empire will again be cooperating with each other. From that
federation of nations, a man will become so powerful and well-received
that he will become a world dictator. He will deceive the people ...
especially the Jews ... and the Jews will accept him as their Messiah.
In the
last 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation, we will see how Satanic influence
will bring the kings of the NORTH, WEST< EAST and SOUTH together to
join forces and descend upon Israel to destroy that nation. The Lord
Himself will return to stop the horrible bloodshed which is the result
of the BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON. Theologians have a name for Christ's
return to the earth ... it is called "THE DAY OF THE LORD, or THE
SECOND ADVENT".
In the
middle of the TRIBULATION, that dictator, who is called in scripture
by several names including "THE BEAST", will place a statue of himself
in the new temple in Jerusalem which was built during the first 3 1/2
year period. When the Jews see that statue in their temple, they will
realize that they have been deceived ... the statue is called, "THE
ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION" in the Bible. The Lord has given
instructions in His Word through Old Testament prophecies, to run and
hide from their enemies. The Lord also chose 7,000 Jewish
evangelists, who have been instructed to preach the Gospel under very
adverse circumstances, and they will be martyred.
When the
Lord comes back to the earth, He will descend upon the Mount of Olives
from which He ascended nineteen hundred years ago. He will put Satan
and his angels (demons) in a pit where they will be locked up for
1,000 years while Jesus Christ reigns as absolute monarch on the
earth. It will be a time of perfect environment and perfect justice.
During the 1,000 years, children will be born, and there will be no
death except where capital punishment is involved. Most of the
children will reject Jesus Christ as their substitute for sin, even
though they saw Him ruling in perfect environment. The all-important
lesson for us to learn through that testing period is that IT ISN'T
SATAN OR HIS DEMONS WHO CAUSE US TO BE NEGATIVE TOWARD GOD ... MAN'S
WORST ENEMY IS HIS OLD SIN NATURE!!!
At the
end of the MILLENNIUM, Satan and his demons will be released from
their imprisonment in order to temp those people who had not made a
decision to accept Jesus Christ as their substitute for sin. After
that, Satan and his angels will be thrown into the LAKE OF FIRE which
was prepared for them.
Then God
will judge all unbelievers of all the ages at what is called "THE
GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT. He will judge them "according to their
works" The apostle John, the human author of the book of Revelation,
was on the Island of Patmose where the Lord told him what to write
about the last days of mankind on the earth. He tells us in
Revelation 20:11-15: "And I saw a great white throne, and Him that
sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaved fled away; and
there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and
great, stand before God; and the books were opened. (the 'dead' refer
to all people who rejected Christ as their Saviour at
God-consciousness, and again at Gospel hearing) John goes on to say,
"And another book was opened, which is the BOOK OF LIFE, and the dead
were judged out of those things which were written in the books,
according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in
it, and death and hell (which is hades in the hearth of the earth)
gave up the dead which were in them, and they were judged, every man
according to his works. And death and hell were cast into the Lake of
Fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written
in the Book of Life, was cast into the Lake of Fire.
Everyone's name is placed into the Book of Life when they are born
physically. The only people who are not responsible for their
decision regarding Jesus Christ are those who never mentally reach
ACCOUNTABILITY... they are automatically saved because God is perfect
JUSTICE. All responsible unbelievers who stand in a resurrection body
at the last judgment will be shown where their name was written in the
Book of Life when they were born, and they will see that their name
was BLOTTED OUT and written in the BOOK OF WORKS. Human works are NOT
acceptable to the Lord, so, because they rejected Jesus Christ as
their Saviour, they will stand on their own good works. Their
judgment will be to join Satan and his angels in the Lake of Fire and
share his eternal death.
ETERNAL
LIFE comes only by believing in the work of Jesus Christ, dying on the
cross for your sins ... THERE IS NO OTHER WAY!!!.
What we
have covered here on the subject of DISPENSATIONS is actually very
brief. If you want a more detailed study of this all-important study,
contact us, and you will be given information on how you can get a
more in-depth study.
Jump to top
BIBLE
LESSON ELEVEN
Recently,
a question came from one of our viewers regarding the subject, THE
FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT, so here are some thoughts and words on that
important subject.
The Bible
teaches us in Romans 12:2, "And be not conformed to this world, but be
ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is
good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God."
Renewing
your mind comes by way of LISTENING , CONCENTRATING, UNDERSTANDING,
BELIEVING and APPLYING (which is doing) what God's Word teaches. If
we refuse to follow those steps and go our own way, we will spend our
time here on earth in self-absorption, which is CARNALITY. When a
believer is out of fellowship (carnal) he cannot be distinguished from
an unbeliever, because his sin nature is in control of his thoughts
and actions. Our sin nature is not in control of our life when we are
in fellowship with the Lord, but instead, the Holy Spirit controls our
lives and the production of the Holy Spirit can be seen as a result.
The apostle Paul calls that production, THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT. The
fruit which is produced is Love, Joy, Peace, Long-suffering,
Gentleness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Meekness and Self-Control.
Jesus
Christ, in perfect humanity, was filled with the Holy Spirit at all
times, and the fruit of the Spirit was evident in His life
continually. When He was still on this earth, Jesus told His
disciples that the Father would send the Comforter (the Holy Spirit)
to indwell them after He left the earth. That took place 70 days
after Jesus died, was buried, resurrected and ascended into heaven.
Now, the Holy Spirit comes to indwell every Christian in this
Church-Age at the moment he/she believes in Jesus Christ as their
Saviour. He cannot be taken away from us, however, He can be quenched
or grieved by our sinful thoughts and actions.
Before
the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was given only to a few
believers for special service. The Holy Spirit would come upon some
designated people like Samson. King Saul, King David, the prophets,
etc. That was called ENDUEMENT, and He could be taken away because of
carnality.
We can
all understand familiar, physical illustrations, and the Bible gives
us those illustrations to teach us spiritual truths. For example:
Fruit is the production of a good, well-cared-for tree. So is a
Christian's production pleasing to God when he is in fellowship with
the Lord, because the Holy Spirit is doing the producing. It is not
what you and I can do that is pleasing to the Lord!! Remember, Satan
is a great immitator, and he can make people do things that look like
the fruit of the Spirit in order to distract and confuse the
onlookers.
Let's
contrast the FRUIT of the SPIRIT with the production of the Old Sin
Nature. We are told in Galatians 5:19-21 that when we, as Christians,
are out of fellowship with God because we have known sin in our life
and we do not confess that sin to the Lord, certain things can be
produced in our lives by the Old Sin Nature control of our life. The
evidence of that is as follows:
Adultery
and fornication, which are unrestrained sexual desires and activities
contrary to the will of God; uncleanness and lasciviousness, which are
considered to be immoral acts in general; Idolatry, which is making
someone or something more important to the Christian than the Lord;
witchcraft, which is addiction to anything; hatred; variance, which is
to always be disagreeable; emulations, which is making yourself look
better than someone else to call attention to yourself; wrath, which
is fierce anger; strife, which is to be argumentative; seditions,
which means to stir up trouble against any lawful authority; heresies,
which is to hold an opinion or doctrine which is contrary to God's
truth; envyings; murders; drunkenness; and revellings, which means to
take great pleasure in wild riotous living.
All those
we mentioned are the production of our sinful natures, and it
certainly isn't an attractive picture for anyone to look at!!!
The Holy
Spirit's production is in sharp contrast ... it is definitely not of
our doing!!! Let's take the characteristics which can be evident in
our lives when we are in fellowship with the Lord. Notice, all of the
components make up ONE FRUIT ... IT IS A PACKAGE with all of the
following things evident as we need to use them:
LOVE............................having a relaxed mental attitude
toward all people; having no malice, hatred, envy, jealousy, etc.
toward anyone
JOY...............................having inner happiness, regardless
of outer circumstances
PEACE..........................having inner peace of mind, free from
worry and anxiety
LONG_SUFFERING.....having patience, even when people abuse us
GENTLENESS..............showing kindness toward everyone, whether they
deserve it or not in our estimation
FAITHFULNESS...........being loyal and dependable at all times
MEEKNESS...................having true humility ... knowing who and
what we are, and knowing Who and What the Lord is
SELF-CONTROL..........being in charge of ones desires, acts and
emotions
Let's
learn to keep "short accounts" with God by confessing our sins as soon
as we're aware of them. Only then are we in fellowship with the Lord,
and only then can the Holy Spirit produce the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT in
our lives. David understood that the Lord would not restore
fellowship with him until he confessed his sins. Psalm 66:18, "If I
regard iniquity in my hearth, the Lord will not hear me."
Jump to top
BIBLE
LESSON TWELVE
A.
"THINKING"
In
many ways, thinking for ourselves is a rather foreign word in our
vocabularies these days. With the mass media constantly telling us
what to think, and the new technology we have doing much of our
thinking for us, where we used to rely on our own skills, is it any
wonder that we don't put our brains to the best possible use?
Have
you ever sincerely thought about why you are here? Well, God's Word
tells us we are here to make a decision regarding the Lord Jesus
Christ during our lifetime. John 3:36 says, "He that believeth on the
Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not
see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him."
When
Adam disobeyed God, his human spirit died, and he lost his fellowship
with the Lord. At that time, he received a sin nature. We are the
descendants of Adam, and when we are born, we have a body and soul.
The body has a sin nature within it which was passed down to us from
Adam.
If
we put our faith in the work of Jesus Christ dying on the cross for
our sins, we are said to be born-again, and our dormant human spirit
is activated by God the Holy Spirit. Then we can have fellowship with
God and begin to understand spiritual things.
The
apostle Peter said, "Being born-again, not of corruptible seed, but of
incorruptible; by the Word of God, which lived and abideth forever."
(1 Peter 1:23)
After the new birth, we are babies, and we must grow spiritually just
as a human baby grows physically. We do that by taking in God's Word
... learning basic things and eventually being able to understand more
complex doctrines in the Bible.
Peter gives us more good advice in 1 Peter 2:2, "As newborn babes,
desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby." We
must learn Bible Doctrine ... not someone's own application or
thoughts ABOUT the scriptures!
What
is DOCTRINE? The word doctrine means teaching. Bible Doctrine is
teaching what the Bible says about specific subjects from Genesis to
Revelation. After we do that, we can come up with a correct
conclusion about each of those subjects. Then we will have God's
viewpoint. When we understand Divine Viewpoint, our lives should
improve, and our problems can be handled by applying the doctrine we
have learned.
Next
... how do we learn Bible Doctrine? We live in the Church Age, and
God has Given the gift of Pastor-Teacher to certain prepared men who
can give believers the tools with which to study and learn Bible
Doctrine. The Lord will guide you into the place where you can get
good teaching, so be patient!
B.
"STUDY"
Next, the question often comes from believers ... "Why should I study
the Bible? Timothy answers that question by the following answer:
"Study to show thyself approved unto God; a workman that needeth not
to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15)
Also, David gives us another reason to study in Psalm 119:11: "Thy
Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee."
We
grow up spiritually by learning to think the way God thinks! The
Bible is the mind of Christ. The apostle Paul explains it this way in
1 Corinthians 2:16: "... for who hath known the mind of the Lord, that
he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ."
Let's start by applying some principles. (1) you must DESIRE to be
taught, (2) you must be WILLING to listen and concentrate on the
things which are taught (3) when you UNDERSTAND and BELIEVE what is
taught correctly, you will be THINKING about the things you have
learned and (4) thinking should result in APPLYING what is learned to
your life every day. When you learn, think and apply Bible Doctrine,
you become your own counselor, and you will be able to solve your own
problems by applying and using that knowledge for yourself. Then you
will find God's plan for your life! The Holy Spirit convicts us
through His Word so we may live our lives to please the Lord!
Once
you have made the important decision to listen to good teaching and
learn Bible Doctrine, you must make it a priority in your life. You
will receive some opposition from people who are afraid you are
getting spiritual indigestion. The Lord will test you to see if you
really are serious. Good and legitimate activities will attempt to
take most of your free time. However, you must not neglect your
family, because that is your responsibility, but you can find time to
study if you want to!
Divine guidance is promised for the believer in Psalm 32:8:, "I will
instruct thee and teach thee in the way that thou shall go; I will
guide thee with mine eye." To find God's will for you, you must
understand that God has three wills which are: (1) directive will, (2)
permissive will and (3) overruling will. All three of these are
illustrated beautifully in the life of a man by the name of Balaam.
You can read all of the details in Numbers chapters 22, 23, 24.
C.
"FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD"
Now
that you are a Christian, you are in two places at the same time.
That's right! The moment you believed in Christ, the Holy Spirit
placed you into union with Christ. You share His destiny and His
eternal life. No one can ever change that! Jesus makes it very clear
in John 10:28: "I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never
perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." You also
are still in a physical body, and you have a sin nature to deal with
every day. When we are out of fellowship with the Lord through acts
of personal sin, we are called "carnal" in the scriptures. When we
are carnal, we grieve the Holy Spirit, and God the Father is not happy
with us.
God
has a perfect solution for restoring our fellowship with Him when we
admit our sins to Him. 1 John 1:9 explains it this way, "If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." God wants us to NAME our
sins to Him, and when we do, we are forgiven immediately! We must
learn to keep SHORT ACCOUNTS with the Lord by confessing our known
sins right away. He forgives that sin, and He also cleanses us from
all of the unknown sins in our life. David prayed, "Who can
understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults." (Psalm
19:12)
God
called David "a man after My own heart" in 1 Samuel 13:14. Do you
think that was because David never sinned? NO! David certainly
committed some capital sins when he was king of Israel. What made him
so great was the fact that David confessed his sins and took full
responsibility for his actions!
One
time when David got out of fellowship with the Lord, he was not in the
place where the Lord wanted him to be. He should have been on the
battlefield with his troops. Instead, David sent his general and the
army to the battle while he stayed home and pampered himself. He
slept most of the day, and when he got up from his bed, David took a
stroll through his garden on the roof of the palace. From that
vantage point. David observed a beautiful woman bathing on her
rooftop nearby. He inquired as to who she was, and then David sent
for her. He committed adultery with the woman, whose name was
Bathsheba, and then he apparently forgot about the incident. Awhile
later, Bathsheba sent word to David telling him that she was carrying
his child. David was afraid of the embarrassment that would follow if
he did nothing about it, so he sent for her husband, Uriah, who was an
officer in the army, and brought Uriah home from the battle. David
wanted Uriah to spend time with his wife in order to cover David's sin
of adultery. Uriah refused to go to his house, so David arranged to
have him set in the front line of battle SO THAT HE WOULD BE KILLED.
That was a very clear command in 2 Samuel 11:14,15. Sounds like
murder, doesn't it? After Uriah was killed in battle, David took
Bathsheba to be his wife, and the child was born. David stayed out of
fellowship and he refused to confess those sins for nearly a year ...
he was in the process of dying when the Lord graciously sent Nathan,
the prophet, to David with a story to illustrate how wrong he was.
The details of this part of David's life are found in 2 Samuel
chapters 11 and 12.
David's confession is found in Psalm 51:4 when He said to the Lord,
"Against thee, and thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy
sight; that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be
clear when thou judgest." David knew that all sin is primarily
against the Lord, and we must also understand that very important
principle!
David was forgiven as soon as he confessed his sins, but there was a
four-fold discipline which followed. We also are forgiven when we
confess our sins, but we don't get away with sin!
D.
"BIBLE READING"
Where should you begin reading in your Bible? Certainly not with the
book of Revelation ... that seems to be where most Christians want to
begin, because they are naturally curious about the future. Remember
that Revelation is the LAST book in the Bible ... sixty-five other
books precede it, and unless you have a thorough understanding of the
Old Testament scriptures, you will only be confused by the contents of
the book of Revelation.
Well, you should begin to read the Bible just as you would read any
other book ... you start at the beginning! When you do that, you will
be able to get the "big picture" and just some scattered information
here and there. You won't understand a lot of what you read, but keep
reading anyway! Now and then there will be a glimmer of light!
There are many promises to be found as you read the scriptures, and
they are intended primarily for a particular person or group of
people. However, you can still get some application from those
promises for yourself. For example: At the Red Sea incident the
Egyptians were in hot pursuit of the Children of Israel after they
were freed from their four-hundred years of bondage in Egypt. The
Israelites were frightened out of their wits, but Moses said, "Stand
still, and see the salvation of the lord, He will show you today; for
the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more
forever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace."
(Exodus 14:13,14) It is very obvious that those words were for the
Israelites who were with Moses, but you can claim that promise when
you have a serious problem which you can't handle!
As
you read your Bible, you will also see how the Lord sometimes gives a
complete picture of an event, and then He goes back to the beginning
of that same event and fills in the details. Perhaps you have told a
story to someone in that same way ... I know I have done that many
times!
Many
Christians concentrate on Psalms or some other favorite book in the
Bible that they personally enjoy, but I have noted that those
believers never really get the full scope of what God wants them to
know. Please avoid that trap!
One
more warning ... there are many books available which were written by
sincere and well-meaning people who talk about their own ideas about
the Bible teaches without basing those ideas on solid Biblical
doctrine. What they say may be an emotional stimulant, but that
doesn't help you grow spiritually. God gave us emotions so we can
appreciate things like good music, etc. but what we really need in
order to put solid meat on our spiritual bones is a correct
interpretation of scripture, Then we will know what God wants to say
to us, and the Holy Spirit can teach our human spirit the things which
affect us personally and privately as we absorb and categorize the
Word of God.
E.
BIBLE DOCTRINE
Another question you may ask is, "What happens to the Bible Doctrine
I'm learning?" You will begin to store Biblical information in a
special compartment in your mind, where it can be made available to
you when you need it. Next, you will begin to put various subjects
into categories. One example of that might be to answer the question,
"What does the Bible say about the subject of death?" You will learn
that there are seven different kinds of death listed in the
scriptures, and they are:
(1) physical death (Philippians 1:21; 2 Corinthians 5:8)
(2) spiritual death (Ephesians 2:1 Romans 5:12)
(3) second death (Revelation 20:14)
(4) position death (Romans 6:1-14; Colossians 2:13, 3:13)
(5) temporal death (Romans 8:6, 13; Ephesians 5:14; 1 Timothy
5:6, James 1:15; 1 John 3:14
(6) operational death (James 2:26)
(7) sexual death (Romans 4:17-21; Hebrews 11:12)
When you
have learned those things about the subject of death, you can identify
them as you read your Bible, and it will make good sense to you. You
can do that with many other major doctrines in the scriptures, and it
will keep you from mistranslating and being confused.
While you are maturing as a Christian by getting Bible Doctrine in
your mind daily, you will build a "self-portrait" of yourself. You
can study that portrait regularly and see that you can refer to it
when you have a question. Also it will be in your memory and your
vocabulary as well as separated into categories. You will learn how
to identify sins so you can confess them to the Lord and stay in
fellowship, and last of all, you will apply Bible Doctrine to your
experiences in life, and that will make you wise in the eyes of God.
I
trust that the things we have examined in this brief study of Bible
Doctrine will help you grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Jump to top
BIBLE LESSON THIRTEEN
Let's look at some of Satan's strategies in our lesson today and see
how God looks at various situations that take place in our universe.
Satan, the Devil, hates mankind, and one of his objectives is to
confound and confuse our thinking and try to make us believe that all
problems in the world can be solved by man's efforts.
ENVIRONMENT is a topic of interest to many people these days. The
dictionary says that environment involves those things which surround
and influence the circumstances in which we live. Everyone wants to
find perfect environment. Many people believe that all man's problems
could be solved if we create such an atmosphere through man's own
efforts. That kind of thinking is just human viewpoint ... it will
not be done by any action of man! God is the creator of all things,
and He alone is the ultimate source of all climatic changes and
disasters that occur in the universe. He has a purpose for every
tornado, hurricane, earthquake, etc. Sometimes, these disasters are
just a warning, and other times they are used by the Lord as a
disciplinary action.
The
Bible tells us of two instances when perfect environment is on the
earth. Satan successfully deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden. The
second time will be a future occasion when Satan will be released from
the bottomless pit where he is incarcerated for 1,000 years, and he
will be allowed to invade that perfect environment for a short time
before his final judgment is carried out.
Sadly, even in perfect environment, man decided and will decide to
listen to satanic lies and rebel against God! All of this proves that
man's worst enemy is not the Devil after all ... man's worst enemy is
his own sinful nature!
If
you are a Christian, you have found the peace of God that passes all
understanding (Philippians 4:7) If you have not believed in the Lord
Jesus Christ, you cannot find perfect environment or peace, regardless
of how hard you try, so don't put it off any longer..."BELIEVE ON THE
LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED". (Acts 16:31)
Here's another example of Satanic deception... PEACE. Man has been
unsuccessful in making peace that lasts for any length of time,
because people have a sin nature which motivates their power lust to
conquer and control others. In Isaiah 48:22, God tells us, "THERE IS
NO PEACE, SAITH THE LORD, UNTO THE WICKED." Also, Jeremiah 17:9
reminds us that "The heart is deceitful above all things and
desperately wicked; who can know it?" Psalm 14:1 shows us God's
viewpoint of sinful, unregenerate mankind..."THE FOOL HATH SAID IN HIS
HEART, THERE IS NO GOD. They are corrupt. They have done abominable
works. There is none that doeth good." Again, the only lasting peace
is the peace which God gives to those who trust in the work of Jesus
Christ dying for our sins on the cross. Only then can we have the
inner peace which Isaiah tells us about ... "Thou wilt keep him in
perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee." (Isaiah 26:3)
Another idea which Satan promotes as good is ECCUMENICALISM, or a
world church. You might ask ... why not have one church? Can't we
all cooperate with one another since we all have faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ? The answer is NO! That can never work satisfactorily,
because we would have to compromise important doctrinal issues. The
Lord tells us we are not to CHANGE everyone or force our beliefs on
others, but we are told to SEPARATE from Christians who hold, as
truth, doctrines which are contrary to sound Biblical teaching! We
are admonished to not cooperate with some, as the apostle Paul says in
Romans 16:17..."NOW I BESEECH YOU, BRETHREN, BEWARE OF THEM WHICH
CAUSE DIVISIONS AND OFFENSES CONTRARY TO THE DOCTRINE WHICH YE HAVE
LEARNED, AND AVOID THEM." Also, Titus 3:10 says we must reject those
who promote heresy and will not be corrected. Heresy is a departure
from revealed truth which is found in the scriptures. The only way to
identify heresy is to know the doctrines of God's Word so well that
you are able to discern between TRUTH and HERESY< which is false
doctrine.
SOCIALISM is another one of Satan's ideas. It teaches that people can
be equal by way of robbing the "have's" and giving it to the
"have-nots". Jesus told us that the poor will ALWAYS BE WITH US!
(Matthew 26:11) When you take away from achievers and give it to
those who don't try to help themselves, you destroy the will of people
to better themselves. When you take away free enterprise, everything
and everybody has to depend upon big government for their needs. The
result is loss of freedom! If a person disagrees with a Socialist
state, he is imprisoned or fined and sometimes executed. In other
words, the idea that "if you can get members of the human race in
proper adjustment to other members of the human race, all problems can
be solved," IS THE SOCIAL GOSPEL, and it is being permeated in many
areas in which we are involved. This is NOT the plan of God!
Revelation 12:9 says that Satan deceives the entire world! Now he is
in the process of doing that, and his deception is aimed at the four
Divine Institutions, which are: VOLITION, MARRIAGE, FAMILY and
NATIONALISM. God has divided the human race into national entities by
race, language and geographical location, because He knows it is the
only way the human race can survive!
Satan promotes and loves INTERNATIONALISM! Internationalism WILL
become a reality during the 7-year Tribulation period that will
immediately follow the Church Age in which we now live. God the Holy
Spirit will NOT be indwelling or influencing people who are living at
that time, so Satan will have no resistance against his plan for
Internationalism, except that he is still only a creature, and he is
in subjection to God who created him. God's PERMISSIVE WILL will
allow Satan to carry out his plan.
Satan will indwell and control a man who will appear on the world
scene at the beginning of the Tribulation, and he will deceive the
nations by way of 3 1/2 years of peace. Eccumenical religion will
also be in full sway during those years. In the middle of the
Tribulation, Satan's man will put a statue of himself in the new
temple which will be built in Jerusalem. Then he will destroy the
religious system and demand that everyone worship his image! Daniel
was told in Daniel chapters 7 through 12, about the things that will
occur under the rulership of Satan's man. It was so terrible and
frightening to him that Daniel 8:27 tells us that Daniel fainted and
was ill for days when he was given the details. Also, Daniel 10:15
says he was so shocked, he couldn't speak for awhile!
Satan's man is called "the man of sin" in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, and he
is also called "the Anti-Christ" (1 John 2:22) and the "Beast"
(Revelation 20:10) He is definitely indwelt and empowered by Satan,
and some Bible scholars believe he is actually the Devil incarnate.
The
Anti-Christ will force everyone to wear a stamp on their hands or
foreheads in order to identify them with his kingdom. No one will be
able to buy food or clothing without the "mark of the Beast".
(Revelation 13:16)
The
final 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation will find the world involved in
the worst and bloodiest war in the history of mankind. The final
battle is called "THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON" (Revelation 16:16)
To
stop the bloodshed and set up His own righteous kingdom, Jesus Christ
will return to the Mount of Olives ... the spot from which He ascended
over 1900 years ago, and the battle of Armageddon will end. Jesus
Christ will put Satan and his demons into a bottomless pit, where they
will remain during the Millennial reign of Christ, and after that he
will be released one more time in order to tempt those who are born
during the Millennium. After that, he will be cast into the Lake of
Fire...his final judgment!
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BIBLE LESSON FOURTEEN
RESPONSIBILITY
"IT'S NOT MY FAULT!" How many times have you heard that excuse?
We've all taken that position ourselves ... especially when we were
little children and used it as a defense mechanism to avoid some kind
of reprimand or discipline. Then, hopefully, we learned through the
years to take responsibility for our own actions and faced the
consequences or discipline which we deserved! No one can really be a
mature individual until he or she is willing to take RESPONSIBILITY
for wrong actions or words and shed that childish attitude!
In
our lesson today, we are going to examine the subject of PERSONAL
RESPONSIBILITY, and we will consider the results of rejecting it and
blaming others for our words and actions.
It
all started in the human race with an act of disobedience to God's
directive will regarding Adam and his wife when God told them not to
eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eve was deceived
by Satan who indwelt the serpent, and she took of the fruit of that
tree. Then Adam deliberately disobeyed God's Word, and they both
received a sin-nature with a conscience to know the difference between
good and evil. They lost their perfect relationship with the Lord and
tried to hide from Him. They covered themselves with fig leaves,
because the covering of light which they had in innocence was no
longer covering their nakedness.
The
LORD GOD came to them in the garden, and then He questioned Adam
regarding his disobedience. Well, Adam wasn't about to take the full
responsibility, so he first blamed God, and then he blamed the woman
which God gave to him! (Genesis 3:10-12) "And he said, I heard Thy
voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid
myself." Then the Lord said, "Who told thee that thou wasT naked?
Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee not to eat? Adam
now shifts the blame, and he answers, "The woman which Thou gavest to
be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat."
After hearing Adam's defense, the Lord turned to the woman, and she
also was unwilling to accept the responsibility for her disobedience,
and she blamed the serpent! (Genesis 3:13)
God
is perfect Justice, and after hearing their explanations, He drove
them out of that perfect environment. He placed Cherubim and a
flaming sword at the gate of the Garden of Eden to guard it from all
approaches so that Adam and Eve would not be able to eat of the TREE
of LIFE which is in the middle of the Garden of Eden and remain
forever in their sinful state.
The
fig leaves with which the man and woman covered themselves were of
their own design, and it was not acceptable to the Lord. He covered
them with coats of skin, and He taught them that an innocent
substitute had to die in order for them to be acceptable. Through
that visual training-aid, Old Testament believers looked forward to
the cross on which an innocent substitute ... Jesus Christ ... would
pay the penalty for their sins.
The
Bible gives us a number of interesting examples regarding
RESPONSIBILITY, so let's look at a few of them. Exodus chapter 32
tells us about an incident regarding Aaron, and how he shirked his
responsibility to be in complete charge of the people while Moses went
up into Mt. Horeb to be instructed by the Lord. The people became
very restless after waiting many days for Moses to return, and they
demanded that Aaron make them a god that they could worship. (in
slavery the Israelites had observed the Egyptian worship of a golden
calf). After much pressure by the people, Aaron agreed to do it. Now
Aaron had learned to use an engraving tool when he was in Egypt, and
he told the people to bring their golden earrings, bracelets and any
other gold they had, to him. He took the gold, and after melting it,
he fashioned a golden calf with his engraving tool.
The
people were carrying on all of the idolatrous activities which were
connected with the worship of that idol, and Moses suddenly returned
to find them debasing themselves. Moses was very angry with the
people, and he questioned Aaron, whom he had left in charge. Aaron's
defense of himself shows us his IRRESPONSIBILITY! Exodus 32;21-24
tells us his answer: "And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people
unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?" Aaron
replied, "Let not the anger of my lord wax hot! Thou knowest the
people, that they are set on mischief! For they said unto me. Make
us gods which shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who
brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don't know what has become
of him." Then Aaron went on with his own defense and said, "Whosoever
has any gold, let him bring it to me. So they gave it to me; then I
cast it into the fire, and OUT CAME THIS CALF!" HA, HA, IMAGINE THAT!
Another case of a man refusing to be accountable for his actions was
King Saul. It seems that Saul's whole pattern of life was that of
disobedience to the Word of God. Saul had been told by the prophet
Samuel to take his army and kill every man, woman, child and animal in
Amelek, because they were so evil in God's sight. Saul's obedience to
that order was only partial ... he spared the king of the Amalekites
and also some of the best of their flocks. When Samuel questioned him
about it, Saul wouldn't take the RESPONSIBILITY, but instead, he
denied and said, "I have obeyed the voice of the Lord..." (1 Samuel
15:20) then, he also blamed the people when he told Samuel he was
innocent: "But the people took of the spoil ..." (1 Samuel 15:21)
King Saul never did learn to accept personal responsibility or take
any blame whatsoever for his wrong-doing. The Lord finally removed
him as king over His people, Israel, and Saul died miserably ... the
sin unto death, because he would not confess his sins to the lord!
In
sharp contrast to Saul, David was a noble man when it came to
accepting FULL RESPONSIBILITY for his sins, and that is what made God
call him "a man after My own heart" ...(1 Samuel 13:14)
When
David was running away from Saul, who was bent on killing him, David
went to his enemy, the king of Gath, and pretended to be a madman
after he had obtained the sword of Goliath from a group of priests in
a nearby town. When Saul found out that the priests had helped David,
he ordered their execution! When David learned of it, he told the son
of one of the priests who had escaped and had come to report to him,
"I have occasioned the death of all the persons in thy father's
house!" (1 Samuel 22:22)
Another time in the life of David, he was confronted about his sin
against Bathsheba and her husband, Uriah. His response was, "I have
sinned against the Lord..." And again in Psalm 51:4 we read the words
of David saying, "Against Thee, Thee only have I sinned, and done this
evil in Thy sight..."
We
have seen in a previous lesson that David was certainly not without
sin in his life, but what made him great was that he took the
RESPONSIBILITY for his evil acts and confessed them to the lord. Then
he accepted the discipline for those sins.
One
of God's great men in the Old Testament was Daniel. Daniel made this
confession in which he took responsibility for himself and the people
when he said, "We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have
done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from Thy precepts
and from Thy judgments." (Daniel 9:5)
Josiah, one of the godly kings of Judah, began to reign when he was
eight years old. He was like David, and followed the Lord with all
his heart. When Josiah was twenty-six, he saw that the house of the
Lord was in need of repair, and he authorized the work to be done.
Many years had passed since the people had been taught out of the
LAW...that is, out of the 5 books of Moses. While the temple was
being repaired, a book of the Law was found by Hilkiah, the priest.
He gave it to Shaphan, the scribe, and he read it before King Josiah.
When Josiah heard the words which were read, he tore his robe and was
greatly distressed. He said to the people: "Great is the wrath of the
Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not
hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that
which is written concerning us!" (2 Kings 22:13) Josiah realized that
neglect of God's Word was the reason why Judah had been under
discipline for a long time. Then we learn in Kings 23:1,2: "And the
king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of
Jerusalem, And the king went up into the house of the Lord, and all
the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and
the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and
great, and he read in their ears ALL THE WORDS OF THE BOOK OF THE
COVENANT WHICH WAS FOUND IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD" After that, Josiah
made a covenant before the Lord that he and his people would obey
God's Word.
God
uses His people, Israel, as an example to all nations to show how He
deals with nations on the basis of their attitude toward his Word.
The
Lord tells us in two very clear passages of scripture just where the
RESPONSIBILITY lies when a nation is disciplined or sometimes even
destroyed. Let's look at those....Jeremiah 9:13-16, "And the Lord
saith, Because they have forsaken My Law, which I set before them, and
HAVE NOT OBEYED MY VOICE, NEITHER WALKED THEREIN, BUT HAVE WALKED
AFTER THE IMAGINATION OF THEIR OWN HEART, AND AFTER BAALIM, WHICH
THEIR FATHERS TAUGHT THEM: therefore, thus saith the Lord, I will feed
them, even this people with wormwood, and give them water of gall to
drink, I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they
nor their fathers have known, and I will send a sword after them, til
I have consumed them!". Again, Jeremiah 40:2,3 tells us, "...The Lord
thy God hath pronounced this upon this place. Now the Lord has
brought it and done according as He hath said, because ye have sinned
against the Lord, and have not obeyed His voice, this thing is come
upon you!" Jeremiah shouted these words to the people of the Northern
Kingdom of Israel while they were being taken into slavery by their
captors.
WHO
IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL THESE THINGS? Ezekiel spells it all out for us
in Ezekiel 22:23-31. (in understandable language, the order is ... the
man in the pulpit who handles the Word of God ... next, the people who
sit in the pew and listen to the things taught... then, the
politician, who was probably one of those being taught false things
... last of all, the average "man on the street") Let's see the words
of Ezekiel as he tells it... "And the Word of the Lord came unto me
saying, Son of man, say unto her, Thou art the land that is not
cleansed nor rained upon in the day of indignation. There is a
conspiracy of her PROPHETS in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion
ravening the prey.. They have devoured souls, they have taken the
treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the
midst thereof. Her PRIESTS have violated My Law, and have profaned My
holy things. They have put no difference between the holy and the
profane, neither have they shown the difference between the unclean
and the clean, and have hidden their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am
profaned among them. Her PRINCES in the midst of her are like wolves
ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls to get
dishonest gain. And her prophets have daubed them with untempered
mortar, seeing vanity and divining lies unto them by saying, Thus
saith the Lord God, when the Lord hath NOT spoken. The PEOPLE of the
land used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor
and needy; yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully. And I
sought for a man among them that should make up the hedge, and stand
in the gap before me for the land, that should not destroy it, but I
found none! Therefore, have I poured out My indignation upon them. I
have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; their own way have I
recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God."
Each
one of us falls into one of the categories of RESPONSIBILITY which the
Lord has given us in the Bible. We need to examine ourselves in the
light of God's Word to see what our RESPONSIBILITY is, and if we have
failed, confess the sin of which we are guilty.
Remember, this lesson from the prophets of the Old Testament must be a
warning to us in our own nation so that we don't fall into the same
pattern of IRRESPONSIBILITY that Israel and Judah did. We MUST get
SOUND, ACCURATE TEACHING, study God's Word on a consistent, daily
basis and not be ashamed to tell others about our wonderful Saviour,
The Lord Jesus Christ! However, we can't teach others if we don't
have doctrinal information stored in our mind, so ..."STUDY TO SHOW
THYSELF APPROVED UNTO GOD, A WORKMAN THAT NEEDETH NOT TO BE ASHAMED
... RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH."
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BIBLE
LESSON FIFTEEN
"15-40....Sounds like a tennis score, doesn't it? What a great game
that is! If you are a tennis player, you know how important it is to
"follow through"! In fact, that's true in any sport you can name. If
you don't learn to do that, you will never play the game successfully!
If
you are a Christian and you are not hearing, learning, believing and
applying Bible Doctrine, you will never follow through with God's plan
for your life.
A
baseball or football player who is a member of a team may spend his
whole career sitting on the bench just watching his fellow athletes
play the game.
Well, that's the way many Christians view the game-plan that God has
for his life...they are eternally saved, but they never grow up
spiritually through a regular intake of Bible Doctrine which the Lord
has provided for all of us.
We
must be teachable and willing to obey God's Word! 1 Peter 2:2 tells
us, "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word that ye may
grow thereby." Also, 2 Peter 3:18 says we must "grow in grace and in
the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ."
If
you truly want to know God's Word and God's plan for your life, He
will provide a paster-teacher who can give you Bible Doctrine. When
you are in fellowship with the Lord, the Holy Spirit teaches your
human spirit. When you believe the truths that are taught, you can
use the information you learn to improve your memory and your
vocabulary. Remember, you can't think without vocabulary! You will
be able to categorize, understand and apply the things God wants you
to know and use them for His glory.
In 1
Corinthians 2:9, the apostle Paul quotes the words of the prophet
Isaiah and says, "But it is written, eye has not seen nor ear heard,
neither has it entered into the heart of man, the things which God has
prepared for them that love Him." The word "heart" never refers to
our emotions or the pump inside our chest ... it is always a reference
to the thinking part of our mind!
Paul
goes on to tell us of the things which God has given the believer in
Jesus Christ, and also how we can learn about them. 1Corinthians
2:10-13 explains that God has revealed them when He says, "But God has
revealed these things unto us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searches
all things, even the deep things of God. For what man knows the
things regarding a man, except the spirit of man which is in him?
Even the things of God are not know to man unless the Spirit of God
reveals them to him. Now we have received the Spirit of God ... not
the spirit which is of the world ... in order that we may know the
things that are freely given to us by God. Those things we tell you
about ... not in the words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the
Holy Spirit teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches. Then we are
able to compare spiritual things with spiritual truths."
It
is entirely up to your own free-will to decide if you really want to
know God and His plan for your life, or if you will be content to "sit
on the bench" while other believers find God's will for their lives
and serve Him in a way that is pleasing to Him.
These days in which we live are important as well as frightening
times. We, as maturing believers in Jesus Christ, can make a
difference in our own nation by learning and applying the doctrines of
the Word of God! Remember how in the days of Noah, people were just
going about business as usual, enjoying life with little regard for
God or His Word. If that is the general tenor of the people in our
society, we can only look forward to extreme discipline from the Lord
upon our nation!
Are
you willing to find God's purpose for your life and make a difference
that could preserve the United States of America and the wonderful
liberties we are still able to enjoy in this nation of ours?
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BIBLE LESSON SIXTEEN
DO YOU
THINK WE LIVE IN A CHRISTIAN SOCIETY OR A HEATHENISTIC SOCIETY?
Before you answer that question, let's take some time to consider what
the Bible says about Heathenism. First of all, we are told that
heathen become heathen because they have heard the truth of God and
they have rejected it. That kind of action results in people living
by human viewpoint rather than being guided by the Word of God.
Both
believers and unbelievers can be guilty of thinking human viewpoint.
The unbeliever has an excuse for doing so, because he is not capable
of understanding God's Word. He has no human spirit, and the Bible is
just foolishness to him. On the other hand, the believer who is not
regularly taking in doctrinal Bible teaching cannot consider life from
God's viewpoint either. Isaiah 55:8 tells us, "For my thoughts are
not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord."
Both
theological and political ideas which are contrary to Bible teaching
exploit the ignorance of men by catering to their emotions, their
negative attitudes toward established authority and their individual
lust for power or recognition. These thoughts and ideas result in
LIBERALISM.
Liberal ideas which are adopted by lawmakers in an attempt to force
people to love each other, usually result in a very negative effect.
Man has a sinful nature which rebels against laws and regulations that
attempt to control his attitude or his thinking, so the situation
becomes even worse than it was before!
Liberals try to create a perfect world-society without God. It may be
by means of SOCIALISM, COMMUNISM, the welfare-state, or by some other
means of human good works which are man's attempt to have a perfect
world by using his own efforts and exclude guidance from the Lord.
The
logic of human viewpoint thinking and action is false from beginning
to end, If you begin with evil, you can only end with evil. However,
if you begin with truth, you will end with truth!
God
says to the Christian, "STUDY TO SHOW THYSELF APPROVED UNTO GOD, A
WORKMAN THAT NEEDETH NOT TO BE ASHAMED, RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF
TRUTH." (2 Timothy 2:15)
To
the unbeliever, God has this to say, "THIS IS THE RECORD, THAT GOD HAS
GIVEN TO US ETERNAL LIFE, AND THIS LIFE IS IN HIS SON. HE THAT HATH
THE SON HATH LIFE, AND HE THAT HATH NOT THE SON OF GOD HATH NOT LIFE."
(Corinthians 3 & 4)
One
final word to those who are still not convinced of the importance of
believing in Jesus Christ to gain eternal life is found in Hebrews
9:27, which says "IT IS APPOINTED UNTO MEN ONCE TO DIE, BUT AFTER
THIS, THE JUDGMENT."
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BIBLE
LESSON SEVENTEEN
INTERNATIONALISM
Many
people think that we should all be "one big happy family" in the
world. That idea is called INTERNATIONALISM. The thought behind it
is very appealing to man's emotions, but have you ever wondered or
ever heard what God thinks about Internationalism? He has answered
that for us in His Word!
Let's begin to see what God says by going back to the time after the
flood which destroyed all but eight people on the earth. Those eight
were Noah and his wife, their three sons, and their three wives. From
the three sons of Noah, which were Shem, Ham and Japeth, eventually
came all of the nations of the world, but for many years, the people
were all together in one place.
There was a tremendous population explosion during which one of Noah's
grandsons, by the name of Nimrod, became very powerful. He operated
in defiance of the Lord. Nimrod was the architect and founder of a
city called Babel in the land of Chaldea, which is called Babylonia.
While building the city of Babel, everyone spoke the same language, so
they were able to communicate with each other. They had been taught
how the Lord destroyed all but eight people on the earth and how He
promised Noah never to judge the world in that way again. He sealed
that promise with the visible sign of a rainbow in the heavens, and
told Noah to remember His promise whenever he saw a rainbow.
Even
though the people knew these things, they were afraid that God would
again send destruction upon the earth and scatter them over all the
face of the earth. They decided to build a great city and a tower in
the midst of it which would reach up into the heavens.
While the tower was under construction, the Lord confused their
language so that they could not communicate with one another. Then
the Lord scattered the people over the face of the whole earth, and He
placed them into many separate nations accordingly.
These truths are found in the tenth and eleventh chapters of Genesis.
God's Word shows us that His plan for the human race is NOT
Internationalism, but His plan is NATIONALISM!
The
Lord has a purpose for people, and to accomplish His plan, He has
divided us by language, by bodies of water, by land formations, and by
nations!
When
men defy God's purpose, the Lord is not pleased!
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BIBLE
LESSON EIGHTEEN
WHAT IS
HEATHENISM ALL ABOUT
1. Heathen are heathen because they have heard and rejected the
truth of God.
2. Heathenism is related to liberalism and reversionism.
3. Negative volition in the soul of the unbeliever results in a
vacuum. Into that vacuum comes evil. Evil is sucked into the soul,
resulting in blackout of the soul in the unbeliever, scar tissue of
the soul and reverse process reversionism.
4. Evil, or worldly doctrine in the soul, produces both
reversionism and the result of reversionism which is LIBERALISM.
5. The mechanics of liberalism and evil are found in Romans 1,
24-25.
6. Both theological and political liberalism exploit the ignorance
of men by catering to their emotions, their revolt against established
authority and their lust.
7. Liberals always appeal to the emotions, lack of authority and
lust.
8. Liberals, whether theological or political, seek to satisfy the
age in which they live by a personal satisfaction of their ego and
their guilt complex. They try to play God!
9. Liberals try to use legislation as the hand of God to judge
people. They have neither the system of doctrine by which to do so,
nor do they have the mentality nor the morality to play God.
10. Liberals seek to establish a perfect world without GOD. It
may be by Socialism, it may be by Communism, it may be by a
welfare-state, or it may be by some pattern of human good. ( Man
by man's efforts seeking to establish perfect world order.)
11. Liberalism is another manifestation of heathenism with a
veneer of human good.
12. Heathenism and logic:
a. Heathenism rejects the truth
b. There is no truth in the premise of heathenism
c. If there is no truth in heathenism, neither is
there any truth in the conclusion of heathenism.
d. The conclusion of heathenism can be no stronger
than its premise, even if you use logical steps to reach a
conclusion. You are wrong when you start, and you are wrong when you
conclude the logical steps.
e. If you begin with truth, you end up with truth,
but if you begin with evil, you end up with evil, and that's all a
liberal does.
f. Truth is designed to free man from both
heathenism and liberalism. (John 8:30-32)
13. Therefore, we know that heathenism must find a substitute for
truth. It has rejected God's truth, and that's how degeneracy and
liberalism come into action. (Romans 1:22-24)
14. Beginning with the truth, liberalism seeks to establish a
society without God. The false premise of that society leads to the
false conclusion of that society and the inevitable judgment from the
Justice of God.
15. Heathenism as unbeliever reversionism is described in great
detail in 2 Peter chapter 2.
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BIBLE
LESSON NINETEEN
BURIED
TREASURE
There is
something special about a treasure hunt that holds a particular kind
of interest for young and old alike! Well, wonderful hidden treasure
can be found in the Bible, but first there must be some preparation
before attempting an exciting and profitable adventure into the
infallible Word of God.
If this
holds some interest for you, first ask yourself this question: "Am I
ready to accept this assignment?"
You are
ready if you have personally believed that Jesus Christ died for your
sins. You are a Christian, and have an activated human spirit. You
are able to understand spiritual truth, because God the Holy Spirit
can teach your human spirit the things which God wants you to know.
Being
properly equipped for a search into the scriptures means that you must
privately name any know sin in your life to God the Father so that the
Holy Spirit, who is our real teacher, will be able to reveal Biblical
truth to you.
In
Proverbs chapter 2, God says that if you want to gain wisdom,
knowledge and understanding about Him, you must search for those
things as you would search for hidden treasure of silver and gold.
First of
all, let's go together using a good map to guide us to that treasure.
Our map is the Bible, and like any map, you must have a starting
place.
Some of
the first clues to follow bring us to PRINCIPLES. Principles are
truths upon which we must build our understanding of God's Word. For
example: the apostle Peter tells us that salvation comes to us in only
ONE way! There are no detours or other paths to God! "Neither is
there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven
given among men whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)
Faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ is the only foundation for our faith. The
apostle Paul says it this way: "For other foundation can no man lay
except that which has already been laid, which is Jesus Christ."
(Corinthians 3:11)
LOOK!
Our map has marked an interesting spot where we can dig! As we haul it
up, we find a treasure chest full of CATEGORIES. Categories are
objects of thought to consider individually in our minds so that we
may look at those objects and separate them in our minds as we would
separate treasure such as diamonds, rubies and gold. Let's put them
into piles of their own so we can examine them more closely. After
all, there is "fool's gold" in contrast to the real thing. Gypsum can
look like diamonds in the sunlight, and broken red glass can resemble
rubies to the untrained eye.
After
having good teaching from a man who has the gift of pastor-teacher and
who can correctly interpret the scriptures because he has a knowledge
of the original languages in which the Bible was written, we will
discover the most valuable of treasure....it is called BIBLE DOCTRINE.
The word
doctrine means teaching. Therefore, Bible Doctrine is teaching about
the Word of God. These doctrines are discovered by taking a category
you have examined carefully and see what the Bible says about that
subject from Genesis to Revelation. There are many examples, but
let's set two of them before our eyes so we can find out what they
look like.
People
usually have one idea about the subject of DEATH, but let's see what
the Bible actually teaches about death, because there are seven
different kinds of death spoken of in the Word of God. They are:
1. Physical death - death which comes to everyone at God's
discretion
2. Spiritual death - we are born dead to God because we
have a sin nature
3. positional death - the believer is identified with Jesus
Christ in His death on the cross
4. the believer produces dead works of human good when he is out
of fellowship with God
5. Temporal death - the state of being out of fellowship
with God
6. Sexual death - there is a time when a person is dead
sexually
7. Second death - the last judgment, which is for
unbelievers only
Another
Biblical doctrine is DISPENSATIONS. Dispensations are periods of time
by which God designed the ages. For easy understanding, let's look at
human history in four separate and distinct dispensations:
First,
there was the DISPENSATION OF THE GENTILES. It began with the
creation of Adam and Eve and ended with God destroying the Tower of
Babel. During that period of time, people multiplied upon the face of
the earth, and then God separated everyone into nations and languages
by the use of bodies of water, by mountains and land mass.
The
second age was the DISPENSATION OF THE JEWS. During that period, God
sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to live a perfect life in
true humanity for three and a half years and then die on a cross to
pay the penalty for the sins of the world.
That
dispensation was interrupted temporarily when Jesus was crucified,
buried and resurrected. God had promised the Jews when the temple
Solomon built was destroyed, that He would give them 490 more years to
represent Him on earth. 483 years after that promise, they crucified
Jesus Christ, so the seven remaining years will follow the next period
in which we are now living.
This
third dispensation is called the DISPENSATION OF THE CHURCH. The
Church Age began ten days after Jesus ascended in a resurrection body
into heaven, and it will end with the Rapture, or resurrection, of the
church. The Church is the body of believers in this age. Only the
Lord Himself knows when the Rapture will take place, but we are told
what it will be like when it does occur. "For the Lord Himself shall
descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and
with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
Then, we who are alive shall be caught up together with them in the
clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the
Lord." (Thessalonians 4:16,17"
After
that, we are shown what the remaining seven years of the dispensation
of the Jews will be like. It is called the TRIBULATION. It will
begin with three and one-half years of peace, and the last three and
one-half years will be a time of the worst persecution and the
bloodiest war this world has ever seen. The Lord will come back to
the Mount of Olives from which he ascended to stop the bloodshed!
Then the
Lord will set up His Kingdom on this earth for one-thousand years.
This dispensation is called the MILLENIUM. It will be the personal
reign of Jesus Christ, and He will rule in Jerusalem as a gracious and
just world dictator.
At the
end of the thousand years, there will be a final judgment for all of
the unbelievers who have ever lived. They will be raised from the
dead to stand in a body before the Great White Judgment Throne and be
judged on the basis of their own human good works ... NOT ON THE BASIS
OF THEIR SINS!
The Lord
will show them their works and tell them that the ONLY work He can
accept is the work of Jesus Christ paying the penalty for their sins.
Since they refused to believe in Him during their lifetime, they will
be cast into the Lake of Fire with Satan and his angels.
This
DOCTRINE OF DISPENSATIONS is just one of hundreds of wonderful
treasures to be found in the Bible. As you study, you will find that
this particular doctrine is necessary for us to know and understand so
that we may obey God's command to "Study to show thyself approved unto
God; a workman that need not be ashamed, but rightly dividing the Word
of truth." (Timothy 2:15)
Jump to top
BIBLE
LESSON TWENTY
" A
THIRST FOR POWER"
Wanting
power for yourself can have disastrous effects upon everyone with whom
you come into contact!
Many
hundreds of years ago, there was a very persuasive prince who aspired
to replace his father as king over the nation of Israel. That young
man's name was Adonijah.
Adonijah
was the fourth son in the family of king David. He was a very handsome
and likable man, and when he saw that his father David was close to
death, Adonijah declared, "I will be king!"
In
preparation to make himself ruler of the land, Adonijah was so
persuasive with people that he managed to gain the support and
friendship of some of king David's most faithful friends. One of them
was a man by the name of Joab. Joab was David's nephew, and he also
had the honor of serving as general in Israel's army for a number of
years. The other influential man was Abiathar, a priest who had been a
close friend of the king for more than forty years.
In his
thirst for power, Adonijah arranged to have a great feast at a place
called En-Rogel, which was the fountain of traders. Adonijah invited
all of the prominent men who served king David, but he was careful to
exclude the mighty men who had been loyal to David even before he
became king.
Adonijah
sent invitations to all of the king's sons, but it was obvious that
Solomon was not included.
Two other
men were omitted from the invitation list ... they were the prophet
Nathan and Benaiah, the priest.
As soon
as Nathan the prophet heard about Adonijah's plan to take the throne
of Israel, he went to Solomon's mother, Bathsheba, and said to her,
"Are you aware that Adonijah plans to set himself up as king, and
David knows nothing about his treachery? Your own life and the life of
your son Solomon are in great danger! Please allow me to counsel you
regarding this situation. Go at once to the king and say to him, "My
lord, you gave me your solemn oath that Solomon, your son, would reign
after your death. How is it that Adonijah has declared himself to be
king?"
Then
Nathan continued, "After you have said these things to David, I will
come in and confirm your words."
After
that advice from Nathan, Bathsheba went to David and bowed down to
him. The king was visibly old, but when he saw Bathsheba, he raised up
in his bed and acknowledged her presence as he said, "What is your
purpose in coming to see me?"
Bathsheba
replied, "My lord, you swore by the Lord your God that your son
Solomon would sit on your throne after you. Now Adonijah has exalted
himself to be king, and you have not been told about it! He has
prepared a great feast in his own honor, but he did not call for
Solomon to be present at the banquet! Moreover, your majesty, the eyes
of all Israel are upon you, waiting to hear you tell them who shall
occupy your throne after you depart. Unless you publicly name your
successor, both Solomon and I will be called enemies and will be
killed by Adonijah!"
While
Bathsheba was still speaking to David, Nathan came in and bowed down
to the king and said, "My lord king, have you appointed Adonijah to
sit on your throne? He has called your sons, the captains of your army
and Abiathar to a feast in his honor, and they are saying, 'God save
king Adonijah!' He did not send for me or for the priests Zadok and
Benaiah or for your son Solomon! Now we are here to find out if you
approve or disapprove he actions of Adonijah."
When
David heard those words from Nathan, he sat up in his bed and ordered,
"Bring Bathsheba here to my bedside!"
Bathsheba
came back into the room and stood at the king's bedside. Then David
spoke to her saying in the hearing of all who attended him, "As surely
as the Lord who redeemed me out of all my distresses, even so I sware
unto you by the Lord God of Israel that my son Solomon shall reign
after me! This very day he shall sit upon my throne! "
Bathsheba
bowed her head and then left the room.
David
ordered, "Bring Nathan the prophet and the priests Zadok and Benaiah
to me!"
The three
men were brought in, and they stood before the king as he said to
them, "Take some of my faithful men and place Solomon my son on my own
mule and take him to Gihon, near En-Rogel. There you shall annoint him
before the people and shout 'God save king Solomon!' Then after the
annointing, he may come and sit upon my throne in my place. I have
made him ruler over the entire nation ... over Israel and Judah!"
The men
obeyed the king's orders. They put Solomon on David's own mule and
took him to Gihon where Zadok the priest annointed Solomon with oil
from the tabernacle. Then they blew the trumpet to announce what was
done, and the people rejoiced so loudly that the earth shook with
their voices!
Adonijah
and his guests were just finishing their feast when they heard the
shouts of the people.
When Joab
heard the trumpet, he spoke to some of the men and said, "Go and
investigate what is causing the uproar in the city of Gihon!"
While
Joab was speaking, Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest, came to
Adonijah with urgent news. Adonijah said, "I'm sure you came with good
news for us, Jonathan!"
Jonathan
replied, "I bring you very disturbing news! This very day as we are
celebrating your victory, the king ordered Zadok the priest, Nathan
the prophet and many of David's trusted servants to bring Solomon here
to Gihon! They have annointed Solomon king over Israel and Judah by
order of king David. The noise you hear is the rejoicing of the
people, because Solomon now sits on David's throne as his successor!"
All
Adonijah's guests rose up and ran away! Adonijah also ran from that
place and went to the tabernacle where he took hold of the horns of
the altar so no one could harm him. (by taking hold of the horns on
the altar of burnt sacrifice, a criminal could find safety if his
crime had been an accidental one)
Some of
David's servants went to David and told him about the annointing of
his son Solomon. David bowed his head and said, "Blessed be the Lord
God of Israel who this day has given me one to sit on my throne and
who has allowed me to see it with my own eyes!"
Solomon
was told that Adonijah was afraid for his life, and that he had taken
hold of the horns of the altar. He would not leave the tabernacle when
men came to take him to Solomon for judgment. Adonijah said, "I will
not leave until king Solomon gives me his solemn oath not to kill me!"
Adonijah's message was given to Solomon, and he said, "If Adonijah
shows himself to be a worthy man, he will not be harmed in any way,
but if wickedness is found in him, he shall surely die!"
Adonijah
was forgiven for his sin of attempting to make himself king over
Israel, but not long after that his thirst for power caused him to
make an unacceptable request of king
Solomon which cost him his life!
Jump to top
BIBLE
LESSON TWENTY ONE
The
wisest man who ever lived was Solomon, the son of king David in
ancient. Israel.
When
Solomon became king over Israel and Judah, the Lord asked him what he
wanted most of all, and Solomon said that he desired wisdom to rule
the nation.
That
request was pleasing to the Lord, and He said to Solomon, "Because you
have not asked for wealth and honor or for the destruction of your
enemies, but you desire wisdom to rule my people over whom I have made
you king, I will grant wisdom and knowledge to you, such as no one
ever before or after you has had or will have!"
2
Chronicles 9:22,23: "And Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth
in riches and wisdom, and all the kings of the earth came to hear that
wisdom which God had given to king Solomon."
After
Solomon's death, his son Rehoboam became king. He was forty years old
when he began to rule, land he reigned for seventeen years.
During
the years when Rehoboam was growing up, he was exposed to his father's
wisdom and to that of the men who were close to Solomon in his
administration. The older men that had been with Solomon tried to give
Rehoboam good advice about matters of state, and about taxation in
particular. They said to him, "If you treat the people fairly and
speak kindly to them, they will serve you forever!"
Rehoboam's response to that advice was, "Come back here in three days,
and I'll tell you what I decide to do."
Then
Rehoboam counselled with his young friends with whom he had grown up
and asked for their advice. They answered, "You tell the people that
your father was too easy on them, and that you will place heavier
taxes upon them than he ever did!"
Rehoboam
listened to the counsel of his young friends, and three days later he
met with the people as promised. He spoke roughly to them and said,
"My father put a heavy tax burden upon you, but I will add to your
burden, and you will have to accept my laws or suffer the
consequences!"
When the
people heard what Rehoboam proposed, many of them gathered together
and decided, "This is not acceptable! We don't need David's grandson
ruling over us! Let's go to our homes and decide what we should do
about it/1"
(among
those who rebelled against /rehoboam was a man by the name of
Jeroboam. King Solomon had seen great potential in Jeroboam and made
him ruler over the house of Joseph. Then the Lord sent a prophet to
Jeroboam when he was alone outside of Jerusalem one day. He told
Jeroboam that the Lord was going to make him king over ten tribes of
the Children of Israel after Solomon died, and only two tribes would
be given to Rehoboam. When Solomon heard about the incident, he sent
Jeroboam into exile in Egypt, but when Jeroboam learned that Solomon
had died, he returned to Jerusalem and was with the group of men who
heard the words of Rehoboam which angered so many people.
Some of
the people remained loyal to king Rehoboam and did not join the
defectors. Among those who remained faithful to the king were the
priests and Levites who served in the temple.
When the
people scattered to their homes, Rehoboam sent his tax collector among
the rebels, and they stoned him to death! When the king heard about
that, he gathered one hundred and eighty-thousand chosen men and armed
them to fight against those people, but the Lord sent a prophet to
Rehoboam and said, "You shall not fight against your fellow Jews!
Return to your homes, because this rebellion is My doing to discipline
you for your foolishness!"
Rehoboam
and his followers obeyed the Lord and returned to Jerusalem.
The men
in the northern kingdom, which was composed of ten tribes, made
Jeroboam their king, and things went well for awhile. Soon Jeroboam
began to worry that the people would leave him and go back to
Rehoboam, and he said to himself, "If these people who have made me
their king go back to Jerusalem to worship the Lord, they will not
come back to me! Then I will be killed as an enemy of king Rehoboam!"
Jeroboam
took counsel and devised a way to keep his people in Israel. He made
two calves of gold and set them at two opposite ends of the land...one
in Dan and the other in Bethel. Then he announced to the people,
"Behold your gods which brought you up out of the land of Egypt!"
The
people worshipped before the golden calves, and the Lord was very
displeased! Jeroboam himself went to Bethel one day, and he stood by
the altar to burn incense to the idol in the sight of many of the
people there,. The Lord sent a prophet with a message which was
directed to the altar rather than to Jeroboam, because Jeroboam was
responsible for causing the people to commit the great sin of
idolatry, and the Lord had nothing to say to him.
The
prophet said, "Altar, altar, thus saith the Lord, 'Behold, a child
shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall
offer the bones of the priests who offer incense upon you! All people
will know that the Lord has spoken when they see you crumble before
their eyes and see the ashes pour out!'"
As soon
as those words left the prophet's lips, Jeroboam stretched forth his
hand and shouted, "Arrest that man!" Immediately, his hand shriveled
up and he was unable to bring it back to his body!
Jeroboam
was afraid, and he said to the prophet, "Pray to the Lord for me and
ask that my hand may be restored to me again!"
The
prophet prayed, and Jeroboam's hand was made whole. Then Jeroboam said
to the prophet, "Come home with me and refresh yourself/1 I will give
you a very handsome reward!"
But the
man of God answered, "If you would give me half your kingdom as a
reward, I would not go with you! The Lord has commanded me not to eat
bread or drink water in this place!" After that response, the man left
Bethel and went on his way.
Instead
of learning from that experience, Jeroboam persisted in his evil ways.
He took some of the lowest characters in the land and ordained them as
priests to minister to the people.
Jeroboam's favorite son became very ill and was near death, so he
called his wife to him and told her to disguise herself and go to
speak with the prophet Ahijah who had told him he would rule Israel.
She was to ask Ahijah what would become of the child.
Ahijah
lived in Shiloh. He was a very old man, and his eyes were very dim so
he could not see. The Lord spoke to him and told him that the wife of
Jeroboam was coming to see him and that she would come in disguise.
As soon
as Ahijah heard footsteps on his threshold, he said, "Come in, wife of
Jeroboam! Why do you pretend to be someone else? I have bad news for
you from the Lord! Go back to your husband and tell him that your son
is going to die,. Also, advise him that he will be replaced as king
over the nation Israel!"
Sadly,
Jeroboam's wife returned to her home, and as soon as she entered the
city, the child died.
Jeroboam
ruled for twenty-two years, and after his death, his son Nadab ruled
in his place.
Because
Rehoboam accepted bad advice from his friends, the nation was divided.
Because
Jeroboam was foolish in making the golden idols for the people to
worship, he lost a son and he lost his rulership over the ten tribes
of Israel.
The
wisdom of Solomon is found in the book of Proverbs in the Bible. If
you examine it carefully, it will help you to make good choices in
life and make wise decisions that will be pleasing to the Lord.
Jump to top
BIBLE
LESSON TWENTY TWO
"How Well
Do You Know God?"
The old
saying, "Love at first sight", is a very shallow way of thinking and
can often end in disaster! Being drawn to someone because of their
charm or attractiveness is a sign of immaturity and foolishness, and
we should outgrow that attitude as we get older, and hopefully,
wiser. If you are a Christian, you know that Jesus Christ died on the
cross for you and that He paid the penalty for the sins of the world,
but how well do you personally know Him? Is your love for Him just an
emotional feeling, or have you become acquainted with Him through the
Word of God? It is impossible to truly know a person until you know
how he thinks! We are told in 1 Corinthians 2:16 that the Bible is
the mind of Christ. Let's pursue the plan to find out how God thinks.
The Lord's attitude toward every possible situation is found in the
sixty-six books of the Bible. Therefore, you can learn about the
thinking of the Lord if you apply yourself.
You need
to find your right Pastor-teacher who knows the original languages of
scripture. After you get the basic tools, you can go to the Bible for
yourself and apply what you've learned as you study.
When the
apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians, he expressed his
desire to know the Lord better when he said, "That I may know Him, and
the power of His resurrection..." (Philippians 3:10a)
In
Proverbs 23:26, the Lord says, "My son, give me your heart, and let
your eyes observe My ways." (in scripture, the heart refers to the
thinking part of our mind) You and I have a sinful nature that wants
its own way. We may try to put on the appearance of being kind and
thoughtful, but only the Lord can read our thoughts and know our
motives.
God
evaluates us personally when He says, "As a man thinks in his heart,
so is he..." (Proverbs 2:7)
Getting
to know God should be Priority #1 in the Christian's life! Like
gaining anything that is worthwhile, it takes a lot of motivation,
time and then meditation about the things learned to make it a part of
our own thinking.
In
Proverbs 8:8,9, God says, "All the words of My mouth are in
righteousness. There is no unfavorable act or wrong-doing in them.
They are all plain to him that understands, and right to them that
find knowledge."
We can
never get too much knowledge about the Lord, and as we take in Bible
Doctrine on a daily basis, we will be able to live our lives to please
our wonderful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Jump to top
BIBLE
LESSON TWENTY THREE
"GOD'S
PICTURE BOOK"
In many
ways, the Bible is God's picture book. Until 90 A.D., God did not
reach man through the media of the written word, but He did it through
dreams, visions and direct conversations with certain men whom He
chose. He also used many illustrations as teaching tools.
Adam and
Eve lived in innocence and in perfect environment in the Garden of
Eden, and the Lord spoke to them directly. When they disobeyed Him,
they had to be removed from that perfect environment, and the Lord
began to teach them by way of physical illustration. In the Garden of
Eden, Adam and Eve were apparently covered with light and did not need
any other clothing for their bodies, but when they sinned, they saw
that they were naked and tried to cover themselves with fig leaves.
That was unacceptable to God, so He killed an innocent animal and
brought it's skin to them to cover their bodies. They both understood
that God had used an innocent substitute for their covering to teach
them that a Saviour would come into the world at a future time to die
for the sins of all mankind. They accepted that covering, and the
lesson was the first declaration of the Gospel of salvation for the
human race.
Hundreds
of years later, a man by the name of Abraham appeared on the pages of
the Word of God. When he was willing to offer his only son, Isaac, as
a sacrifice to the Lord, God substituted a ram for Isaac, and through
that illustration, people learned that God the Father sacrificed His
Son, Jesus Christ, as a substitute for your sins and mine.
The rock
stood on an elevated place, and this time it was a picture of the
resurrected Christ. The wrong picture was shown to the people when
Moses struck the rock! Moses discipline was that he would not be
permitted to go into the Promised Land. He asked the Lord several
times to change His mind, but the Lord said, "Don't speak of it
anymore ... you will not enter the Promised Land." Then the Lord
showed the land to Moses from a high mountain. Moses died there, and
the Lord Himself buried Moses.
The life
of Joseph teaches us how Jesus was hated by His own people, and how
God the Father made Him greater than all his brothers.
The
prophets used many visual aids to warn the people about their idolatry
and to teach them what would happen if they persisted in their evil
ways.
The life
of Jonah and his experience in the belly of the great fish was a
picture of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus
Himself told the religious leaders who doubted Him, "For as Jonah was
three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so shall
the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the
earth."
There are
hundreds of other illustrations in God's Picture Book. Search for them
yourself as you study God's Word. It can be a very exciting
experience!
Jump to top
BIBLE
LESSON TWENTY FOUR
COLOSSAL
MISTAKES AND HOW TO AVOID THEM
If you
really think about it, aren't we foolish to suffer for our bad
decisions if we can use an alternative and not make those mistakes in
the first place?
Well,
there is truly a scapegoat for us that can take the discipline we
would deserve but can avoid if we look at what others have done and
see the discipline they received for their foolishness!
Yes, I'm
talking about the examples that have been set forth for us in God's
Word! The Bible is "chuck full" of events regarding the disastrous
effects of bad decisions.
Some of
those decisions were a result of sinful acts and others by an act of
wrong-doing. Did you ask, "What's the difference between those two
categories? Here's what God says ... SIN is what we think or do that
is contrary to the known will of God. When we commit sins, we know
full-well that what we are doing is wrong, but we do it anyway!
Wrong-doing may be something generally considered to be good by
society, but our own mental attitude is what counts when the Lord
evaluates our action.
Let's
take a close look at the lives of a few prominent people who appear on
the pages of scripture. After considering some of their failures and
the reasoning behind them, we should be better able to look at our own
lives and profit from their COLOSSAL MISTAKES.
ADAM &
EVE ...(Romans 5:12; 1 Timothy 2:14)
Adam
deliberately disobeyed God's command not to eat of the Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil which was in the middle of the Garden of
Eden. However, Eve was deceived by Satan. She was guilty of sin as
well as Adam was, but he KNEW what he was doing!
As a
result of Adam's deliberate sin, he received a sin nature, and through
him, everyone who is born into this world is born with a sin nature.
JESUS
CHRIST ... the ONLY sinless one ... (2 Corinthians 5:21)
There is
just one exception to being born with a sin nature, and that is Jesus
Christ. He had no human father, therefore, He did not have a sin
nature!
CAIN &
ABEL ... (Hebrews 9:22)
When Cain
killed his brother Abel, it was because of his mental attitude sin of
jealousy. Cain was a farmer, and he brought a beautiful sacrifice to
the Lord in which he used some of the produce he had grown. Abel was a
shepherd, and he offered a lamb from his flock as a sacrifice. The
Lord accepted Abel's offering and refused Cain's, because only a blood
offering was acceptable to the Lord.
ABRAHAM
... (Genesis 21:9-11)
Next we
see Abraham and how he suffered because of his failure to wait for the
son God promised to give him from his wife Sarah. At Sarah's
suggestion, he took her handmaid, Hagar, as his wife, and Ishmael was
born. Much trouble and heartache came to Abraham because of the bad
decision he made!
ESAU &
JACOB ... (Genesis 27:34)
When
Esau, the son of Isaac, exchanged his birthright for a bowl of lentil
soup, he lost the inheritance that would have been his, to his brother
Jacob.
ELI, the
priest ... (1 Samuel 3:13)
An old
priest by the name of Eli served the Lord in the tabernacle for a
number of years. He executed his duties well, but he filed to do what
was right in the matter of training his two sons ... he did not use
good disciplinary action toward them. When they were grown, they also
were priests, but the Lord was very displeased with them, because they
took bribes from the people and became involved in adulterous
activities with many of the women who came to offer sacrifices to the
Lord. Eli knew that his sons were involved in those gross sins, but he
never said a word to reprimand them. As a result, the Lord killed
those young men and told Eli why He had to do it.
KING SAUL
... (1 Samuel 1:13,14; 1 Chronicles 10:13,14)
Saul was
an extremely handsome young man, and he stood head and shoulders above
the rest of the people. When the kingdom was well-established in his
hands, Saul began to disregard the Word of the Lord and did as he
pleased! His failure to obey the Lord cost him not only his rulership
over Israel, but his life and the lives of his sons as well.
KING
DAVID ... (2 Samuel chapter 11)
Most
people know about David's adultery, but many do not realize what his
mental attitude was prior to his sin. David knew that he should have
gone to war with his troops, but instead he decided to pamper himself.
He stayed in the palace and slept until noon. Later that day in the
cool of the evening, David walked in his garden on the roof of the
palace. He saw beautiful Bathsheba bathing on her roof nearby. David
inquired about her, sent for her, and then committed adultery with
her. A few months later, Bathsheba sent word to David that she was
carrying his child. In an attempt to cover his sin, David brought her
husband Uriah from the battlefield and tried to get him to spend time
with his wife. Uriah refused to go to his house, because he reasoned
that he would be deserting his responsibilities as a soldier, so he
slept in the barracks.
David
became very angry that his plan failed, and he sent Uriah back into
the battle with a secret message for General Joab which read, "Set
Uriah on the front line of the battlefield WHERE HE WILL BE KILLED!"
David's
discipline was fourfold. First, the child which Bathsheba bore died
when it was less than a year old. Then, three of David's older
children encountered disaster, and it nearly broke David's heart!
By his
actions, we can see how one act of sin can have a domino effect on a
situation and destroy the lives of many innocent people!
MOSES ...
(Numbers 20:7-12)
No one
can deny the greatness of Moses, but he wasn't perfect. He became very
angry with the Children of Israel after having put up with their
constant complaining for nearly forty years, and he disobeyed a direct
command from the Lord. He was told to speak to the rock to bring water
to the people, but he took his rod and struck the rock twice saying,
"Must we bring water to you out of this rock, you rebels?" As a result
of that, Moses was not permitted to go into the Promised Land.
KING
SOLOMON ...(1 Kings 11:4)
Solomon
had everything this world could offer. He made peace treaties with
other nations in the world, and as a result of those treaties, he
acquired seven hundred wives! In his old age, Solomon tried to please
his wives by bowing down to their idols in the temples he had built
for the idols which they worshipped.
KING
REHOBOAM ... (1 Kings chapter 12)
Solomon's
son Rehoboam listened to the advice of the young men with whom he had
grown up about how to tax the people. He should have heeded the wise
words of the older men who had served his father, and as a result of
his foolishness, the kingdom was divided!
ELIJAH,
the prophet ... (1 Kings 10:1-18)
Elijah
was a great prophet who had been used by the Lord to take His Word to
the people of Judah. At the height of his greatest victory, he
received a threatening note from a woman by the name of Jezebel, and
he became very frightened. He ran and hid in a cave like a hunted
animal! He failed to trust the Lord to protect him, and he had to be
replaced by another prophet.
KING ASA
... (2 Chronicles 16:12-14)
Asa was a
good king and greatly blessed by the Lord for many years. When he was
old, he made an alliance with an enemy nation which was contrary to
the will of God. The Lord struck him with a disease in his feet, and
for five years Asa refused to confess his sin and get back in
fellowship with the Lord. He died as a result of not confessing that
he was wrong.
KING
HEZEKIAH ... (2 Kings 20:12-21)
Hezekiah
was also a very good king and did many wonderful things for the people
of Judah. However, he also had a weakness for making friends with his
enemies. When he was dying, he asked the Lord to extend his life, and
was given fifteen more years to live. The Lord left him to show him
all that was in his heart.
We could
cite many other examples in the Word of God in which we could see how
some of the great people of the past failed and why they failed.
If you
think about the men we have briefly looked at in our study, and if you
take time to read the scripture references, I'm sure you will see that
there was one basic reason for their COLOSSAL MISTAKES which all of
them had in common ... it was PRIDE! Pride is the sin God hates most,
and it is our worst enemy!
Jump to top
BIBLE
LESSON TWENTY FIVE
"AFTER
DEATH, WHAT?"
Death is
a subject none of us really like to think about. In fact, until we
lose a loved one or a close friend, we think very little about it.
Before we
can understand what happens after death, we must first understand what
LIFE is.
When God
created Adam from the dust of the earth, he was not alive until God
breathed into his nostrils the breath of lives. Both physical and
spiritual life were given to Adam at that very moment, and he became a
living soul. (Genesis 2:7)
When Adam
and Eve disobeyed God and ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and
Evil, they died spiritually, but they were still alive physically.
They received a sin nature and had no fellowship with God. They had to
be sent out of the perfect environment which they enjoyed in the
Garden of Eden. Eve was deceived by Satan and she was the first to eat
of the forbidden fruit. Adam knew what he was doing, but he chose
fellowship with the woman rather than fellowship with God. They both
received a sin nature, which is passed down to the human race by the
man.
The soul
is eternal ... only the body dies. The body is the house for the soul,
and the soul is the real you.
God has a
plan for everyone who is born into this world. He gives each one of us
a certain amount of time to live on this earth, and then we will die
physically. Hebrews 9:27 tells us: "And it it appointed unto men once
to die, and after that the judgment."
During
the time allotted to us, we will reach a time when we are considered
to be accountable to God for our attitude toward Him. If we want to
know God, He will provide information by which we can make a decision
that will determine our eternal destiny. We can choose to accept the
work of Jesus Christ which He has done for us, or we can accept our
own human good.
All of
the sins of the world were poured out upon Jesus Christ and judged
when He hung on Calvary's cross over 2,000 years ago. Personal faith
in Him will mean living eternally in the presence of God. However,
rejecting what He did and standing on our own human good deeds will
mean living forever in a place of torment with Satan and his demons
and all people who rejected Him as their Saviour during their
lifetime. God is holy, and He cannot accept our good works, because
they come from our sin nature.
Jesus
Christ and the cross on which He died are the focal points of all
history. Old Testament people looked forward to the cross, and we
look back to it.
An Old
Testament believer by the name of Job looked forward to spending
eternity with the Lord when He said, "For I know that my Redeemer
lives, and that He shall stand in the last days upon this earth. And
though my skin works destroy this body, yet in my flesh, I shall see
God."
The name
of every person who is born into this world is written in the Book of
Life. If a person dies without believing in the Lord Jesus Christ,
his name will be blotted out of the Book of Life and placed in the
Book of Works, because he did not personally believe that Jesus Christ
paid the penalty for his sins.
The
apostle John tells us who will stand at the last judgment and face the
Lord for evaluation:
"And I
saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were
opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life; and
the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the
books, according to their works.
And the
sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and torments gave up
the dead which were in them, and they were judged every man according
to their works.
And
death and torments were cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the
second death.
And
whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the
Lake of Fire."
The Lake
of Fire is being prepared for the Devil and his angels, but they do
not yet occupy it. Now there is a place called Torments, and it is in
the heart of the earth. The souls of all unbelievers go there when
they leave their physical bodies.
Before
Jesus Christ died, was buried, resurrected and ascended into heaven,
there was a place called Paradise, and it was also in the heart of the
earth. The souls of all believers went to Paradise, and when Jesus
ascended into heaven, He took Paradise with Him. (no one was
permitted to enter heaven until Jesus went there in a resurrection,
glorified body)
We have
an account of two men who died in Luke chapter 16. One of the men was
a believer and went into Paradise, which was sometimes called
"Abraham's bosom" in the scriptures. The other man went into
torments, which is sometimes referred to as "hades" or "hell". We can
learn much from their story:
"There
was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and
he dined sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar by the
name of Lazarus, who was placed a his gate. He was full of skin
ulcers, and he desired to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the
rich man's table. Also, the dogs came and licked his sores.
The
beggar died, and he was carried by angels into Abraham's bosom. The
rich man also died and was buried. His soul went into hades. Being
in torment, the rich man lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off,
and he saw Lazarus in Abraham's bosom.
The rich
man cried and said, "Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send
Lazarus to me that he may dip the tip of his finger in water to cool
my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame!"
Abraham
said, "Son, remember that you in your lifetime received many good
things, and Lazarus received very little. Now he is comforted, and
you are tormented. Beside that, there is a huge stationary gulf
between us so that those with you who desire to come here cannot,
neither can we pass over it to you.
Then the
rich man said, "I beg of you, father Abraham, that you would send
Lazarus to my five brothers and testify to them so that they will not
come to this place of torment."
Abraham
replied, "They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear their
words."
The rich
man insisted, "No, father Abraham, but if one went to them from the
dead, they will surely repent!"
Abraham
answered, "If they will not hear Moses and the prophets, they will not
be persuaded even if one rose from the dead."
"Moses
and the prophets" refer to the entire Old Testament. They foretold
the coming of the Messiah so that no one had an excuse for not knowing
about the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of the Son of God.
To
believers in this dispensation of the Church Age, the apostle Paul
gives this comforting message: "We are always confident, knowing that
while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord." (2
Corinthians 5:6)
Once we
understand and believe these truths, death should not hold any horror
for the one who has believed in Jesus Christ. However, if you have
never made that all-important decision to believe in Him, you have the
opportunity to do so while you are still alive on this earth. The
choice is yours alone, but be sure you weigh the consequences of
refusal to believe in Him as your Lord and Saviour.
"BELIEVE
ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED" (Acts 16:31)
Jump to top
BIBLE
LESSON TWENTY SIX
DO YOU
WANT TO BE POPULAR?
Not one
person who was ever born didn't want to be popular! When we are very
young, we call that a desire for attention, but both words fill the
bill for the majority of us.
Often,
when a baby cries, he wants to get his parent's attention. It can
easily become a habit.
As a
child gets a little older, he may throw a tantrum to get attention,
and that can make the child obnoxious to the rest of the family as
well as to friends who may be visiting when the tantrum occurs. That
can certainly ruin a reputation in a hurry! People will not want to
be around the "little monster" any more than necessary!
If there
are brothers and sisters in the family, the tantrum-thrower may use
abusive language toward them, or hit them, and, worst of all, may even
bite them ... usually to get parental attention for himself!
If such
an attitude persists into the teen-age years and is not corrected by
those in authority, i.e.: parents, teachers, law officers, etc., that
person may become a criminal!
No one
really wants to be without recognized authority, even though they may
think so at times.
Being
popular with your friends isn't necessarily a good thing, but it can
be if you have the right mental attitude about yourself and about life
in general.
What
usually makes a person disliked by others begins with a mind full of
envy, jealousy, hatred and a desire for revenge. Even murder can
result if these mental attitude sins persist without being checked in
some way.
Let's
look at a man who became gradually filled with all of these horrible
mental attitude sins for nearly forty years of his adult life. His
name was Saul, and he was king of Israel many years ago.
Saul was
very popular among his people. He was a very tall and a very handsome
young man who came from the family of Benjamin in the land of
Palestine. It was Saul's outward appearance which made him so
popular, but no except Saul himself and the Lord, knew his thoughts.
The
people of Israel begged for a king that they could see, even though
God was their king. The Lord gave them their desire, and He appointed
Saul as king over them to teach a lesson to the people.
Saul was
a great warrior, and he killed thousands of Israel's enemies in
battle. One day the Philistines were threatening Saul's army, and
they sent their champion, Goliath, out into the valley between two
hills where the armies were camped. The challenger was shouting for a
man to come down and fight with him, and suddenly a young teen-age boy
appeared on the scene. His name was David, and he had come to bring
food and supplies to his older brothers who were soldiers. When David
heard Goliath make fun of the Lord God of Israel, David agreed to
fight the giant.
David
had not been a popular young man, because he was the youngest in a
family of eight sons, and he was a shepherd. However, David had
learned to trust the Lord while he was alone in the wilderness with
his father's sheep.
David had
also learned to use a weapon called a sling, and he became so expert
in the use of it that he killed a bear and a lion that came into the
camp to take a lamb from the flock. David used his skill to stun the
giant with a stone in the middle of his forehead, and then David ran
to him and cut off his head with the giant's own sword.
When
David destroyed their enemy, David became very popular with all of the
men. Even the king was so impressed with him that he appointed David
to be a general in the army of Israel!
After
that, David fought many battles during the next few years. When he
returned home from a tremendous victory one day, Saul heard the people
singing a song about David that made him very angry. The words to the
song were, "Saul has killed his thousands, but David has killed tens
of thousands!" Saul said in his heart, "If the people think that well
of David, he may as well wear my crown too!"
King
Saul's anger turned to envy and jealousy, because his own popularity
was being lost to young David. Even Jonathan, Saul's son, became a
very close friend of David, and Saul was not pleased with their
friendship!
Soon,
Saul began to plan how he could get rid of David for good. He made
several attempts on David's life, but each time the Lord protected
David and hid him from Saul.
For
nearly ten years, Saul took his army and pursued David and the
three-hundred men who followed him, but he was unsuccessful in killing
David.
Finally,
Saul died on a battlefield, and David replaced him as Israel's king.
David was the greatest of all the kings of Israel, and he ruled for
forty years.
If you
are a ten-ager, it is extremely important that you find God's will for
your life and then live your life to honor HIM.
If you
are challenged to do that, you must learn, understand and apply God's
Word so that He may guide you in the way you should go!
Popularity with people is only temporary, but to be popular with God
because you are obedient to His Will has eternal results!
Jump to top
BIBLE
LESSON TWENTY SEVEN
TWO
SECRET DISCIPLES
After
Jesus was crucified, two of His secret disciples became very bold and
were no longer silent about their faith in Him.
One of
those secret disciples was a man from Arimathea by the name of
Joseph. He was a member of the Sanhedrin, which was a Jewish council
consisting of seventy-one men. Some of those men were priests and
were known as Sadducees, some were lawyers and were known as
Pharisees, and the rest were elders of the people. A High Priest
presided over them.
The
Sadducees originally came from the ranks of Israel's priests. Their
main concern was for their social position among the people. They
disagreed with the Pharisees' doctrine regarding the subject of
resurrection.
The
Pharisees came from the ranks of Israel's scribes. They were lawyers
who handled the scriptures. Because of their legal knowledge, they
completely ruled the public life of the nation. If anyone said
anything against an official in the government or against the High
Priest, that person would be arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin
for trial.
Many
times, this ecclesiastical and judicial council accused Jesus of
breaking the Law of Moses, and for three years they tried to find a
way to arrest Him, but they were afraid of displeasing the people.
For
example, when Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead, many of
the Jews who witnessed the miracle believed in Jesus. But some of
them were envious and went to the Pharisees to report what Jesus had
done. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a council
meeting and said, "What shall we do? This man performs many
miracles! If we let him continue, all men will believe in him, and
the Romans will come and remove our position and our nation as well!"
(John 11:47-53)
Then
Caiaphas the high priest said, "How stupid can you get! It will be to
our advantage to have this man Jesus die for the people so that our
nation will not be destroyed!"
From
that day on they took counsel together about how they could have Jesus
put to death.
The
Pharisees and Sadducees followed Jesus and heard His teaching so that
they might find something with which to accuse Him. As a result of
hearing Jesus' words, many of the chief rulers believed in Him, but
they did not confess their faith in Him, because they would have been
put out of the synagogue which was their place of worship, and they
loved the praise of men more than the praise of God!. (John 12:42,43)
Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin. He was one
of the wealthiest men in Jerusalem, and he secretly believed in Jesus
after an interesting interview with Him one night. His curiosity had
caused him to go alone to speak to Jesus and say to Him, "We know that
you are a teacher sent by God, for no man can perform the miracles you
do unless God is with him." (John 3:1,2)
Jesus
told Nicodemus that he needed to have a spiritual birth, but Nicodemus
did not understand. Finally, Jesus gave him an illustration from some
scriptures with which he was very familiar: "As Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up."
(Numbers 21:8,9)
When
Nicodemus heard that quotation from the scriptures, he realized that
God had given that illustration in His Word to point to the Messiah
who would come and die for the sins of the world ... he was speaking
to the Saviour! Nicodemus became a believer that very night, and
later he defended Jesus before the Sanhedrin when they made
accusations against Him.
After
the trial before the Jewish council, they delivered Jesus to Pilate,
who was the Roman governor at that time, and they demanded that Jesus
be crucified!
When
Joseph of Arimathea learned that Jesus had been crucified, he went to
Jerusalem and begged Pilate to let him bury the body of Jesus.
Pilate
called the centurion who was in charge of the crucifixion to determine
whether Jesus was actually dead. Afterward, he gave Joseph permission
to take the body.
Joseph
removed Jesus' body from the cross. Then he called his friend
Nicodemus, and they embalmed the body and wrapped it in linen and
placed it in a new tomb which belonged to Joseph and where no body had
previously been laid.
The
scriptures give us no more information about these two secret
disciples.
Perhaps
you are a secret disciple who is afraid to let others know about your
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, because you don't want your friends to
change their attitude toward you.
No one
can force you to be a witness for Christ, but if you have believed in
Him, the Bible says you are an ambassador for Christ. (2 Corinthians
5:20)
As you
study God's Word and learn Bible Doctrine, you will gain confidence to
speak about the Lord when you have an opportunity to do so.
Peter
tells us to "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory, both now and for ever." (2
Peter 3:18)
Jump to top
BIBLE
LESSON TWENTY EIGHT
HOW
INTELLIGENT ARE YOU?
Being
intelligent means you have common sense, and you have the ability to
learn and acquire knowledge so that you are eventually able to solve
your own problems. We certainly don't all have the same talents or
learning abilities, but every believer in Jesus Christ can fulfill
God's purpose for his life by using the spiritual skills God has
provided for each one of us.
First, we
must have no known sin in our lives in order to be filled with the
Holy Spirit and learn spiritual truths. "IF WE CONFESS OUR SINS, HE
IS FAITHFUL AND JUST TO FORGIVE US OUR SINS AND TO CLEANSE US FROM ALL
UNRIGHTEOUSNESS." (1 John 1:9)
Human IQ
varies, but when we are in fellowship with the Lord, He gives us a
spiritual IQ to enable us to have the same ability to learn Bible
Doctrine as any other believer.
First of
all, a believer must have the DESIRE to know God's Word and not be
satisfied to live by his emotions. Emotional reaction to the problems
of life results in not finding a solution that is a lasting one. "AS
NEWBORN BABIES, DESIRE THE SINCERE MILK OF THE WORD, THAT YOU MAY GROW
UP SPIRITUALLY." (1 Peter 2:2)
Next, you
must have a pastor-teacher who knows the original languages of
scripture so that you may get correct teaching of God's Word. A mere
application of scripture may appeal to your emotions, but it does not
have lasting results for your spiritual growth. In Isaiah 28:10, we
are told that we must learn by applying "precept upon precept and line
upon line" of the Word of God.
God the
Holy Spirit is our mentor-teacher of Bible Doctrine. He makes it
understandable to the believer's human spirit. When it is understood,
the Christian must make an important decision ... will he reject what
has been taught and understood or will he believe it and then make it
a reality in his life?
Hopefully, the believer will choose to believe the truths that will
help him grow spiritually. When he does believe them, he can begin to
grow up and fulfill God's plan for his life. Of course, this doesn't
happen all at once! It takes time and motivation plus a lot of
concentration to become a mature believer.
In your
soul, you begin to have a frame of reference for everything you
encounter in your life. Your memory and your vocabulary increase as
you assimilate Bible Doctrine, and you begin to separate various
Biblical truths in categories as we are told in 2 Timothy 2:15: STUDY
TO SHOW THYSELF APPROVED UNTO GOD, A WORKMAN THAT NEED NOT BE
ASHAMED,RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH".
These
truths are stored in our conscience and they become a moving force
which motivates us to gain more wisdom so that we may please the
Lord. Finally, we able to solve our own problems by applying the
things we have learned and believed.
When we
see how certain believers of the past became profitable to the Lord,
we see that they recognized and confessed their known sins in order to
stay in fellowship with Him. They believed God's promises and learned
to respect His attitude toward all mankind. They understood Bible
Doctrine and found their own personal destiny. They had a real love
for God which gave them a love and consideration for other people.
They were happy in good and bad situations alike, because they had a
working knowledge of the Word of God.
Each one
of us can find God's purpose for our lives if we study, learn,
concentrate on the things we have learned and then apply Bible
Doctrine to our own lives.
"TRUST IN
THE LORD WITH ALL THY HEART, AND LEAN NOT UNTO THY OWN UNDERSTANDING.
IN ALL THY WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM, AND HE SHALL DIRECT THY PATHS."
(Proverbs 3:5,6)
Jump to top
BIBLE
LESSON TWENTY NINE
MANNA
..... GOD'S PROVISION FOR BELIEVERS IN JESUS CHRIST PROMISED:
"Then said the Lord unto Moses, 'Behold, I will send bread from heaven
for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain amount every
day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my doctrine or
not." (Exodus 16:4)
PURPOSE:
"God fed them with manna so that He might make them know that man does
not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the
mouth of God." (Deuteronomy 8:3b)
WHY
SHOULD THE BELIEVERS ACCEPT GOD'S PROVISION?
"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust
does corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up
for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust does
corrupt, and where thieves do not break in and steal; for where your
treasure is, there will your heart be also." (Matthew 16:19-21)
IMPORTANT
THINGS TO CONSIDER CAREFULLY:
"...take heed and beware of covetousness; for a man's life consists
not in the abundance of things which he possesses." (Luke 12:15)
"You who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into a city and buy and
sell and get gain', whereas you know not what tomorrow will bring.
For what is your life? It is a vapor that appears for a little while
and then vanishes away." (James 4:14)
WHAT IS
GOD'S PROVISION FOR THE BELIEVER IN TIME?
Bible Doctrine is what sustains and advances a believer in his
spiritual growth, but he must RECOGNIZE it and DESIRE to have it if it
is going to be profitable in his life. (Proverbs 2:1-5)
Manna was a visible example of God's daily provision for the Children
of Israel during their forty years of wandering in the wilderness.
When they saw the manna lying on the ground they said, "WHAT IS IT?"
Moses answered, "This is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat,
and He has commanded that you gather all you can use every day."
(Exodus 16:15)
WHAT WAS
THE GENERAL RESPONSE OF THE PEOPLE?
A
swarm of Gentiles were among the Jews when they were delivered from
400 years of slavery in Egypt. They all began to complain bitterly
to Moses and said, "Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the
fish that we ate in Egypt and also the cucumbers, the melons, the
onions and the garlic! Now we have nothing to eat but this manna !"
(Numbers 11:4-6)
The people spoke against God and against Moses and said, "Why have you
brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? We have no
bread or water, and our souls loathe this manna !" (Numbers 21:6)
HOW
SHOULD WE RESPOND TO GOD'S PROVISION?
If
you have believed in Jesus Christ and you spend the majority of your
time on this earth laying up treasure for yourself and your loved
ones, but you neglect God's provision of Bible Doctrine on a daily
basis, you will not prosper and grow spiritually. (Proverbs 21:20)
We
may not have everything we DESIRE, but the Lord will provide for our
NEEDS! (Philippians 4:19)
God has a plan for our lives . Peter says to us, "As newborn babes,
desire the sincere milk of the WORD, that you may grow thereby." (1
Peter 2:2)
We
should all " Press toward the mark of the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14)
The apostle Paul says, "MY GOD SHALL SUPPLY ALL YOUR NEEDS, ACCORDING
TO HIS RICHES IN GLORY BY JESUS CHRIST."
(Philippians 4:19)
Jump to top
BIBLE
LESSON THIRTY
WHAT IS
THE SPIRITUAL LIFE?
The true
spiritual life for the believer in Jesus Christ can only be obtained
by taking in Bible Doctrine on a daily basis.
Bible
Doctrine is a system of THINKING ... not EMOTION! No one can handle
problems or testings by using emotional reaction to them! We must know
what God thinks about every kind of situation we may possibly face in
life before we can even begin to handle our problems.
Once we
have LEARNED to recognize God's viewpoint, we must first of all
BELIEVE what God's Word says, then we have to THINK about it and apply
the doctrinal principles to the situation. God's WORD HAS ALL THE
ANSWERS ... people do not!
"FOR MY
THOUGHTS ARE NOT YOUR THOUGHTS, NEITHER ARE YOUR WAYS MY WAYS, SAITH
THE LORD." (Isaiah 55:8)
Arrogance
and self-centeredness are our worst enemies. Bible Doctrine is TRUTH.
If you have ever had an opportunity to make the Gospel clear to an
unbeliever and then see that person accept false teaching or perhaps
get involved in a Satanic cult, you can understand what I'm saying.
Some
believers think they are doing great things for God when they become
"do-gooders" or "activists" for a particular cause that they think is
a good thing, but that is not God's purpose for the Christian!
Instead, it is worldliness and evil if the believer is not in
fellowship with the Lord and motivated by the Word of God.
"AND BE
NOT CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD, BUT BE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF
YOUR MIND, THAT YOU MAY PROVE (learn) WHAT IS THAT GOOD AND ACCEPTABLE
AND PERFECT WILL OF GOD." (Romans 12:2)
You may
ask, "Why don't more believers know and understand what God thinks?"
Many will not learn Bible Doctrine that is too complicated, and they
forget the Bible Doctrine that is too simple.
We can
only learn to know and love God by finding out how He thinks, and that
doesn't happen overnight! "Love at first sight" is an emotional,
childish attitude! You can't truly love someone until you get to know
them!
The
person to whom you may be attracted may have a mind full of evil
thoughts that you can't detect on the outside. Those characteristics
are overlooked many times if the person is physically attractive, has
a position in life that is impressive, or if they have a pleasing
personality, but that is NOT true love!
If you
are a Christian, and you want to live your life to honor the Lord
Jesus Christ, He will provide real and meaningful teaching to help you
mature as a believer.
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