SALVATION
MEMORY VERSE
"But to him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Romans 4:5
"But to him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Romans 4:5
Salvation? How does one receive forgivness of sins and be made right with God? There is much confusion regarding this very important issue today. We have eastern and traditional religions, false cults, modern new-age cults, differences among even those that profess to believe and teach biblical salvation, so where lies the answer? In the Word of God! Yes, many of these groups claim to believe the Bible, some consider it to be a "good" source for truth, while others hold the Bible as THE truth. Yet even among these we have an amazing amount of positions regarding salvation. The solution is an honest and scriptural view of what the Bible teaches.
1. Man MUST Be Aware of his sin and see his personal need of the Saviour. Man is NOT basically "good" as many would like us to believe. The Authority, the Word of God, clearly teaches that sin was passed down from Adam and Eve (Romans 5), whcih is called imputed sin. As well, all persons, (excepting the Lord Jesus Christ of course) have sinned according to Eccl 7:20, Romans 3:10,23 etc. In fact one is BORN a sinner (Ps. 51:5, Romans 3:23). Man is in trouble with God BECAUSE of his sin. NO ONE IS WORTHY OF HEAVEN, NO ONE IS GOOD ENOUGH TO GO TO HEAVEN! Because of man's sin and due to God's HOLINESS, God CANNOT forgive man unless something is done about the sin that satisfies Him! Man and "religion" attempt to get this forgiveness through other means and their own merit. Because of sin, the Bible teaches that we deserve God's Holy Judgment. ONE SIN is enough for any person to deserve eternal torment! UNTIL A PERSON SEES THEIR WICKEDNESS AND THEIR PERSONAL SIN AND OFFENSE TOWARDS THE HOLY GOD OF THE BIBLE, THERE IS NO HOPE FOR THEM TO BE SAVED! NO ONE will be in heaven boasting of "their"deeds and "their" righteousness! God's standard for heaven is perfection, that is why every human being ever born (outside of the Lord Jesus Christ of course) falls SHORT!
2. Good deeds and religious works do NOT take care of the sin problem! Look at the memory verse and also consider NUMEROUS other passages such as Romans 5:1, Eph. 2:8-10, Romans 11:6 and Titus 3:5. Man's sinful nature tends to think there is something he can do to be justified, to earn his or her way into heaven (Prov. 20:6) but the scriptures are CLEAR! The truth is that if an individual trusts AT ALL in their works, goodness etc. they are LOST! Read Is. 64:6 "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;..." Yes, this condemns many religions and religious people, but the Authority, the Standard, is the Word of God!
1. Man MUST Be Aware of his sin and see his personal need of the Saviour. Man is NOT basically "good" as many would like us to believe. The Authority, the Word of God, clearly teaches that sin was passed down from Adam and Eve (Romans 5), whcih is called imputed sin. As well, all persons, (excepting the Lord Jesus Christ of course) have sinned according to Eccl 7:20, Romans 3:10,23 etc. In fact one is BORN a sinner (Ps. 51:5, Romans 3:23). Man is in trouble with God BECAUSE of his sin. NO ONE IS WORTHY OF HEAVEN, NO ONE IS GOOD ENOUGH TO GO TO HEAVEN! Because of man's sin and due to God's HOLINESS, God CANNOT forgive man unless something is done about the sin that satisfies Him! Man and "religion" attempt to get this forgiveness through other means and their own merit. Because of sin, the Bible teaches that we deserve God's Holy Judgment. ONE SIN is enough for any person to deserve eternal torment! UNTIL A PERSON SEES THEIR WICKEDNESS AND THEIR PERSONAL SIN AND OFFENSE TOWARDS THE HOLY GOD OF THE BIBLE, THERE IS NO HOPE FOR THEM TO BE SAVED! NO ONE will be in heaven boasting of "their"deeds and "their" righteousness! God's standard for heaven is perfection, that is why every human being ever born (outside of the Lord Jesus Christ of course) falls SHORT!
2. Good deeds and religious works do NOT take care of the sin problem! Look at the memory verse and also consider NUMEROUS other passages such as Romans 5:1, Eph. 2:8-10, Romans 11:6 and Titus 3:5. Man's sinful nature tends to think there is something he can do to be justified, to earn his or her way into heaven (Prov. 20:6) but the scriptures are CLEAR! The truth is that if an individual trusts AT ALL in their works, goodness etc. they are LOST! Read Is. 64:6 "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;..." Yes, this condemns many religions and religious people, but the Authority, the Standard, is the Word of God!
It is important to recognize that many of the cults and false religions are very deceptive about this matter of works and religious deeds. More on this will be in future lessons, but I will give a few examples. First, the Roman Catholic Church, (especially with their changes the last few years that include more proselytizing) has more commonly stated that they believe in salvation apart from any works, but they are liars and deceivers! The way they cloak their "works" salvation is to say that salvation is by "grace" but according to their doctrine, grace is only merited by obedience and practice of the sacraments such as water baptism and the mass etc. This is nothing more than a devilish twist on words and heresy! The LDS (Mormon) Church does similar with this issue and they are taught to agree that salvation is by grace alone. In reality, the Mormon Church defines salvation as "resurrection" NOT BIBLICAL SALVATION and scriptural forgiveness that declares one right with God. It is important that one understands that ANY trust in works of any kind VOIDS FAITH and is a rejection of Christ and His finished work on Calvary (Romans 11:6). And by one adding works or religious deeds to earn salvation, they are in essence, stating that Christ did not do enough to pay for sin! BLASPHEMY!
3. Man MUST have a repentant heart concerning sin, self and the Saviour and THEN, believe ON CHRIST, apart from any works or religious deeds. So the sinner now realizes his sinful and doomed condition if he continues and dies in his sin! He now must repent! See Mark 1:15, Acts 20:21, 1 Thes. 1:9, and Prov 28:13. Repent in the evangelical sense of the term means to have a change of mind about sin, self and the Saviour and WILL result in a change of conduct or an "amendment of life." A change of mind concerning sin would entail seeing how sin (again, personal sin) has offended the Lord and is the cause for His Righteous Judgment, resulting in the person's desire to TURN from sin. This is a wall regarding the gospel to many, as most people would like to be forgiven and go to heaven, but few are willing to leave their sinful lifestyles! Lesson 5 details the important doctrine of scriptural repentance, so I will not elaborate, but it is a prerequisite to the gospel as it has to do with the HEART of the sinner (see Mark 1:15). To repent of self is to humbly recognize that there is no good in us that would commend us to God and to see that in us "dwelleth no good thing" and that in a our present state of being a sinner, we deserve not heaven and forgiveness but judgment and hell! Regarding the Saviour, repentance is that we now UNDERSTAND that HE ALONE can save our wretched soul and we are trusting Him ALONE, placing our faith for forgiveness and salvation, in and ON HIM! It is a SURRENDERED spirit, yielding to Christ, that will result in making Him our Lord, giving the sinner a desire to serve Him (1 Thes 1:9) and follow Him! No works, all because of placing our faith in Him, and the result is the imputed righteousness of Christ, JUSTIFYING the sinner and declaring him righteous! (Rom 5, 2 Cor. 5:17-21)!
THE BIBLE
THE BIBLE
Memory Verse
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"
Memory Verse
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"
INSPIRATION- The Bible is unlike any other book. It is "inspired" meaning God-breathed! Many authors today claim their works are inspirational, meaning they may cause people to be emotionally stirred, but the Word of God is the ONLY Book that is God-breathed. Through the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, the Bible was written (1 Pet 1:21). And what a fantastic book it is! Comprised of 66 books written by about 40 authors from all different walks of life and written over a period of about 1400 years and covering about 4000 years of human history, the Word of God clearly stands unchallenged as the most amazing book ever written. And interestingly the Bible is the most purchased book in history yet is the most cherished and the most hated at the same time.
INERRANCY- The Word of God is also innerrant, meaning there are no errors in it. While there may be confusing passages, usually the problem is that the solution to the apparent contradiction is in the Bible itself. That reveals the importance of comparing scripture with scripture (Is. 28:9,10). God's Word is pure (Prov 30:5,6) and perfect (Ps. 19:7). Pure means "free from moral defilement, without spot, incorrupt, unmixed, unadulterated, holy, not sullied or tarnished" etc. Perfect means "not defective, finished, complete in moral excellencies, manifesting perfection," etc. and in the case of the Word of God these definitions are most fitting. Many critics of the Bible are critical due to their unwillingess to submit to it's Authority (see Is. 8:20, 2 Tim 3:16) and the Authority of our Creator (Gen 1:1-3). Rest assured one can trust the Word of God. The historical and archeological evidence that supports the Word of God is overwhelming as is the testimony of many throughout time. One of the greatest facts that stump even the harshest critics is the innumerable amount of individuals who have been changed, and drastically, from heeding the message of God's Inspired Word!
PRESERVATION- The word preservation means "the act of preserving or keeping safe or to preserve from injury, destruction or decay" etc. Clearly the God of the Universe, the Creator of the heaven, the earth and mankind has the POWER to preserve His Holy Word from error. Critics and the cults will claim that since man has translated the Bible and because so many years have passed, surely there are errors and it cannot be trusted, but the scripture clearly states, "Thou shalt keep them (His Words), O LORD, thou shalt PRESERVE them from this generation for ever." Ps. 12:7 (See also V. 6).
The King James Issue
The Lord seems to have always had His Word in the most common language of the day. The King James is in English and has been for about 400 years the most purchased "version" of the Bible. While there have been MANY translations of the scriptures since 1881, the KJ is the one that is preserved, despite the attacks of the critics, religious and otherwise. Too cover this controversial subject completely would take many more pages than designed for this curriculum but the following facts will help the student to understand the distinction between the "versions" and the preserved Word of God.1. God promised to PRESERVE His Word (Ps. 12:6,7).
2. For nearly 300 years the KJ was undisputed in being the Word of God. There was no debate from
believers over "which Bible is right?" The understanding was the KJ was THE BIBLE!
3. EVERY English translation comes from one of two sources, the Textus Receptus (Received Text),
which is comprised of over 5,000 manuscripts which in agreement over 95% of the time or the Alexandrian
Texts, which are corrupted Catholic manuscripts. ALL MODERN TRANSLATIONS RELY COMPLETELY OR TO SOME DEGREE ON THE ALEXANDRIAN MANUSCRIPTS!
4. Satan has HATED the Word of God from the beginning and has sought to undermine in it (Gen. 3:1-4). Interesting that a preacher used to speak the Word of God, it was understood and taken to be so, but now with all of the translations that differ much, people question the bible when they do not agree with its content and commands.
5. Clearly things that are different are not the same. There are MANY DIFFERENCES between the
"versions."
6. Compare the following passages in ANY modern translation and then compare them with the KJ.
Col 1:14, Luke 2:33, 1 John 5:7, Matt 17:21, 18:11, Mark 16:9-20, John 5:3,4, 7:53-8:11, Acts 8:37, Acts 28:29, Romans 1:16, 14:21, 2 Tim 4:22, Heb. 2:7, Rev. 21:24 and 22;14 for starters, there are MANY more! Not all modern translations corrupt these particular passages but all do corrupt numerous scriptures!
7. The Word of God is CLEAR about the importance of the WORDS of scripture. See Deut 4:2, Prov
30:5,6, 2 Tim 3:16 and Rev 22:18,19.
8. The KJ Bible is on a 5th grade reading level.
9. The KJ Bible was the Bible being used when the greatest TRUE revivals occurred in our history since 1611.
10. The KJ Bible does NOT have a copyright where nearly all other "translations" do?
11. The KJ Bible is the ONLY one that some label as God's perfect Word. I have NEVER heard anyone state that they believe the NIV, NAS etc. are perfect, without error and the preserved Word of God.
12. Westcott and Hort, whose work is behind many of the modern translations, held to many heresies.
The Word of God is clear and the Lord has kept His promise in the King James Bible!
THE GODHEAD
The Godhead
MEMORY VERSE
"...have not I the Lord? And there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none elsebeside me." Isaiah 45:21b
THERE IS ONE GOD! CLEAR! The cults in particular like to pervert this important doctrine but the scriptures are very clear. Look at Is. 43:10b,11 "...that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour." The book of Isaiah is a tremendous book that reveals many times the truth that there is ONE God. See also Is. 41:4, 44:6-8, 45:5,21 and 46:9 as well as Deut. 4:35,39 and the NT reference of 1 Tim 2:5 (which is also a great scripture to use with Roman Catholics regarding Christ being the mediator between God and man, NOT Mary). Many Eastern religions are Polytheistic, which means a belief of multiple deities (or more than one God) and these include Buddhism, Hinduism etc. Monotheism is a belief in one God. Hinduism claims to be a monotheistic religion which believes that God manifests Himself or Herself in several forms. "One is supposed to worship the form that is most appealing to the individual without being disrespectful to other forms of worship" They claim to be monotheistic but in reality they are polythiestic, allowing their followers to "worship" any of the "forms" of "God", which is nothing more than a confusing and deceptive disguise for their polytheism. Mormonism claims to believe in the God of the Bible but they clearly do not. Joseph Smith, founder of the LDS church stated, "In the beginning the head of the gods called a council of the gods.." and "...these three (Father, Son and Spirit), constitute three distinct personages and three Gods" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg 349, 370 ). Islam teaches monotheism but holds Christians as idolaters because Christianity teaches Christ is God. There is ONE God in three persons according to the Authority, the Word of God. Consider 1 John 5:7, "for there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." Consider also that Christ and the Spirit were both involved in creation (John 1:1-3, Gen. 1:2). The word "trinity" may not be in the Bible but that does not negate the FACT of one God, three persons. Interesting also that the Lord does not try to defend His existence (Gen 1:1). He IS the ONE TRUE GOD and the CREATOR (Gen 1:1, Ps. 100:3) and He desires communion with His creation in contrast to the impersonal false God of Islam that is unable to be known ( Rev 4:11).
BIBLE DOCTRINE
The Deity of Christ
Memory Verse
"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, believed on in the world, received up into glory." 1 Tim. 3:16
One of the most fundamental and important truths of the scriptures is that Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, IS and always has been, GOD! The author has used the memory passage above to refute countless Jehovah's Witnesses, Muslims and others that deny the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some claim our position is one of idolatry, some have been led astray by false teachers and many use their own human reasoning and do not believe the Word of God! The Bible is very clear on this subject. Consider 1 Tim 3:16. God was manifest in the flesh IN Jesus Christ! There is NO one else this passage could describe! John 1:1-3 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made." Also look at 1 John 5:7 which deals with the doctrine of the trinty as well as the deity of Christ. In John 20:28 Thomas states, "...my Lord and My God " and Jesus does not rebuke him. The understanding of his critics was that Christ claimed deity (see John 5:18) and they took His claim of God being His Father as a claim to deity. In Philippians 2:6 it is stated of Christ, "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God." When Jesus was betrayed by Judas he declared, " I am he." A clear reference to God the Father's words in Exodus 3:14. Yet more passages would include Is. 9:6 where the "child" (Christ) is said to be called the mighty God, the everlasting Father etc. Some unbelievers like to comment that the reference to Christ being called the "mighty God" does not refer to deity because the "m" in mighty is not capitalized, but then they have a problem if they go over to Is. 10:21 and Ps. 50:1 where God the Father is being referenced and the "m" is not capitilized. In Zech 12:10 we have a most interesting verse that states, ..." and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced,.." The context is God the Father (12:9,10) and is a prophecy that is fulfilled Christ in John 19:37. Critics who claim confusion over God the Father speaking from heaven while Christ is on the eart simply do not understand that they are ONE GOD IN THREE PERSONS (see lesson #2). Think on this, if Christ were not God, then He could not pay for sin! No sinner can pay for the sin of another, only God in the flesh could do that! What a powerful and wonderful fact and truth that Christ Jesus, God... came to earth in the form of man, lived a perfect, sinless life, and after being mocked, ridiculed, spit upon and finally cruelly crucified, shed His Holy Blood to pay for sin!
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