The Biblical Path of Life

Tag: Scripture

  • Lesson 4: Philip: Acts 8

    Key Verse

    Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

    —Acts 8:35

    Key Verse Thought: Read today’s key verse. Understand the word preached means “to proclaim the good news; preach the gospel.” Keep in mind that the focus of the Gospel message is that Jesus died to pay the penalty for man’s sin – if they would only believe. Moreover, that Jesus is alive again. Can you think of a time that you told someone about Jesus? Do you think it is important for Christians to tell others about Jesus? In this lesson, we will learn that it is important to obey God when He tells us to share Jesus with someone else.

    Emphasis: We are to understand the importance of obeying God’s command to tell others about Jesus – for if Philip had not obeyed, the Ethiopian Eunuch would not have understood he needed Jesus.

    Lesson Summary: In our last lesson, we learned of the first person who was killed because they believed in and preached Jesus. Stephen preached Jesus from the Old Testament to the religious leaders, but instead of receiving the truths he taught, they rejected those Words and killed Stephen. We were also introduced to another of the religious men who was present at Stephen’s death – a young man named Saul.

    In this lesson, we will learn a little more about Saul, and the persecution of Believers that caused many to scatter from Jerusalem into Judea and Samaria. This event was the beginning of the persecution against the church. It was also the beginnings of the spread of the gospel into the world.

    We will look at what happened with Philip, another of the seven that had been called out to minister in the church to help the Apostles. Philip left Jerusalem and went to Samaria. While he preached Jesus to the people there, many believed – including a man called Simon who was a sorcerer. After many were saved, Peter and John came to Samaria.

    The next event we will read today is a very familiar event many people may have heard before. An angel of the Lord told Philip to go to Gaza, the desert. Once he was there, the Spirit told Philip to go to the Ethiopian Eunuch who was riding in a chariot reading from the book of Isaiah. After helping this man understand Jesus was taught in the Old Testament book of Isaiah, the eunuch believed in Jesus and was saved. It would be good to understand the importance of Philip obeying the Lord – just so that one individual could be saved.

    Y3Q2 – Lesson 4 Questions

    Y3Q2 – Lesson 4 Children’s Worksheets

    If you are teaching this to children, the following is a craft idea to help them remember this lesson:

    We made a scroll with some of the Scriptures the Ethiopian Eunuch was reading when Philip helped him understand about Jesus.

    The Biblical Path of Life – Year Three, Quarter Two is now available through Amazon. It is here you will find the complete lesson.

  • The Strong One versus the Stronger One

    “But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.”
    Galatians 3:22

    Jesus was teaching the people. He wanted them to understand the power He held. The people were having a hard time understanding, so he explained. “When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace” (Luke 11:21). This “strong man” he is referring to is the prince of this world, the devil. (See Ephesians 2:2: “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.”) We are to understand something very important. However, in order to understand this, one must know the difference between one who belongs to Jesus and one who does not.

    One, who believes in Jesus by faith, belongs to Him. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). Also, understand it by the following verse. “But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe” (Galatians 3:22). We then declare that a Believer (Christian) has Jesus in their heart.

    A person who does not have Jesus in the heart (an unconverted sinner) does not have Him in His rightful place. Instead, by default, Satan has taken up residence (“a strong man keeps his palace”). In this condition, the person sins willfully, which is a picture of Satan’s “goods.” This is the place where Satan dwells, where he works. This becomes his stronghold, the place of which he wants to keep away from Jesus. Satan then can continue to do his wickedness. That is the condition of all without Jesus in their heart. Moreover, all seems well in that life, until there is a challenge to this status quo. When Jesus is presented, the battle begins.

    As Jesus continued teaching them, He told them of a Stronger. “But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils” (Luke 11:22). Jesus is the Stronger One. Notice what He did. Jesus has invaded what Satan thought was his territory. Jesus has been (and still is) destroying Satan’s armor and claiming his spoils. [“He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8) and “And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:15.)] Understanding this, we can learn that one who has repented of their sin, asking forgiveness from God, has been freed from the strong one (Satan) and belongs to the Stronger One (Jesus). A decision has to be made by each individual, for there is no neutral ground in this conflict. If one thinks they can remain neutral and stay out of the conflict, this is what Jesus said, “He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth” (Luke 11:23). A side must be chosen.

    When one believes in Jesus by faith, that heart is now clean. The difference (of the decision) is whether the individual has accepted Jesus into that heart, making His residence permanent. Remember the following must happen: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). This decision has to be made. The danger of trying not to make a decision is pictured in what Jesus told them immediately after explaining all of this.

    See what happens when one does not become a “new creature” in Christ (believe in Jesus by faith). When one cleans up, lives good for a while without actually having a nature change that is required to live as a true Christian, read what happens. “24. When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. 25. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. 26. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first” (Luke 11:24-26). When one cleans up, lives religiously, or just in their own righteousness without the true righteousness that comes from Jesus’ finished work on the cross, the last state of the person is worse than the first. That person is left with no hope and will suffer the wrath of God that is yet to come.

    “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13). Once sealed, always belonging to Jesus (the Stronger One).

    Are you one who has cleaned up your life on your own (still bound by the strong one),

    or

    Have you become a new creature in Christ (belong to the Stronger One)?

    How to be Saved

  • Thoroughly Furnished

    “That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”
    2 Timothy 3:17

    After learning of Paul and his missionary journeys in the book of Acts, we can read the letters he wrote to the Gentile churches – many of which he started while on those missionary journeys recorded in the book of Acts. When we study these letters, we begin to recognize a pattern that develops. This pattern is revealed in an important verse found in Second Timothy. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).  Look at this verse more in depth by using the following definitions to help in the understanding of it: 

    • Scripture means “every part of the whole and all of it together; that which has been written once and for all and constitutes the final authority of God’s revelation.”
    • Given by inspiration of God means “prompted by God; divinely inspired; appears only in 2 Timothy 3:16.”
    • Profitable means “to be useful, profitable, or advantageous.”
    • Doctrine means “teaching or instruction with the meaning of warning.”
    • Reproof means “to convict; in the sense of refutation of adversaries; not merely the charge on the basis of which one is convicted, but the manifestation of the truth of that charge and the results to be reaped; the acknowledgement of its truth on the part of the accused.”
    • Correction means “to set right again; to correct or make straight.”
    • Instruction means “to instruct; rectification; including discipline.”

    Recognize that this verse cites the four benefits (profitableness) of the Word of God: doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction. The different parts of this verse reveal that each of these components are interdependent and are all necessary in the process of sanctification of a Christian’s life. First, the Word of God is presented as doctrine or instruction as in authoritative teaching. Then as truth, which is ethically persuasive, convincing one of error. Next, it places that person in a correct moral position, which allows one to be brought to the final place where that one can be provided the discipline, chastisement, or training needed to bring about righteousness. This verse summarizes the third division of the New Testament:  Romans – 2 Thessalonians. It is with this insight that Paul spent much of his time writing to the new churches, so that they would know how to become righteous.

    Remember theses letters of Paul that are important for each Christian to study:

    • Romans: the teaching of doctrine,
    • 1 and 2 Corinthians: reproof for failure to live right,
    • Galatians: correction, rectifying wrong doctrine that had permeated the church,
    • Ephesians: the revealing of deeper doctrinal truths intended for growing Christians,
    • Philippians: reproof for wrong living, the rectifying of a potential problem,
    • Colossians: correction to rectify wrong doctrine,
    • 1 and 2 Thessalonians: the teaching of doctrine and instructions.   

    Did you notice the pattern of how these books, or letters, can be used as doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction? As we read about the churches as they received these letters from Paul, some of them immediately put into practice what was taught therein. When that happened, we read that Paul received encouraging words about the growth of the churches. After reading theses letters (books), can you recognize the different stages of implementation each one was designed to teach? Remember, that these books (letters) are for Christians to use even today. Remember what the very next verse in Second Timothy says. “That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:17). The words throughly furnished means “to equip fully; completely.” This is the purpose of God’s Word. To equip Christians completely to be able to do what God wants us to do.

    Do you read understanding that all Scripture, when it is implemented into one’s life, will furnish you unto all good works?

  • Understanding the Old Testament

    “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein …”
    Joshua 1:8

    It is important to know that all of God’s Word is essential. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:15). Not only is it important to know what it says, but it is even more important to understand what it says.

    An easy way to begin understanding the Bible is to become familiar with it. The history in the Old Testament is very important to further one’s understanding of the Bible as a whole. In Joshua 1:8 we can read that not only is the book of the law to not depart out of one’s mouth, but it is important to meditate upon it day and night. Meditate means “to dwell on any thing in thought; to contemplate; to study; to turn or revolve any subject in the mind.” This is an important thing to understand as one learns to read the Bible. Reading the Bible involves much more than just reading a few verses or chapters and then continuing on with one’s day. Reading God’s Word involves meditating on it – to dwell on it in one’s thoughts, contemplating what it says. Although we can understand that this verse in Joshua is initially referring to the first five books in the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), the importance of knowing God’s Word does not end there. Remember that all of God’s Word is important!

    If one would just recognize that the Bible is very organized it would make it much easier to understand. For instance, the Old Testament has thirty-nine books easily broken into five groups. The first five books are called the “Law” where we can find the first 2,500 years of history and witness God actively involved in the lives of mankind. The second group consists of the next twelve books, often called “History”, where we pick up the history of the Israelites at the brink of the Promised Land, prepared to enter. The first nine books of History record the years in which the Jewish people occupy the land of Israel. This not only includes the times of the judges (when the people forgot God), the times of the kings (when the people rejected God as their king), but also the captivity of God’s people. The last three books of History reveal the remnant of Israelites that were allowed to return to the Promised Land, also known as Israel.

    There are five books in the middle that can be considered “Personal Books”, for they deal with individual’s experiences with God and are very personal. These books deal with individuals’ heart issues as they seek to know and better understand God. These are Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. The “Major Prophets” are the next five books, and the “Minor Prophets” are the final twelve books. Understanding the timeframe these Personal Books, Major Prophets, and Minor Prophets take place are imperative in the understanding of the Old Testament as a whole.

    The New Testament is organized as well for the ease of understanding.

    Reading, learning, and understanding the Bible is the most important thing a Christian can do. Although many people are taught a lot of Bible “stories” as a child, understanding that these were real people and that God worked in these individuals’ lives will make these events invaluable! Remember some words with which Paul encouraged Timothy. “14. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15. And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17. That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:14-17).

    Have you taken time to become familiar with God’s Word?

    Do you meditate (dwell on in thought, contemplate, and study) upon a portion of the Bible every day?

    Originally Posted at Lighthouse.pub: https://lighthouse.pub/blog/understanding-the-old-testament-/?src=n