THE HOLY SPIRIT
STUDY - 1THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK
A- THE COMFORTER
1- What precious promises did Jesus make to His disciples shortly before His crucifixion?
“I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.” John 14:16.
2- Why was it necessary for Christ to go away?
“Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” John 16:7.
3- Who is the Comforter, and what was He to do?
“But the Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance all that I said unto you.” John 14:26.
4- What other work was the Comforter to do?
“And when he is come, he will reprove (“convince” margin,) the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” John 16:8.
B- THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH
5- By what other title is the Comforter designated?
“But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.” John 15:26.
6- What did Jesus say the Spirit of truth would do?
“Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” John 16:13.
Note:
a) The Spirit speaks (1Timothy 4:1).
b) The Spirit teaches (1 Corinthians 2:3).
c) The Spirit bears witness (Romans 8:16).
d) The Spirit makes intercession (Romans 8:26).
e) The Spirit distributes the gifts (1 Corinthians 12:11).
f) The Spirit invites the sinner (Revelation 22:17).
7- Why cannot the world receive Him?
“Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him” John 14:17.
8- How has God revealed to us the hidden things of the kingdom?
“But god hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:10.
9- Who moved upon the prophets to give their messages?
“For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” 2 Peter 1:21.
10- After Pentecost, how was the gospel preached?
“With the Holy Ghost sent down from heave.” 1 Peter 1:12.
11- How intimate is His union with believers?
“But ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” John 14:17.
12- What promise is thus fulfilled?
“Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” Matthew 28:20.
13- By whom is this union sealed?
“In whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.” Ephesians 1:13.
STUDY – 2
FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
1- What is the fruit of the Spirit?
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” Galatians 5:22, 23.
2- What are the works of the flesh?
“Now the works, of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like.” Galatians 5:19-21.
3- How may the works of the flesh be avoided?
“Walk in the spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16.
4-By what is the love of God shed abroad in the heart?
“The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” Romans 5:5.
5- What is love declared to be?
“And above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness.” Colossians 3:14.
6- By is love declared to be?
“For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircuncision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.” Galatians 5:6.
7- What does love do?
“Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.” Proverbs 10:12. “Have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8.
8- In what way does love manifest itself?
“Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil.” 1 Corinthians 13:4, 5.
A – THE KINGDOM OF GOD
9- Of what does the kingdom of God consist?
“For the kingdom of God is not meat and dringk; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” Romans 14:17.
Note: It is the Christian’s privilege to have righteousness, peace, and joy – a righteousness, which is of God by faith (Romans 3:21,22); a peace that passeth understanding (Philippians 4:7), which the world can neither give nor take away; and a joy that rejoices evermone. (1 Thessalonians 5:16; Philippians 4:4).
B – GENTLENESESS, GOODNESS, FAITH.
10- What does God’s gentleness do for us?
“Thy gentleness hath made me great.” Psalm 18:35.
11- What spirit should we show toward others?
“And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men.” 2 Timothy 2:24.
12- What does the goodness of God do?
“Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbeareance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” Romans 2:4.
14- How does faith determine our standing with God?
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6.
C – FROM CONDEMNATION TO PEACE
15- What is said of all these different virtues?
“Against such there is no law.” Galatians 5:23.
Note: The law condemns sin. But all things, beings virtues, are in harmony with the law. They are produced by the spirit; and the law, which is spiritual, cannot, therefore, condemn them.
15- From what condemnation does the leading of this Spirit save us?
“But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.” Galatians 5:18.
16- To what unity are Christians exhorted?
“Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:3.
STUDY – 3
GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT
A – GIFTS FROM THE GODHEAD
1- Concerning what subject ought we to be informed?
“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.” 1 Corinthians 12:1
3- When Christ ascended, what did He give to men?
“Wherefore he saith, When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive (literally, “he led captives captive”), and gave gifts unto men.” Ephesians 4:8.
4- What were these gifts that Christ gave to men?
“And he gave some, apostles; and some, pastors and teachers.” Ephesians 4:11.
5- How are these gifts elsewhere spoken of?
“And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, and thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.” 1 Corinthians 12:28.
B – PURPOSE OF THE GIFTS
6- For what purpose were these gifts bestowed upon the church?
“For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: …that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.” Ephesians 4:12 – 15.
6- What result is to be obtained by the exercise of the gifts in the church?
“Till we all come in (´into,´margin) the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stture of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:13.
7- How is unity preserved in the diversities of gifts?
“Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:4.
8- For what purpose is the manifestation of this one Spirit given?
“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts o f healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues.” 1 Corinthians 12:7-10.
9- Who controls the distribution of the gifts of the Spirit?
“But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.” 1 Corinthians 12:11.
10- Was it God’s design that all should possess the same gifts?
“Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?” 1 Corinthians 12:29, 30.
C – PERIOD OF THE GIFTS
11- Were the gifts of the Spirit to continue forever?
“Whether there be propheticies, they shall be done away: whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall be done away.” 1 Corinthians 13:8.
11- When will the gifts of the Spirit be no longer needed?
“When that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.” 1 Corinthians 13:10.
THE LAW OF GOD
STUDY – 1 THE LAW OF GOD
1- How did God proclaim His law to His people?
“And the Cord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but say no similitude; only ye heard a voice. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, event Ten Commandments; and we wrote them upon two tables of stone.” Deuteronomy 4:12, 14. For the Ten Commandments see Exodus 20:2-17
A- NATURE OF GOD`S LAW
2- What is the nature of God’s law?
“Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” “For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.” Romans 7:12, 14.
“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul” Psalm 19:7. “Is there such a thing as a perfect law? Everything that comes from God is perfect. The law of which we are thinking came from Him. It becomes sullied in our hands. Why take from it and try to add to it, and in that way it becomes less than perfect. In a very real sense the law of God is the manifestation of the nature of the Lord. It could not more be imperfect than He is” – The Augsburg Sunday School Teacher (Lutheran). August. 1937, vol. 63, no. 8, p. 483, on the Sunday School lesson for August 15.
3- How comprehensive are these commandments?
“Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.” Ecclesiastes 12:13.
4- What inspired tribute in paid to the law of God?
“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.” Psalm 19:7,8.
Note: “Its perfection is a proof of its divinity. No human lawgiver could have given forth such a law as that which we find in the Decalogue. It is a perfect law; for all human laws that are right are to be found in that brief compendium and epitome of all that is good and excellent toward God, or between man and man.” - C.H. Spurgeon, Sermons, series 2 (1857), 280.
5- What is the essential principle of the law of God?
“Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” Romans 13:10.
6- What two commandments sum up the law of God?
“thou shalt love the Lord thy Go with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40.
Note: If you love God with all you heart, you will keep the first table or first four: if you love your neighbours as yourself, you will keep the last six commandments.
B- PURPOSE OF LAW
7- Why should we fear God and keep His commandments?
“Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14.
8- What will be the standard in the judgment?
“So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.” James 2:12.
9- What is sin declared to be?
“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4.
10- By what is the knowledge of sin?
“For by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Romans 3:20 – Romans 7:7.
C- DISOBEDIENCE TO LAW
11- How does the Word of God describe a transgressor of the law?
“For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said. Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.” James 2:10, 11.
Note: “The tem commandments are not ten different laws; they are one law. If I am being held up in the air by a chain with ten links and I break one of them, dowy I come, just as surely as if I break the whole ten. If I am forbidden to go out of an enclosure, I t make no difference at what point I break trhough.” D.L. Moody, Weighed and Wanting. (1898 ed.), p. 119.
“The ten word of Sinai were not ten separate commandments.” Said G. Campbell Morgan, “but ten sides of one law of God.” The Ten Commandments (Revell, 1901 ed.), p. 11.
“As he (Methodist) loves God, so he keeps his commandments; not only some, or most of them, but all, from the least to the greatest. He is not content to ´keep the whole law, and offend in one point;` but has, in all point, ´a conscience void of offence towards God and towards man.” John Wesley, The Character of a methodist, in Woks, vol. 8 (1830 ed.), p. 344.
12- For what did Christ reprove the Pharisees?
“ ´Why do you, too,´He returned, ´transgress God’s commandments for the sake of your tradition?´ Matthew 15:3, Weymouth.
13- Consequently, how did Christ value their worship?
“But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Matthew 15:9.
14- Can one know God if he doesn’t keep His commandments?
“He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” 1 John 2:4.
D- NECESSITY OF OBEDIENCE
15- WHAT WAS Christ’s attitude toward God’s will, or law?
“Then said I, Lo. I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me. I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.” Psalm 40:7, 8. (See Hebrews 10:5).
16- Who did He say would enter the kingdom of heaven?
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21.
17- What other blessing attends commandments keeping?
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom A good understanding have all they that do his commandments.” Psalm 111:10.
18- What promise is made to the willing and obedient?
“If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.” Isaiah 1:19.
STUDY – 2 THE PERPETUITUY OF THE LAW
A- THE FIVER OF THE LAW
1- How many lawgivers are there?
“There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy.” James 4:12.
2- What is said of the stability of God’s a character?
“For I am the Lord, I change not.” Malachi 3:6.
3- How enduring are His commandments?
“The works of his hand are verity and judgements; all his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in thruth and uprithness.” Psalm 117:7, 8.
Note: “This rule is unchangeable because it is in harmony with the unchangeable nature of God…the rule of God among men in an expression of His holiness. It must be eternally what it has ever been.” O. C. S. Wallace, What Baptist Believe, p. 81. Copyriht, 1934, by the Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist convention. Used by permission.
B- CHRIST FULFILLS THE LAW
4- Did Christ come to abolish or to destroy the law?
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” Matthew 5:17.
“The moral law, contained in the Ten Commandments, and enforced by the Prophets, he did not take away. It was not the design of his coming to revoke any part of this…Every part of this law must remain in force upon all mankind, and in all ages, as hot depending either on time or place, or any other circumstances liable to change, but on the nature of God, and the nature of man, and their unchangeable relation to each other.” John Wesley, “Upon Our Lord’s sermon on the Mount,” Discourse 5, in Works vol. 5 (1829 ed.), pp. 311,312.
5- What does “fulfil” mean with reference to prophecy?
Perform, keep, or act in accordance with; as, “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2 – See Matthew 3:15; James 2:8, 9.
6- How did Christ treat His Father’s commandments?
“I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” John 15:10.
7- If one professes to abide in Christ, how ought he to walk?
“He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk, even as he walked.” 1 John 2:6
C- SIN AND THE LAW
8- What is sin?
“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4.
“Whosoever” likewise shows the universality of the law’s binding claims. Everyone who transgresses the law, commits sin.
9- In what condition are all men?
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23. “We have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin.” Romans 3:9
D- FAITH, LOVE, AND THE LAW
10- Does faith in god make void the law?
“Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.” Romans 3:31.
11- What proves the perpetuity and immutability of the law of God?
“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.” John 3:16. “Christ died for our sins.” 1 Corinthians 15:3.
Note: Could the law have been abolished, and sin been disposed of in this way, Christ need not have come and died for our sins. The gift of Christ, therefore, proves the immutability of the law of God. Christ must come and die, and satisfy the claims of the law, or the world must perish. The law could not give way. The fact that the law is to be the standard in the judgment is another proof of its enduring nature. (See Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14; James 2:8-12).
“But he that looketh into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and so continueth, being not a hearer that forgetteth, but a doer that worketh, this mans shall be blessed in his doing.” James 1:23.
12- How may we know that we have passed from death to life?
“We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.” 1 John 3:14.
13- And how may we know that we love the brethren?
“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.” 1 John 5:2.
14- What is the love of God?
“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.” 1 John 5:3.
“We cannot conceive of an age when the moral government of the universe shall be changed, because we cannot conceive of God becoming different morally from what he is now and ever has been…This Law of God is holy as He himself is holy…It is a universal law…The Law of God is holy as He himself is holy…It is as universal law…The Law of God is just and cannot be unjust – Its justice is universal… It is more than just; it is gracious…It results in welfare, in happiness, in blessedness. It is more than negative, prohibiting wrong-doing. It is more than positive, requiring right-doing. It is liked with all the outgoing of God’s life towards man, and this means that it is linked with his great compassionate love. The law of God is full of the love of God.” O.C.S.Wallace, What Baptists Believe (Southern Baptist Sunday School Worker` Training Course textbook), pp.80-83. Copyright, 1934, by the Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Used by permission.
15- How are those described who will prepare for the coming of Christ?
“Here is the patience of the saints here are they that keep the commandments og God, and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:12.
STUDY – 3 THE MORAL AND CERIMONIAL LAWS
A- THE ROYAL MORAL LAW
1- What title of distinction is given the law of God?
“If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well.” James 2:8.
2- By what law is the knowledge of sin?
“I had not known sin, but by the law, for I had not known sin, but by the law: for K ha not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covert.” Romans 7:7.
Note: The law which says this is the Ten Commandments.
3- By what are all men to be finally judged?
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work in judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14. “So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.” James 2:12.
Note: “The law of liberty, “which says, “Do not commit adultery” and “the royal law” (verse 11), and is styled “the royal law” (verse 8), that is, the kingly law, is the bay by which men are to be judged.
B- MORAL AND CEREMONIAL CAPARED
4- By whom was the ten-commandment law proclaimed?
“And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but say no similitude; only ye heard a voice. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.” Deuteronomy 4:12, 13.
5- How was the ceremonial law made known to Israel?
“And the Lord called unto Moses, …saying. Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, if any man of you bring an offering, “ etc. Leviticus 1:1, 2. “This is the law of the burnt offering, of the meat offering, and of the sin offering, and of the trespass offering, and of the consecrations, and of the sacrifice of the peace offering: which the Lord commanded Moses in mount Sinai, in the day that he commanded the children of Israel to offer their oblations unto the Lord.” Leviticus 7:37, 38.
Note: “Beside this law, commonly called moral, God was pleased to give to the people of Israel, as a church under age, ceremonial laws, containing several typical ordinances, partly of worship, prefiguring Christ, His graces, actions, sufferings, and benefits; and partly holding forth divers instructions or moral duties. All which ceremonial laws are now abrogated under the New Testament.” Westminster Confession of Faith, chap. 19, in Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom (Scribners), vol. 3. p. 641.
6- On what did God write the Ten Commandments?
“And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.” Deuteronomy 4:13.
7- In what were the laws of sacrifices written?
“And they removed the burnt offerings, that they might…offer unto the Lord, as it is written in the book of Moses.” 2 Chronicles 35:12.
8- Where were the Tem commandments placed?
“He…put the testimony into the ark.” Exodus 40:20.
9- Where did Moses direct his law book to be placed?
“Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God.” Deuteronomy 31:25, 26.
10- The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” Psalm 19:7. “We know that the law is spiritual.” Romans 7:14.
Note: “The law of God is a divine law, holy, heavenly, perfect. Those who find tault with the law, or in the least degree depreciate it, do not understand its design, and have no right idea of the law itself. Paul says, “The law is holy, but I am carnal; sold under sin.´ In all we ever say concerning justification by faith, we never intend to lower the opinion which our bearers have of the law, for the law is one of the most sublime of God’s woks. There is not a commandment too many; there is not one too few; but it is so incomparable, that its perfection is a proof on its divinity.” C.H.Spurgeon, Sermons, 2d series (1857), p. 280.
11- Could offerings make perfect the believer’s conscience?
“Gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience.” Hebrews 9:9.
12- Until what time was the ceremonial law imposed?
“Meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of the reformation.” Hebrews 9:10.
13- When was this time of reformation?
“But Christ being come an high priest…having obtained eternal redemption for us.” Hebrews 9:11, 12.
14- How did Christ’s death affect the ceremonial law?
“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.” Colossians 2:14. “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances.” Ephesians 2:15.
15- What signified that the sacrificial system was ended?
“Jesus, when he had cried again with loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.” Matthew 27:50, 51.
16- In what words had the prophet Daniel foretold this?
“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.” Daniel 9:27.
17- Why was the ceremonial law taken away?
“There is a disannulling of a foregoing commandments because of its weakness and unprofitableness (for the law made nothing perfect), and a bringing in thereupon of a better hope, through which we draw nigh unto God.” Hebrews 7:18, 19.
18- How enduring is the moral law?
“His commandments… stand fast for ever and ever.” Psalm 111:7, 8.
STUDY – 4 WHAT WAS ABOLISHED BY CHRIST?
A- PROPHETIC PREDICTION ON SACRIFICES
1- How did Calvary affect the sacrificial system?
“After threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut of…And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week eh shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.” Daniel 9:26.
B- WHAT REALLY ENDED AT THE CROSS?
2- What did Christ abolish at the cross?
“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.” Colossians 2:14. “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby.” Ephesians 2:15, 6.
Note: “By the handwriting of ordinances the apostle most evidently means the ceremonial law.” Dr. Adam Clarke, Commentary.
“Jesus did not give a new code, but he also did not say that the moral teachings of the Old Testament were suspended. The ceremonial and ritualistic laws of the Old Testament are abrogated for the Christian, but not the Ten Commandments.” J.Philip Hyatt, “God’s Decrees for Moral living.” The teacher (Baptist), October, 1943, vol. 57, no. 10, p. 5.
3- What aspects of the ceremonial system are particularly mentioned as foreshadowing Christ, and thus ending at the cross?
“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in dink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” Colossians 2:16, 17.
Note: The things concerning which no man is to judge us “are a shadow of things to come.” The weekly Sabbath was given to man in Eden, not as a shadow of something to come, but as God’s memorial of His creative work.
4- What was the purpose of the sacrifices of the ceremonial system?
“For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.” Hebrews 10:1.
5- What occurred at the time of the crucifixion which indicated that the typical system had been taken away by Christ?
“The veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake.” Matthew 27:51.
6- In what language is this clearly stated?
“He said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.” Hebrews 10:8, 9.
Note: The first here refers to the typical offerings. These were taken away that the second, the all sufficient offering, the bolo of Christ, might stand forth as the true, the only sacrifice that could take away sin. To have continued the offering of animals after the cross would have been a denial that the lamb of God, whom the offerings, prefigured, had come.
C- TESTING THE ISSUE
7- How did this question confront the apostles?
“And certain men which came down from Judea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.” Acts 15:1. “Certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law; to whom we gave no such commandment.” Acts 15:24.
8- What decision was then reached by the apostles?
“For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; that ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from thins strangled, and from fornication; from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.” Acts 15: 28, 29.
Note: The question before the council at Jerusalem concerned the ceremonial law. Christian Gentiles and Jews were keeping the seventh-day Sabbath, and in other, matters observing the Ten Commandments for the apostle James says pointedly, “Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” James 2:10.
9- Of what was Stephen accused concerning the Mosaic law?
“And set up false witnesses, which said. This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: for we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us.” Acts 6:13, 14.
1- What similar charge was brought against Paul?
“This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law.” Acts 18:13.
2- What statement did Paul make concerning his faith?
“I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all thins which are written in the law and in the prophets.” Acts 24:14.
Note: The charge against Stephen and Paul was not based upon any violation of the moral law, but upon their teaching concerning the ceremonial law; and Paul’s admission that he was guilty of what they called heresy meant simply that he differed from them as to the obligation to observe any longer the ceremonial law, which was imposed upon them “until the time of reformation.” The simple fact that such charges were made against these able teachers of the gospel shows that in their view the ceremonial law had been abolished by the death of Christ.
STUDY – 5 THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL
A- THE PURPOSE OF THE LAW
1- What is the purpose of the law?
“By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Romans 3:20.
2- How particular is God concerning Christian conduct?
“Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” James 2:10.
B- CHRIST SAVES MAN, MAGNIFIES LAW
3- What is the gospel declared to be?
“I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every on that believeth.” Romans 1:16.
4- What is the significance of the name Jesus?
“Thou shalt call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21.
5- In whom is this power to save from sin revealed?
“We preach…Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:23, 24.
6- How was Christ’s attitude toward God’s law foretold?
“It is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.” Psalm 40:7, 8.
7- What does Christ promise of the new covenant?
“But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant.” “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their heart.” Hebrews 8:6, 10.
8-What must we do in order to benefit by Christ’s work?
“Whit the heart man believeth unto righteousness: and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10:10.
9- For what did the apostle Paul trust Christ?
“I count all things but loss…that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.” Philippians 3:8, 9.
10- Does the faith which brings righteousness abolish the law?
“Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.” Philippians 3:31.
“The law demands obedience, but cannot produce it; it is holy in itself, but it cannot make us holy; it convinces of sin, but it cannot cure it; it reveals the disease, but it cannot provide the remedy; while the gospel both requires and enables, saves and sanctifies (Rom. 3:19-22; 4:15; 5:20, 21; 7:7-13; 2 Cor. 3:7-9; Gal. 3:21-24; 1 Tim. 1:8-11)…
“The gospel shows us the Saviour whom we need, and declares that He has fully obeyed the precepts of the law by his spotless life as our great representative, as well as completely exhausted its penalties through His atoning death as our great substitute (2 Cor. 5:21)…Divine justice and righteousness have been more entirely vindicated through His work for men than they could have been by the obedience or sufferings of the whole human race!
11- What did Christ take away?
“Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29.
12- What has Christ abolished?
“Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” 2 Timothy 1:10.
Note: “Man…needs to be solemnly reminded that the law of the spirit of life in Christ sets him free from the law of sin and death, but not from the law of God.” G. Campbell Morgan, The Ten Commandments (Revell, 1901 ed.), p. 12.
13- What change is brought about through the gospel?
“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 3:18.
Note: It is sometimes claimed that Christ changed, abolished, or took away the law, and put the gospel in its place; but this shows a misapprehension of the real work of Christ. The individual believer is changed by beholding the glory revealed in the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:4; John 1:14); death has been abolished through the death of Christ, and sin has been taken away by the great Sin Bearer; but the law of God still remains unchanged as the very foundation of His throne.
14- What spiritual interpretation did Christ give to the sixth and seventh commandments?
“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: but I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. “ Matthew 5:21, 22. “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: but I say unto you. That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” Matthew 5:27, 28.
15- Of what prophecy was this teaching a fulfilment?
“The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.” Isaiah 42:21.
Note: Christ not only gave a spiritual interpretation to the law, and Him self thus observed it, but He showed the holiness and the immutable nature of the law by dying on the cross to pay the penalty of its transgression. In this way, above all, He magnified the law.
C- GRACE AND THE LAW
16- On what basis was Abraham accounted righteous?
“For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.” Romans 4:3.
17- What scripture cuts off all hope justification by works?
“By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Romans 3:20.
18- In what way are all believers in Jesus justified?
“Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:24.
19- Is the believer expected to go on in sin after this?
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” Romans 6.1, 2.
20- What was Christ’s personal attitude toward the law?
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” Matthew 5:17. “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” John 15:10.
21- What scripture shows that God’s remnant people will understand the proper relation between law and gospel?
“Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:12.
Note: “God has not left men enmeshed in their own disobedience – He has provided a way of restoration. This is not by pulling the heavenly standard down to the level of our guiltiness and weakness, but by lifting men up to the level of the eternal standard of his holiness…This restoration is restoration to a state of obedience to the Law…
“The atonement of Jesus Christ… bears an eternal relation to the Law of god, the Law which is holy, just and good…´As the believer is´ delivered by the work of Christ from the penalty of a broken law, and given a new heart by the Holy Spirit, by which he loves the way of obedience that once he shunned, the Law and the gospel are seen working in glorious harmony for the blessing of the redeemed man.
“To achieve this is the one great purpose of the proclamation of the gospel.” O.C.S.Wallace., What Baptists Believe, pp. 83, 84. Copyright, 1934, by the Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Used by permission.
THE SABBATH
STUDY – 1 INSTITUTION OF THE SABBATHA- HOW THE SABBATH WAS MADE
1- When and by whom was the Sabbath made?
“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.” Genesis 2:1 2.
2- What is the reason for keeping the Sabbath day holy?
“For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” Exodus 20:11.
Note: The Sabbath is the memorial of creation, the sign of God’s creative power. God designed that through keeping it man should forever remember Him as the true and living God, the Creator of all things.
“Six days shalt thou do all manner of work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord day. He claims it for His own. He always did claim it for His own, even from the beginning of the world. In six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day and hallowed it. He hallowed it; that is, He made it holy: He reserved it for His own service. He appointed, that as long as the sun or the moon, the heavens and the earth, should endure, the children of men should spend this day in the worship of Him who gave them life and breath and all thing...” John Wesley. “A Word to a Sabbath-Breaker” in “Woks”, vol. 11 (1830 ed.), pp. 164-166.
3- Did Christ have anything to do with creation and the making of the Sabbath?
“All things were made by him; and without hi was not any thing made that was made.” John 1:3 – see Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2.
Note: Christ was the active agent in creation. The Creator rested on the seventh day form the work of his creation; therefore, Christ must have rested on the seventh day with the Father. Consequently, it is His rest day as well as the Father’s.
4- After resting on the seventh day, what did God do?
“And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it be had rested from all his work which God created and mad.” Genesis 2:3.
Note: By three distinct acts then, was the Sabbath made: God “rested” on it; he “blessed” it: He “sanctified” it. “Sanctify” means “to make sacred or holy,” to “consecrate,” “to set apart as sacred.”
B- MAN AND THE SABBATH
5- For whom did Christ say the Sabbath was made?
“And he said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27.
“Jesus says: ´The Sabbath was made for man; and the necessary inference is that from the beginning man knew the primary uses of the day, and received the benefits which it was designed to impart…
“Before the giving of the law from Sinai the obligation of the Sabbath was understood.” J.J.Taylor (Baptist). The Sabbatic Question (Revell, 1914 ed.), pp.20-24.
6- When did God bless and sanctify the seventh day?
“And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” Genesis 2:3.
Note: “If we had no other passage than this of Genesis 2:3, there would be no difficulty in deducting from it a precept for the universal observance of a Sabbath, or seventh day, to be devoted to God as holy time, by all of that race for whom the earth and its nature were specially prepared. The first men must have know it. The words ´He hallowed it´ can have no meaning otherwise. They would be a blank unless in reference to some who were required to keep it holy.” – John Peter Lange, A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, on Genesis 2:3, vol. 1, p. 197.
C- THE SABBATH TEST IN ISRAEL
7- What does the Sabbath commandment require?
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates.” Exodus 20:8-10
Note: Luther says, on Exodus 16:4, 22-30: “Hence you can see that the Sabbath was before the law of Moses came, and has existed from the beginning of the world. Especially have the devout, who have preserved the true faith, met together and called upon God on this day.” – Translated from Auslegung des Alten Testaments (Commentary on the Old Testament, in Sammtliche Schhriiften (Collected Writings), edited by J.G.Walch, vol. 3, col. 950.
8- How did God prove Israel in the wilderness?
“I will rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no” Exodus 16:4.
9- On which day was a double portion of manna gathered?
“And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man.” Exodus 16:22.
10- What did Moses say to the rulers?
“This is that which the Lord hath said, Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord.” Exodus 16:23.
Note: The Sabbath is indispensable to man, being promotive of his highest good, physically, intellectually, socially, spiritually, and eternally.
11- What did some of the people do on the seventh day?
“It came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.” Exodus 16:27.
12- How dig God reprove their disobedience?
“And the Lord said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? Exodus 16:28.
13- Why was double manna given on the sixth day?
“See, for that the Lord hath given you the Sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days: abide ye every man in his place let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” Exodus 16:29.
14- How, then, did the Lord test the people?
Over the keeping of the Sabbath.
Note: Thus we see that the Sabbath commandment was a part of God’s lay before this lay was spoken from Sinai; for this incident occurred before Israel came to Sinai. Both the Sabbath and the law existed from creation.
“As presented to us in the Scriptures the Sabbath was not the invention any religions founder. It was not at first part of any system of religion , but an entirely independent institution. Very definitely it is presented in Genesis is the very first institution, inaugurated by the Creator himself. It was purely religious, wholly moral, wholly spiritual. It had no prescribed ceremonies, no sacramentarian significance. It required no priest, no liturgy, it was for man as God’s creature, steward and friend.” W.O. Carver, Sabbath Observance, p. 41. Copyright, 1940, by the Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Used by permission.
STUDY – 2 GOD`S MEMORIAL
A- EXAMPLES OF A MEMORIAL
1- What was the monument erected by Joshua declared to be?
“And these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.” Joshua 4:7.
2- What were these stones to commemorate?
“And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying. When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying. What mean these stones? Then we shall let you children know, saying Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.” Joshua 4:21, 22.
Note: These stones were to be a standing memorial, or reminder, of Israel’s coming dry shod over the Jordan.
3- What was the Passover called?
“And this day shall be unto you for a memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.” Exodus 12:14.
Note: This, the Passover, was a periodical memorial, to be observed on the fourteenth day of the first month of each year, the day on which the Israelites were delivered from Egyptian bondage, and its celebration was to be, with the seven days feast of unleavened bread following and connected with it, in commemoration of that event – see Exodus 13:3-9.
B- A MEMORIAL OF GOD`S CREATION
4- What has God commanded men to observe in memory of His work of creation?
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy; …for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” Exodus 20:8-11.
5- Of what was this memorial to be a sign?
“And hallow my Sabbaths, and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.” Ezekiel 20:20.
6- How long was the Sabbath to be a sign of the true God?
“It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.” Exodus 31:17.
C- MEMORIAL OF DELIVERANCE AND REDEMPTION
7- What besides creation was Israel to remember when they kept the Sabbath?
“And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day.” Deuteronomy 5:15.
Note: The recollection of their bondage and oppressed condition in Egypt was to be an additional incentive for keeping the Sabbath in the land of freedom. The Sabbath, therefore, besides beings memorial of creation, was to be to them a memorial of their deliverance from bondage, and of the great power of God as manifested in this deliverance. And as Egypt stands as a symbol of the condition of every one in the world under the slavery of sin, so the Sabbath is to be kept by every saved soul as a memorial of the deliverance from this slavery by the mighty power of God through Christ.
8- Of what else does God say is the Sabbath to be a sign, or reminder to His people?
“Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.” Ezekiel 20:12.
Note: Sanctification is a work of redemption – of making sinful or unholy beings holy. Kike the work of creation itself, this requires creative power (See Psalm 51:10; John 3:3, 6; Ephesians 2:10). And as the Sabbath is the appropriate sign, or memorial, of the creative power of God, so it also of God’s recreative power. This will be one great reason for the saint keeping it throughout eternity. It will remind them not only of their own creation and the creation of the universe but also of their redemption.
9- Through whom do we have sanctification?
“But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” 1 Corinthians 1:30.
Note: The Sabbath is a sign, or memorial, of sanctification through Christ, and of creation. Through the Sabbath, therefore, God designed that the believer and Christ should be very closely linked together.
10- How often will the redeemed congregate to worship the Lord?
“For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all fresh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.” Isaiah 66:22, 23.
Note: The Sabbath, which is the memorial of God’s creative power, will never cease to exist.
STUDY – 3 THE SABBATH IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
A- THE SABBATH AND THE CROSS
1- What day immediately precedes the first day of the week?
“In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to day toward the first day of the week.” Matthew 28:1.
Note: According to the New Testament, therefore, the Sabbath had passed when the first day of the week began.
2- After the crucifixion, what day was kept by the women who followed Jesus?
“They returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment.” Luke 23:56.
3- Which day of the week is the Sabbath, “according to the commandment.” Luke 23:56.
B- JESUS AND THE SABBATH
4- What was Christ’s custom respecting the Sabbath?
“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read.” Luke 4:16.
5- In what instruction to His disciples did Christ recognize the existence of the Sabbath long after His ascension?
“But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day.” Matthew 24:20.
Note: The flight of the Christians took place late in October, A.D. 66, three and one half years before the fall of Jerusalem.
C- PAUL AND THE SABBATH
6- On what day did Paul and Barnabas preach at Antioch?
“They came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day.” Acts 13:14.
7- When did the Gentiles ask Paul to repeat his sermon?
“And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.” Acts 13:42.
8- On what day did Paul preach to the women at Philippi?
“And on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the woman which resorted thither.” Acts 16:13.
9- What was Paul’s manner respecting the Sabbath?
“They came to Thessalonica, here was a synagogue of the Jews: and Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scripture.” Acts 17: 1, 2.
Note: It was Paul’s manner, as it was Christ’s custom (Luke 4:16), to attend religious services on Sabbath.
10- How did the apostle spend the working days of the week when at Corinth, and what did he do on the Sabbath?
“Because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.” Acts 18:3 (– see Ezekiel 46:1.) “And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.” Acts 18:4.
Note: “He continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among tem” Acts 18:11.
These texts do not definitely prove that the apostle held seventh-eight Sabbath meetings in Corinth, but they show conclusively that it was his custom to observe that day by devoting it to religious purposes. Wherever he was, Paul utilized every opportunity to pursue his gospel work on the Sabbath. The same is true, not only of the apostles, but of most Christians during the first three centuries.
D- JOHN AND THE LORD`S DAY
11- On what day was John in the Spirit?
“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day.” Revelation 1:10.
12- Who is Lord of the Sabbath?
“The Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.” Mark 2:28.
Note: It is evident, therefore, that the Sabbath of the New Testament is the same as the Sabbath of the Old Testament and that there is noting in the New Testament setting aide the seventh-day Sabbath, and putting the first day of the week in its place.
STUDY – 4 THE CHANGE OF THE SABBATHA- THE SABBATH AND THE LAW
1- Of what is the Sabbath commandment a part?
The law of God – see Exodus 20:8-11.
2- What was foretold of Christ’s attitude toward the law?
“He will magnify the law, and make it honourable.” Isaiah 42:21.
3- How enduring did He say the law is?
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” Matthew 5:17.
4- How enduring did He say the law is?
“Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one title shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Matthew 5:18.
5- What did He say of those who should break one of the least of God’s commandments, and teach men so to do?
“Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:19.
Note: From this it is evident that all Ten Commandments are binging in the Christian dispensation, and that Christ had no thought of changing any of them. One of these commands the observance of the seventh day as the Sabbath. But most Christians keep the first day of the week instead.
“It is a remarkable and regrettable fact that while most Christians regard the Decalogue as a whole as being of personal and perpetual obligation, so many should make the fourth commandment an exception. It is the most complete and comprehensive of them all, and, unlike the rest, is expressed both positively and negatively.” W.C.Procter in Moody Bible Institute Monthly, December, 1933, p. 160.
Many believe that Christ changed the Sabbath. But, from His own words, we see that He came for no such purpose. The responsibility for this change must therefore be looked for elsewhere.
B- BIBLE PREDICTS ATTENPET CHANGE
6- What did God, through the prophet Daniel, say the power represented by the “little horn” would think to do?
“And he shall speak words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High: and he shall think to change the times and the law.” Daniel 7:25.
7- What did the apostle Paul say the “man of sin” would do?
“For that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped.” 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4.
Note: An effective way by which a power could exalt itself above God, would be by assuming to change the law of God, and to require obedience to its own law instead of God’s law.
C- PAPAL POWER ACNOULIEDGES THIS ACT
8- What power has claimed authority to change God’s law?
The Papacy.
Note: “the pope is of so great authority and power that he can modify, explain, or interpret even divine laws…The pope can modify divine law, since his power is not of man but of God, and he acts as vicegerent of God upon earth.” Translate from Lucius Ferraris. Prompta Bibliotheca (Ready Library), “Papa” art. 2.
9- What part of the law of God has the Papacy thought to change?
The forth commandment.
Note: “They (the Catholics) allege the change of the Sabbath, into the Lord’s day, contrary, as it seemeth, to the Decalogue; and they have no example more in their mouths than the change of the Sabbath. They will needs have the Church’s power to be very great, because it hath dispensed with a precept of the Decalogue.” The Augsburg Confession (Lutheran), part 2, art. 7, in Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom (Scribners, 4th ed.), vol. 3, p. 64.
“It (the Roman Catholic Church) reversed the Fourth Commandment by doing away with the Sabbath of God’s word, and instituting Sunday as a holiday.” N.Summerbell, History of the Christian Church (1873), p. 415.
10- Why did God command Israel to hallow the Sabbath?
“And hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.” Ezekiel 20:20.
Note: As the Sabbath was given that man might keep God in mind as creator, it can be readily seen that a power endeavouring to exalt itself above God could do this in no other way so effectually as by setting aside God`s memorial – the seventh-day Sabbath. To this work of the Papaciy Daniel had reference when he said. “And he shall …think to change times and laws.”
11- Does the Papacy acknowledge changing the Sabbath?
It does.
Note: The Catechismus Romanus was commanded by the Council of Trent and published by the Vatican Press, by order of Pope Pius V, in 1566. this catechism for priests says: It pleased the church of God, that the religious celebration of the Sabbath day should be transferred to the Lord’s day.” Catechism of the Council of Trent (Donovan’s translation 1867), part 3, chap. 4, p. 345. the same, in slightly different wording, is in the McHugh and Callan translation (1937 ed.), p. 402.
“Ques. – How prove you that the Church hath power to command feasts and holydays?
“Ans. – By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of; and therefore fondly contradict themselves, by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feasts commanded by the same Church. “ –Henry Tuberville, An Abridgment of the Christian Doctrine (1883 approbation), p. 58. (Same statement in Manual of Christian Doctrine, ed. By Daniels Ferris (1915 ed.), 67.
“Ques. – Have you any other way of proving that the Church has power to institute festivals of precept?
“Ans. – Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her, - she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority – Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism (3rd ed.), p. 174.
“The Catholic Church… by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday.” – the Catholic Mirror, official organ of Cardinal Gibbons, Sept. 23, 1893.
“1. Is Saturday the 7th day according to he Bible and the ten commandments.
“I answer yes.
“2. Is Sunday the first day of the wee and did the Church change the 7th day – Saturday – for Sunday, the 1st day:
“I answers yes.
“3. Did Christ change the day
“I answer no! Faithfully yours. “J. Card. Gibbons”
12- Do Catholic authorities acknowledge that there is no command in the Bible for the sanctification Sunday?
They do.
Note: “You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify.” James Cardinal Gibbons. The Faith of Our Fathers (1917 ed.), pp. 72, 73.
“If we consulted the Bible only, we should still have to keep holy the Sabbath Day, that is, Saturday.” – John Laux, A Course in Religion for Catholic High Schools and Academies, vol. 1 (1936 ed.), p. 51. Quoted by permission of Benzigers Brothers., inc., proprietors of the copyright.
Note: “If protestants would follow the bible, they should worship God on the Sabbath Day. In keeping the Sunday they are following a law of the Catholic of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, replying for the Cardinal in a letter of Feb. 10, 1920.
STUDY – 5 THE SABBATH IN HISTORY
1- When and by what acts was the Sabbath made?
“And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made: and he rested an the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it. Because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” Genesis 2:2, 3.
A- THE SEVENT-DAY WEEK
2- What division of time is marked off by the Sabbath?
The week.
Note: The week is “a time unit that, unlike all others, has proceeded in absolutely invariable manner since what many be called the dawn of history.” Nature, June 6, 1931
Genesis 7:4, 10; 8:10, 12, shows that the week was known at the time of the Flood.
B- SABBATH IN OLD TESTAMENT TIMES
3- Why did God set apart the seventh day as holy?
“For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day. Exodus 20:11.
4- What promise did God make to Israel, through Jeremiah, if they world keep the Sabbath?
“If ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the Lord, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work therein; then shall there enter into the fates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David…. And this city shall remain for ever.” Jeremiah 17:24,25.
5- What would happen if they did not hallow the Sabbath?
“But if ye will not hearken unto Me to hallow the Sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in the gates thereof, and if shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.” Jeremiah 17:27.
6- What befell Jerusalem in fulfillement of this when it was captured by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon?
“And all the vessels of the house of God… he brought to Babylon. And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire.” 2 Chronicles 36:18, 19.
D- SABBATH IN NEW TESTAMENT TIMES AND LATER
7-How did Christ, while on earth, regard the Sabbath?
“As his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read.” Luke 4:16.
8- By what did Christ recognize the Sabbath law?
“And he said unto them, … it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath day.” Matthew 12:11, 12.
Note: The fact, however, that Christ until His death, and His Apostles at least for a time after Christ’s Ascension, observed the Sabbath is evidence enough that our Lord Himself did not substitute the Lord’s day for the Sabbath, during His lifetime on earth.” Vincent J. Kelly ( Catholic), Forbidden Sunday and feast-Day Occupations (1943 ed.), pp. 19, 20.
William Prynne says: “It is certain that Christ Himself, his Apostles, and the Primitive Christians, for some good space of time did constantly observe the seventh day Sabbath.” – A Briefe Polemicall Dissertation, Concerning…The Lordsday-Sabbath, p. 33.
LIFE ONLY IN CHRIST
STUDY – 1 ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND DESTINY OF SATAN 1- Have any others than the human family sinned?“God spared not the angels that sinned.” 2 Peter 2:4
2- What is the name of the one who led the angels to sin?
“Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” Matthew 25:41.
Note: He is known by other names: “the great dragon,” “that old serpent,” “Satan,” “Lucifer.” Revelation 12:9; Isaiah 14:12.
3- What was Satan’s condition when created?
“Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.” Ezekiel 28:15.
Note: the prophet Ezekiel describes him thus: “Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering…the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou are the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.” Ezekiel 28:12-14.
A- CAUSES OF SATAN`S FALL
4- What unholy, ambitious spirit led to Satan’s fall?
“Thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend 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. “ Isaiah 14:13, 14. “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty; thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness.” Ezekiel 28:17.
5- Using the figure of the king of Babylon, what does Solomon say precedes destruction and a fall?
“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18.
6- How does the prophet Isaiah describe Satan’s fall?
“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations”” Isaiah 14:12.
7- Why was Satan cast from his high position?
“Thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane outo fo the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.” Ezekiel 28:16.
B- SATAN CAST OUT
8- How is the conflict in heaven described?
“And there was war in heaven: Michael (Christ and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevaleed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Revelation 12:7-9.
9- In what terms did Christ refer to Satan’s fall?
“I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” Luke 10:18.
10- How does Peter describe the fate of evil angels?
“God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgement.” 2 Peter 2.4.
C- SATANS SINCE THE FALL
11- What has been the character of Satan since his fall?
“The devil sinneth from the beginning.” 1 John 3:8.
12- Was he ever in the truth?
“He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.” John 8:44.
Note: this implies that Satan, once in the truth, did not remain there.
13- What besides a murder did Christ say Satan is?
“He is a liar, and the father of it.” John 8:44.
14- What did God tell Adam and Eve would be the result if they transgressed by partaking of the forbidden fruit?
“Thou shalt surely die.” Genesis 2:17.
15- What did Satan say to Eve through the Serpent?
“Ye shall NOT surely die.” Genesis 3:4.
Note: This, as far as the record shows, was the first lie – a direct denial of the word of God. By persuading Eve to accept and believe it, Satan led our first parents to commit sin; and, as “the wages of sin is death,” by it, also, he caused their death, and so became, in reality, the first murderer. A lie, therefore, is a twin brother to murder, and one of the most hateful things to God, the “God of truth” – Proverbs 6: 16-19; proverbs 12:19. “All liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone.” Revelation 21:8 – Revelation 21:27; 22:15.
16- What has been the result of sin’s entrance into the world?
“By one man sin entered into the word, and death by sin”; “by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners.” Romans 5:12, 19. “The whole world lieth in wickedness.” 1 John 5:19. “In Adam all die.” 1 Corinthians 15:22.
17- When Christ came to redeem man, what did Satan do?
“He was there in the wilderness fort day, tempted of Satan.” Mark 1:13 – Matthew 4:1-11.
18- How severely was Christ tempted of Satan?
“(He was) touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all paints tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15.
19- What has the church suffered since the days of Christ?
“And the dragon (Satan) say that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman (the church).” Revelation 12:13.
Note: Untold millions of the people of God have been put do death by persecutions, all of which have been instigated by Satan.
20- Is the remnant church to feel his wrath, and why?
“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 12:17.
21- Through what agency will Satan cause deception in the last days?
“And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast.” Revelation 13:14.
22- What will influence the nations to gather for the great battle of Armageddon?
“They are the sprits of devils, working miracles, which fo forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” Revelation 16:14.
D- SATAS`S MILLENINU AND DOOM
23- For how long is Satan to be bound at the Second Advent?
“An angel…laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand wars.” Revelation 20:1, 2.
24- What is to take place at the close of the thousand years?
“And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle.” Revelation 20:7, 8.
25- Is the remnant church to feel his wrath, and why?
“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her see, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 20:17.
26- Through what agency will Satan cause deception in the last days?
“And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast.” Revelation 13:14.
B- SATAN`S MILLENNIUM AND DOOM
27- For how is Satan to be bound at the Second Advent?
“An angel.. laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand year.” Revelation 20:1, 2.
28- What is to take place at the close of the thousand years?
“And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out o deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle.” Revelation 20:7, 8.
29- What is the final fate of Satan and his host?
“They…compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.” Revelation 20:9.
C- PERSONAL DEFEAT OR VICTORY
30- How are Christians warned against Satan’s hatred?
“How are Christians warned against Satan’s hatred?
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist steadfast in the faith.” 1 Peter 5:8. “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7.
31- Why will men be allowed thus to fall under the delusion of Satan?
“Because they received not he love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” 2 Thessalonians 2: 10-12 – see 1 Kings 22:20-23.
32- Why did Christ partake of our nature?
“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.” Hebrews 2:14.
33- What was Christ’s weapon against Satan?
The word of God. “It is written.” - Matthew 4:4-10.
Note: The word of God is the “sword of the Spirit.” Ephesians 6:17. If Christ met and vanquished the enemy with this, so also may we.
STUDY – 2 WHAT IS A MAN?
STUDY – 3 LIFE ONLY IN CHRIST1-What is the wages of sin?
“The wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23
2- Through whom only is there salvation from sin?
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
3- Why did God send His only begotten Son to this world?
“That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.
4- What does Christ declare Himself to be?
“I am the way, the truth, and the life.” John 14:6.
5-What does He say He gives to those who follow Him?
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” John 10:27, 28.
1- In whom is the life eternal?
“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” 1 John 5:11.
“He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” 1 John 5:12. “He that heareth my word, and beleveth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” John 5:24.
STUDY – 4 WHAT DEATH IS LIKE
1- By what figure does the Bible represent death?
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not even as others which have no hope.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13 – see: 1 Corinthians 15:18, 20; John 11:11-14.
Note: In sound sleep one is wholly lost to consciousness; time goes by unmeasured; and mental activity is suspended for the time being.
2- Where do the dead sleep?
“And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake” Daniel 12:2 – see Eclesiastes 3:20; 9:10.
3- What does one in this condition know about his family?
“His sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.” Job 14:21.
4- What becomes of man’s thoughts at death?
“His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth, in that very day his thoughts perish.” Psalm 146:4.
5- Do the dead know anything?
“For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing.” Ecclesiastes 9:5.
6- Do they take any part in earthly things?
“Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for eve in any thing that is done under the sun.” Eclesiastes 9:6
In death one loses the attributes of mind – love, hatred, envy, etcc. Thus it is plain that his thoughts have perished, and that he can have nothing more to do with the things of this world. But if, as taught continue after death, he lives; and if he lives, he must be somewhere. Where is he? Is he in heaven, or in hell? If he goest to either place at death, what then is the need of a future judgment, or of a resurrection, or of the second coming of Christ? If men go to their reward at death, before the judgment takes place, then their rewards precede their awards.
7- How much does one know of God when dead?
“For in death there is no remembrance of thee.” Psalm 6:5.
Note: As already seen, the Bible everywhere represents the dead as asleep, with not even a remembrance of God, if they were in heaven of hell would Jesus have said, “Our friend Lazarus sleepeth? John 11:11. if so, calling him to life was really was really robbing him of the bliss of heaven that rightly him of the bliss of heaven that rightly belonged to him.
A- WHERE ARE THE DEAD?
8- Are not the righteous dead in heaven praising God?
“For David is not ascended into the heavens.” Acts 2:34.
“The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.” Psalm 115:17.
9- Where did Job ay he would await his final change?
“If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.” Job 14:21.
“If I wait, the grave is mine house: I have made my bed in darkness.” Job 17:13.
Note: The Hebrew original for “grave” in this verse is sheol, meaning among other things a dark, hollow, subterranean place, used simply in reference to the abode of the dead in general, without distinguishing between the good and the bad. (Young’s Analytical Concordance).
B- WHEN THE DEAD RISE AGAIN10- What must take place before the dead can praise God?
“Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, we that dwell in the dust: for…the earth shall cast out the dead.” Isaiah 26:19
11- When did David say he would be satisfied?
“As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.” Psalm 17:15.
12- Were there to be no resurrection of the dead, what would be the condition of those fallen asleep in Christ?
“For if the dead rise not, them is not Christ raised…Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.” 1 Corinthians 15:16-18.
13- When is the resurrection of the righteous to take place?
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16.
Note: If, as stated in Ecclesiastes 9:5, the dead know not anything, the, they have no knowledge of the lapse of time; it will seem to them when they awake that absolutely no time has elapsed. “Six thousand years in the grave to a dead man is no more than a wink of the eye to the living.” And herein lies a most comforting thought in the Bible doctrine of the sleep of the dead. To those who sleep in Jesus, their sleep, whether one year, one thousand years, or six thousand year, will be but as if the moment of sad parting were followed instantly by the glad reunion in the presence of Jesus at his glorious appearing and the resurrection of the just.
It ought also to be a comforting thought to those whose lives have been filled with anxiety and grief for deceased loved ones who persisted in sin, to know tha they are not now suffering in torments, but, with all the rest of the dead, are quietly sleeping in their graves. (Job 3:17).
God’s way is best – that all sentient life, animation, activity, thought, and consciousness should cease at death, and that all should wait till the resurrection for their future life and eternal reward. (See Hebrews 11:39, 40).
STUDY – 5 THE TWO RESSURRECTION
A- SIN, DEATH, AND THE GRAVE
1- What comes to all men as the result of the fall?
“In Adam all die.” 1 Corinthians 15:22 – see: Romans 5:12.
2- In what condition is man while in the grave?
“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with they might; for there is no work, no device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” Ecclesiastes 9:10 – see 3:20.
Note: That is, man, when dead, has no use of the powers of mind or body. He cannot, therefore, while in the grave, praise God, or event think of Him (Psalm 6:5); for in the day he dies his thoughts perish. Psalm 146:2-4.
B- RANSOMED FROM THE GRAVE
3- What has been promised in order that man may be redeemed from this condition?
“I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction.” Hosea 13:14.
4- Through whom will come this redemption from the grave?
“For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” 1 Corinthians 15:21, 22.
5- What would have been the result to the dead had not Christ procured their release from the grave?
“For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.” 1 Corinthians 15:16-18.
6- Why did God give His only begotten Son to the world?
“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.”
John 3:16.
2- What did the Sadducees in Christ’s time deny?
“Then came to him certain of the Sadducees, which deny that there is any resurrection.” Luke 20:27.
3- Under what illustration from nature are the resurrection from nature are the resurrection and the final salvation of the righteous taught?
“That which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die.” 1 Corinthians 15:36. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” John 12:24.
Note: The seed dies to spring forth into new life. In this we are taught the lesson of the resurrection. All who love God will spring forth to life, and live again through endless ages in the earth made new.
4- Whose voice raises the dead?
“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth.” John 5:28, 29.
C- TWO DISTINCT RESURRECTIONS
5- How many distinct classes will have a resurrection?
“There shall be a resurrection of th dead, both of the just and the unjust.” Acts 24:15.
6- By what terms did Christ refer to the two resurrections?
“All that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” John 5:28, 29.
7- When will the resurrection of the just occur?
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16.
8- When are the righteous to be recompensed?
“For thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.” Luke 14:14.
9- In what condition did David expect to rise?
“As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.” Psalm 17:15.
10- What great contrast will be seem between the present body and the one to be put on in the resurrection?
“So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: it is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body.” It is raised a spiritual body.” 1 Corinthians 15:42-44.
11- After whose body will these resurrected one be fashioned?
“We look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change out vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body.” Philippians 3:20, 21.
12- In what words will their triumph over death and the grave be expressed?
“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” 1 Corinthians 15:55.
13- How long will the righteous live?
“Neither can they die any more for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.” Luke 20:36.
14- How long do the other class wait after the first resurrection before they are raised?
And they (the righteous) lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” Revelation 20:4, 5.
15- What is to be their fate?
“And fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.” Revelation 20:9.
16- Who are to share this fate?
“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and whormongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8.
17- What is the last enemy to be destroyed?
“The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” 1 Corinthians 15:26. (See Revelation 20:13, 14).
STUDY – 6 FATE OF THE TRANSGRESSOR
A- CAUSE OF SINNER`S DESTRUCTION
1- What question does Peter ask regarding the wicked?
“What shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” 1 Peter 4:17.
2- What does the Bible say is the wages of sin?
“For the wages of sin is death” Romans 6:23. “The would that sinneth, it shall die.” Ezekiel 18:4.
B- COMPLETENSS OF THE DESTRUCTION
3- What will be the character of this death?
“Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction.” 2 Thessalonians 1:9.
4- What will befall those who do not repent?
“Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Luke 13:3. “But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption.” 2 Peter 2:12.
5- How does John the Baptist describe this destruction?
“He will…gather his wheat into the gamer; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:11,12.
6-For whom was this fire originally prepared?
“Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand. Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” Matthew 25:4
Note: This fire is called “everlasting” (aionion, Greek, “age lasting”) because of the character of the work it does; just as it is called “unquenchable” (Greek asbestos, “unquenchable,” “unquenched”) because it cannot be put out, and not because it will not go out when it has done its work. “Eternal fire” reduced Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes, (Jude9; 2 Peter 2:6).
7- Will any part of the wicked be left?
“For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.” Malachi 4:1
8- How completely will wicked man be destroyed in hell?
“Fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28
Note: this scripture proves that the soul is neither immortal nor indestructible.
The everlasting punishment – “everlasting destruction” – of the wicke is this destruction of soul and body in hell (Greek, Geenna – Gehenna).
Gehenna, a word for hell, is the Valley of Hinnom, the place outside Jerusalem for burning refuse, dead animals, and the bodies of criminals. Any such bodies if incompletely burned would be devoured by worms. So long as the fires were never quenched and the worms did not die, the result of being cast into Gehenna was utter destruction.
The unquenched flames of Gehenna – which do not preserve, but consume, whatever they feed on, aptly picture what other texts describe as the utter destruction of the wicked in unquenchable fire.
C- WHERE, WHEN, AND HOW
1- When will the wicked be punished?
“But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgement the day of judgement and perdition of ungodly men.” 2 Peter 3:7.
Note: The present heavens and earth and sinners await the fires of the last day. The Greek for “perditions” is apoleia, “loss,” “destruction”.
2- What will be the result of the fires of the last day?
“Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. “The earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” 2 Peter 3:12, 10.
3- How does Christ say sin and sinners will be eliminated?
“His angels…shall gather out of His kingdom all things that often, and them which do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire.” Matthew 13:41, 42.
4- When are the wicked dead to be raised to receive this final punishment?
“But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” Revelation 20:5.
5- Whence will come the fire that will destroy them?
“And they went up on the breadth on the earth, and compassed the camp of the sains about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them” Revelation 20:9
Note: this is called God’s” strange act” and His “strange work” – the work of destruction. (Isaiah 28:21). But by this means God will once and forever cleanse the universe of sin and all its sad results. Death itself will then be at an end – cast into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:14.
6- How is the destruction of the wicked described?
“And ye shall tread downs the wiched, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet.” Malachi 4:3.
Note: The wicked are to be utterly destroyed – consumed away into smoke, brought to ashes. Through sin they have forfeited away into smoke, brought to ashes. Through sin they have forfeited the right to life and an immortal existence, and chosen the way of death and destruction. They will themselves have lost their probationary time. Their destruction will, in fact, be an act of love and mercy on the part of God; for to perpetuate their lives would only be to perpetuate sin sorrow, suffering, and misery. The experiment of sin will be over, and God’s original plan of peopling the earth with a race of holy, happy beings will be carried out.” 2 Peter 3:13.
7- What is this final destruction of the wicked called?
“This is the second death.” Revelation 20:14.
8- After the burning day, what will appear?
“Blessed are the meke: for they shall inherit the earth” Matthew 5:5 – see Psalm 37:11, 29; Isaiah 65:17-25. “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” Matthew 13:43.
Note: At present Satan and the wiched have this world as their “place”. In due time Christ will have it. He will cleanse it from sin and sinners and restore it from sin and sinners and restore it, that He may five it to the saints of the Most high for an everlasting possession”. See Daniel 7:18, 22, and 27.
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