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Lesson
one of the Basic Course
Before
you start go here for instructions
3
THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
CHAPTER 1
THE BIBLE
There are 3 things a Christian should know:
1 - The Bible
2 - God
3 - Man
The Bible is the Word of God, where we find all the truth regarding
Christianity.
Your spiritual life should be in accordance with the message of the
Bible.
THE BIBLE:
" The Old Testament (written before the birth of Christ).
" The New Testament (written by Jesus' disciples and other men
of God during the first century after Christ).
The Old Testament consists of 39 books, from Genesis to Malachi.
The New Testament consists of 27 books; it starts with the Gospel of
Matthew, until Revelations.
THE OLD TESTAMENT
A) Genesis: The first book of the Bible and of the Testament. It tells
us about the creation of the World and men; about the spiritual fall
of mankind caused by sin; of the flood that destroyed humanity except
Noël and his family, and the beginning of the History of Israel.
B) From Exodus until Esther: tells us about the History of Israel until
approx. 400 B.C..
C) Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs: these are
literary books, written in poems, hymns, sermons and drama.
D) From Isaiah to Malachi: prophetic books that predict future events.
THE NEW TESTAMENT
A) Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John: The first 4 books of the New Testament
are the Gospels.
The word Gospel means to say: Good News, Merry Message.
What is the Subject of the Gospels?
It is about the life of Jesus, since His Birth, His ancestors, His childhood.
Major part of the Gospels is dedicated to His teachings during His 3 years
Ministry.
It relates the miracles Jesus did; how He was persecuted, taken prisoner
and nailed to the Cross.
It tells about His death, His resurrection and Ascension.
And it also tells about the extraordinary promise of the Second Coming
of Jesus.
B) Acts of the Apostles: it relates the evangelistic work of the followers
of Jesus. It narrates the birth and growth of the Church of Jesus in the
First Century. The principal personage until Chapter 12 is St. Peter.
From the end of Chapter 12 on it tells us about St. Paul, chosen to preach
to the Gentiles (the non-Jews).
C) Romans to Judas: these are the epistles, 21 in total. They were written
to the various Churches, to various Jewish and Gentile Christians throughout
the World.
Authors: Paul, Peter, John and others.
Subject: doctrinal aspects and practice of Christian life. They supply
us a clear and complete explication about Christianity.
D) Revelations: This book tells us about things that are still to happen,
and about the New World that is to come after this one. It predicts the
Great Judgment, as a transition between this actual World to the Kingdom
of God.
HOW DID THE BIBLE ARISE?
36 people wrote it during a period of approx. 1600 years. The Bible
was not only written by these men, for there is written in 2 Timothy
3:16: "All scripture is God-breathed"
So we see, it were men writing it down, but their spirit was controlled
by the Spirit of God. The real Author of the Bible is God.
One thing a Christian should always guard is that only the Bible is
the true Word of God, revealed to men.
The perfect will of God for us is written in it. Only the Bible contains
the teachings and the basis for an ethical life, morally and socially.
Every Christian should be guided by the Word, for it contains:
- the solution for all struggle; the comfort for all suffering; the explication
for all doubts; the base for all thoughts; force for all circumstances.
But, carefully! If you search richness through these things, fame, or
you want power: forget it! In the Bible you will find something more sublime:
how you seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these
things will be given to you as well.
The subject of the whole Bible is: Jesus.
In the Old Testament we find the historical prophecy of His coming in
human form.
In the New Testament we read the direct report of His Coming and the
promise of His Second Coming.
Jesus - the Word of God
Jesus - the only begotten Son of God
Jesus - God Jesus - Man.
CHAPTER 2
GOD
Does God really exist?
Look around you ... the colours, forms, the succession of day and night,
the stars and planets, and watch yourself...
Have you noticed that everything is genuine? Nothing is copy or fake.
Only a Super Being, Super Intelligent, Super Human could have made all
these things.
This Being is GOD!
Psalm 19:1 - "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim
the work of his hands."
GOD'S NATURE
A) God is a spirit: He is not limited by space or time; He is:
Omnipresent - i.e. He has the power to be in all places at the same
time.
Eternal - He existed in the days of our forefathers, He is now with
us, and He will be with our descendants.
B) He is a person: Our God thinks, feels and has His own will. He understands
our feelings, He knows our thoughts and He wants our fidelity.
C) He is One and Only: There are no other gods. "There is one God"
THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD
A) Omnipresent - He is present everywhere at the same time.
God says in Jeremiah 23:24:
"Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?"
declares the LORD. "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" declares
the LORD?"
B) Omniscient - He knows everything, Proverbs 15:3:
"The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked
and the good."
God even knows the little things we try to hide in the most secret places
of our heart.
C) Omnipotent - Matthew 19:26:
"With God all things are possible" He has the power to do
anything.
D) Eternal - He is not limited in time, Psalm 90:2:
"Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and
the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God."
E) Invariable - We change often, because of circumstances and ambiance.
God, however, never changes.
Malachi 3:6: "I the LORD do not change..."
This is what the Lord says of Himself.
F) Holy - In God there is no sin, wickedness, corruption or lie. God
does not agree with those things, and cannot have any involvement with
these bad elements. Proverbs 15: 9, 26:
"The LORD detests the way of the wicked but he loves those who
pursue righteousness." and:
"The LORD detests the thoughts of the wicked, but those of the
pure are pleasing to him."
G) Just - God is impartial. His judgments are right.
Psalm 119:137: "Righteous are you, O LORD, and your laws are right."
H) Love - This is the most important attribute of God.
I John 4:8: "God is love"
THE LOVE OFF GOD
For us human beings it is hard to comprehend the grade of God's love.
He is love, and He desires the best for us. The love of God is pure,
and total, without any selfishness. We haven't done anything to deserve
this love; God even loves sinners.
The love of God is so profound that:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
(John 3:16)
THE TRINITY OF GOD
There is only One God! So why talk about trinity? God reveals himself
to us in the Bible as three persons:
- God the Father
- God the Son, also: the Word of God, God who became man
- God the Holy Ghost, the power of God.
Look the next Bible passages up:
Matthew 3:16,17, Matthew 28:19, II Corinthians 13:13
It is not correct to say that there are three Gods, but there are 3 distinct
persons in one GOD.
CHAPTER 3
MANKIND
Where does man come from?
To find the answer, we will consult the Bible, which has the answer
for everything; let us get the answer from God.
A human opinion says that mankind finds it origin in natural evolution
and developed through time from a biologically less developed element.
It was Charles Darwin who introduced this evolution theory.
What says the Bible?
Man was created directly by God, in His image and likeness. It was not
by occasion that God created man, God He did it with a defined objective:
Genesis 1:26,27; Isaiah 43:7. After creating man, God exalted him above
all creatures and made him a dominant being: Genesis 1:26.
Mans nature.
God gave man freedom, to chose. Let us read Genesis 3: 1 to 24.
What did people chose in the first place? Sin; he was disobedient to
Gods command. He used his power to chose wrongly and sinned.
What was the result of sin? It was death.
God is holy, and therefore He cannot agree with sin.
He has to condemn sin.
From the moment on that the first man sinned, we all are born in sin
and have a sinful nature, see Romans 5:12.
So, what is the final destination for all men? Romans 6:23:
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal
life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
See you next lesson!
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