Salvation through Faith

Monday, March 22, 2010: 2 Timothy 3:15

and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Background: Paul writes concluding words to Timothy in a letter.
What sequence is faith brought through as? The sequence is Knowledge of Scripture — Wisdom — Salvation — Faith in Christ Jesus.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010: Matthew 4:17

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” and…

Mark 1:14–15

Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
What is the first step? If you think you are good and don’t need repentance, you will never accept the gospel nor enter the kingdom of heaven.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010: Ephesians 2:8–9

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Is Salvation earned by good works? Never! Salvation is a gift from God that you accept by faith or reject.

Thursday, March 25, 2010: Romans 3:21–22

But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference
What does no difference refer to? All people, Jews and Gentiles alike can get God’s righteousness apart from the law and by believing in Christ’s work.

Friday, March 26, 2010: Romans 3:23–24

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus
What does ‘freely’ mean? It is without cost to us but it coasted the Son of God.

In the image of God

Monday, March 15, 2010: Genesis 1:26–27

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

What are the singular-plurals in this passage? God is referred to as Us and then as His; man is created singular and created male and female, plural.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010: Romans 8:29

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

When are those who believe in Christ to be conformed to His Son’s image? In the Omniscience of God this has been God’s plan for believers from eternity past to eternity future.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010: 1 Corinthians 15:49

And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.

Is this a way of explaining being born again? Yes, it is. Our first birth is with bodies of dust; our second birth is spiritual.

Thursday, March 18, 2010: 2 Corinthians 3:18

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

When does the transformation into His image take place? It takes place in the present when we ‘see’ His face in God’s word and are slowly changed to reflect Christ.

Friday, March 19, 2010: Colossians 3:10

and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,

What knowledge renews us into His image? Doing what we are doing: reading the Bible.

The Helper

Monday, March 8, 2010: John 14:16-17

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
Background: These chapters, John 14, 15 and 16 are called the Upper Room Ministry of the Jesus Christ to his disciples before His crucifixion.
Why is this passage one of comfort? The word Helper is also translated Comforter and means One who is to be by your side.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010: John 14:26

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
Who is this Helper, who sends Him and how will He help us? He is the Holy Spirit sent by the Father who reminds us of all things Jesus Christ said.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010: John 15:26

“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.
Who sends the Helper and what is His testimony? Jesus Christ will send Him to us from the Father and He will testify of Jesus Christ.

Thursday, March 11, 2010: John 16:7

Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
What is implicit in this part of Jesus Christ’s words? His resurrection.

Friday, March 12, 2010: 1 John 2:1

My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
Background: John writes three letters and the book of Revelation later in his life.
Who is also our Helper in Heaven and how does He help us? The resurrected Jesus Christ is our Advocate, another form from the same word in Greek. He pleads our case for our sins before the Father in heaven.

Day of Visitation

Monday, March 1, 2010: Numbers 16:28–29

And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind. If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me.

Background: Korah and others rebelled against Moses during the journey through the wilderness.

Just because you have right motives, can you approach God in the way that you choose? No, you only approach God in the way He chooses. Korah didn’t, and the earth opened up and swallowed him.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010: Job 10:10–12

Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese? Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews. Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit.

Background: Job has lost all his property, his children have died and sores plague him.

What does Job recognize in all his misery? Job recognizes that God has preserved his spirit.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010: Micah 7:3–4

That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up. The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity.

What does Micah prophecy against wayward Israel? Their corrupt ways will be judged and they will wonder why their ways do not serve to prosper them any more.

Thursday, March 4, 2010: Luke 19:43–44

For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

Background: Jesus Christ prophecies on Palm Sunday against Jerusalem and its temple.

What will happen and why will it happen?

Friday, March 5, 2010: 1 Peter 2:11–12

Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Background: Peter writes to believers who have been scattered by persecution and are suffering.

Why does Peter emphasize good works even when persecuted? In the day that God visits for judgment, they will remember and bring glory to God.

Stephen's Rebuttal before Martyrdom

Monday, February 22, 2010: Acts 6:13–14

They also set up false witnesses who said, “This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.”
Background: The Synagogue of the Freedmen could not argue with Stephen who was empowered by the Holy Spirit. They brought him with false accusations before the Council.
What was the two-pronged accusation? They accused Stephen of saying that Jesus Christ will (a) destroy the temple and (b) changes the law Moses delivered to them.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010: Acts 7:35

“This Moses whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush.
What was Stephen’s first historically unarguable rebuttal? Moses was rejected by his own people. His God given authority was questioned by the Jews who were then in bondage.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010: Acts 7:37

“This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear.’
What was Stephen’s second historically unarguable rebuttal? Stephen reminded them that Moses prophesied that another Prophet would come and also be rejected by the Jews.

Thursday, February 25, 2010: Acts 7:39–40

(This is Moses) whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt, saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods to go before us; as for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’
What was Stephen’s third historically unarguable rebuttal? The Jews made an idol to worship and wanted to return to Egypt.

Friday, February 26, 2010: Acts 7:51-53

“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.”
What was Stephen’s concluding statement? Stephen told them how they were the murders of Jesus Christ as they were the murderers of the prophets who foretold the good news. He had turned the tables against them.

Passing Away

Tuesday, February 16, 2010: Matthew 5:17–18

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.

Background: This is part of the ‘Sermon on the Mount.’

What is the only reason for the Law and the Prophets passing away? When they are fulfilled, their purpose is accomplished, and they pass away.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010: Matthew 26:42

Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.”

Background: This prayer was uttered in the garden of Gethsemane before the betrayal of Christ.

What did the cup contain? In figure, the cup contained the suffering and death that Jesus Christ was going to go through to take away the sin of the world, thus fulfilling the Law and the Prophets.

Thursday, February 18, 2010: Mark 13:30–32

Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

2 Peter 3:10

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

Background: Jesus Christ was in Jerusalem’s Temple, teaching about the end time.

What is one way of knowing that someone is faking a relationship with God? One way to tell is if they say they know the day or hour of His return.

Friday, February 19, 2010: Luke 16:16–17

“The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it. And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail.

Was John the last prophet? Yes: the Law and the Prophets pointed to Messiah fulfilling the law with His ultimate sacrifice and John was the ‘voice in the wilderness” who declared this.

Jesus Christ in Jerusalem's Temple

Background: In spite of warnings, Jesus Christ goes from Bethany/Bethpage to Jerusalem on a donkey. Jews greet him with palm leaves, saying “Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” Jesus weeps when He sees the city prophesying that no two stones of the Temple will stay together because He will be rejected. Reaching the Temple, He drives away the businessmen and begins to teach.

Monday, February 8, 2010: Luke 20:1–2

Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him and spoke to Him, saying, “Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?”
Background: Jesus Christ uses parables and is surrounded by listeners. Suddenly the Chief priests, the Scribes and the Elders make their way through the crowd till they face and question Him.
What was the question that was impossible to answer? “By whose authority…?” They thought they were the final authority among the Jews and the question was unanswerable.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010: Luke 20:3–4, 7-8

But He answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me: The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men?” So they answered that they did not know where it was from. And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
What was the answer that was impossible to question? The question asked was really an answer because the Jews had left out God as being above them! They came up with a lame “we don’t know.”

Wednesday, February 10, 2010: Luke 20:9–10, 13-14, 16a

Then He began to tell the people this parable: “A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time. Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Probably they will respect him when they see him.’ But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.’
He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others.”
Background: after the failure, the big guns could not just leave and listened to Jesus Christ.
What prophetic parable was impossible to misinterpret? A man (God) plants a vineyard (Israel in Canaan) and leases it to vinedressers. (the big guns) He sends his servants (Prophets) for part of the vintage but they are beaten and return empty-handed. He sends his Son (Jesus Christ) but they kill Him. The man returns, destroys the vinedressers and gives the vineyard to others. (Gentiles)

Thursday, February 11, 2010: Luke 20:16b–18

And when they heard it they said, “Certainly not!”
Then He looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written:
‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone’?
Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”
What objection was impossible to sustain? “Certainly not,” was refuted by Jesus Christ who looked them in the eye and quoted from Psalms, Isaiah and Daniel that the stone rejected by the builders will become the cornerstone of a new building, the Church.

Friday, February 12, 2010: Luke 20:28 –29, 33-37

saying: “Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. And the first took a wife, and died without children. Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become? For all seven had her as wife.”
Jesus answered and said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
Background: Sadducees, who did not believe in resurrection, asked a question about the subject.
What primed trap was impossible to shut? The Sadducees had incorrectly assumed that a resurrection body would mimic temporal life. They were told what would happen. After these verses, Moses was quoted by Christ as Calling God the Go of Abraham, etc., implying that Abraham was alive with God!