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Biblw 101 Lesson 1D

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Bible 101 Class One
Introduction to the Bible Lesson 1D

1 & 2 Thessalonians: In these letters, Paul encourages the Church at Thessaloniki to lead a holy life which leads to eternal life; to walk worthy of God’s calling (act like Christians); to stand fast in the faith in the face of persecution and the enticements of the world; to maintain moral purity.

The first letter closes with clarification concerning the second coming of Christ and the resurrection.

In the second letter, because some people had been teaching that the general resurrection had already happened thereby leading believers to abandon their manner of holy life, Paul gave more explicit information about Jesus second coming emphasizing that no one will miss the event and that those who have died (fallen asleep) in the Lord will be the first to rise to meet Him when he comes.

1 & 2 Timothy and Titus: These letters are instructions to two of his disciples who he has left as overseers (Bishops) in churches that he had founded. They contain instructions on how to conduct the affairs of the church.

Philemon: This is a personal letter from Paul to Philemon about the runaway slave, Onesimus who had run away from Philemon. He had been saved and assisted Paul in his ministry. The letter informed Philemon that Paul was sending him back, not only as a slave, but now, also as a brother in Christ.

Hebrews: There is much debate about who wrote this letter. It is certainly Pauline in content and in style but it was probably written by a disciple of Paul rather than by Paul himself. It differs from Paul’s letters by not having an introduction in which Paul identifies himself as the author and in which he identifies the intended recipient of the document. The writer does mention being in chains (10:34) and that “our brother Timothy has been set free” (13:23) so, if it was not Paul, then it seems to have been someone closely associated with him.

The letter appears to address concerns of Jewish converts to the faith.

Major themes of the letter are the superiority of Christ over the prophets, angels, Moses and Aaron. That Jesus provides a better priesthood, a better sanctuary, and a better sacrifice because, in worship of Christ, we enter into heaven, not just a promised land on earth. Encouragement to continue in the faith is also a major theme.

James: The author of this letter is James, the brother of the Lord who was the first bishop of the Church at Jerusalem.

The major theme of the book is that true faith is demonstrated by good works. He does not say that one is saved by good works but that “dead faith”, faith without works, does not save.

The issue which James may have been addressing is “antinomianism”; the false teaching that moral behavior is irrelevant to salvation which could be called “invisible religion” wherein faith has no visible works. James makes the point that the human will is not bypassed in salvation and that grace does not nullify personal responsibility.

The idea that sexual immorality is irrelevant to salvation is another artifact of the teachings of some forms of Gnosticism. They taught that the material body is irrelevant to salvation because salvation, to them, was defined as the immortal soul being set free from the mortal material body. Therefore, what the body did had no effect on the salvation of the soul. This kind of thinking is what Paul addressed in his letters to the Corinthian church where a man was sleeping with his step-mother and it is what Jesus was speaking about in seven letters to the seven churches of Revelation when he referred to the Nicolaitans.

James agrees with Paul’s statement at Ephesians 2:10 that we were created to do good works. A failure to do them is, to James, conclusive evidence of a useless, dead faith that cannot save. James does not teach that we are saved by good works, but he does teach that a dead faith, one without works, does not save.

I Peter: The major theme of 1st Peter is to rejoice in the shared sufferings of Christ. (Sounds like fun, eh?) The letter is an exhortation for Christians suffering persecution to remember that they were baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection and to fulfill the goal of the baptism which is eternal life. It will require a commitment in this life to (1) holiness (1:3-2:10) submission in the roles we have in life (2:11-3:12) (3) patient suffering in this age as we prepare for the age to come (3:13-4:19) and, (4) disciplined unity in the Church. (5:1-11)

2 Peter: IN this epistle Peter compare true knowledge to false knowledge. He encourages them to maintain a life in accord with the apostolic doctrine and a Christian way of life. He tells them they are to grow continuously in virtue and holiness and pursue entrance into the everlasting kingdom of Heaven.

I, II, and III John: These letters speak to the tests of Christian life.
We must maintain our communion with God.
There is a direct and close relationship between the love of God and the love of others.
It is crucially important to hold to and preserve the true faith.
He highlights the stark difference between the children of God and the children of the World.

Jude: Jude is written in the form of the literary convention called, “Polemic.” It is an attack directed against “certain men” who had “crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness…”. He exhorts the church to hold to apostolic faith against such men who are jeopardizing the salvation of many with their false teaching.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ:
The Revelation is the only New Testament example of apocalyptic writing.

Apocalyptic writing is the rendering into human language, to the best of the writer’s ability, the ecstatic visions that he had been given. Apocalyptic books are usually written in times of disaster and stress.

Apocalyptic is highly symbolic. Therefore, taking passages of verses of such highly symbolic literature then assuming a literal meaning and then using that literal meaning as the basis of a doctrine is very problematic. Any attempts to use apocalyptic literature as the basis for church doctrine is a hazardous act and should (IMO) be avoided.

There are parts of the Revelation that are apparently quite literal such as Jesus’ letters to the seven churches. In them he names the things that are worthy of praise and the things that need to be repented of immediately.

We may understand it better as we see things unfold in our own experience. Just remember that people have been seeing the events unfold for the past 2000 years and what we see may not be what we think it is.
 
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