Weekly Bible Study Review
December 26, 2010

In This Issue
Cafe Class
Read-to-Believe Class
Dichotomy of the Week
Class Schedule
Go to www.theocentrix.org click on the "Events" tab
for maps and more information.


Cafe Class
Culture Cafe
1359 N Altadena Drive
Pasadena CA 91104
Wednesdays 10:00 am

classroom
Read-to-Believe Class
Lake Avenue Church
Family Life Room 201
309 N Lake Avenue
Pasadena CA 91101
Thursdays 6:30 pm

peacock 1
Arbo Class
LA County Arboretum
301 N Baldwin Ave
Arcadia CA 91007
Saturday 12:00 noon
Once per month
January 22
February 26
March 26
 April 30
May no class
June 4
July 9
August 13
September 17
October 15
November 12
December no class


PCC Class
"How to Read the Bible  with Confidence"
Pasadena City College
Extended Learning Center
www.pcclearn.org
February 8 and 15, 2011

clock in sand
 
Waiting for God
or
Waiting with God

1. What's the difference?
2. Which are you doing?
 


topofpageGreetings! 

This newsletter is sent to everyone who attends Sandy's weekly Bible studies. The left column has a table of contents and the current class schedule. Be sure to watch for the links in each article. Clicking on them will lead you to charts, diagrams and additional articles related to your class.  
Anyone can subscribe to this free newsletter by using the link in the upper left corner. If you would like to forward this issue to a friend all you have to do is click on the link below.

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cafeclassWednesday Cafe Class 
Hebrews


Hebrews 11:1-19  

v. 1-2 What is faith? It's "being sure" and being "certain."

Sure of what we hope for (eternal life) and certain of what we don't see (also eternal life). The "ancients" were people of faith who lived long before the readers of this letter. It was God who commended the ancients for their faith in Him.


v. 3 In regard to faith the author starts out with something the readers were already "sure and certain" about-- God created the universe. In those days it was common knowledge among the Jews that God created everything. They did not teach evolution or a big bang theory. It required faith for them to believe it because none of them were eye witnesses who actually saw God create everything. So, "by faith" they believe He created the visible from the invisible.


v. 4 The readers were familiar with the story of Cain and Abel. They knew that Abel's sacrifice was acceptable to God while Cain's was not. God commended Abel as a righteous man because of his faith (in God). Abel "still speaks" to them even though he's dead because his story was still being told.


v. 5 The readers were also familiar with the story of a man named Enoch who was "taken away" without experiencing death because his faith pleased God. Genesis 5:21-24 says Enoch walked with God for 300 years before he was taken. Faith is pleasing to God.


v. 6 A person who does not have faith cannot please God. What is this faith? It's two-fold-- a) believing that God exists and b) that He rewards those who seek Him. In other words, believing not only that He exists but that He is good to those who believe Him.

Faith is pleasing to God.

Click to read more...


rtbclassThursday Read-to-Believe Class  Ephesians

Colossians 1:21 - 2:15

v. 21-22 Before they became believers the readers were enemies of God. Their sin was evidence of their alienation from Him. But now they've been reconciled to Him. And it was God who brought about the reconciliation. He did it through the death of Christ's physical body. Now the believers are holy and blameless in God's sight rather than being His enemies.

Click to view the Ephesians Diagram...


v. 23 Paul warns them to remain in their faith in Christ; "not moved from the hope" they have in Christ. The gospel is this message of hope and it was being preached all over the world.


v. 24-25 Paul identifies with Christ in his own sufferings. Those who follow Christ must expect to suffer because He suffered. Paul is a servant of the church by the commission of God. His authority comes from God rather than from Peter or James or some human authority.


v. 26-27 He again refers to the mystery that God hid from people for a very long time (ages and generations) but He has revealed it to the saints in the coming of Jesus. Through the saints God makes known among the Gentiles the mystery that is Christ.


This is different from what God had done before. Prior to this, when God wanted to reveal something He generally spoke through a Jewish prophet. The whole system of the Law of Moses was designed to reveal something about God and His plan-- but it was revealed primarily to the Jews. However in Paul's day, God chose to reveal the mystery of salvation through faith in Christ not through the system of Judaism but through this other group called "the saints." The saints include both Jewish and Gentile converts to Christianity. Through the saints the mystery of Christ would be made known to the Gentiles, that is, all people outside of Judaism.

Lesson: God doesn't always do things the way He's always done it....

Click to read more...
Dichotomy of the Week
The apostle Paul often uses dichotomies to explain the Gospel. In other words, he divides people into two groups that do not overlap. It's impossible for a person to be in both groups at the same time. Here's a list of some dichotomies that are found in his epistles:
           "in Adam" or "in Christ"
           "under law" or "under grace"
           "darkness" or "light"

This week's dichotomy comes from Colossians 2:13. Paul tells the believers that when they were "dead" in their sins God made them "alive" with Christ. It's not difficult to see the contrast. Everybody is either dead or alive. There's no middle ground there. But we also need to take into account that there is spiritual life and death as well as physical life and death. In other words, a person can be physically alive (walking around) and spiritually dead (alienated from God) at the same time. On the other hand a person can be physically dead (in the grave) and spiritually alive for all eternity with Christ. Spiritual life and death is of more importance than the physical kind.

It seems that from God's perspective all people fall into one of these two categories. Paul's readers had once been spiritually dead but now were spiritually alive in Christ. Spiritual death is also referred to as the uncircumcision of the sinful nature. Humanity is made in the image of God but the power of sin corrupts human nature. The good news is that God can bring people back from the dead! Only God has the power to give life to someone who is spiritually dead and He does this through the forgiveness of sin. We must note that His forgiveness includes all our sins-- past, present and future.

Paul uses dichotomies in his letters to help his readers understand some difficult theological concepts. In the next few weeks we will look at more examples.
--Albert Baroody

Since ancient times the Bible has been read aloud to groups of people who were eager to hear the words of Life. We're really no different today. Believers still look to the Bible for wisdom and instruction. We belong in the Word together. Thank you for your participation in these classes. I hope you will pass this email on to others and invite them to attend a Bible study.

Grace and peace,
Sandy Blank

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cafeWednesday Cafe Class (continued)

Hebrews 11:1-19
v. 7 Noah demonstrated his faith when he believed that God really would destroy all the people in a flood. He built the ark and followed all God's instructions because he believed. Noah had faith at a time when everyone else did not. His faith was credited to him as righteousness in God's sight.


v. 8-10 Next is father Abraham who demonstrated faith in God when he left his father's country and went to Canaan, the land the Israelites would later inherit. Abraham lived in tents even though at that time it was common for wealthy men like him to build great cities. His son Isaac and grandson Jacob (Israel) also lived in tents. Abraham was looking forward to a better city than he could build himself. He was looking forward to a heavenly city that would be built by God.


v. 11-12 Abraham and Sarah believed God when He said he would give them a son in their old age and that they would have many descendants. The readers knew that God kept His promise to Abraham because they themselves were some of Abraham's descendants.


v. 13 "All these people" refers to Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and Jacob. They were living by faith when they died even though they had not yet received the full promise God made to them. But wait, if they didn't receive the full promise then does that mean God broke His promise to them? No, God did not break His promise. Rather, God promises such huge blessings that they cannot be received in one man's lifetime. Or in this case, even three generations is not enough to receive it all. It would take thousands of years for the descendants of one man (Abraham) to become as countless as the stars.


v. 14-16 Abraham and his family lived in tents as aliens and strangers (foreigners) in the land God had given them. They were looking "for a country of their own." They could have returned to the place where Abraham's father used to live. But they were "longing for a better country-- a heavenly one." That's why God is pleased to be called their God. Because they have faith in Him. And He will surely and certainly prepare a heavenly city for them.


Click to view the Hebrews Diagram...

Let's pause and think about this message from the perspective of the original readers. They were Jews who had become Christians who were now being pressured to go back to Judaism. They could probably relate to Abraham who left his father's land and went out not knowing where he was going. Like Abraham, they could go back but if they do then they will be forfeiting a greater inheritance. Also like Abraham, they must live among Gentiles as strangers and aliens while they wait for God to prepare a place for them in heaven. And also like Abraham, they will likely die before God's promise to them is fulfilled.


v. 17 Abraham's faith in God was tested when God told him to offer his son Isaac. Abraham was prepared to kill his son but God stopped him. What was Abraham thinking that he was willing to do such a thing? After all, the promise of many descendants was supposed to come through Isaac. So if Abraham killed Isaac before he had any children of his own then how could God's promise be fulfilled? The author tells us Abraham reasoned that God could raise Isaac from the dead. How did Abraham know this? There is no record of anyone being raised from the dead before this time. This shows us the depth of Abraham's faith that God would fulfill His promise. In the eyes of Abraham God could do anything. Even raise his son from the dead. The readers of this letter had to have faith like Abraham. These believers had to have faith that God raised Jesus from the dead and that He would ultimately raise them as well.


Next time we'll continue in chapter 11 with more examples of men and women of faith.

--Sandy Blank

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readtobelieveThursday Read-to-Believe Class (continued)

Colossians 1:21 - 2:15

v. 28-29 Paul teaches toward an ultimate goal. His goal is to present people "perfect in Christ" (that is, mature in their faith in Christ). Paul works hard toward this end but acknowledges that it's Christ's power that works within him.


Chapter 2:1-3 Laodicea was only a short distance from Colossae, about 13 miles. Paul had not met the readers personally. Again he states his purpose. That they may be:

       a) encouraged in heart and

       b) united in love.

So why Paul?

So the readers may have "the full riches of complete understanding"

In order to do what Paul?

In order to "know" God's mystery (which is Christ). Again Paul emphasizes knowing not doing.

Back in chapter one verse 26 Paul talked about how God had hidden this mystery from people. Now he says that something is "hidden in" Christ-- all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.


v. 4-7 Paul is telling them all this so they will not be deceived by false teachers who sound like they know what they're talking about. Although Paul is not there with them (remember, he's in prison) he has heard from Epaphras how well they are doing. He encourages them to continue in their faith in Christ and be very thankful to God.


v. 8 He warns them not to be taken captive by "hollow and deceptive philosophy." This is not a physical captivity but refers to their minds being taken over by another form of teaching that is not in line with the true revelation of Christ. This other philosophy is not based on Christ but on "human tradition and the basic principles of this world" instead of on Christ. It's not that there's anything wrong with human traditions or worldly principles, but they are a poor substitute for Christ.


v. 9-10 This is a strong statement. All of God (all His power and authority) lives in the body of Christ. Not just part of God, but all of Him. And the believers have been given fullness in Christ who is the Head of every authority. So all of God is in Christ and the believers are themselves fully in Christ.


v. 11-12 Paul compares the physical circumcision associated with the Law to a spiritual circumcision that is symbolized by water baptism. Believers are "buried" with Christ in baptism and "raised" with Him through their faith in God's power to raise the dead. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead will raise the believers also.

v. 13 These Colossian readers used to be spiritually dead in their sins. But while they were dead God made them alive with Christ. He forgave "all" their sins-- past, present and future. How?

v. 14 By cancelling the written code (the Law of Moses) and nailing it to the cross.

The Law had been against them. The Law did not keep them safe. All it could do was condemn them for the sins they committed. The Law could not save them from the penalty of sin. It only showed them their need for a savior. The Law would continue to condemn them if it was not "canceled" by the cross.


Let's look at the Old Covenant more closely. It was a legally binding agreement between two parties-- God and the Israelites. This agreement was established with a blood sacrifice and could only be canceled by the death of one of the parties. Obviously, God is immortal and could not die. If all the Israelites died then there would be no opportunity to establish a New Covenant. Therefore, God needed to become human so that He could die and bring an end to this covenant. Once that was accomplished then a new one could be established that would actually bring peace between Jew and Gentile as well as peace between God and humanity. That's why Paul can say the "written code" (the Law) was taken away by Jesus Christ and "nailed to the cross."


v. 15 The powers and authorities that were "disarmed" must refer to evil spiritual authorities. The cross not only brought an end to the Law it also defeated the demonic forces that oppose God.

--Sandy Blank

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This newsletter is maintained by Sandy Blank (Ph.D. Educational Studies, Biola; MA Biblical Studies, Grace University). If you would like further information about any of her classes or would like to know how to start a Bible study in your area please contact her at [email protected]. This newsletter is sponsored by Theocentrix, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting God-centered Bible literacy. Visit www.theocentrix.org for more information.