1- Miss Duffy, traveling the world, made a living by drawing caricatures of those who posed for paintings. As a professional, she wasn't sure if she believed in God, Jesus, or the Bible. I asked her if I could show her that the Bible contains numerous prophecies about Jesus (about 351, see online) written before He came into the world, telling who His ancestors would be and where He will be born. Doesn't this indicate that God exists, that Jesus is the promised Messiah, and that the Bible is inspired by God? Miss Duffy replied that she was not sure, but would try to understand. We began by recognizing the fact that the Bible was not written by one man, but by twenty-four who wrote the 39 books of the Old Testament and eight who wrote the 27 books of the New Testament—a total of 66 short books written over a 1500-year period. Some writers didn't know other writers or didn't know what they wrote. These prophecies about Jesus are found in the Old Testament, and they were written by Jewish prophets, rulers, and ordinary people. They were part of the Bible of the Jewish people. Three prophecies taken together: 

       1) give a verbal description of Jesus, the Messiah, before His coming;

       2) show that the Bible was inspired by God and 

       3) confirm that God exists. All three prophecies agree with each other and confirm each other.

• One seed of Abraham

Moses wrote around 1450 BC (before the coming of Christ) that God appeared to Abraham in 1950 BC and said to him:

“...and through your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice” (Genesis 22:18). Paul in 58 AD wrote about this promise: “But the promises were given to Abraham and to his seed. It is not said, “And to your descendants, as if they were many,” but as if they were one, “And to your seed, which is Christ” (Galatians 3:16).

         Abraham is the ancestor of Jesus, to whom God spoke approximately  

         2000 years before the coming of Jesus.    

1. male infant

Isaiah wrote that the ruler would be born a male child. He wrote 750 years before Jesus came: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; the government is upon His shoulder, and His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and in his kingdom, that He may establish it and strengthen it with judgment and righteousness from now on and forever” (Isaiah 9:6,7).  

No other person but Jesus can fulfill this prophecy of a coming male child who will receive the throne of David and a kingdom forever and ever (Luke 1:30-33).

• Place of Birth

        Even the small town where Jesus was to be born   

        was chosen, just as Micah predicted. (No one can choose 

        his own birthplace.) Micah wrote 450 years before 

        birth of Jesus: “And you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, are you little among 

        thousands of Judas? out of you will come to me the one who 

        must be a ruler in Israel, and whose descent from

        beginning from the days of eternity” (Micah 5:2). 

        Only Jesus, who was born in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1-6), could

        fulfill this prophecy; for no one can come from

        Bethlehem, whose "ways" were from eternity. Only God, not people

        can choose the place of birth.  

Three in one

The above evidence given by these three combined prophecies rests on each other's testimonies. If one prophecy is not confirmed, all three will not be confirmed. For some time, Miss Duffy was at her parents' house, taking a break from her travels around the world. I gave her the Bible and made an appointment for the following week.

Lesson 2

Two Testaments

Owen D. Albright

Miss Duffy met me at the door with a Bible in her hands. She asked, "Why are there two Testaments in the Bible?" We sat down together to find the answer in the Bible. I suggested starting with Genesis, the first book of the Bible, which tells of events leading up to the important promises God made to Abraham, upon which the rest of the Bible is built.  

We learned: 

– in chapters 1 and 2 about the creation of the universe, Adam and Eve;

– Chapter 3 about the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil;

– Chapter 4 about how Cain killed his brother Abel;

– chapter 6-9 about how Noah and his family survived the flood;

– Chapter 11:1-26 about how people were scattered throughout the whole earth from the Tower of Babel.

Promises made to Abraham

Abraham, a descendant of Noah, later called God Abraham (Genesis 17:5), moved with his family and his father Terah from Ur of the Chaldees to Haran (Genesis 11:27-31). God told Abram to leave his country, relatives, and father's house, and He would (1) make him a great nation, and (2) in him all the families of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3). The rest of the Bible is devoted to the fulfillment of these two promises of God. The Old Testament (treaty, promised agreement) tells of the great nation of Israel. The New Testament tells of Jesus, the Seed of Abraham, who made possible God's blessings on all the families of the earth (Genesis 22:18; Galatians 3:16). God repeated these covenants He made with Abraham to Abraham's son Isaac (Genesis 26:4) and Isaac's son Jacob (Genesis 38:4). He also promised the land of Canaan to the descendants of Abram (Genesis 12:7).

Great people

God commanded Abraham's son Jacob (Genesis 28:4), whose name He changed to Israel (Genesis 32:28), to go to Egypt with his family, where they would become a great nation (Genesis 46:1-4). During the 400 years of living in Egypt, the population rapidly increased until their number reached 603 men of Israel, aged twenty years or over, fit for war (Numbers 550:1-45), and 46 men from Levi, the tribe of priests , at the time of their exit from Egypt (Numbers 22:000). 

The Israelites lived under the laws of Egypt as slaves until they left Egypt, after which God gave them the Old Testament Law, which included religious, moral and civil aspects. At the heart of the Law were the Ten Commandments, which the Israelites were to keep in the land they were to possess (Deuteronomy 4:13-14). The law, given only to the people of Israel and the aliens living in it, was not intended for those who were outside of Israel. “Let there be one law both for the native and for the stranger who dwells among you” (Exodus 12:49). 

After Moses had given the law to Israel, he asked them: "... and is there any great nation that would have such just ordinances and laws as all this law that I offer you today?" (Deuteronomy 4:8). The implied answer is: "There is no such people."

God gave the Law only to the people of Israel and no other nation. “He proclaimed his word to Jacob, his statutes and his judgments to Israel.

He has not done this to any other people, and they do not know His judgments” (Psalm 147:8,9).

God's Law was given only to Israel and the aliens living among the Israelites.

Old Testament

The rest of the Old Testament tells the story of the development of the people of Israel in accordance with their law, which regulated civil and religious matters. It also includes the history of Israel, words of wisdom, prophecies, and Israel's struggles with other people, nations, and God. At first, the people were ruled by judges, then by kings Saul and David, and then by Solomon. Then there was a division into Judah and Israel and the people were ruled by two royal dynasties until many of the people of Israel were taken captive and taken to Assyria, and from the people of Judah to Babylon. The prophets warned both Israel and Judah of God's coming punishment and prophesied about the coming of Jesus into the world. Many of the people of Israel and Judah returned and lived in Israel about 300 years before the birth of Jesus. 

The New Testament begins with a description of the life of Jesus and His teachings, tells of His death and resurrection, and the spread of the word of Jesus in the Roman Empire. 

Next time we will look at the Old Testament and New Testament Laws.

Lesson 3

The difference between the Old and New Testaments.

Owen D. Albright

When I got to Miss Duffy's door, she had a question ready for me: "Do the Old Testament and the New Testament differ in what God requires of us?"

The laws of the Old Testament, which are found in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, do not answer this question, but the books of the prophets do. We opened the Bible and began searching for the answer in Jeremiah 31:31-34: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers in that time.” the day when he took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; They broke that covenant of mine, although I remained in covenant with them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law within them, and write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they will be My people. And they will no longer teach each other, brother to brother, and say: “Know the Lord,” for they will all themselves know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord, because I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sins no more.”

In the Book of Jeremiah, God promised Israel: “Behold, the days are coming... when I will make... a new covenant... not like the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt... I will lay down my law. I will write it within them and on their hearts..."

The prophecy says that the new covenant will be greater than the laws written on stones, and it will be different from the law given by God to the people of Israel.

God made the first covenant with Israel when they left Egypt. According to the covenant that God made with them, He promised to bless them in the land He was about to give them, provided that they keep this covenant. But if they do not keep it, then God will punish them and scatter them among the peoples of the earth (Deuteronomy 28).

Moses said that the agreement that God made with the people of Israel was the Ten Commandments: “…and He declared to you His covenant, which He commanded you to do, the Decalogue, and wrote it on two stone tablets; And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you ordinances and laws, that you might do them in the land into which you are entering, that you might possess it” (Deuteronomy 4:13,14-XNUMX).

God's statutes and ordinances were added as appendices to the covenant, the main document.

Testaments in comparison

God promised Israel in the first covenant that if they kept it, they would "live," they would be "well off," and they would live "a long time in the land that they would have as a possession" (Deuteronomy 5:33).

Like the rest of the Old Testament, this agreement did not promise eternal life in heaven.

The New Testament promises that if we keep it, God will take care of us now (Matthew 6:33) and give us eternal life in heaven when this earthly life ends (2 Peter 1:3-5).

There were many commandments in the Old Testament that had a negative meaning, such as "thou shalt not" instead of "thou shalt." The New Testament is more about positive responses controlled by the mind and spirit. The New Testament emphasizes that right thinking leads to right living (Philippians 4:8); thus the purpose of the New Testament is to put right thoughts into our minds (Jeremiah 31:33). If our minds are filled with God's principles and righteous attitude, there is no need for laws to prescribe every right action. Paul spoke of this when he wrote: “Love does no harm to a neighbor; Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10). He didn't have to write down everything his readers didn't have to do to avoid harming their fellowmen.  

New approach, new, not the same as the old one

In the Old and New Testaments, some laws are the same, but there are also different requirements. According to the New Testament, we must be willing to obey because of God's love, which is manifested in Jesus' sacrifice for us, and not just because we are commanded. A good mother and father will take care of their children because they love them, not just because they have to or are told to. Likewise, we must willingly submit to God (2 Corinthians 9:7) because of God's love for us and our love for God. 

Jesus did not specify down to the smallest detail how a person should act. He knew that right motives and thinking could lead to right behavior without the establishment of a law.

“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another; as I have loved you, let you also love one another” (John 13:34). Jesus didn't need to say anything else.

Not like the first 

Paul wrote that he was a minister of "the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the spirit, for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life" (2 Corinthians 3:6). Keeping a commandment with a rebellious heart kills a person spiritually and makes his actions unacceptable. Whether an action is right or not depends on the attitude with which it is performed in the heart. “You have heard what the ancients said: do not commit adultery. But I tell you that everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27,28). The right attitude does not make the wrong thing right, but it makes the right thing right. The same can be said about our salvation. We must obey "with all our heart" to be freed from sin. (Romans 6:17); thus right action is acceptable only if the attitude in the heart is right.

Miss Duffy smiled and said, "The New Testament provides spiritual principles that we can apply to life's situations."

Next lesson: “The purpose of the law; is it canceled?"  

        Lesson 4

Purpose of the Old Testament. Repeal of the Old Testament Law

Owen D. Albright

On my next visit to Miss Duffy, I learned that she was interested in the purpose of the Law in the Old Testament and whether it still works. The answer requires an understanding of what is meant by the Law used in the New Testament. It can mean the entire Old Testament, mean the Law as one part of the Old Testament and the prophets as another part (Matthew 5:17), or mean the Law, Psalms and prophets as three parts of the Old Testament (Luke 24:44).

"Law" always includes the commandments of the Old Testament, but does not always include history, wise sayings, Psalms, and the books of the prophets. Context helps define what "Law" includes. 

Purpose of the Old Testament

The main purposes of the Law can be found in the New Testament: 

1. God gave the Law as a standard for the citizens of the State of Israel to know what God wants from them (Romans 3:20; 7:7,13).    

Gentiles who did not have the Law could know the principles of the Law through nature (instinct) (Romans 2:14). 

2. The Law was given as a deterrent to help Israel avoid violating God's principles (Galatians 3:19). 
3. He was a teacher to lead us to Jesus (Galatians 3:24).

Repeal of the Law 

Jesus came and fulfilled the Law (Luke 24:44) because the Law fulfilled its task, like a servant in a family teaching a child, and then bringing him and giving him to the teacher. The child was no longer under the care of a slave, but now the teacher took care of him. In the same way, the Law taught and brought us to Jesus, our teacher (Galatians 3:25). We are no longer under the Law, under the care of a slave.    

In the New Testament, the emphasis is on the fact that Christians do not live according to the Law, according to which the Jews lived, since that Law has been canceled, as the teaching of Jesus and the Apostle Paul says.    

In a conversation with a Samaritan woman, Jesus said that the Law would soon cease to operate: “…the time is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father” (John 4:21).

When God gave the Law before Israel's entry into the promised land, He promised that they would have to worship Him in a place that He Himself would "choose" (Deuteronomy 12:5-14,18).

God chooses Jerusalem as such a place (3 Kings 11:13).

While the Law was in effect, Jerusalem was supposed to be a place of worship for Israel, but this changed (John 4:23) when the Law was abolished by the death of Jesus on the cross (Colossians 2:14).

Paul wrote that if the husband dies, the marriage law ceases to apply (Romans 7:2). So we too are “dead to the Law,” having “died to the Law” (Romans 7:2,6), just as Paul “died to the Law” (Galatians 2:19). Paul stated that Jesus “abolished...the law of the commandments” (Ephesians 2:15). “He took him out of the way and nailed him to the cross” (Colossians 2:14). Before the death of Jesus, the Jews were "under the Law" (Romans 2:12; Romans 3:19; Galatians 3:23; 4:4-5,21), but Christians are not "under the Law" (Romans 6:14-15; 1 Corinthians 9:20; Galatians 3:25; 5:18).

The book of Hebrews states that there has been "a repeal ... of the former commandment" (Hebrews 7:18), that Jesus "abolishes the first to establish the second" (Hebrews 10:9). 

The New Testament emphasizes the fact that the Law has ceased to help us realize that the Law is no longer valid. We are not required to obey the Old Testament Law, as it has been annulled. It has been abolished, but the rest of the Old Testament is given for our instruction (Romans 15:4).        

Miss Duffy thought for a moment and said, "There are many passages in the New Testament showing that the Law is not our standard, and we are now under the New Testament of Jesus."

Lesson 5

The Authority of Jesus

Owen D. Albright

Miss Duffy was reading the Bible and had a few questions when I came to her for another Bible study. She asked, “Does Jesus have authority? Who gave Jesus authority? How much power was given to Him and when was the power given to Him?” As always, we opened the Bible to find the answers.

Jesus has power

The answers to these questions can be found in the prophecies of the Old Testament as well as in the New Testament. The prophet Isaiah wrote that a ruler should be born to govern the state, which implies the presence of authority to rule. “For a child is born to us - a Son is given to us; dominion on His shoulders, and His name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

Micah wrote, “And you, Bethlehem… out of you will come to me the one who is to be the ruler in Israel, and whose origin is from the beginning, from the days of eternity” (Micah 5:2). This refers to the ruler who was to be born in Bethlehem according to Micah's prophecy. The prophecy was fulfilled by Jesus as it was foretold (Matthew 2:1,5,6).

Jesus is given power

Daniel prophesied that the Son of man (the Son is Jesus; Matthew 24:30; Luke 11:30) would be given authority to rule over all things when He ascended into heaven and appeared before God. Daniel wrote: “I saw in the night visions, behold, one like the Son of Man walked with the clouds of heaven, came to the Ancient of Days and was brought to Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom, that all nations, nations, and languages ​​should serve Him; His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away, and His kingdom will not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13,14).

Power over everything

The night before the crucifixion, Jesus knew that the Father had given everything into His hands (John 13:3). Forty days after Jesus' death and resurrection, before ascending into heaven, He said to His apostles: “... all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me (Matthew 28:18). Then Jesus ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father, where God set Him above all things and "subjected all things under His feet" (Ephesians 1:20-22). Angels and powers submitted to him (1 Peter 3:22).

When was power given?

God placed Jesus above all else and subjected everyone to Him except Himself (1 Corinthians 15:24-28) when Jesus ascended into heaven. Thus, Jesus currently reigns in God's worldwide kingdom, which includes everything, even the church, which was founded at the beginning of the feast of Pentecost (Acts 2:1), ten days after Jesus ascended to heaven and received the kingdom.

Respect for the Authority of Jesus

The apostles were to teach what Jesus commanded them, based on the fact that all authority belongs to Him (Matthew 28:18,19). When Moses and Elijah stood before Jesus and the three apostles, a voice from heaven said of Jesus, “Hear him” (Matthew 17:5), which is the responsibility of everyone, including the apostles, who were supposed to listen to Jesus and teach only what He told them. learned.

The New Testament contains the teachings of Jesus

Jesus, being the Intercessor of the new covenant (Hebrews 12:24) that was promised in Jeremiah 31:31-33, personally delivered the new covenant to the apostles and told them that the Holy Spirit would teach them everything and remind them of everything Jesus had told them (John 14:26).

In His prayer to the Father, Jesus said of the apostles, “...the words which You gave Me I delivered to them...” (John 17:8). He had told them earlier: “I still have much to say to you; but now you cannot contain it.

But when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth; for he will not speak of himself, but he will speak what he hears, and he will announce the future to you” (John 16:12,13-XNUMX).

The Spirit gave them what they had to say: 

“When they betray you, do not worry about how or what to say; For in that hour it will be given to you what to say; you will not speak, but the Spirit of your Father will speak in you” (Matthew 10:19,20-XNUMX).

So the New Testament, given to them by the Spirit, was given in the same way as the Old Testament (2 Peter 1:21).

The New Testament that the Spirit gave to the men who wrote it was not the opinion of man or the commandments of man, but as the apostle Paul wrote: “... let him understand the things that I write to you, for these are the commandments of the Lord (1 Corinthians 14:37).”

Paul could write because the New Testament was given by the authority of Jesus.

Miss Duffy smiled and said, "We must keep the New Testament because those who wrote it received it from the Holy Spirit based on the authority of Jesus."

Lesson 6

Jesus death for sin

Owen D. Albright

 Like many other people, Miss Duffy knew about the death of Jesus, but was not well informed about it. She realized that He died to save sinners, to free them from sin in God's eyes, but she did not understand why Jesus had to die for her and for the sins of other people.

With this in mind, we sat down and began to look at what the Bible says about the guilt or innocence of Jesus and why He died to save us.

innocent

At the trial of the Jews, Jesus was accused of blasphemy because He called Himself the Son of God (Matthew 26:63-65). Some of the crowd of people who came to see Jesus' crucifixion thought that Jesus was a fraud because He said, “I am the Son of God” (Matthew 27:40).

Others spoke of Jesus' innocence. Pilate's wife "sent to him to say, 'Do nothing to him who is just...'" (Matthew 27:19). Pilate told the crowd: “...I am innocent of the blood of this righteous One...” (Matthew 27:24), “...nothing was found in Him worthy of death...” (Luke 23:15). The events at the cross prompted the centurion to say, “Truly this man was a righteous man” (Luke 23:47) and with others to conclude, “Truly he was the Son of God” (Matthew 27:54). 

Isaiah foretold of the life of Jesus: He "...did no sin, and there was no lying in His mouth" (Isaiah 53:9). Jesus was innocent.

Our crimes

Jesus had no sin, but He died for our sins. Isaiah prophesied about the death of Jesus for us: 

“We all have gone astray like sheep; we have turned each one to his own way: and the Lord hath laid on him the sins of us all” (Isaiah 53:6); 

“...for the transgressions of My people I suffered execution” (Isaiah 53:8); 

“…when his soul will offer a propitiatory offering” (Isaiah 53:10); 

“... through the knowledge of Him He, the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify many and bear their sins on Himself” (Isaiah 53:11);

“... He bore the sin of many and became an intercessor for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12).

Jesus' love for us was the reason he paid our debt of sin:

“There is no greater love than if a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13);

"We know love in that He laid down His life for us"

(1 John 3:16).

We must live for Jesus because we owe our lives to Him. “...And Christ died for all, so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died and rose again for them” (1 Corinthians 5:14,15).

Only an offering that has power

In the Old Testament, animal blood was sacrificed for sins. It was only a shadow of an offering that could not forgive sins (Hebrews 10:1,2). The blood of Jesus, shed at His death, is our hope of salvation. We have nothing to offer ourselves or others. All we have to offer is our sinful self, which deserves punishment (Romans 6:23). If Jesus were just a man, His blood could only redeem one person, just as one dollar can only pay off a $1 debt.

The payment must be equal to the debt

An angel could not redeem us, but Jesus could, because He has a value that is higher than the value of a man, an angel, and even all people taken together who have ever lived. Only Jesus, and none other than God Himself, could pay our debt of sin:

“...for Christ also suffered once for our sins, the righteous for the unjust, that he might bring us to God...” (1 Peter 3:18).

“He himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree, so that we, having been delivered from sins, might live in righteousness: by his stripes you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24).

“He is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2).

“…and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him” (Hebrews 5:9). Jesus paid for our debt of sin with His blood.

“…in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7). We must live for Him because He died for us and paid our debt.

Miss Duffy was touched when she learned that Jesus' love was the reason He gave His life for her (1 John 3:16). She can be freed from the debt of sin and receive eternal salvation by obeying Jesus.