What must I do to be saved?

One common type of variant encounter in comparing ancient Bible manuscripts is word order. An example would be the difference between a text reading: “Jesus Christ,” or “Christ Jesus.” Again,  as we noted in the previous lesson, this difference alone might be counted as hundreds or even thousands of mistakes by Bible critics. In this case, although there may be a slight difference of emphasis shown by a change in word order, it changes absolutely nothing about the Christian’s faith or practice.

The type of difference that appears in passages like 1 John 1:4 make up the vast minority of differences, but it is actually a far greater question than most. There is a question in this text as to whether the text should use the word “our” or “your” (as emphasized in bold print):

ESV – “And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.”

KJV – “And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.”

This question is not merely one of translation into English from the Greek, but as to how the original text read. Keep this in mind… this is one of the bigger questions we have about the reading of the New Testament!

In the end, there are only a very small percentage of variants that change the meaning of the Bible text itself, and none of these effect the doctrinal belief system taught in the New Testament. Don’t believe me, believe esteemed Bible critic, Ehrman, who stated:

“In fact, most of the changes found in early Christian manuscripts have nothing to do with theology or ideology. Far and away the most changes are the result of mistakes pure and simple slips of the pen, accidental omissions, inadvertent additions, misspelled words, blunders of one sort or another.”

Ehrman also stated: “Essential Christian beliefs are not affected by textual variants in the manuscript tradition of the New Testament.”

Ehrman actually studied at the feet of Bruce Metzger, widely considered to be the foremost of textual scholars. Ehrman continues to hold Metzger in high regard. Listen to what he says in the previously mentioned book:

“If he and I were put in a room and asked to hammer out a consensus statement on what we think the original text of the New Testament probably looked like, there would be very few points of disagreement—maybe one or two dozen places out of many thousands.”

In other words, we can and do know extremely close to what the original writings said… and the differences that exist, make no difference in faith or practice. And one of the foremost of Bible critics is willing to make that argument for us! The truth is that no other ancient work has anywhere close to the same manuscript evidence as the Bible, yet these are, almost without exception, accepted as genuine and accurate.

Consider this question: Why has the Bible even been copied, and copied, and copied, like no other volume in the history of this world? Perhaps it is because it is like no other book in the world!

Daren Schroeder

We have been searching for ways to cause attendance to increase…well, I found the following article and it was titled so that it had to catch my attention. Upon reading it, I
was not convinced that it is the answer to all our needs, but it was amusing. Consider the following parody.

“7 Ways to Boost Church Attendance!” by Larry Acuff

After attending a college football game in Tennessee, Larry Acuff wrote that he had the perfect way to boost church attendance. His seven suggestions follow:

1. Replace the cushioned pews with hard steel benches and remove the backs.
2. Make people sit very close to each other. (Especially close to those whom they don’t know)
3. Let those that smoke sit in front and blow smoke back into their faces.
4. Take the top off the building. There must be something about having a top on the building that keeps people from coming into it.
5. Have someone (likely the preacher) yell real loud into the audio system.
6. Have everyone pay a least $50 to get in: even before they know the outcome.
7. Change services to last three hours instead of just one hour.

With these changes you’d better come early Sunday to get a parking place and a seat ▪ *

What do you think? There must be SOMETHING that can excite and revive our community to greater church attendance. If the above worked for football games…do
you think it might have possibilities for the church? Wouldn’t you think that Bible preaching about the love of God and the cross of Christ would bring in more people to
become regular attenders (fans) than mere football? What think ye?

*In reality, for those that love the Lord, all we need is to read Matt 28:18-20; Eph 4:11-16; II Tim 2:2.

Ivy Conner

I have heard this statement made many times by individuals who have just heard a sermon presented which exposed some wrong in their lives. Did you ever wonder why anyone would feel that the preacher had “preached right at” him?

Suppose the preacher has just preached against lying. Who in the audience will feel that he has preached right at him? It could only be one who is guilty of lying.  The same would hold true on any other subject.

What we need to do is examine the things taught in the light of God’s word. If we find them to be true we should accept them. If they expose some wrong in our life we need to change and thank God that there is someone concerned enough about our soul to teach us what we need to hear.

-by James Hahn

____________________________________________

Gossip’s Corrupt Fruit

“GOSSIP” is idle talk or rumors about others. The word can also be applied to the person who initiates or repeats such idle talk.

Many jokes are made about gossip. Some seem to view gossip as a harmless exercise – an annoyance or nuisance at worst.

Christians should realize that gossip (slander, tale bearing, being a busy body) is sinful and carries with it the potential of much heartache and devastation. The sinfulness and seriousness of gossip is clearly illustrated by its effects which are listed in a number of scriptures.
1. Gossip makes a fool of the one who practices it. “…he that uttereth a slander is a fool”, Proverbs 10:18.
2. Gossip causes deep wounds. “The words of a tale bearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly”, Proverbs 26:22.
3. Gossip will separate close friends. “A forward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends”, Proverbs 16:28.
4. Gossip brings shame upon the tale bearer. “Debate thy cause with thy neighbor himself; and disclose not a secret to another: lest he that heareth it put thee to shame and thine infamy turn not away”, Proverbs 25:9-10.

If you are tempted to gossip, work on purifying your heart (because evil speech proceeds from the heart, Matthew 15:18-20), increase your love for others, and learn to use your speech “to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers”, Ephesians 4:29.

– by Tom Moody

I think it works better than radio, better than auto-dialers, better than showings of Jule Miller filmstrips, better than mailing out a bulletin, better than Dial-a-Bible-Reading, better than debates, better than cable TV.

What is it? It’s brethren not being conformed to the world.

If a church is made up of people who understand 184 current and past issues correctly, but their lives do not show superior conduct, servitude, and holiness, don’t expect an auto dialer, computer, printer, broadcast antenna, or cable outlet to compensate for the failure.

When church members think like the world, dress like the world, talk like the world, and chase money and status symbols like the world, it is the world that is winning them, not the other way around.

When church members are selfish, egotistical, arrogant, and shallow, then they are not in a position to help the world to a higher plane.

If our families are splitting up, our children are dropping out, and our homes are little different from our neighbors then our “light” gets rather difficult to notice.

But if people learn self-denial (Lk. 9:23), learn submission to God and care for our neighbor (Matt. 22), learn to be servants (Jn. 13), learn to be content (1 Tim. 6:8), learn to invest in family (Titus 2:5; Eph. 6:4; Prov. 22:6), and learn to clean out the inside of the cup, not just the outside (Matt. 23), then bright lights will shine.

“Ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a people for God’s own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…having your behavior seemly among the Gentiles; that…they may glorify God” (1 Pet. 2:9-12).

“Present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy, acceptable to God…and be not fashioned according to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:1,2).

We are not called simply to know some things different from the world — we are called to rise above the world, and to “be holy” (1 Pet. 1:15). And when people become that kind of light in the world, they become great evangelistic tools in God’s service.

And it will far exceed the effect of debates, radio, TV, and mail outs.

– by Scott Smelser

(Much of this material comes from the Christian Courier website, an article entitled: Is the Apocrypha Inspired by God? Written by Wayne Jackson.)

WHAT ARE THE APOCRYPHAL BOOKS?

The word “apocrypha” means hidden. Books that were not considered to be canonical (a part of the Bible), became known as the apocryphal books. Seven of these books are found within the Old Testament of the Catholic Bible. These include the following: Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, and 1 and 2 Maccabees. These books were accepted as being a part of the Bible at the Council of Trent in 1546, Others, that are not in the Catholic Bible include the following: 1 Esdras, 2 Esdras, The Rest of Esther, Song of the Three Holy Children, History of Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, and the Prayer of Manasseh. Sometimes these books are also referred to as the “Disputed Books.”

REASONS FOR REJECTING THE APOCRYPHAL BOOKS

1. They were never a part of the Hebrew Old Testament. No record of them appearing with the OT books occurred until they began to be inserted into later renditions of the Septuagint (a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible).
2. These books are not appealed to by some of the earliest church historians. Philo did not make mention of them, though he quoted extensively from the OT (writing in Alexandria from 20 B.C. – 50 A.D). Josephus rejected these books (A.D. 37-95). Neither Origen nor Tertullian recognized these books (3rd century A.D.) There is evidence that some use of them began to be made in religious services by the 5th century A.D. (But this is really more of a liability to their inclusion as Scripture.) By presenting these things we are not saying that the historical record settles the matter, but it does seem to be quite telling.
3. The books were all written during the “Silent Period” of God’s revelation. By “Silent Period,” we mean the period of time between the OT and the NT. As the prophet Malachi closes the OT revelation he states: “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction” (4:4-6). “Elijah” is a clear reference to the coming of John the Baptizer (see Mt. 11:14; Lk. 1:17). Implied is that there will be no revelation until that time.
4. Neither Jesus nor any writer of the NT quotes a single time from the Apocryphal Books, though they do quote from 35 of the 39 OT books.

1. The Apocryphal Books never make a single claim to be inspired by God, whereas the OT
2. books we have make statements like: “Thus says the Lord.” In fact, brother Wayne Jackson pointed out that one of these books actually claims not be inspired: “Ye are intreated therefore to read with favour and attention, and to pardon us, if in any parts of what we have laboured to interpret, we may seem to fail in some of the phrases.” (This is from the prologue of the Ecclesiasticus.)
3. The style of writing is not on or near the level of the other books which are considered to be Scripture.

ERRORS FOUND IN THE APOCRYPHAL BOOKS

1. According to Jeremiah 43:6-7, Jeremiah and Baruch were taken to Egypt, but Baruch 1:1-2 has them in Babylon at the same time.
2. The book of 2 Maccabees has Antiochus Epiphanes dying two different ways (compare 2 Mac. 1:13-16 with 2 Mac. 9:19-29).
3. Tobit is said to have lived 158 years (Tobit 14:11), yet it says that he was alive when Jeroboam revolted against Jerusalem (931 B.C.) and still around when the Assyrians invaded Israel (around 722-721 B.C.). This would make him about 210 years old!

FALSE DOCTRINE IN THE APOCRYPHAL BOOKS

1. The book Wisdom of Solomon teaches the preexistence of the soul. “Now I was a goodly child, and a good soul fell to my lot; Nay rather, being good, I came into a body undefiled” (8:19-20).
2. 2 Maccabees 12:45 teaches praying for the dead: “Wherefore he made the propitiation for them that had died, that they might be released from their sins” (2 Maccabees 12:45). This is used by Catholics regarding praying for release from purgatory.

1. Tobit 12:9 teaches that one may purge sins through giving. “It is better to give alms than to lay up gold: alms doth deliver from death, and it shall purge away all sin” (Tobit 12:9).
2. Tobit 6:1-17 teaches that magical potions can drive away demons.

Daren Schroeder

Many truths can be seen in the response Jesus gave to the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. In verse 23 Jesus said, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.”

First, Jesus’ mention of the true worshipers implies that there are false worshipers. Too many in our society today believe that God will accept whatever they want to offer to Him. Jesus said differently.

Second, Jesus said that true worshipers will worship. To be “true” is to be real or genuine. To “worship” is to pay homage to God, to revere Him. We cannot worship God by proxy. It requires personal participation.

Third, Jesus said that true worshipers will worship the Father. He is the object of our worship. When we worship him we are in His very presence. Therefore, when we worship God we should remember that He is the audience and we are the participants.

Fourth, Jesus said that true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. As we approach God in worship we must have the appropriate motivation and mental disposition. Our worship is to be done out of an attitude of sincerity. It must also be done according to that which is true, the pattern of worship that God has given us on the pages of the New Testament. If we love God we will not see worship as “having to” but as “getting to.” If we love God we will not approach worship with a “minimalist” attitude. If we love God we will come before Him in worship with something to offer Him.

Fifth, Jesus said that true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. Who does God want to worship Him today? What does it take to please God in our worship today? God is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and truth.

Are you a true worshiper? Do you worship? Do you worship God? Do you worship God in spirit? Do you worship God in truth? Those are the ones whom God is seeking to worship Him! Think about it!

~Kevin Williams

In the game of football, the offensive line has one major job – protect the quarterback. They need to allow him the time and freedom to do what he is trained to do: hand the ball off to the running back, throw to a receiver, or run the ball down the field himself.

That’s what our prayers do for ourselves and our spouse. Prayers build a wall around our spouse’s heart so that Satan cannot break through the line and attack him or her. When we pray this way, it allows our spouse to do what he or she is trained by God to do and to do it confidently and safely.

The prayer from the prayer life of Jesus which we will consider in this study is one Jesus prayed in the upper room, before He led His disciples into the Garden of Gethsemane, where He also prayed, which we’ll study next month.

JESUS PRAYS FOR HIMSELF – 17:1-5:

Jesus is about to leave this world of sin and return to the Father and He asks for God’s protection as he approaches that death.

Pray for your spouse’s safety.

JESUS PRAYS FOR HIS IMMEDIATE DISCIPLES – 17:6-19:

17:6-12 – While Jesus was with them, He kept them in the “name” or “Truth” of God and He guarded them; He protected them. Everyone except Judas Iscariot, the Son of Perdition, whom  the Scriptures had predicted would turn His back on the Messiah (Psa. 41:9; 109:8).

Pray for your spouse’s health. You pray for their safety; pray also for their physical health. John stated in 3 John 2, that he prayed his audience would be in good health, just as their soul prospers.

17:13-14 – Jesus prayed that God would protect His disciples from the impact that the world can have on them – by stealing joy from their hearts. Jesus is praying that His disciples will have “joy made full in themselves.” Here, the joy is closely connected to having the word of God.

Pray for your spouse to be protected from negative thinking, especially when it comes to God or Christ or their word. If he or she is struggling with a certain health problem, it can also steal the joy and hope from their heart. Pray for him or her, specifically that God will protect them from Satan stealing the joy of life from their heart.

17:15-16 – Jesus asked the Father to “keep” the disciples from “the evil one.” His disciples do not belong to the world, just as Jesus did not belong to the world. Our citizenship is in heaven.

So we should pray that our spouse can be protected from his or her own unique temptations.

17:17-19 – Jesus sent the disciples into the world to continue sharing the “name” of God and Jesus sanctified Himself so that He could glorify God and be the instrument of salvation for mankind and for the sake of the disciples, that they could be sanctified in the truth.

Pray for your spouse’s sanctification, that they would hear the word and obey the word and live the word in their own lives. That’s how we can pray for our spouse’s protection from Satan.

JESUS PRAYED FOR ALL DISCIPLES – 17:20-26:

This last paragraph extends the prayer of Jesus to the protection of all of us…

Jesus wants us to be with Him so we can see the glory He had with the Father before the world was. Jesus, through the teachings of the apostles, has made Himself known so that God’s love, the love with which He loved the Son, can be in us and Christ may dwell in us.

Pray your spouse will be protected in the love of God.

Pray for your spouse’s protection: physically, emotionally, from discouragement, from temptations, and especially spiritually.

Paul Holland

A frequent point of attack from non-believers is that we do not have a single original New Testament document, coupled with the fact that there are variations within the manuscripts we do have. It is often argued that there is no way we could know how the original writings read. We should also note that many Jews make this same argument against the New Testament. So, in order to be better prepared to give an answer, as well as to fortify our own faith (see 1 Pt. 3:15), let’s consider these matters.

Remember, we have today well over 5000 ancient Bible manuscripts. Of course, these were all copied by hand. It should not be surprising that they contain mistakes as they were “humanly” copied. The copyists had inferior writing materials and lighting than we have. They did not have corrective reading devices. And they got tired and made mistakes just like we do. The more the Scriptures were copied, the more errors would naturally be introduced.

MOST COMMON TYPES OF VARIATIONS

Here is a listing of some of the most common types of variations made in copying the Scriptures: (1) Misspellings. (2) Word order. (3) Skipping or repeating a line (coming back to the wrong place while copying). (4) Inadvertently adding a word or two while copying (or, omitting). (5) An intentional change to the wording that was thought to be a mistake. (6) The change of a word that is spelled in a similar way to another. (In English, an example would be like accidentally changing the word “dessert” to “desert.”)

Listen to the argument that Bart Ehrman set forth in his book entitled Misquoting Jesus:

“What good is it to say that the autographs (i.e., the originals) were inspired? We don’t have the originals! We have only error-ridden copies, and the vast majority of these are centuries removed from the originals and different from them, evidently, in thousands of ways…. There are more variations among our manuscripts than there are words in the New Testament.” (Misquoting Jesus, p. 90).

That last statement is quite a claim, but is it true? The answer to that may be: “yes and no.” Here is what I mean. Since we have thousands of manuscripts in our possession today, if you count every error in everyone of them, the numbers add up! But in a sense Bible critics tend to multiply them rather than add them. For instance, if a certain word is misspelled 50 times in one manuscript and then copied 150 times, some quantify that as 750 “mistakes.”

Those who have a disbelief and even a hatred toward the Bible love to use huge numbers for “shock and awe,” and aren’t always completely forthcoming (or, honest). How often do they share with us what kinds of variances are present in the manuscripts as we noted above? Normally they don’t. Why? Because when the whole truth is known, it doesn’t do much to diminish faith in it! So, often the number of variances are inflated, and so are the seriousness of the variances. Listening to many of them you would think we could not have any idea what the New Testament says. This is simply not true. We’ll talk more about this next week.

Daren Schroeder

A well-known and loved song begins “A Wonderful Savior Is Jesus My Lord…” BUT, just why is Jesus wonderful?

1. Because He left home in heaven to come to this earth in a physical body to endure humiliation and suffering…for US, Philippians 2:6-8; Luke 19:10.

2. He came to this world of sin and woe to give US hope, Colossians 1:27’ Romans 8:24-25.

3. While we were His enemies, He died for US, Romans 5:8-9.

4. He shed His precious blood to save US from our sins, Matthew 26:28; Ephesians 1:7; Isaiah 53:5-6.

5. He has given US entrance into His Kingdom, the church, Colossians 1:12-13; Revelation 1:4, 9; Acts 2:47.

6. He has given US a reason to live (Purpose in Life), Matthew 5:16, 6:33, 28:19; Revelation 2:10.

7. He causes US to rejoice, Philippians 4:4.

8. He gives US true peace, John 14:27; Philippians 4:7.

9. He is coming again. WE shall meet Him in the air. He

will reward the saved and punish the evil, Acts 1:11; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Matthew 25:31-46.

10. He strengthens US…WE can “do all things through Christ,” Philippians 4:13; Ephesians 3:20-21.

Truly His words invite us all…”Come unto me ALL ye that labor and are heavy laden…and I will give you rest…” Matthew 11:28-30.

The Bible closes looking for HIS return, “Even so come Lord Jesus,” Revelation 22:20; cf. Acts 1:11.

By Ivy Conner