God loves it when we study His Word. Those who do, feel free to join a four-part Bible study, starting tomorrow.

If I only believed in part of the Bible, that would be as ridiculous as a woman saying she's almost pregnant. She either is, or she's not. We either believe or we don't. God is no liar. We can either believe and receive God's blessings, or doubt, and do without. There's no in between or middle ground. God is not the author of confusion, Satan is. And I would like to stick to this subject. Any are welcome to join if you'll be respectful, however, we can discuss whether we believe the Bible is the true Word of God or not, at another time. That is not the issue at hand right now, so please respect that.

With that said, I would like to discuss why the Bible says hell is real, though some are conveying that it is not and no one will go there. What does God's Word really say about that? I'll be discussing that in a four parts series Bible study, if any are interested. If not, kindly be respectful and not troll this Bible study. Obviously, it is not something you're interested in and that's okay.

I'll label them, part 1, part 2, etc.... I've already got them written out. There are no dumb questions, when it comes to learning about God and His Word.

Anyone who insists on trolling these Bible studies, I won't ask any questions. I will simply disrespect you, as you have disrespected me, and delete your post immediately.

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LadyGrace · 70-79

@Amylynne Usually when we mention "the Bible" it is generally understood what that means, though there may be different variations or different translations of the Bible that individuals use. However, I'm not here to delve and get caught up into which book one thinks is right. With that said, I will be using the KJV of God's Word. Those who study along may use their own Bibles and version, whichever they feel comfortable with, however, this is the book Christians use, for reference.

Further, no one is obligated to stay for any part of the Bible study. It's according to whoever is interested and I'm sure they may be some who may just wish to observe but not join in. I have no way of knowing that, but that's fine. Naturally, it all depends on what a person likes and there will be no hard feelings if someone wants to drop out and I'm sure I won't even know, if they do. My goal is not to get into all the particulars right now, but to concentrate on, and study the verses at hand, and in question.

When I mentioned part 1 and part 2, I was not referring to the Bible. The study of the subject at hand was way too long to include in one post. So I divided them up into sections which may amount to only two or three sessions instead of four, depending on how much and how long I wish the page to be. However there will be room for discussion on any point and people can feel free to ask any question they like along the way, then we'll all discuss it. I believe it's not only important to know what we believe, but why we believe what we do. We will examine the different opinions others have on this particular subject.

Everyone is welcome to join, regardless of their academic background. This is simply for those who wish to study the Word of God and enjoy doing that. It's not meant to be formal, for show. I do hope you'll join us. We would love to have you. But of course, that's strictly up to you.

Now to your question, as to what I believe the differences are between the Old and New Testament and the purpose for replacing the Old Testament with the new. That's a great question, with a lengthy answer. 😁

Jesus was born in order to personally reveal the Father (Matthew 11:27). He was the Being who interacted with Adam and Eve , Noah, Abraham , King David, and others. It was therefore needful for him to reveal, personally, the other Being of the Godhead who was greater than he was (John 10:29, 14:28).The Savior had to be born because mankind, after the sin of Adam and Eve, would have been eternally lost—cut off from God—had not Jesus come to earth and allowed Himself to be sacrificed to save mankind from his/her sins, which began with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

Jesus had to be born because Adam and Eve failed to carry out God's mandate to glorify Him in their lives. It was left for the Son of God, thousands of years later, to ultimately fulfill the divine revelation of God's character and purpose for man.Why did the need for a perfect sacrifice mean that Jesus had to be born? It was because the earlier, physical sacrifices were imperfect. They could not take away the penalty for sin (Hebrews 10:4).

God instructed the Israelites in the need for sacrifice, but they had access only to physical forerunners of the ultimate sacrifice, which would come later in the form of Christ Himself. God instructed His people to participate in the physical rituals of animal sacrifices not because they were sufficient to remove people's sins, but because of the lessons they taught—that sacrifices were necessary because of mankind's sins.

Jesus had to be born because, without the true sacrifice, humanity was doomed to be separated from God forever. All would die, with no hope beyond the grave.

Jesus had to be born for mankind to have a Mediator between God and mankind. Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant. Under the New Covenant, God replaced the sacrifices of the Levitical priesthood with the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Himself. "But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is the Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises" (Hebrews 8:6).

The understanding that Jesus is the mediator between God and mankind makes it easier for us to comprehend that the ministry of Christ is an administration superior to the Levitical priesthood.

This understanding lets the believer purge his conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Hebrews 9:14). Upon acceptance of the terms of the New Covenant, the believer is imbued with the power of the Holy Spirit so God can write His laws on the believer's heart and mind (Hebrews 8:8).

Why does the need for a mediator mean Jesus had to be born? It is because the priesthood, staffed by the Levites, as revealed in the Old Testament, was imperfect. It was only a forerunner. Jesus had to be born because the salvation of mankind required a better sacrifice, pure and without sin...Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

Pikachu

If I only believed in part of the Bible, that would be as ridiculous as a woman saying she's almost pregnant. She either is, or she's not. We either believe or we don't

I don't think that's true.

For instance, why can't you believe that god created life and that Jesus died for your sins but that Genesis is not a literal description of how life was created?

You have to remember that the Bible is a human work even if it is divinely inspired. God did not sit down and write the Bible, humans wrote the books that make up the Bible. I don't think you would disagree with that.
That means that inevitably the word have god has gone through the filter of a human brain.

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Pikachu

@LadyGrace

Well for myself i don't believe the Bible is the word of any god but what we're discussing right now is the interpretation by other Christians.
You are aware that Christians who believe that Genesis is a literal description of how life began are in the minority?
But they would say the same things that you are in terms of god being honest and unchanging.
In fact, unless i am mistaken, this literal interpretation of Genesis is a rather recent one.

I dunno. There seem to be an awful lot of Christians who love god and believe their Bible but don't think that bats are a kind of bird or that all life was created over a few literal days.

LadyGrace · 70-79

@Pikachu I would love to hear why you don't believe the Bible is the word of God? I'm not talking about any God I'm talking about God the Father in heaven, for examples sake, if you believe in him, which is important to establish, I believe. IF you absolutely don't believe in God or His Word, what's the point of discussing God or the Bible? We could go on all night, I mean, and accomplish absolutely nothing. So are we here to learn and discuss with each other, God and His word, or is our goal to be right? I love studying God's Word, but we need to concentrate on scripture, in my opinion and discuss that. Of course again, you don't believe God's Word, as you have stated, so in this manner, you are saying you would like me to believe what you believe because of what you have read from other sources, yet deny me the right to back up what I say, according to God's Word, which is hardly fair.

I'm not worried about other Christians interpretation of the bible. That's not on me. That is their responsibility . I'm responsible for my own self and accountability to God, for my own self. What they do has nothing to do with me. They are going to believe what they want to believe and vice versa. I'm just making sure to the best of my ability that I'm living up to what I have confessed. And that is not out of fear. That was out of my own choice and my love for the Lord because of what he has done for me and I could never thank him enough nor outdo his beautiful mercy and Grace. When the Bible says to fear God, it's not talking about living in Terror of him. There is no fear in perfect love and God's love is perfect. It is speaking about showing God the honor, the credit, the glory, and respect that he deserves because of who he is and what he did for us. In my heart I cannot give him less. He deserves nothing less than my best.

I find it silly to even discuss such things as weather certain Christians believe that Genesis was the beginning of the evolution. I have no idea who has or has not given their best in the study of God's word so they know the truth. That's on them. If they want to believe according to what they assume, then so be it. I will not be accountable to God for them, their lack of faith, or their lack of stewardship, faithfulness, Bible study, you name it. They can say all they want but unless it comes from who they claim they love, Jesus Christ and God the Father, they are just spinning their wheels. They will never learn, grow, nor mature in Christ and it is their duty if they say they love the Lord to diligently study the word. That is what God said in His Word. And it is only hearsay, according to you, that Christians who do not believe in evolution are in the minority. This does not cause my faith to waver in the least. God does not hold me responsible for my neighbor or what he does, as far as spiritual responsibility towards God himself, but on the other side of that coin, I care and love my neighbor as myself, so I will see to it that if he or she is not hurting or needs help; that I am there for him or her. Well I have not interviewed those Christians to know who or what they would or would not believe or say, so that is pointless.

We're not talking about assuming here we're looking for facts to back up what we say. The literal interpretation of Genesis is far from new. It is given in God's Word and Christians take God at His Word. Always, they know he is trustworthy and no liar. But just like any kid in school if they don't study and don't know what they believe and why, naturally they're thinking will be scrambled and their mind easily given over to false Doctrine, imaginations, and confusion. That's why God said in his word to study it so that we can show ourselves approved. Not by man but by God. God is not the author of confusion. Satan is so if any Christian becomes confused, it would be most beneficial to them if they would get back into God's Word where the Holy Spirit can again teach them the truth. They will need to do more Bible study and praying.

I hope I'm not just writing to myself here. Nothing will be accomplished if we don't read all of what each other says so we can discuss in an intelligent manner.

YOU SAID: I dunno. There seem to be an awful lot of Christians who love god and believe their Bible but don't think that bats are a kind of bird or that all life was created over a few literal days.

I thought we were here to study the Bible not what others think. I have no control over that. Your analogy is purely inadequate. The Bible has nothing to do with bats or what we have studied about other subjects. That's apples and oranges. Now when you compare Christians and what they think about life being created over a few literal days, there's no way we can know what they believe about certain things in the Bible, though they are Christians. It depends how much they put into their fellowship and relationship with God and how much they study and see the importance of it. The more steady we put into something the more we will get out of it and reap the benefits from it. If it's a fact that a lot of Christians love and believe God and hHis Word, but don't think bats are a type of bird, all that tells me is that they need to do more study of species of animals. Makes no sense at all.

Pikachu

@LadyGrace

Yeah i don't believe the Bible to be the work of a divine being but i do enjoy discussing the character of god as we learn about him through the Bible. For me it's more like a book club.
I certainly don't expect you to believe as i believe unless the reasons for my beliefs are compelling to you.

They can say all they want but unless it comes from who they claim they love, Jesus Christ and God the Father, they are just spinning their wheels

And perhaps it is. Who is to say?

it is only hearsay, according to you, that Christians who do not believe in evolution are in the minority

As you can see, the proportion of Christians who believe in evolution as either totally natural or guided by god outweighs the proportion which denies it outright.

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/10/30/5-facts-about-evolution-and-religion/

Not that this should cause you to change your position held in faith. I just wanted to set the record straight on the matter of "hearsay".

The literal interpretation of Genesis is far from new

I mean it's a few centuries old now but in terms of the history of Christianity, it's a pretty recent take. Generally agreed upon as coming to prominence in the 1700's. So you know, nearly 2,000 years after Jesus' ministry and many thousands of years from the time the Pentateuch was written.
https://wilsonfreelancing.wordpress.com/2013/03/24/the-history-of-biblical-literalism-what-you-may-not-know/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_literalism#:~:text=Biblical%20literalism%20first%20became%20an,mention%20it%20in%20his%20Encyclop%C3%A9die.

I only post this because as you say, we want to be dealing in facts and not assumptions.

The Bible has nothing to do with bats or what we have studied about other subjects

Well the bats thing is just meant to be an example of something that the Bible says which we know is not literally true. In Leviticus we get a long list of birds that are unclean to eat and included in that list is a bat.
Well you and i know that bats aren't birds but there they are in the Bible included in a list of unclean birds.
So maybe then there is room to consider that the Bible should not necessarily be considered literal fact in all respects.

Amylynne · 26-30, F

there are at leas 27 different sources for what we call "the bible" today. in the early church there were many more books to it
and part 1? the old testament?
part 2 the New testament?
I am unlikel to stay for the entire discussion. My academic specialty is ancient history, and I think I know way more about some of those writing than most.
that out of the way,,
what do you think of the Idea that the NEW testment, Outweighs and replaces theold?

SW-User

Are you on Discord? You can join my school's bible study group (:

LadyGrace · 70-79

@SW-User Sorry, I've never heard of that, but I really have my hands full here with everything else I'm involved in with this site and people who asked me to mentor them. Thanks for asking, anyway.

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