The Doctrine of Inspiration

 

 

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. | Artwork from Bible.art

The Doctrine of Inspiration 

Guest Contributor: Dr. James Bruggemen

The New Testament itself must be counted among the historical documentation of Christ. For example, Luke, a respected and learned physician and historian, wrote the Gospel of Luke and The Acts of the Apostles. He became intimately associated with Paul and many others of Christ’s disciples.

The British archaeologist and historian, Sir William Ramsey, attested to Luke’s accuracy in the minutest detail and validated Luke’s writing through his own archaeological endeavors.

In his gospel, notice how Luke opened his account of what happened regarding Jesus.

KJV Luke 1:1 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,

2 Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;

3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,

4 That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, ….

Luke was therefore writing about an historical person named Herod, king of Judea. Notice similarly in Chapter 3, Luke writes about Herod and other notables:

Luke 3:1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, ….

Once again notice that Luke is being very specific. He is doing things in order. He is giving dates, he is naming people, he is giving places, all of which exist in secular records. This is not myth. Contrast that with how we see that many myths begin: “Once upon a time, in a faraway place, there was a beautiful princess.” No names, no dates, no places. Luke’s account can be verified. And it does check out.

Turning back to Dr. David Noebel’s work, he summarizes the point we are making in this passage. QUOTE:

Jesus Christ was a historical figure. Furthermore, the honest critic must believe that the New Testament accurately describes His words and actions. Even without modern archaeological support of the New Testament, the character of Christ as, presented by the gospel writers, is too powerful and unique to be merely an exaggerated account.

The words and actions of Christ must be real; they are too incredible to have been fabricated. Humanist author, historian Will Durant recognizes this. He says, “That a few simple men should in one generation have invented so powerful and appealing a personality, so lofty an epic and so inspiring a vision of human brotherhood, would be a miracle far more incredible than any recorded in the gospels. After two centuries of higher criticism, the outlines of the life, character, and teaching of Christ do remain reasonably clear and constitute the most fascinating feature in the history of Western man.” END QUOTE

It would seem that there is no escape for the non-Christian. Not only is Christ a historical figure, but the Bible is a trustworthy historical document, and its revealed character of Christ is indisputably genuine. As one observer points out, “The unbeliever seems trapped by cold hard facts.”

Now if you are not inclined in the direction of typical Christianity, as was the case with me when I entered the Ohio State University, the most irritating aspect of the line of argumentation is probably this:

It depends in no sense on theology. He (Noebel) is talking about the historicity of Christ and the Bible. It does not depend on theology. It rests solely and squarely upon historical methods, the kind of methods all of us, whether Christians, rationalists, agnostics, or Tibetan monks have to use in analyzing historical data. 

Therefore, with the New Testament now seen as an accurate historical record, we must face the facts of its evidence about Jesus the Christ. It says He rose from the dead, and it says that He was God in the flesh. Now remember, the circular reasoning charge from earlier in this chapter?

We are now tying it all together by the following logical progression to show how this confounds those who charge Bible believers with circular reasoning:

Step 1, the New Testament is an accurate historical record. We have given a few samples, not the full proof.

Step 2, the New Testament provides evidence that Christ is God.

Step 3, if Christ is God, then what He says is true, for He is an infallible authority.

Step 4, Christ, the infallible authority, in many instances (examples later) attested to the veracity of Scriptures. He stated that they were the Words of God.

Step 5, if the Bible is the Word of God, then it is all true, because God does not lie.

By the way, we once again see demonstrated in those five steps, the incredible importance of the doctrine of the Deity of Christ. If Christ is not God, it all falls apart.

As you read the Bible, you will come across many things, not only what Christ stated about the Scriptures, but also that which the Bible says about itself in many places. Here follows a few specifics about what the Bible says about itself:

It speaks of how the inspiration of the Bible is expressed in the Bible, because hundreds of times it has words like these: “Thus saith the LORD  [Yahweh].”*

We find examples in Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 13:1 Thus saith the LORD [Yahweh] unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water

Another phrase:

Jeremiah 1:9: Then the LORD [Yahweh] put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD [Yahweh] said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.

Then, we often see the phrase, “The word of the LORD [Yahweh] came unto…”

Genesis 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD [Yahweh] came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

Or we find this phrase: “As the Holy Ghost saith…”

Hebrews 3:7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,

Alternatively, many times we will find, “It is written,…” as in:

Romans 10:15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

We also find it when Satan was tempting Christ. And, how did Christ reply to the adversary each and every time? By appealing to the Scriptures as the final and absolute authority.

Matthew 4:7 Jesus said unto him [Satan], It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the LORD [Yahweh] thy God.

That is how inspiration is expressed in the Scriptures. How is it accomplished? In other words, what is the mode of inspiration? It is through various men, in various ways, as it says in Hebrews:

Hebrews 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,…

What were some of those diverse manners? Dreams – Daniel; visions – Ezekiel; voice – John in Revelation heard the voice; inner impulse – which prophet was depressed at many stages in his life (the Weeping Prophet) because the people would not listen? In Jeremiah 20, he said:

Jeremiah 20:9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him [speaking of God because he was so depressed], nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.

Of course, it goes on because Jeremiah could not stop preaching because he had an inner impulse. It was like fire in his bones, he had to preach.

2 Peter 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

In whatever manner, these men were moved: dreams, visions, inner impulse, in various ways. What does the Bible say its results will be?

Jeremiah 23:29 Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD [Yahweh]; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

There are many other ways that we could describe the results, what the Bible says that it will do and how it does it, but let’s list a few.

2 Timothy 3:15-17 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

That is one of the results. The Bible—the Word of God—will make you wise, and it will make you knowledgeable about salvation. Verse 16 will probably be one of the main verses throughout this book. In verse 17, it goes on to say, for the purpose “that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” One other verse in Hebrews:

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

That is what the Word of God does to us and in us. It is a discerner of our thoughts and of the intents of our hearts. Have you felt that? I have. It can indeed be piercing and uncomfortable many times.

If you have not felt the Bible piercing you, figuratively speaking, dividing asunder your soul and spirit, and where it is discerning, it points out, it is holding a mirror to you, and says “This is what you really are. This is how you think in your heart, and this is how your attitude really is.”

If you have not experienced that, either you are not a Christian, or you are not yet out of the stage of Christian infancy. How does one get out of that stage? Get deeper into God’s Word.

As this chapter closes, our attitude towards the Bible is very important. How are we going to approach this study of Which Bible, Which Version? I hope you will join with me in approaching it with an attitude like this:  

“Just show me, Lord, because I do not know… I am lost without You and Your guidance, which is the guidance of Your Holy Spirit.”

Our attitude towards the Bible equals our attitude towards Christ. He is the Word made flesh, is He not? If we believe Him, not just believe in Him, but if we believe Him, then we must of necessity believe all that He has said.

I believe that He has said everything in the Bible. Our problem now, the one that we are working through together in these chapters, is this: Of all the versions available, which claim to be all that He has said, which is the one that actually is all that He has said?

In closing this chapter, and as we go on in this study, we want to make sure we are searching our hearts and making sure that our heart attitude is correct. As we proceed next, we will be digging much deeper into some of the things that we have just skimmed across to this point, including Biblical inerrancy, and plenary and verbal inspiration versus conceptual inspiration.

________

* The KJV and many other versions have removed the Holy Name / Sacred Name from the Scriptures. The translators/publishers have indicated that omission and  replacement by inserting the word LORD (in all capital letters).

When quoting the Bible, we almost always add the Holy Name back in—at least by putting it in [brackets] adjacent to “the LORD.” Yes, we recognize there is disagreement on whether the name was/is Yahweh or Jehovah or several other variations. We have studied that issue in great detail and are persuaded it is Yahweh. But we do not advocate a “church split” over that issue.  

You Are Cordially Invited to share your Christian experience with Renew Your Strength Bible Study Group... https://mlf1070.blogspot.com/2021/01/renew.html

 

Renew Your Strength is not a "know-it-all" type ministry. The purpose of Renew Your Strength Bible Study Group is to get people to think about what they believe and why they believe it, not debate who's right or wrong.

 

Over the years, as Renew Your Strength has continued to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have recognized that some of the things we once held as true, in fact, are not; and therefore we will not “cast in stone” a statement of our beliefs. We reserve the right to be wrong and to repent of such error when we discover it.  

 

To learn the revealed truth of God we must know and understand the true meaning of the words God inspired to be written. Use Strong's Concordance to check the original word before it was translated. Do your own research, make up your own mind, rely on the Holy Spirit to guide you.

 

 

Pure Religion

 

 

Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. ~ James 1:27

"To visit orphans and widows" means

to actively care for the most vulnerable members of society. This scripture, goes beyond a simple drop-in; it involves looking after orphans and widows with active, personal concern, which includes providing for their needs and offering protection and support. It is considered a fundamental expression of pure and undefiled faith, demonstrating love through compassionate action rather than just words.

 

Many Churches sponsor and/or operate orphans homes, hospitals, and homeless shelters, but rarely do Church members do more than put money in the collection plate. What if every member adopted one non-handicapped person in their city and helped them become self-sufficient.

  

I try to practice what I "preach." In 1973 my friend, Jerry, was building a deck for his neighbor. I was sitting on the tailgate of his truck when his electric saw hit a knot and jerked sideways cutting off all four fingers and thumb of his right hand. I rushed him to the ER. The doctor was able to save his fingers, but not his thumb. At the time of this accident, he had three small children and one on the way.

 

I went to every Church in town asking them to help this family with rent and groceries until Jerry was able to return to work. Not a one would left a finger. Excuse Number 1: They said they could not help because Jerry was not a member of their Church. Excuse Number 2: That's what the welfare is for they said.

 

So, the people in the trailer park where Jerry lived supported him. They did not care what Church Jerry attended, or didn't attend. Jerry's family would have starved to death waiting on the welfare check to kick in. I made sure they had plenty of groceries. From that experience, I learned that what the Bible calls "pure and undefiled religion" is often not found in Churches.

 

I decided if I see someone in need, I would help. I have given people cars (used, but in good condition) to help them over a rough spot. I have given my credit card to single Moms and told them to buy all the groceries they needed. The most any of them ever charged was $134. I have paid rent for people for months. I have bought furniture and appliances for people whose house burned down. There are millions of people who need a hand up that Christians could offer to help. 

 

My current "visit" is a homeless man who is disabled and was denied Social Security disability twice. Although he worked and paid into the SS system for 24 years, he is too young to apply for regular SS benefits. He lives in an old school bus with a wood burning stove and little else. I don't have the funds to put him in an apartment, he says he likes living simple. 

 

The Bible says that

charity is a core principle of faith, encouraging believers to give generously and compassionately to those in need as a reflection of God's love. Key themes include giving cheerfully, helping the poor and weak, and showing love through action, with scripture emphasizing that "it is more blessed to give than to receive." People would rather see a sermon than to hear a sermon.

 

 

SeYah is a God-inspired, one-of-a-kind Humanitarian Funding Program that allows everybody to do a little, so nobody will have to do a lot... https://healthseekers.blogspot.com/2025/08/funding.html

 

  

You Are Cordially Invited to share your Christian experience with Renew Your Strength Bible Study Group... https://mlf1070.blogspot.com/2021/01/renew.html 

 

Seeking Truth

 

It's been said confession is good for the soul. So I confess... I once was a smug Christian. I belonged to the "one and only true church." I was "saved", and everybody that did not worship like me was going to an ever-burning hell to be tortured for all eternity. What a warped view I was taught by preachers about my Heavenly Father's love, mercy, and forgiveness. Praise the LORD, He rescued me from Churchianity.

Christians have nothing to be smug about. We are not righteous (or saved) people telling other people they need to "get saved" and join the right Church, rather we are one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread. 

As Paul wrote in Philippians 2:11-13... Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.  

 

It's a 24/7 job minding our own business. As it is written, "Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand". ~ Romans 14:4. What others do with the gift of salvation is their business. No Church organization has a franchise on God, or a monopoly on the truth. The Church that Jesus built is not an earthly organization, it's a Body of Believers who are seeking first the Kingdom of God.

Seeking Truth is central to Christianity because it is equated with Jesus Christ, who is described as "the way, the truth, and the life." Understanding and living by HIS truth is essential for salvation, as it frees people from sin and deception. For Christians, truth serves as a moral compass, guides relationships, and provides spiritual discernment and security, ultimately shaping one's worldview and daily life. 

Why I left organized religion 

You are cordially invited to join Renew Your Strength Bible Study Group

 

 

The purpose of this post is to get people to think about what they believe and why they believe it, not debate who's right or wrong. To learn the revealed truth of God we must know and understand the true meaning of the words God inspired to be written. Use Strong's Concordance to check the original word before it was translated. Do your own research, make up your own mind, rely on the Holy Spirit to guide you. 

 

Two Testaments - One Savior

 

The Two Testaments (Covenants) Are One: The Old, The New. The First, The Second. The Word “Old” Makes The First Testament Sound of No Value.

The New Testament (Covenant) is the Old Made Better. - Hebrews 8:6

By Guest Contributor, Dr. James Bruggeman • 30 Sept 2025 

 

The Two Are One | Photo by James Bruggeman from one of my Bibles 

We assume that most of our readers and those who study our oral lectures on CDs, mp3, or directly on line, are in agreement with the thesis summarized in the title above. We came across this gem in our library a few weeks ago and we now republish it below as something short, easy to understand, and ideal for sharing with your typical church friends and relatives.

Take, for example, when we began our study of the Kingdom of Heaven, aka, the Kingdom of God, we quoted both John the Baptist and Jesus announcing the Kingdom.

Matthew 3:2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (uttered by John).

Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (uttered by Jesus).

We pointed out early in the series that there were no questions from the disciples nor from the crowds asking the question, Sir, we don’t understand what you mean by that; what is the “kingdom of heaven?”

In those days, they all knew what it was. But it is obvious that most churchgoers 2,000 years later do not. Therefore, early in our series, we went back to the Old Testament to study what it is, when it began, who is involved, what it entailed, what happened to it—all so that we would have a much greater understanding when we later returned to study the Kingdom in the New Testament.

It turns out to have been a very deep and broad subject as we cut it off at 52 lectures, and admitted that we could have gone on with another 50 lectures on that subject. Those 52 lectures are available from us individually (not recommended), or in convenient albums of four CDs per album (priced at $20/album), or with the cost significantly reduced for buying the entire series at once. Here is the link to the Order Form, which contains a synopsis of each lecture.

We do not know when this article by Ray Monks was originally published in the Auckland News-Magazine. (We assume that is from Auckland, New Zealand.) The essay was reprinted in the May 1990 issue of the Kingdom Digest (which is now defunct). For your edification, here is Mr. Monk’s work on the subject. All boldface emphasis and comments within [brackets] are mine. 

QUOTE: The Bible is the most read book in print. It remains the world’s best seller. Therefore, a man’s literary knowledge and wisdom may be gauged by his familiarity with the Book of books. But there are many who insist that they are believers of the Bible, students of the Bible, and preachers of the Bible, and yet ignore, neglect or reject the Old Testament.

Their reasons are varied but they all arrive at the same result, a woeful loss of the knowledge of the blessings which God planned for mankind, and at the same time of proper equipment for the presentation of the New Testament Gospel.

The Bible is one Book, not two: It is the revelation of the whole plan of God from the Divine Counsels in eternity to eternity when Satan, Sin, and Death shall be destroyed and Jesus shall deliver up His finished Kingdom and God shall be All in all.

That revelation is symmetrical, harmonious, progressive, and consistent from Genesis to Revelation. Through it, one increasing Purpose runs. To omit part of it is to break the continuity and frustrate the Divine Plan.

God the Father (Yahweh) did not "retire" when Yahshua (aka Jesus) came. The Whole Bible is the Gift of God’s Wisdom for the Guidance and Blessing of Mankind: What kind of self-sufficiency or egotism is it that would cast aside thirty-nine of the precious God-given books and say, “The New Testament is all we need?”

Would it not be wise for such persons to stop for a moment and consider God’s words: “My thoughts are not your thoughts nor my ways, your ways: for as heaven is high above the earth so are my thoughts higher than your thoughts and my ways higher than your ways.”?

The Old Testament was the Bible Jesus used: It was the only Bible then in existence. He not only quoted it and most marvellously applied it on all occasions, but endorsed, corroborated and enforced it throughout His Ministry. Jesus called the Old Testament “the Scriptures” (Matt. 21:42).

In Luke 4:21, He told the people of Nazareth: “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears,”

In Matt. 22:29, He told the Pharisees, “Ye do err not knowing the Scriptures or the power of God.”

Again, He told them in John 5:39: “Search the scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life and they are they which testify of me.”

What has happened to the Bible of Jesus that any professed follower of His should seek to discard it?

The Apostles found abundant use for the Old Testament: There are at least six hundred quotations from the Old Testament presented by the writers of the New Testament. They counted it an absolute necessity in order to present the Truths of the New Testament.

In all of their writings the Old Testament is used to validate all that they propose to present concerning the Plan and Grace of God. They made it the commentary and encyclopaedia to define Jesus, authenticate His deity, His mission, His message, His work, His sacrificial death, His burial, His Resurrection, His Ascension, His Exaltation, His mediatorial reign, His Kingdom, and His ultimate victory over all His foes.

Take out of the New Testament all references to the Old Testament, and the whole message of the Apostles would fall flat. Jesus fulfilled and confirmed all that was written in Moses, the Prophets and in the Psalms concerning Himself, thus establishing His identity as the promised Messiah. Surely a Book that does all that is worthy of our deepest study.

The Christian religion cannot be explained without the Old Testament. The Old Testament has been woven into all the doctrines, sermons, songs, prayers, sacraments and instructions of the Church through the centuries. Following the lead of Jesus and the Apostles, the Early Church made continual use of the Old Testament in proclaiming the Gospel.

In fact, it has been declared that the whole of the Old Testament, except a few verses, could be reconstructed from the writings of the Church fathers.

In the light of all this, we pause to wonder what exalted type of spiritual and intellectual Christians we have developed, who can afford to profess, publicly, that they can do what Jesus, the Apostles, or the Church fathers found impossible; namely, proclaim Christianity without the Old Testament. Throughout the New Testament, Divine Inspiration takes for granted that the reader is well acquainted with the Old Testament.

The New Testament is presented as a sequel, the complement, the fulfilment and the confirmation of the Old Testament. To approach the New Testament without having studied the Old Testament is like going into High School without a primary school education, The Old Testament furnishes the only authentic record of the creation:

1. The creation of the heavens and the earth. The more true science learns, the more willing its endorsements of the Divine statements concerning the genesis of the material universe.
2. The creation of man. Whatever may be the various hypotheses of the evolutionist, he is always unable to answer the question of the origin of life. In his attempts to produce life spontaneously, he has miserably failed. After all his research, tests and trials, the honest scientist is compelled to join with the Psalmist in the ascription of praise to God: “With thee is the fountain of life. Thou art the life of every living thing.”

The Old Testament furnishes the only authentic history of the races of mankind: The origin, characteristics, achievements for good or evil, and the ultimate destiny of the races — all of this is told in the Old Testament.

New finds of the archaeologist are proving all doubt that the record is correct to the least detail. In fact, the Old Testament furnishes little short of a university course in Anthropology, Sociology, Philology, and all kindred subjects. As a source book for the historian, it is unexcelled.

The Old Testament is the revelation of God’s plan for redemption: It is the only Book with an authentic and reasonable solution of the origin of sin and its effect upon the race. Only through the study of the Old Testament can one become acquainted with man’s primal state in Eden, the Fall, the loss of the Kingdom of God on earth and the gigantic plan of God for the salvation of men and the redemption of the nations.

Only in the Old Testament can we learn of God’s cleansing of the earth with the Flood, his re-establishment of the Kingdom at Sinai, and the prophetic descriptions of its character, its conquest, its victory, and the gracious reign of the Prince of Peace.

The Old Testament alone reveals in detail the covenants established by God with our fallen race: Every one of those covenants is in force today, and under them men must live for weal or woe. Some are conditional, some unconditional, but under them, we are living and they constitute the fundamental of our life, individually, socially, nationally and internationally.

There are fifteen of those Covenants [The number of covenants depends upon who is counting and by what criteria. We have expounded them all in substantial detail in our series The Covenants of the Bible, which has been serialized in our monthly Feed My Sheep teaching for many months to date.] — and what kind of folly is it one would remain in willful ignorance of them?

How meager the information of the man who says “the New Testament is the story of the New Covenant and that is all we need to know.” There could be no new covenant without an old covenant.

And positively no man can understand and appreciate the New Covenant without knowing well the conditions and penalties and the impossibilities of the Old Covenant. The man who discards the Old Testament rejects the divinely ordained schooling that God intends he should have in order to understand Jesus Christ, His mission, His message, His character, His atonement, His intercession and His reign.

All of this instruction is presented by God in a series of most marvellous object lessons, found in the symbols, types and ceremonies of the Old Testament. Therein the True theologian finds his most productive material for the explanation and definition of Jesus Christ and His work.

Little wonder that those who propose to discard the Old Testament have such shallow views of Jesus and present Him to the public in such an attenuated manner. [We have all experienced that shallowness as we have tried to share a deeper understanding of the gospel with our NT-only Christian brethren.]

The Old Testament reveals the Law of God for nations. Jesus abrogated the law contained in ordinances. At His death the veil of the temple was rent from top to bottom. But the laws, statutes and judgements given at Sinai, have never been repealed.

Jesus declared in Luke 16:17: “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one hair stroke of the law to fail.

In Matt. 5:18 He said: “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”

The Ten Commandments are an expression of the Divine nature and cannot be annulled. They were given as the law of life for all mankind. Grace saves from the penalty of the broken law, but does not abrogate or annul the law: the law remains the rule of Christian conduct. To make this certain, we find each of the Ten Commandments reiterated in the New Testament.

In the British Commonwealth and the United States the Ten Commandments constitute the common law of the land. As at Sinai, these countries have their form of government in a constitution, law, statutes and judgements, which constitute the only true foundation of national righteousness and will be the law of the Kingdom of God on earth. 

The law of God propounded by Moses furnishes the only solution to the economic, social and political problems which now confront the world. Therefore, the layman or minister who discards the Old Testament cannot be a really intelligent citizen, nor can he have any well defined message for the age and country in which he lives.

Even the Sermon on the Mount requires the Law of Moses to define and concrete it as a rule of national life. No man can preach in its fullness the Kingdom of God on earth and the Millennial reign of Christ without the Law of Moses.

The Old Testament furnishes a marvellous description of the Kingdom: There is presented its origin, laws, institutions, spirit, blessings, unfoldment in time and consummation. The highest flights of the prophets describe it, but nowhere is it seen clearer in detail than in the Psalms.

The Psalms not only describe Jesus in His fullness, in language unexcelled, but constitute an anatomy of the human soul and furnish the highest vehicle of prayer, praise and thanksgiving for every experience through which a human being may pass in the journey from the cradle to the grave.

The Psalms are of the songs of the ages. There has not been a decade in human history since they were written, but they have been appropriate. They are the songs of Israel, written for Israel, and as the age expires will be revealed in their glory as the songs of joy and triumph with which to usher in the New Order of the Kingdom.

The Old Testament through prophecy furnishes the prewritten history of the world: The story of Christ and Christianity was told long centuries before His advent. The rise and fall of empires, the evil forces which should be loose in the world, their devastation of men and nations and their final annihilation all foretold.

The march of the kingly line of David down the centuries, the woes that befell God’s chosen Israel (Who is Israel of today?) on account of their sin, the rebuke and cleansing they must receive before they inherit the Kingdom, all foretold for the benefit of those upon whom the ends of the world have come.

We assume that most of our readers and those who study our oral lectures on CDs, mp3, or directly on line, are in agreement with the thesis summarized in the title above. We came across this gem in our library a few weeks ago and we now republish it below as something short, easy to understand, and ideal for sharing with your typical church friends and relatives.

Take, for example, when we began our study of the Kingdom of Heaven, aka, the Kingdom of God, we quoted both John the Baptist and Jesus announcing the Kingdom.

Matthew 3:2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (uttered by John).

Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (uttered by Jesus).

We pointed out early in the series that there were no questions from the disciples nor from the crowds asking the question, Sir, we don’t understand what you mean by that; what is the “kingdom of heaven?”

In those days, they all knew what it was. But it is obvious that most churchgoers 2,000 years later do not. Therefore, early in our series, we went back to the Old Testament to study what it is, when it began, who is involved, what it entailed, what happened to it—all so that we would have a much greater understanding when we later returned to study the Kingdom in the New Testament.

We do not know when this article by Ray Monks was originally published in the Auckland News-Magazine. (We assume that is from Auckland, New Zealand.) The essay was reprinted in the May 1990 issue of the Kingdom Digest (which is now defunct). For your edification, here is Mr. Monk’s work on the subject. All boldface emphasis and comments within [brackets] are mine. QUOTE:

The Bible is the most read book in print. It remains the world’s best seller. Therefore, a man’s literary knowledge and wisdom may be gauged by his familiarity with the Book of books. But there are many who insist that they are believers of the Bible, students of the Bible, and preachers of the Bible, and yet ignore, neglect or reject the Old Testament.

Their reasons are varied but they all arrive at the same result, a woeful loss of the knowledge of the blessings which God planned for mankind, and at the same time of proper equipment for the presentation of the New Testament Gospel.

The Bible is one Book, not two: It is the revelation of the whole plan of God from the Divine Counsels in eternity to eternity when Satan, Sin, and Death shall be destroyed and Jesus shall deliver up His finished Kingdom and God shall be All in all.

That revelation is symmetrical, harmonious, progressive, and consistent from Genesis to Revelation. Through it, one increasing Purpose runs. To omit part of it is to break the continuity and frustrate the Divine Plan.

The Whole Bible is the Gift of God’s Wisdom for the Guidance and Blessing of Mankind: What kind of self-sufficiency or egotism is it that would cast aside thirty-nine of the precious God-given books and say, “The New Testament is all we need?”

Would it not be wise for such persons to stop for a moment and consider God’s words: “My thoughts are not your thoughts nor my ways, your ways: for as heaven is high above the earth so are my thoughts higher than your thoughts and my ways higher than your ways.”?

The Old Testament was the Bible Jesus used: It was the only Bible then in existence. He not only quoted it and most marvellously applied it on all occasions, but endorsed, corroborated and enforced it throughout His Ministry. Jesus called the Old Testament “the Scriptures” (Matt. 21:42).

In Luke 4:21, He told the people of Nazareth: “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears,”

In Matt. 22:29, He told the Pharisees, “Ye do err not knowing the Scriptures or the power of God.”

Again, He told them in John 5:39: “Search the scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life and they are they which testify of me.”

What has happened to the Bible of Jesus that any professed follower of His should seek to discard it?

The Apostles found abundant use for the Old Testament: There are at least six hundred quotations from the Old Testament presented by the writers of the New Testament. They counted it an absolute necessity in order to present the Truths of the New Testament.

In all of their writings the Old Testament is used to validate all that they propose to present concerning the Plan and Grace of God. They made it the commentary and encyclopaedia to define Jesus, authenticate His deity, His mission, His message, His work, His sacrificial death, His burial, His Resurrection, His Ascension, His Exaltation, His mediatorial reign, His Kingdom, and His ultimate victory over all His foes.

Take out of the New Testament all references to the Old Testament, and the whole message of the Apostles would fall flat. Jesus fulfilled and confirmed all that was written in Moses, the Prophets and in the Psalms concerning Himself, thus establishing His identity as the promised Messiah. Surely a Book that does all that is worthy of our deepest study.

The Christian religion cannot be explained without the Old Testament. The Old Testament has been woven into all the doctrines, sermons, songs, prayers, sacraments and instructions of the Church through the centuries. Following the lead of Jesus and the Apostles, the Early Church made continual use of the Old Testament in proclaiming the Gospel.

In fact, it has been declared that the whole of the Old Testament, except a few verses, could be reconstructed from the writings of the Church fathers.

In the light of all this, we pause to wonder what exalted type of spiritual and intellectual Christians we have developed, who can afford to profess, publicly, that they can do what Jesus, the Apostles, or the Church fathers found impossible; namely, proclaim Christianity without the Old Testament. Throughout the New Testament, Divine Inspiration takes for granted that the reader is well acquainted with the Old Testament.

The New Testament is presented as a sequel, the complement, the fulfillment and the confirmation of the Old Testament. To approach the New Testament without having studied the Old Testament is like going into High School without a primary school education, The Old Testament furnishes the only authentic record of the creation:

1. The creation of the heavens and the earth. The more true science learns, the more willing its endorsements of the Divine statements concerning the genesis of the material universe.
2. The creation of man. Whatever may be the various hypotheses of the evolutionist, he is always unable to answer the question of the origin of life. In his attempts to produce life spontaneously, he has miserably failed. After all his research, tests and trials, the honest scientist is compelled to join with the Psalmist in the ascription of praise to God: “With thee is the fountain of life. Thou art the life of every living thing.”

The Old Testament furnishes the only authentic history of the races of mankind: The origin, characteristics, achievements for good or evil, and the ultimate destiny of the races — all of this is told in the Old Testament.

New finds of the archaeologist are proving all doubt that the record is correct to the least detail. In fact, the Old Testament furnishes little short of a university course in Anthropology, Sociology, Philology, and all kindred subjects. As a source book for the historian, it is unexcelled.

The Old Testament is the revelation of God’s plan for redemption: It is the only Book with an authentic and reasonable solution of the origin of sin and its effect upon the race. Only through the study of the Old Testament can one become acquainted with man’s primal state in Eden, the Fall, the loss of the Kingdom of God on earth and the gigantic plan of God for the salvation of men and the redemption of the nations.

Only in the Old Testament can we learn of God’s cleansing of the earth with the Flood, his re-establishment of the Kingdom at Sinai, and the prophetic descriptions of its character, its conquest, its victory, and the gracious reign of the Prince of Peace.

The Old Testament alone reveals in detail the covenants established by God with our fallen race: Every one of those covenants is in force today, and under them men must live for weal or woe. Some are conditional, some unconditional, but under them, we are living and they constitute the fundamental of our life, individually, socially, nationally and internationally.

There are fifteen of those Covenants [The number of covenants depends upon who is counting and by what criteria. We have expounded them all in substantial detail in our series The Covenants of the Bible, which has been serialized in our monthly Feed My Sheep teaching for many months to date.] — and what kind of folly is it one would remain in willful ignorance of them?

How meager the information of the man who says “the New Testament is the story of the New Covenant and that is all we need to know.” There could be no new covenant without an old covenant.

And positively no man can understand and appreciate the New Covenant without knowing well the conditions and penalties and the impossibilities of the Old Covenant. The man who discards the Old Testament rejects the divinely ordained schooling that God intends he should have in order to understand Jesus Christ, His mission, His message, His character, His atonement, His intercession and His reign.

All of this instruction is presented by God in a series of most marvellous object lessons, found in the symbols, types and ceremonies of the Old Testament. Therein the True theologian finds his most productive material for the explanation and definition of Jesus Christ and His work.

Little wonder that those who propose to discard the Old Testament have such shallow views of Jesus and present Him to the public in such an attenuated manner. [We have all experienced that shallowness as we have tried to share a deeper understanding of the gospel with our NT-only Christian brethren.]

The Old Testament reveals the Law of God for nations. Jesus abrogated the law contained in ordinances. At His death the veil of the temple was rent from top to bottom. But the laws, statutes and judgements given at Sinai, have never been repealed.

Jesus declared in Luke 16:17: “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one hair stroke of the law to fail.

In Matt. 5:18 He said: “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”

The Ten Commandments are an expression of the Divine nature and cannot be annulled. They were given as the law of life for all mankind. Grace saves from the penalty of the broken law, but does not abrogate or annul the law: the law remains the rule of Christian conduct. To make this certain, we find each of the Ten Commandments reiterated in the New Testament.

In the British Commonwealth and the United States the Ten Commandments constitute the common law of the land. As at Sinai, these countries have their form of government in a constitution, law, statutes and judgements, which constitute the only true foundation of national righteousness and will be the law of the Kingdom of God on earth. 

The law of God propounded by Moses furnishes the only solution to the economic, social and political problems which now confront the world. Therefore, the layman or minister who discards the Old Testament cannot be a really intelligent citizen, nor can he have any well defined message for the age and country in which he lives.

Even the Sermon on the Mount requires the Law of Moses to define and concrete it as a rule of national life. No man can preach in its fullness the Kingdom of God on earth and the Millennial reign of Christ without the Law of Moses.

The Old Testament furnishes a marvellous description of the Kingdom: There is presented its origin, laws, institutions, spirit, blessings, unfoldment in time and consummation. The highest flights of the prophets describe it, but nowhere is it seen clearer in detail than in the Psalms.

The Psalms not only describe Jesus in His fullness, in language unexcelled, but constitute an anatomy of the human soul and furnish the highest vehicle of prayer, praise and thanksgiving for every experience through which a human being may pass in the journey from the cradle to the grave.

The Psalms are of the songs of the ages. There has not been a decade in human history since they were written, but they have been appropriate. They are the songs of Israel, written for Israel, and as the age expires will be revealed in their glory as the songs of joy and triumph with which to usher in the New Order of the Kingdom.

The Old Testament through prophecy furnishes the pre-written history of the world: The story of Christ and Christianity was told long centuries before His advent. The rise and fall of empires, the evil forces which should be loose in the world, their devastation of men and nations and their final annihilation all foretold.

The march of the kingly line of David down the centuries, the woes that befell God’s chosen Israel (Who is Biblical Israel today?) on account of their sin, the rebuke and cleansing they must receive before they inherit the Kingdom, all foretold for the benefit of those upon whom the ends of the world have come.

God not only deemed it wise, but made full provision through the prophets to inform us of this very day in which we live, with all that is transpiring in the world. Mid all the stress and strain, the frenzy and perplexities of these days, God intended that His children should know and understand what is taking place.

The early Church appreciated this loving mercy of God and studied prophecy. The source of their information was the Old Testament prophets. That made them children of the light and of the day. I wonder what kind of letter Matthew would write to those, in the pulpit and out of it, who scoff at prophecy and discard the only source of light, while they drowse in the midst of a world on fire.

Or what would Peter write to a people who, because of prejudice or indolence, ignore his admonition: “We have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well to take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”

The day is not far hence when the Lord Christ Himself will speak, for He says: “Behold I shake not only the earth but the heavens also, that that which cannot be shaken may be established.”

There will be a terrible time in the shaking up and rattling down of the ecclesiastical systems as well as the political systems and a host who are now scoffing and deriding will come inquiring the way into the Kingdom. Let us reverently thank God for the Old Testament, for the knowledge of the Kingdom, the Law and the Prophets. END QUOTE

~END~
                 

The purpose of Renew Your Strength Bible Study Group is to get people to think about what they believe and why they believe it, not debate who's right or wrong.

Over the years, as Renew Your Strength has continued to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have recognized that some of the things we once held as true, in fact, are not; and therefore we will not “cast in stone” a statement of our beliefs. We reserve the right to be wrong and to repent of such error when we discover it.  

 

To learn the revealed truth of God we must know and understand the true meaning of the words God inspired to be written. Use Strong's Concordance to check the original word before it was translated. Do your own research, make up your own mind, rely on the Holy Spirit to guide you.

 

 

Immoral Sexual Conduct

 

 

Sexual immorality is the one sin that causes more misery than all other sins combined. Although sexual misconduct is prohibited by man's law and God's Law, it is the number one cause of divorce, dysfunctional families, sexually transmitted diseases, abortion, perversion, pronography, sex trafficking, and depravity. 

The Bible describes a framework for sexual conduct that centers on abstinence from sexual immorality, including incest, adultery, and homosexuality, while promoting sex within marriage as a way to strengthen the marital bond and provide peace and connection. The Old Testament, particularly in Leviticus 18, lists specific forbidden practices, such as relations with certain relatives, the neighbor's wife, and during menstruation. The New Testament reiterates the call for believers to flee sexual immorality and live in a way that honors God with their bodies.

In the New Testament, the apostle Paul wrote to the Church in Corinth about sexual conduct. Although God gave man the power of choice, not all choices are helpful.

 

All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 Corinthians 6.12-20

Sexual immorality drives people from the presence of God. It's a sin that is rampant in society, and the Church. Dealing with sexual immorality in the Church is covered in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5 

 

Peter lays out it for people with ungodly behavior. ~ 2 Peter 2:4-11

⁴ For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to ^[b]hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; ⁵ and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; ⁶ and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; ⁷ and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked ⁸ (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)— ⁹ then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, ¹⁰ and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of ^[c]dignitaries, ¹¹ whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord.

 

There are two types of Christians - Overcomers and Non-Overcomers ~ Revelation 21:7

Overcomers are professional assassins of their own carnality. An overcomer asks himself three questions every day.
1. Is what I am doing now building Christ-like character?
2. Is what I am doing now producing the fruit of the Spirit?
3. Is what I am doing now helping me overcome the carnal mind?

What if you asked yourself these questions several times a day? Write these questions on 3x5 cards or on the back of business cards. Carry one with you at all times. Post one on your desk at work. Affix one to a conspicuous spot inside your car. And place another one on the mirror you use most at home. Read these questions several times a day. Focus on becoming the person the LORD chose you to be. 

Before you know it, you'll find yourself actually headed in the direction you want to go. Quitters never win and winners never quit! The cowardly, unbelieving, sexual immoral shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. Revelation 21:8

Jesus said, "Follow Me,"not join some Church or try to find the right path on your own. Jesus was born as a human being, was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin. Jesus paid the price for mankind's sins once and for all, suffered and died, and rose from the dead. Jesus KNOWS exactly how you think, feel, and act. He's been there, done that.

Jesus is the only person qualified to give you advice. Listen to Him! No Church has a franchise on God or a monopoly on the truth. The Church Jesus built is not an earthly organization, it's a Body of Believers seeking first the Kingdom of God, and you don't join... the Lord adds you to the Church fellowship. ~ Acts 2:47.

 

You Are Cordially Invited to Renew Your Strength Bible Study Group

 

The purpose of Renew Your Strength Bible Study Group is to get people to think about what they believe and why they believe it, not debate who's right or wrong.

 

Over the years, as Renew Your Strength has continued to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have recognized that some of the things we once held as true, in fact, are not; and therefore we will not “cast in stone” a statement of our beliefs. We reserve the right to be wrong and to repent of such error when we discover it.  

 

To learn the revealed truth of God we must know and understand the true meaning of the words God inspired to be written. Use Strong's Concordance to check the original word before it was translated. Do your own research, make up your own mind, rely on the Holy Spirit to guide you.