Enhance Your WEI Lessons by Teacher's Comments
LESSON
BOOK 1
BOOK 2
BOOK 3
NEW BIRTH
Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Lesson 3
Lesson 4
Lesson 5
Lesson 6
Lesson 7
Lesson 8
NEW LIFE
THE CHURCH
Review:
Dear Student:
It's exciting to move from a survey of the entire Bible to a deeper study of
individual scriptures found throughout the New Testament. In the survey, you
learned about God's plan to redeem (to buy back) sinful mankind to himself
by giving of himself even to the point of the death, burial, and
resurrection of his son, Jesus. That's the 5,000 foot viewpoint, a
perspective viewpoint where you learned what our existence is all about.
It was interesting and somewhat mysterious to see how history has unfolded
his plan. You got a glimpse of God's nature -- all power (omnipotent ),
everywhere present (omnipresent ), and all knowledge (omniscient ). His
power was shown in his creation and in Noah's flood, the deliverance of the
Hebrew people from the jaws of Pharaoh by parting the water of the Red Sea,
and in the awesome event -- raising Jesus from the dead, a powerful
demonstration over the laws of physics. His presence was shown in answering
the prayer of the request to find just the right wife for Isaac and in the
staying power of Joseph. God was with him all the way. His omniscience was
demonstrated in the 10 commandments to Moses, religious and social rules
that persist in today's worldwide cultures to be beneficial for all mankind.
God is pure, awesome, mysterious, and wonderful. God is a spirit. He rules
over his creation with a gentle but deliberate hand. He hates sin. He is in
a war against evil. He is a jealous God -- he wants all to come to him. He
is patient. God is love.
Now, you are digging deeper into the doctrine of God's will. We know that he
wants us to come to him; but, how do we do that?
This lesson tells us that "without faith, it is impossible to please him."
Step one is faith, a faith that becomes trust like Abraham's. Enough trust
to let him call the shots in your life with Jesus at the wheel, in control
of your will to the praise of God.
God bless,
The New Birth: Advanced Book 1, Lesson 1:
Faith
Genesis 49:10; 2 Samuel
7:12-13; Deut. 18:15, 18; Psalms 14:1; 53:1; Matthew 1:23; Mark
2:5-12; John 1:1-14, 18, 3:16; Acts 2:3, 3:22; Romans 1:4, 8:3; 2
Corinthians 5:21; Colossians 3:1, Hebrews 11:1, 6, 11-12;
Teacher's Comment: It all comes down to whether Jesus came
out of the grave. If the answer is "No," then we are still in
our sins; but if the answer is "Yes," then our response will be
faithfulness. Faith becomes trust when we realize all of God’s plans were
fulfilled in Jesus. We are not alone -- God is here and with us.
22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples
recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words
that Jesus had spoken.
Acts 2:24
24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the
agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
Acts 10:40
40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and
caused him to be seen.
1 Corinthians 15:17
17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is
futile; you are still in your sins.
Hebrews 4:11-16
11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no
one will fall by following their example of disobedience.
12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged
sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it
judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is
uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the
heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our
weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we
are—yet was without sin.
16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence,
so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Look at the keys to
faithfulness found in these verses.
First, we recognize we are vulnerable.
Such knowledge keeps us alert as a siren alerts us that tornadoes are
in our area. Second, we
appreciate the power in the Word of God.
We can use it to “be transformed” (Romans 12.1-2). Third, we rely on
Christ, our High Priest, to help us. We
can take any struggle, problem, weakness or grief to Him. He
understands and He offers mercy and grace when we are in need.
We can cast our cares on Him--the One who always cares (1 Peter 5.7).
The New Birth: Advanced
Book 1, Lesson 2: Changing My Heart and Life
Teacher's Comment:
God wants a relationship with us. That he made known before
the foundations of the earth. Amazing!
Acts 13:22
22
After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified
concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own
heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'
Question 3. What will happen if we ignore his kindness and refuse to
change?
Teacher's Comment: Yes, God loves sinners enough to send his
Son to die for them. But, in the end the unredeemed sinner will spend
eternity in hell with Satan and his angels.
Matt 10:28
28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but
cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul
and body in hell.
The New Birth: Advanced
Book 1, Lesson 3: What is Baptism?
Question: TRUE or FALSE Being born of water and
the Spirit is like starting life again.
The correct answer is "True."
Teacher's Comment:
New Beginnings
When Jesus spoke about a man being unable to enter the kingdom
of God unless he is born again (John 3:3-5) he was talking about new
beginnings and he was talking about new beginnings to an already grown man,
Nicodemus.
John 3:3-5
3 In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no
one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
4 "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus
asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be
born!"
5 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can
enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
Why the need to be re-born? The apostle Paul explains in the Roman letter
that sin pays wages and (spiritual) death is the wage sin pays. (Romans
6:23) He also explains that we have all sinned and the sin
problem is painted as black as can be.
Romans 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God,
Man, because of his sin, is doomed to eternity without God. You and I are
both under that sentence. But - God has given us hope in that he
has made provision for our sin problem. The sentence can be removed and our
guilt can be taken away. When that happens God looks at us as if we
had never sinned. We will stand justified before him. There is a
solution to the problem because Jesus Christ stepped up to be the atoning
sacrifice for us by shedding his blood at Calvary. (I John 2:1-2) No
guilt, no condemnation because Jesus paid the price of our debt.
I John 2:1-2
1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you
will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father
in our defense-- Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not
only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
John 8:24
24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do
not believe that I am, you will indeed die in your sins."
9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is
Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will
be saved.
10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are
justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
John 3:5-6
5 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can
enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives
birth to spirit.
2 Corinthians 5:17
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a
new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
What a wonderful solution to our sin problem! What a wonderful Savior who
paid our debt and is willing to set us free from the guilt of that debt.
Romans 6:3-8
3 Or don't you know that all of us who
were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism
into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through
the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5 If we have been united with him like this in his
death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.
6 For we know that our old self was crucified with
him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no
longer be slaves to sin--
7 because anyone who has died has been freed
from sin.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we
will also live with him.
How is this forgiveness effected? Because Romans 6:6 states that it is in
that watery grave of baptism that we crucify our old self and that we arise
from that grave, raised to a new life, to new beginnings, (Romans 6:4) we
must conclude therefore, that forgiveness takes place during our baptism and
not before. A new birth, a new beginning, and a new life in Christ
with forgiveness. Is it mine? Is it yours? Praise God, it
can be ours!
author: Roseann Ekman
roseann@intellisys.net
The New Birth: Advanced
Book 1, Lesson 4: History of
Sprinkling and Pouring
Question 2. Why didn't
someone object to the changes that took place during the first 1,300 years
of church history?
Teacher's Comment:
Ever hear of the "Frog Principle?"
Here it is: If you put a frog in cold water, he will be happy. If you
raise the temperature very, very slowly, he will move around and then be
happy again. If you continue to raise the temperature, very slowly, he will
kick around some and in a while he will get use to it and then be happy
again. If you continue this slow process of change, you can cook the frog
and he will never jump out of the pot.
Amazing! We are like the
frog sometimes. It may take a few generations, but we get used to
change. This is the way false doctrines get into our churches.
True-False
T F Immersion was the only form of baptism in New Testament times.
Student answer: T (F) Immersion
was the only form of baptism in New Testament times.
Teacher's Comment: The correct answer
is (T). There is no example of sprinkling in the New Testament. The
word "baptizo," means to immerse. The word was not translated "immerse" in
the King James English Translation in 1611. It was transliterated into the
word "baptize.” The reason is simple. King James in England didn't want to
loose his job because the Church of England sprinkled instead of immersing
when baptizing.
Strong's definition
907 baptizo
(bap-tid'-zo);
from a derivative of 911; to immerse, submerge; to make overwhelmed
(i.e. fully wet); used only (in the N. T.) of ceremonial ablution,
especially (technically) of the ordinance of Christian baptism:
KJV-- Baptist, baptize, wash.
Some
teachers discount baptism as a requirement for salvation. Some say that it
is a work and we are saved by grace only; therefore, baptism is to be done
to "join the church."
For example,
here is a paragraph from a Bible Dictionary stating this position.
BAPTISM ACCORDING TO “Faith
Only”DOCTRINE
“The symbolical view -- This view stresses the symbolic nature of baptism by
emphasizing that baptism does not cause an inward change or alter a person's
relationship to God in any way. Baptism is a token, or an outward
indication, of the inner change which has already occurred in the believer's
life. It serves as a public identification of the person with Jesus Christ,
and thus also as a public testimony of the change that has occurred. It is
an act of initiation. It is baptism into the name of Jesus.”
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary)
(Copyright (C) 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
BAPTISM ACCORDING TO BIBLE TEACHING
Yet, there is nothing more clear in scripture than the teaching
about baptism. The "sticking point" seems to be the purpose of
baptism. The purpose according to scripture is to 1) receive forgiveness of
sins and 2) to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit living in us. When one is
baptized, God adds him to his kingdom.
Purpose of Baptism
Acts 2:38
38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of
you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you
will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:47
47 praising God and enjoying the
favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who
were being saved.
Baptism is not an option.
Mark 16:15-16
15 He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the
good news to all creation.
16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but
whoever does not believe will be condemned.
The relationship between baptism and forgiveness
Acts 22:16
16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized
and wash your sins away, calling on his name.'
What is happening in the water?
We are asking for forgiveness when we are in the water.
In Peter 3:21 Peter says Noah got into the water to
be saved and we are to get into the water to be saved. While we are in the
water, our bodies are not cleansed of dirt; instead, we are asking God to
forgive us.
How does one get " into Christ?"
Gal 3:26-27
26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ
Jesus,
27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ
have clothed yourselves with Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:13
13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body --
whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free -- and we were all given the one
Spirit to drink.
Importance of being "In Him"
Ephesians 1
1. Every spiritual blessing is IN HIM
2. Chosen IN HIM
3. Adopted through JESUS
4. Grace given in THE ONE HE LOVES
5. Redemption, forgiveness IN HIM
6. Purposed IN HIM
7. Hope IN HIM
8. Included IN HIM
9. Marked with Holy Spirit IN HIM
Back to
top
The New Birth: Advanced Book 1,
Lesson 5: The Purpose
of Baptism
Question
2: In what way is baptism a spiritual circumcision?
Baptism in the New Testament is like circumcision found in the Old Testament
because it is the point in one's life where a new relationship is
established with God, a new identity occurs, and a new life begins.
In the Bible's first mention of circumcision, God instructed Abraham to
circumcise every male child in his household, including servants, "in the
flesh of your foreskins" (Gen 17:11). The custom was performed on the eighth
day after birth (Gen 17:12). At this time a name was given to the son
(Luke 1:59; 2:21).
Abraham's agreement with God was sealed by a cutting off of the
foreskin; likewise, there is a "cutting off" of the old sinful self and the
beginning of a new life (Rom 6;3-4) in God's New Agreement (Testament)
with a baptized believer. A new identity as God's child and a new
relationship is established. It is a spiritual circumcision.
The New Birth: Advanced Book 1, Lesson 6:
Who Should Be Baptized?
Question: TRUE or FALSE
According to the Bible, teaching
always comes before baptism.
Teacher's comments: The correct answer is (T).
We must be properly taught to know how to be saved by God's
grace.
Many people today believe that one is saved the moment they come
to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Others would include that
there must be a genuine repentance as well as intellectual
belief.
God's grace is all that is needed, because we cannot work our way to
salvation. Salvation is free and we need only accept it in faith.
Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--
and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--
9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
While it is true that we cannot be good enough to be saved by ourselves, and
that God's grace, our faith, and accepting Jesus is required, the
Apostles taught more than just Grace, faith and acceptance.
Ephesians 2:8-9 - Were they saved without
baptism? Is that all there
is to the response process of salvation? These people will
insist that is what Ephesians. 2:8-9 reveals to us. "For it is by grace you
have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the
gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."
I would ask that person who wrote the
Ephesian letter. According to the very first verse of
chapter 1, we learn it is the Apostle Paul who is writing.
I would also ask how were these Ephesians
saved by grace through faith? Please tell me where I can
find the history of the conversions of people from Ephesus.
First of all, in answering the question I would direct
our thoughts to Ephesians. 1:13 which states that these
Ephesians were saved when they heard and
believed the message of the gospel.
I would also go back to Acts 20:20-21 and
remind us that the Apostle Paul told the elders of Ephesus
that he taught the same thing everywhere he went, and that
his teaching included repentance.
Now we see that the Ephesians heard, believed and were taught to repent.
In Acts 19:1-7 when the Apostle Paul found
12 men from Ephesus Paul asked whether they had received the
Holy Spirit and when they stated that they had not heard of the Holy Spirit,
this was a cue to the Apostle about their baptism.
His next question was: "Then what baptism
did you receive?" (vs. 3) They said " John's baptism."
Of course, John's baptism was not accompanied by the Holy Spirit as was
Acts 2:38 baptism of the Great Commission. When they
explained their baptism was John's baptism,
Paul knew they were
not even Christians
so he taught them aright in regard to the
baptism that was taught by Christ through the Holy Spirit as
it had its inception on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2...
baptism for the forgiveness of sins and the reception of the Holy Spirit to
indwell them.
Paul then
baptized these men and then
laid his hands on them to impart some spiritual gift. His initial question
to them was in regard, no doubt, to the reception of the miraculous
spiritual gifts, thinking they were Christians. All
Christians receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at baptism, but the
early Christians received empowering of the Holy Spirit by the laying on of
an Apostles' hands in order that God could use them to hasten the process of
teaching and to confirm the word as it was being proclaimed. (Acts
8:18, Mark 16:20)
Conclusion:
The Ephesians were saved by grace through faith
just as the rest of us are, by hearing the good news, believing it,
repenting of their sins and being baptized to receive forgiveness of sins
and the Holy Spirit to indwell. Ephesians.
1:13, Acts 20:21, 2:38.
Author:
Roseann Elkman,
roseann@intellisys.net
1. If infant baptism was
neither commanded by Jesus nor practiced by the early church, how did it get
started?
The practice of infant baptism seems to have been
started by certain wrong convictions that even if children are innocent and
are born sinless they still "contract the contagion of death" or as a means
for removing impurities. Later on these ideas were misunderstood and certain
leaders first claimed for an apostolic authority of infant baptism (with no
specific and convincing arguments) and later making it a theological case
ending up in the Augustine's doctrine of original sin. It seems a series of
misunderstandings but it is difficult to get to the real cause.
2. Why did some Christian parents in the third
century baptize their dying babies?
They believed in the "stained by birth" doctrine of Origen
and Cyprian. The theory of Origen and Cyprian that children are sinless but
they are stained during birth attracted some people making them believe that
they could baptize a baby who didn't commit sins but who was stained by
birth and therefore was a candidate to baptism.
3. What have you learned in this lesson that
is especially meaningful to you?
There is no evidence in what Jesus taught and in what
apostles preached and even in the practice of second century church of
infant baptism. Children are born sinless. They do not inherit sins of the
others and they should not be baptised. Children surely are innocent and
they're a model of innocence to adults. Jesus loved children and he promised
that anyone who wants to enter God's kingdom should have the heart of a
child.
--------------------
Teacher's comments:
The teachings of Calvin Vs the Bible.
Calvinism is often described in the acronym T U L I P where each represents
another step in the doctrine. It begins with babies are depraved, sinners,
"little black demons" when born. (T) Only those chosen will be saved. They
are predetermined. (U) Atonement is for the chosen only. (L) A chosen one
cannot refuse the grace of God. He is one of the saved. (I) He will
persevere until the end. (P)
T = Total Heredity Depravity
U = Unlimited Predestination
L = Limited Atonement
I = Irrestable Grace
P = Perserveranced of the saints
Bible teachings:
T = The gospel is for all. Matthew 11:28-30, Romans 5:18,
Revelations 22:17
U = The plan is determined, not the man. Ephesians 1. All are wanted, even
those who rejected him. John 3:16, Hebrews 2:5-11, 1 John 2:2.
L = Our response determines our salvation. Mark 16:16, John 1:12, John 3:16,
John 7:17, Acts 10:34-35
I = If we are lost, it is because we refuse to live the way God commanded.
Romans 2:6-11, 2 Corinthians 5:6-10,
P = Not irrestable. Titus 2:11-14
Relevant scriptures:
1. Christ died for all. Isaiah 53:6, John
1:29, Romans 6:10, 2 Corinthians 5:14 -15, I Timothy 2:6, Hebrews 2:9, 1
John 2:1-2
2. Obedience is required. Matthew 7:21, John 14:15, Romans
16:2, 2 Corinthians 10: 5-6, Hebrews 11:8, 2 Thessalonians 1:8, 1 Peter
1:22-23, 1 Peter 4:17, Hebrews 5:8-9
3. Saving faith is from the word of God. Mark 16:15-16,
John 20:30-31, Romans 10:14-17
4. The world cannot receive spiritual things because of
their own beliefs. John 14:17, John 17:14-17, 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14
5. Men were never saved by a direct operation of the Holy
Spirit. Acts 8:26, 29, 35, Acts 10:3, Acts 11:13-18, Acts 22:6-8, 9:6,10.
New Birth: Advanced
Book 1, Lesson 8:
Power from God
Teacher's comments: There is victory in Jesus
Rom 8:1
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for
those who are in Christ Jesus,
Rom 8:28
28 And we know that in all things God works for
the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his
purpose.
Author: Bob Patterson,
weibp@aol.com
References to Strong's Greek/Hebrew Dictionary is acknowledged. Scripture references are from the New International Version (NIV) except where noted as New American Standard Version (NAV).
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