♰ Bible Study by Abouna Arsanios Don’t Miss Out! If you were invited to a banquet of filet mignon roasted over a wood fire with butter and rosemary, roast stuffed goose, rice pilaf with butter and spices and nuts and raisins, salad with garden vegetables, tomatoes, gorgonzola cheese, pine nuts, and pears, and a seven-layer chocolate cake, finished off with fresh roasted coffee, would you only eat the raisins or the chocolate cake? Examples of intellectual (theological) fraud: * Forming an opinion based on partial knowledge (of the Bible). * Searching for data (Bible verses) to fit an opinion. There are passages in the Bible which seem to conflict, if the Bible is read partially. The Bible is a poem, a song, a hymn. The “Breath of God” (the Armenian word for the Holy Bible) contains wisdom which requires faithful diligence in order to be approached. Would you only want to breathe part of the Word of God? Consider your favorite person in the whole word. Would you only want to hear a few words from that person? Then would you dare to think that you know their mind? Let us consider some examples. Without repentance, there is no salvation No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. (Luke 13:3) No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:5) Without faith, there is no salvation. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:30-31) Here the emphasis is good deeds. “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ (Matthew 25:31-46) In some chapters, the spirit emphasizes love, in others repentance, others faith, others works. Let’s see some more. Here the emphasis is that the Christian should deny himself and carry his cross. Without suffering we will not be glorified. Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels. (Luke 9:23-26) The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. (Romans 8:16-17) Summary, necessary for salvation are: * faith * love * repentance * works * suffering We need to understand, what are the essential things to be saved? How can we live a new life, living and facing the realities of the difficulties of life, efficiently and successfully every day of our life? To have a healthy understanding of the Bible, we should empty our mind, and not have an agenda to emphasize one of these over the other. Some people like the idea that “God is Love,” and indeed truly He is Love. However, we cannot ignore the fact that He is also just and his justice is without limit. I cannot live a life of permissiveness because God is Love. We must not abuse the word by emphasizing only one of these things above the others. Along History, some of the Christians had biased interpretations of the Bible. However, all of the words of the Bible are equally important. Notice this: All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete.... (2 Timothy 3:16-17) The holy men of the Bible were inspired by the Holy Spirit. Carrying the cross, facing difficulty, believing with faith, etc. Prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:21) Healthy life, from medical point of view. We need proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins. If some person is motivated by the idea that I have to take vitamins to be strong. Certain vitamins, if I take them in excess, it causes diarrhea or constipation, in spite of the fact that it is essential. In order to be healthy a person should take balanced amounts of these nutrients. Nothing is more important than the others. No emphasis of one over the other. Sometimes we take vitamins because of a lack in our food, that is ok. A mixture with a balanced amounts or ratios. This is exactly the Bible. Whenever the Bible emphasizes something, it does not mean that this is better than that. It does not mean that I can take one verse out of context and separate it from the rest of the words. For a person who is not a believer, I have to emphasize that he should believe. What about for us who are believers? I should emphasize the importance of good works, suffering, etc. People with an agenda are apt to emphasize one of these over the others for their own purposes. According to the situation, the weight is the same from the first word of Genesis to the last word of Revelation. I cannot put an emphasis of one word over another. Otherwise I risk running a weak relationship with God and a corrupted spiritual life, running the risk of loosing my salvation. Even the Bible says, do good works and you will be saved. Have faith and you will be saved. It is a misunderstanding which leads to weakness in your relationship with God. Consider the essentials of life for a human body. * Eat food * Breathe air * Sleep Is one more important than the other? We have to understand the Bible as an organism. These teachings deeply interconnected with each other. Living these essentials: * faith * love (greatest commandment) * repentance (liars, those who curse will not see eternal life) * carrying the cross * good works Putting emphasis on one over the other causes disturbance to the formation of the human. The Christian faith is an organism with essentials in order to live. If any one of these things is missing, the organism dies. Forgive us our trespasses. The importance of repentance. We should be ready to labor, to humble ourselves, to suffer as he suffered. He teaches us to be balanced. To have all of these together to be strengthened, growing in faith, works, love, repentance, sufferings, serving, all of which are essentials. Moreover, in John 3:3,5, the Bible emphasizes yet another thing. Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3) Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (John 3:5) Unless you are baptized, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. You see how dangerous is not to be baptized? How about I cannot enter the Kingdom of God? How about the other things? Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. (John 6:53) Summary: * faith * love * repentance * works * suffering * baptism * communion How about if I just have faith and do good works? Don’t have an agenda when you study the Bible. The OT is very important for our salvation, exactly like the NT. This is the Word of God. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. Don’t neglect any of the essential ingredients of health. Q: Does someone have to suffer, no matter how deep in his faith? A: The person who received 10 talents traded and earned 10 more. The person who received 5 talents traded and earned 5 more. According to my talents, my ability. Every one of us like fingerprints is unique in what he faces. “Star will differ from star in glory.” Perhaps what I see in heaven will be different. If one person passes through life without any suffering, will he enter Heaven? Yes, but perhaps there will be differences.