27A Creation: 7 Cs in God’s Eternal Plan

“In the beginning—in six 24-hour days—God made a perfect Creation. The first man, Adam disobeyed the Creator. His sin brought death and Corruption into Creation.  Adam’s race became so wicked that God judged the world with a great Catastrophe—the global flood—saving only those on the Ark built by Noah.  When Noah’s descendants disobeyed God’s command to fill the earth, God brought Confusion on their language causing them to spread over the earth.  The Creator became a man, Jesus Christ, who obeyed God in everything, unlike the first man, Adam.  Jesus, the Messiah, died on a Cross to pay the penalty for mankind’s sin against God. He rose from the dead, providing eternal life for all who trust in Him.  In the Consummation, God will create a new heavens and a new earth. He will destroy death and cast out the disobedient and dwell eternally with those who trust in Him

#42 Be The Parent!

You parents, on the other hand, must remember to show yourselves to be parents toward your children! For the fourth commandment calls you fathers and mothers, not tyrants, rascals, and scoundrels. Therefore, if you are a father or a mother, this commandment means you. If you are a burgomaster, or anyone who bears the name of father, see to it that you carry out your paternal office. You father, instruct your son, that he may fear God; you master, your servants; you burgomaster, your townsmen; you prince, your subjects. You too have been commanded. Your maids do not exist merely to wash the pots for you. Listen! this Commandment is for you. If you are not diligently concerned that your children and servants learn piety, then it serves you right if your children are disobedient and your servants unfaithful. For God does not give you your children to play with, nor does he give you servants for you to use them like asses for work. As you learn from me, so children and servants should learn from you parents and masters. (Luther’s Works, v. 51 p. 150-151)

Gospel Reset Bible Class, Pt. 10: Evangelism

There are differences between St. Peter’s address in Acts 2 and St. Paul’s address in Acts 17.  The speaker proceeds differently because of the knowledge or lack of knowledge of the hearers with regard to the true God and Creator, sin, death, and the promise of the Savior.  Nevertheless, both speeches use the Bible alone to bring the truth of Jesus Christ to the hearers.

In this study we are going to examine the two different approaches (to evangelism) which are used in this book for speaking to Christians (pages 11-14 and pages 111-112) and non-Christians (pages 109-111).  This book explains the difference within the hearers as either possessing or not possessing  “the foundation needed to comprehend a Christian worldview” (p.111).

Finally, we make a distinction between teaching about creation from natural knowledge and teaching about creation from revealed knowledge.

Handout 1: Gospel-Reset-Class-Eight-May-19-2019.pdf
Overheads: Gospel-Reset-Overheads-May-26-2019b.pdf

26A Creation: Greeks Teaching Greeks

“Most students attend public (state-run) schools where teachers and their textbooks teach apologetics to defend evolution, millions of years, and naturalism (atheism). By and large, at many churches these students are taught what are called Bible ‘stories,’ instead of teaching them the Bible as factual history. But at public (state) school (and sadly many so-called Christian/church schools), they hear something like this: ‘Here are the reasons the Bible’s account in Genesis is not true. Here is the evidence for evolution. This is the evidence for millions of years” (Gospel Reset by Ken Ham, p.71).

Consummation: The Fulfillment of God’s Word.
In the consummation, God will create a new heaven and a new earth. He will destroy death and cast out the disobedient and dwell eternally with those who trust in Him.
“Death and hell were cast into the lake of fire…and I saw a new heaven and a new earth” Revelation 20:14, 21:1.

#41 Punish Your Child to Ward Off His Vice

The head of a household must punish and should not tolerate evil. But he must not be hateful and vengeful, lest in this way he corrupt the other person. A father does not punish his son in order to make him spiteful and ruin him in body and soul, but rather to ward off his vice; he wants to purify him and wipe away his faults. He hates, not the person, but the vice. This is a wrathful love which is kind and good toward the person; hence it cannot tolerate the nastiness in him. So, too, a woman cannot bear it when there is dirt on her child’s nose, but must wipe it away; she does not do this in order to hurt the child. Magistrates, teachers, and parents must chastise, but this chastisement is fatherly and kindly.

Solomon said, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy” [Prov. 27:6]. When an enemy speaks kindly to you, this is not affection, but rather the devil, who is out to destroy you in your sins. Ah, he says, you’re doing fine; go ahead! But a friend will be willing to hurt you. This is a rod, but it comes from the heart of a friend.”

Up to this point he has been speaking of being patient and bearing with our neighbor. He now goes on to speak of whoever receives a gift. [“As each has received a gift, employ it for one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (I Pet. 4:10)]. If you speak, do so as one who speaks the Word of God. If you have an office, perform it as one who knows that it is of God.

(Luther’s Works, v. 51 , p.298).

#40- The Risen Christ Distributes Riches

Isaiah 4:1. And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day.

…Only let us be called, that is, be named. Only permit us to be called your wives and to have refuge with you. Here there was also an end to the law (Deut. 25:5) concerning the brother who was under obligation to raise up seed, etc. Here to call means to name. It is a Hebraism just as in Genesis. I want Ephraim and Manasseh to be called by the name of the fathers, to be called sons of Jacob and of Abraham (cf. Gen. 48:16). “Thus there your name was also given to us, that is, let us be called by your name.”…

  1. … Beautiful and glorious. Splendid, excellent, glorious, something superb. The kingdom of the Jews was glorious in a physical way, but the kingdom of Christ is now glorious in the spirit. He says, however, that Christ should be extolled with great majesty.

Glory, which comes from importance in such a way that where there is glow, there something else is close by. But he calls Christ One who comes from the fruit of the land because He was born great from the earth, and it is His greatness that He can prevail over all His enemies and protect all His own; and this is a description of Christ as He defends us. Such a One, he says, Christ will be, but for those who will be from among those who have been snatched out of Jerusalem, as he also says. And here he sets forth the fruit of their riches which He will distribute, because Christ will be such a One not only for Himself but will distribute His benefits to the rest. Thus because of Him and through Him they will be called saints, that is, people set aside for divine purposes, people in whom God dwells and who belong to the employment and service of God” (Luther’s Works, v. 16, p. 50-51).

Gospel Reset Bible Class, Pt. 9: Acts 2 and Acts 17

In this Bible study, we compare and contrast Peter’s address in Acts 2 with St. Paul’s address in Acts 17.

The “sermon” in Acts 2 is made to Jews who already knew the Old Testament.  By means of the revealed knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, they knew that the one true God was the Creator of all things.  They knew about the fall into sin and the consequence of death.  They knew that God had promised to send a Savior to redeem the world.  Peter’s sermon simply identified Jesus as the Messiah and fulfillment of God’s promise.

The “sermon” in Acts was made in the Athenian marketplace to a gathering of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers.  These Gentiles knew that there was a god, but their attempt at identifying and worshiping Him, was a miserable failure.  We looked at the basic teachings of Greek philosophy from the Epicureans and Stoics.  At the beginning of his speech, St. Paul refers to their natural knowledge, but he also calls their religion ignorance.  St. Paul needs to introduce to them the one true God as the Creator of heaven and earth.  He needs to explain that the required worship for righteousness was not the service of men’s hands.  Instead, the greatest worship is to receive the righteousness which comes by the man Jesus Christ through faith.  St. Paul preached the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Handout 1: Gospel-Reset-Class-Eight-May-19-2019.pdf
Overheads: Gospel-Reset-Overheads-May-26-2019b.pdf

25A Creation: Biblical Truth

“Because the Greeks were an evolution-based culture that had no understanding of biblical truth or terms like God, sin, etc., the message of the gospel was foolishness to them” (p.65).

“Paul would later write that the preaching of the Cross was a stumbling block to the Jews but foolishness to the Greek (1 Corinthians 1:23). …They did not understand the sacrificial system god instituted in Genesis 3:21 (the first blood sacrifice as a covering for their sin, a picture of what was to come in Jesus Christ the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world). (Gospel Reset by Ken Ham, p.62).

Cross: The Answer of God’s Word.
The penalty for mankind’s disobedience was death. Jesus the Messiah, died on a Cross to pay that penalty. He rose from the dead providing eternal life for all who trust in Him.
“Christ has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust” 1 Peter 3:18.

#39 Child’s Play For Learning God’s Word

And let no one think himself too wise for such child’s play. Christ, to train men, had to become man himself. If we wish to train children, we must become children with them. Would to God such child’s play were widely practiced. In a short time we would have a wealth of Christian people whose souls would be so enriched in Scripture and in the knowledge of God that of their own accord they would add more pockets, just as the Loci Communes, and comprehend all Scripture in them. Otherwise, people can go to church daily and come away the same as they went. For they think they need only listen at the time, without any thought of learning or remembering anything. Many a man listens to sermons for three or four years and does not retain enough to give a single answer concerning his faith–as I experience daily. Enough has been written in books, yes; but it has not been driven home to the hearts. (Luther’s Works, v. 53, p.64-67).

24A Creation: More Than Mere Science

“Evolution is promoted by its practitioners as more than mere science. Evolution is promulgated as an ideology, a secular religion—a full-fledged alternative to Christianity, with meaning and morality. … Evolution is a religion. This was true of evolution at the beginning, and it is true of evolution still today “ (A quote of Michael Ruse in Gospel Reset by Ken Ham, p.65).

Christ: The Promise of God’s Word.
The Creator became a man, our relative—a member of the human race. He name was Jesus of Nazareth, who obeyed God in everything, unlike the first man, Adam.
“When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His son, made of a woman” Galatians 4:4