Part 3 :: Lesson Summaries

Lesson 34

Exclusivism as it relates to the gospel and to the call of Abraham. God’s design of the rainbow. The Noahic covenant set up boundaries to physical laws, controlling the physics of nature. The flood was both a terrestrial and extraterrestrial event. The post-flood period, before the call of Abraham.

Lesson 35

Genesis chapters 10 and 11 form a bridge from the flood to Abraham and provide the background for every culture that will ever exist. Climatic changes after the flood. The “Ice Age” problem is answered in Scripture. History moves at a steady state, periodically interrupted by high-energy events. Explaining evidences of primitive man. Questions and answers.

Lesson 36

Nourishing your soul with thoughts of Biblical events. God’s control of human history. The sons of Noah. Using Scripture to rethink history. The strange shape of history following the flood.

Lesson 37

The Bible is communication from the Creator concerning most everything, not just religious matters. The sons of Noah used high technology and generated civilization very quickly. The textual structure of the book of Genesis, as it relates to what occurs in Genesis chapters 10 and 11. The Tower of Babel event.

Lesson 38

Why God had to call Abraham. The process of going from a high civilization, with great promise, to a paganized world system. What constitutes the “world system.” Man’s knowledge is derived, never original, because man is not omniscient. Truth is discovered by man and was there prior to man.

Lesson 39

The structure of the world system (it’s spiritual orientation) by the time God called Abraham. The activities of civilization tend to further “the lust of the eye,” “the lust of the flesh” and “the pride of life.” Features of pagan thought. The hallmark of pagan society. Babel was man uniting to create a one-world system for security against God. The call of Abraham. By leaving the world system, Abraham became a worldwide blessing. Questions and answers.

Lesson 40

The Abrahamic covenant. Missions begins once God breaks from the rest of the world (Genesis 12). The seed of Abraham promise was fulfilled in a miraculous way. You must have an infinite, personal, God in order to have the basis for a covenant (contract). The existence of a covenant with God argues for the inerrancy of Scripture. The significance of circumcision. Questions and answers.

Lesson 41

Linking Biblical events with doctrinal truths. Background for the doctrine of election. God can control us without eliminating individual responsibility. When election happens in history, it’s a revelation, a surprise event. Jesus Christ expected people to deduce the doctrine of resurrection from the Abrahamic covenant. Questions and answers.

Lesson 42

The doctrine of justification. In paganism, man invents truth. In Biblical Christianity, man discovers truth. Gospel preaching is not an impudent, superficial, act; it is the powerful call of God that creates the elect in human history. Man must be credited with a perfect righteousness that he does not generate. Justification is due to righteousness outside of man: the imputed righteousness of Christ. The cross was the greatest act of obedience. The protestant view of justification, contrasted with the Roman Catholic view. The whole point of justification is that the believer’s relationship with God is permanently fixed. [Brief technical difficulties begin around the 43:00 minute mark and last for a couple minutes] Questions and answers.

Lesson 43

The doctrine of faith. Justification must not be confused with regeneration or sanctification. Luther and Calvin taught that faith is assurance of salvation. What is Biblical faith? What is the content of “saving faith?” The motive for Christian sanctification must be gratitude for what God has already done for you.

Lesson 44

Review of the major events of the Old Testament, prior to the exodus. The exodus event is the major picture of salvation in the Old Testament. The event of creation defines the three major parts of that creation: God man and nature. The Christian God speaks and makes contracts! The scriptural view is that man’s image is unique from that of animals. Reasons for suffering.

Lesson 45

Jewish history leading up to the exodus. God put the Jews into a segregated society (Egypt) in order to prevent them from assimilating with other cultures. Egyptian society. Pharaoh was considered the mediator between heaven and earth. The confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh was a confrontation between God and the Egyptian gods, two belief systems and two mighty ideas.

Lesson 46

The reason for the Egyptian captivity. Egypt can be considered the historic womb of the nation Israel. The structure of Egyptian society. How did Egyptian society view Pharaoh? The exodus took place in the most unlikely politically and socially structured society in human history. The plagues prior to the exodus. The exodus. Rethinking Egyptian history and classic chronology. Questions and answers.

Lesson 47

The exodus was a momentous event! The “god of the world” (Satan) is busy reconstructing history so as to make the Word of God not true (mythologized). When we read the Scriptures, we should read them as history. What is the big picture of the exodus? The glory of God is the controlling principle in history. God hardened Pharaoh’s heart by giving him more revelation. The Bible presents a coherent, rational purpose for history.

Lesson 48

The character of how God disrupts paganism. The Word of God will either increase someone’s rebellion or induce submission to God. There is a rational connection between the exodus event and the call of Abraham. The sacred name of God. Jesus Christ’s use of the sacred name of God. The lesson of the exodus is that civilization cannot remove the fall. God took His people and walked out from the greatest existing civilization. Characteristics of God’s judgments. Part of God’s justice is restitutionary in nature. Questions and answers.

Lesson 49

The exodus comes very close to defining what salvation is all about. God is always gracious before He judges. All of God’s judgments perfectly discriminate. In God’s judgments, salvation is always appropriated by faith. Salvation is not complete until both body and spirit are saved. Features of the resurrection body. Redemption, propitiation and reconciliation. With God you cannot lose! If you are against God, you cannot win! Questions and answers.

Lesson 50

The events of the exodus and the giving of the law to Israel at Mount Sinai. The role of the law in the Old Testament. God’s Father/son relationship with Israel. The uniqueness of the Old Testament law code format is that it includes personal exhortation. Questions and answers.

Lesson 51

Connecting major events of the Bible with events in your life. The exodus is a counterpart to pagan revolution. At Mount Sinai, all the people heard God speaking. Suzerain-vassal treaty form. The prophets did not introduce new, revolutionary ideas. They, instead, went back to the ideas of Moses. The outline of Israel’s national history (cursing and blessing). The biblical view versus the pagan view of values, ethics and law. “If society were it’s own moral authority (the determiner of right and wrong), there would be no room for reformers.” Questions and answers.

Lesson 52

The Mount Sinai event was public revelation. The Mosaic Law is defined in terms of a personal relationship. The biblical view versus the pagan view of values, ethics and law. In a sinless environment, it was essential for God to define things. How much more in a fallen environment. Fallen man, at the deepest level, is insecure because he knows he’s offensive to God. How the Pharisees bureaucratized the Law. Paganism always seesaws between legalism and licentiousness. Free grace versus lordship salvation. Questions and answers.

Lesson 53

Apart from the scriptures, there is no absolute reference point for values, ethics and law. The Mosaic Law’s object was to address the heart then, secondarily, social behavior. The free grace and lordship salvation views. Characteristics of revelation. Revelation is verbal, not a feeling. Revelation is personal, a message from a personal God. Revelation does not happen all the time. Questions and answers.

Lesson 54

Characteristics of revelation (continued). When man creates his own gods, he’s defining his own reality. The Bible insists that the source for values, ethics and law must be God. Revelation is comprehensive. When God speaks His revelation, He speaks to all areas of life. Revelation is prophetic. Christianity has over fourteen centuries of prophets (beginning with Moses), all basically saying the same thing. No other religion (paganism) can claim that. The relationship between inspiration and revelation. The inerrancy of scripture. The Bible, not the church is the authority.

Lesson 55

Associating scripture with the big problems of life. The grandeur of civilization does not fulfill the needs of man’s heart. Genocide, intolerance and an aversion to peaceful coexistence were commanded by God during the conquest and settlement period. Great truths from the Mount Sinai covenant breaking event. To submit to God, people must have a circumcised heart. It does not come naturally. For sinful people to abide in fellowship with God, there must be an intercessor. Holy war, in the Old Testament, is a preview of the wrath of God at the final end of world history. Questions and answers.

Lesson 56

Setting personal and historical events into a larger picture. God is both infinite and personal in His nature. The universe was not created with evil in it. In Biblical Christianity, evil has boundaries. In paganism, evil has no beginning and no end. We should be motivated by gratitude for what God has done for us.

Lesson 57

The essential, core, difference between faith and unbelief. Holy war. The examples of Ruth and Rahab argue for the fairness of God and against the unbelief of their time in Canaan. God honors private obedience, not public righteousness. Questions and answers.

Lesson 58

The geography of the holy land as it relates to conquest and settlement. The curse on he who rebuilds Jericho. When we think biblically, we must think in terms of the whole Bible. Grace is not a permanent feature of the plan of God. The ethics of common grace do not imply permanent tolerance of evil. Joshua and the wars of conquest must be considered within the whole Biblical Framework. Questions and answers.

Lesson 59

The phases of sanctification. The believer’s experience (experiential sanctification) is controlled by and depends on his position (positional sanctification) in the elect plan of God (Example: Israel). Jesus Christ went through an experiential sanctification process, though without sin. The aim of experiential sanctification is developing a trust and obedience to God the Father. Experiential sanctification can proceed in good days and bad.

Lesson 60

Comparing pagan and biblical approaches to problem solving. The means of sanctification. Both legalism and licentiousness distort law and grace. Emotions and feelings must be in subjection to the revealed will of God. If we eliminate God’s grace, we eliminate the necessity to rely upon Him and, subsequently, gratitude. Questions and answers.

Lesson 61

Using the Framework to sharpen a biblical view of civilization. The existence of one Christian is a threat to the pagan world because it speaks of the end times. The prayers of God the Holy Spirit on our behalf. The process and aim of experiential sanctification. The justification for the ethics of holy war. The imprecatory psalms and imprecatory prayers. Questions and answers.

Lesson 62

Summary of past lessons. Applying the Biblical Framework. In the exodus story, blood atonement separated the damned from the saved. Our personal experience is too flimsy a foundation to cope with life. Handel’s treatment of Exodus chapter 15.

Lesson 63

[Lesson not available]

Lesson 64

Matching biblical events with biblical doctrines. On a non-biblical basis, evil is necessary for existence. The Bible is very historically oriented and not just a “religious story.” Society collapsed during the day of the Judges. Debate over the monarchy of Israel. God’s word limits political authority. Questions and answers.

Lesson 65

The first historical accounts of any significance are in the Bible. History has a pattern to it. It’s moving somewhere. The secular, pagan view of a king compared with God’s view. The king’s role, in Israel, was to obey the Law. The prophets were agents of God calling Israel back to loyalty to the covenant. An evil prayer answered with tragic results. Questions and answers.

Lesson 66

David gives us a model of what leadership, in the kingdom of God, should look like. The theology of kingship. The contrast of two dynasties (Saul and David). A godly king compared with a secular, pagan king (David and Esarhaddon). Questions and answers.

Lesson 67

The Creator-creature distinction compared with the continuity of being idea found in all paganism. The theory of evolution did not begin with Darwin, but was always inclusive in paganism. In paganism, there is no sovereign person over the entire universe. David fulfilled a king-priest model. Combined in Jesus Christ are king, priest and sacrifice. The Davidic covenant. In paganism, the gods receive. In the Bible, God gives in grace. Questions and answers.

Lesson 68

David and Bathsheba. Grace is the corollary of sorrow and death. Either there is grace, sorrow and death or there is no grace and, instead, judgment. A big sin is usually preceded by small sins. Historically, outside of Israel there was no developed sense of sin. The essence of sin is that all sin is against God and is between He and us. God preserves the Davidic dynasty against the sins of men. Questions and answers.

Lesson 69

David as a model for leadership in the kingdom of God. The aim of and the tools God uses in the believer’s sanctification. The enemies of sanctification. The dimensions of sanctification. Resolving sin in the believer’s life: conviction, confession and God’s response. Questions and answers.

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