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How Well Do You Know Your Bible?
Print out these pages, and check the answers you think are true...yes, you may use the Textbook for your answers!
__Salvation has always been on the basis of simple faith in Christ's life, death, and resurrection for our sins
__Salvation has not always been on the basis of simple faith in Christ's life, death, and resurrection for our sins
__God has never required faith AND works for salvation
__God has, at times, required faith AND works for salvation
__Salvation today requires faith AND works
__Salvation today requires faith, NOT works
__Believers can lose their salvation and go to hell
__Believers cannot lose their salvation
__Jesus offered salvation by grace through faith to Jew and Gentile alike while He was on earth
__Jesus did not offer salvation by grace through faith to Jew and Gentile alike while He was on earth
__Believers must keep the Law
__Believers are not under the Law
__Believers must keep the Sabbath
__Sabbath observance is unnecessary
__Water baptism is necessary for salvation today
__Water baptism is not necessary for salvation today
__Water baptism is a public expression of our faith
__Water baptism is not a public expression of our faith
__Miraculous abilities are for today
__Miraculous abilities are not for today
__God's gift of tongues is a sign of God’s blessing
__God's gift of tongues is a sign of God's judgment
__Tongues are a sign for believers
__Tongues are a sign for unbelievers
__Tongues are a sign for all unbelievers
__Tongues were a sign for a specific group of unbelievers
__There is no such thing as counterfeit tongues today
__There is such a thing as counterfeit tongues today
__God has promised miraculous physical healing today
__God has not promised miraculous physical healing today
__There are certain foods today that are unclean
__There are no unclean foods today
__Sins we forget to confess are never forgiven
__All sins were forgiven at the cross
__The apostle Paul replaced Judas
__The apostle Paul did not replace Judas
__Paul's message was an expansion on or explanation of the message of Peter, James, and John
__Paul's message was entirely new and different from what Peter, James, and John preached
__Paul said we must follow Christ according to what He taught while He was on earth
__Paul said we must follow Christ according to the revelation He gave to Paul
__Paul said we must preach Christ according to the Gospels
__Paul said we must preach Christ according to the revelation he [Paul] received from Christ
__Believers today can carry out the "great commission" exactly as Christ stated it
__Believers today cannot carry out the "great commission" exactly as Christ stated it
__Every promise in the Book is mine
__Not every promise in the Book is mine
__All Scripture is equally applicable to believers today
__Not all Scripture is equally applicable to believers today
__There is no danger of believers being deceived
__Believers can be deceived
ANSWERS:
Salvation itself has always been based on the merits of Christ's life, death, and resurrection for man's sin, but has man always known this? NO. It is true that Christ’s finished work has always been the only means by which sinners could be reconciled to God. But this truth was kept secret by God UNTIL the ascended, glorified Christ revealed it to and through the apostle Paul. Before that point, salvation -- while still all of God’s grace -- was not offered on the basis of simple faith in Christ, as it is today. Rather, all one knew was that he had to DO whatever works God said to perform in order to be right in His sight.
In the past, God did require works in addition to faith for salvation. There was a time when God--NOT MAN--defined various “works of righteousness” to be performed, in faith, by those who sought to be right with Him. These works included various rituals (ceremonial washings, circumcision, animal sacrifices, etc) which have no place in this present age of grace. Why? Because Christ kept all the righteous demands of God's Law on our behalf...every one of them! That means that there is no work left for us to do. Thank God, we need only believe and rest in Him!
Salvation today requires faith, and excludes works. Today, the one and only requirement for salvation is to have heard, understood, and believed the Gospel of the grace of God (that Jesus Christ lived, died, and rose again from the dead on our behalf, in our place, for our sin). To combine works with faith in order to become right with God brings condemnation because it denies the Scripture:“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified” (Galatians 2:16). TO MIX FAITH WITH ANY DEGREE OF WORKS TODAY--EITHER TO OBTAIN OR TO MAINTAIN ONE'S SALVATION--IS A FALSE WAY OF SALVATION THAT CANNOT SAVE!
Believers cannot lose their salvation. In Romans 8:1, the Greek word translated ‘condemnation’ is katakrima. This word means, basically, “judgment,” but it contains not only the sense of a judge handing down a verdict of guilty, but also the penalty that verdict demands. So, in order for a believer to lose his or her salvation and go to hell, God would have to have some basis on which to judge and condemn that person. But all of God’s wrath at the believer’s sin was poured out on Christ on the cross; there’s nothing left for us! The believer is forever “in Christ,” sealed and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. God cannot condemn a believer to Hell without sending Jesus and the Holy Spirit to Hell as well. If you believe a truly saved person can go to Hell, then you must also believe that God goes to Hell with him.
Jesus did not offer salvation by grace through faith to Jew and Gentile alike while He was on earth. Jesus did not offer salvation to Gentiles while on earth. He was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel only (Matthew 15:24), and told His disciples “go not into the way of the Gentiles” (Matthew 10:5-8). It was not until the ascended, glorified Christ raised up the apostle Paul that salvation was offered to Jew and Gentile alike, without distinction, on the basis of grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
Believers are not under the Law. Those who are in Christ are dead to the Law (Romans 6:14; 7:4-6) because now “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Romans 10:4).
Sabbath observance is unnecessary today. Sabbath observance is not applicable to Christians (see above). Believers may observe a particular day of worship if they wish, but believers are just as free not to do so, if they so choose.
Water baptism is not necessary for salvation today. Water baptism was necessary for salvation during the time Christ was being made manifest to Israel (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38). But water baptism serves absolutely no purpose in the Church today.
Water baptism is not a public expression of our faith. There is no biblical text which describes or defines water baptism as a “public declaration of faith.” That's tradition, not Scripture.
Miraculous abilities are not for today. The sign gifts God gave during the earthly ministry of Christ and during the Acts period were intended to prove to Israel that Christ was her Messiah, and that His apostles were truly men of God. It is clear from the writings of Paul that these gifts were withdrawn, even during the lifetime of the apostles.
God's gift of tongues is a sign of God's judgment.
Judgment against whom? The nation Israel (1 Corinthians 14:20-22).
Tongues were a sign for unbelievers, and a specific group of unbelievers particularly. Whom? Again, the unrepentant Jews who were in the process of rejecting their Messiah (1 Corinthians 14:20-22).
There is such a thing as counterfeit tongues today. The sounds which are called “tongues” in Pentecostal/ Charismatic church are identical to the tongues which have been or are practiced by Mormons, Catholics, pagan witchdoctors and even avowed atheists like former charismatic preacher Marjoe Gortner, a fluent tongues-speaker. This leaves us with two options: since none of these tongues are identifiable language, and since all of
them sound identical, either
(a) God the Holy Spirit is imparting His gift of ‘tongues’ to people who knowingly deny the sufficiency of Christ’s death for all sin, or
(b) the true biblical gift of tongues is not in operation today, meaning ALL ‘tongues’ are counterfeit. This second option makes more sense in light of Paul’s teachings.
God has not promised miraculous physical healing today. God has made no such promise to believers during this age of grace.
There are no unclean foods today. Rules regarding “clean” and “unclean” foods are concepts of the Law, to which believers are dead.
All sins were forgiven at the cross. If even one sin remained somehow untouched by Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary, then salvation could well be lost and Paul could not say, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
The apostle Paul did not replace Judas. Matthias did.
Paul's message was entirely new and different from what Peter, James, and John preached. Paul preached the revelation of the Mystery, which had been previously hidden in God.
Paul said we must follow Christ not according to the Gospels, but according to the revelation He gave to Paul. In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul tells us that “Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.”
Paul said we must preach Christ, not according to the Gospels, but according to the revelation he [Paul] received from Christ. Romans 16:25.
Believers today cannot carry out the "great commission" exactly as Christ stated it. The “great commission” was intended to inaugurate the Kingdom of God on the earth, starting with Israel. This message demanded obedience to water baptism, and was to be authenticated by miraculous signs and wonders (Mark 16). But Paul said there is now only “one baptism” by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ (Ephesians 4:5), and no believer today can perform the signs Jesus described in Mark 16. Why? When it became clear that Israel would not accept her King and His kingdom, God unveiled the Mystery program, which involves faith, not works, signs and wonders.
Not every promise in the Book is mine. People in some churches juggle rattlesnakes and drink poison because they believe the promises of Mark 16 apply to them. The fact that so many of them die as a result of such foolishness proves that NOT all promises in the Book can be claimed by us!
Not all Scripture is equally applicable to believers today. See previous answer.
Believers can be deceived. You’d better believe it!