There are many Christians, whether you believe or not that question why they should read the Old Testament/Hebrew bible. They feel it is unnecessary because of todays’ times and how things have changed, so they think that the Bible is far behind in what is going on in today’s world. Nevertheless, the Bible is current and is never outdated; therefore, we should never assume, especially as Christians that there is nothing new we can learn from the Bible. Reasons why Christians should read the Old Testament is because we should know that the Bible is still relevant in today’s world, to know God and his nature which in turn can transform one’s life, and to get wisdom and understanding so that they can apply to their lives. Many Christians claim …show more content…
This truth is revealed in the book of Revelation, and it shows the prophecy in which things at the end of this world will take place. It goes by the names of the “end times”, “final days”, or “last days”. The bible also talks about suffering Christians will go through, but are encouraged to persevere and endure until the end. The Bible states that, “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give your life as your victor’s crown. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death” (Revelation 2:10-11). There are times in this world where many Christians have undergone persecution and suffering for His names’ sake, but the Bible encourages Christians to not set their focus on this temporary suffering, even though it is sometimes very hard to endure, we are called to keep the focus on eternity, and the good that is to …show more content…
Also, how He gives us the things that we ask for, and how He is faithful to the end, and will never leave or forsake you. Therefore, that is the reason we worship Him, because He is worthy of all of our praise, therefore, deserves to be glorified in the highest form of praise, which is, “Hallelujah!” As it states in the Bible, “And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God” (Revelation 19:1). We can never fully understand God because our minds cannot comprehend who He is
Many argue that the bible is out of date and unhelpful for humans today. This is not the case though. The bible is essentially the guidebook to leading a perfect and happy life, and just like you would need to read some sort of manual before constructing a product, so to should you read the bible for guidance on your own life. This is what Jehovah's Witnesses try their best to do, though it is not easy because all humans are imperfect.
The Old Testament and the Bible itself has been studied extensively for centuries. Archeologists and Scholars have labored and pondered over texts trying to decipher its clues. It does not matter how many times the Old Testament has been studied there will always be something new to learn about it or the history surrounding it. In the book Reading the Old Testament: an Introduction, the author Lawrence Boadt presents us with a few different authors of the Old Testament that used different names for God and had a unique insight into the texts. These four sources are titled P for priests, E for Elohim, J for Jehovah, and Y for Yahweh (95). These four unique sources help us realize that there is more than one author of the Pentateuch. These authors took the text and adapted for their culture. This independent source is used by scholars to help gain insight into what was behind the texts of the bible so we are not left with an incomplete picture of what went into the creation of the bible. Julius Wellhausen used these four sources to publish a book to able us to better understand the sources and to give it credibility with the Protestant scholars at the time (Boadt 94). These sources that is independent of the bible as in the DVD Who Wrote the Bible? and the Nova website aide in shedding light on the history that surrounded the writers who wrote the text and what inspired them to write it in the first place. The DVD shows the discovery of The Dead Sea Scrolls and the extensive history of the texts and all its sources in an effort to try to find exactly who wrote the bible (Who Wrote). These scrolls have aided scholars immensely by giving us some of the oldest known manuscripts of the bible in the world today. It shows that the bible w...
Whenever it is that end happens Jesus will come and take us home. What a glorious day that will be. Every knee shall bow and tongue confess.
Although Christ promises persecution for his followers, God never intended for suffering to enter the world. Suffering is a consequence of death, which was brought into the world by Adam and Eve. It is our continual choice to sin that keeps suffering in our world and the only ways we could eliminate it is by matching our will to God’s or by God taking away our free will. Since the latter option will never happen, our continual suffering is brought on by ourselves and our resistance to align our wills with God’s.
Because of following this way of life, Christians have learned to see suffering in a different light2, that not only is it temporary and promises great rewards, it is also something that they must endure for the sake of the salvation of the world.
The topic of Christian Apologetics is one that has been developed and studied with much diligence through the years; a large amount of history and documentation have been reviewed and preserved to paint a clear picture of the great fight that has been fought throughout all of time to bring salvation to all mankind. Paul said in I Timothy 6:12 that we are to “Fight the good fight of faith,” and many have heeded Paul’s advice and have earnestly contended “for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” There have been many great saints of God who have taken up the Christian banner and marched forward in faith for the Lord Jesus Christ in an effort to defend and deliver the Gospel to the next generation.
Christian worldview’s response to the problem of evil and suffering is a reality because they are born into a broken world in the result of the fall (Hiles & Smith, 2014). Christians understand that “suffering increases our compassion and equips us to comfort others who suffer” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). Also, Christians understand that Jesus died for humanity to gain eternal life. If people reject the purifying death of Jesus, then they will suffer the consequences of God’ rebellion (Gockel, 2009). This means that God will not save them, nor force them to believe in Him; in which they will be condemning themselves to suffer. Suffering allows people to prove their character to others. Christians understand God is entitled to do what He plays because “for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). People are sinners by nature, but it teaches them to become an obedience of God’s ways. Christians understand that suffering is used as a tool for God’s punishments. Also, Christians comprehend evil as wicked, hurtful, painful, and deathful; the opposite of God’s will allowing them to seek forgiveness (Rubin & Yasien-Esmael, 2004). Christians lived humbly because they depend on God by living life by the righteousness of his faith (Habakkuk 2:4). In addition,
If I was not aware of the Old Testament I would miss the beginning of the story. When I read a book I don’t start is the middle or at the end. I have to read the beginning to know the whole story. In a similar way, Old Testament is the beginning of the story and the New Testament is the final chapter. The New Testament is the fulfillment of God’s plans and promises which are given in the Old Testament that is fulfilled in the New Testament.
The Bible is not one big book, but is a collection of books all with a same purpose and theme. I am not a Christian or a believer yet it has made a big impact on my life. Growing up with an Atheist father and a Christian mother has put me on the fence regarding my belief of religion. I don't look at the Bible for teachings on how to live, I perceive it as old stories with good morals, just like any other folklore.
Jesus says that believers should not be afraid of suffering because the future holds a Judgment Day. God will requite His people for their suffering and in turn punish their enemies. The injustices of this world will disappear, and Jesus can confidently encourage his followers by saying, “Do not be afraid.” Jesus describes the coming judgment as a time when all the secrets of individual lives will be disclosed. The sins people commit with impunity, thinking they are hidden, will be revealed (Mt 10:26, cf. Lk 12:3). In Matthew 10:26, Jesus describes this judgment using synthetic parallelism:
“The New Testament is the final chapter to the Old Testament” (Why is the Old Testament so important?, 2017). You have to get to the root of it all to learn and understand it better. The word is God. If you want to know who God is and understand Him better, you would need to read the whole book of the Bible. Why would anyone want to start in the middle of a book or only read the ending? You can never get the context of what is going on that way. You need to read the Old Testament to get the full context of the New Testament.
relevant to life, such as do not kill and do not steal. The bible also
...ering is always going to be painful no matter if God is the one who is doing it to us or not. What we need to realize is that suffering with faith in God is much more justifiable than suffering without. In I Peter it says "However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name."(I Peter 4:16). So suffering as a Christian is all right because it means that you share an aspect of Christ's life, and you should continue to praise God. "So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good"(I Peter 4:19). This is our answer: Have faith in God, through the good times and especially the bad, for during the bad times is where our faith will truly be tested, and when the "Problem of human suffering" arises, it won't seem like much of a problem at all.
Even though many of their brothers and sisters are dying right along with the nonbelievers they will be blamed for the judgments of God that have come upon mankind and many will be put to death. The “Rapture before tribulation” theory does not test true as Jesus tells his faithful followers who are killed, they must wait a little longer until the deaths to come to other faithful followers is completed. Within this world there are nations which on a regular basis mutilate, enslave and publicly execute Christians. There are other nations which prohibit Christian practices of any kind and anyone caught doing so is sentenced to death. Christians should not be fooled into believing, because they are washed clean in the blood of Jesus Christ, they are protected from or immune to the suffering that will come upon the world through the judgments of God.
As children it is our family members that make us aware of our religious beliefs. We then continue our religious education when we attend Sunday school and morning church service along with our family. Many families also attend Sunday evening service as well as the middle of the week church meetings as well as adult bible study and choir practice. Some parents in order to insure their children receive a better education and to reinforce their religious beliefs enroll their children into parochial schools. Often these families continue their worship at home with prayer before meals and a family weeknight bible study.