Friday, December 10, 2010

Are you for or against the altar call and sinner’s prayer ?

(Note: You can read excerpts from the articles cited below in my “Baptist churches in the Philippines” blog.)

For the altar call

Against the altar call
Middle ground on the altar call
For the Sinner’s Prayer
Against the sinner’s prayer, and reasons not to ask Jesus into your heart
Middle ground on the sinner’s prayer
Backgrounder on Charles G. Finney, by Dr. Kevin T. Bauder, Central Baptist Theological Seminary
Note: (1) You can read excerpts from the articles cited above in my “Baptist churches in the Philippines” blog. Jump to For the altar call; Against the altar call; Middle ground on the altar call; For the sinner’s prayer; Against the sinner’s prayer and Reasons not to ask Jesus into your heart; Middle ground on the sinner’s prayer; (2) Some ministries whose works are cited in this post are described as holding a “non-lordship salvation” view. This ministry uses the term “Lordship salvation” based on A.W. Tozer’s discussion in his essay “No Saviorhood without Lordship” and in “What is Biblical repentance?”

Posted by Atty. Gerry T. Galacio at 12:01 AM 0 comments

Monday, October 25, 2010

Church planting materials and resources (mp3 and pdf)

Church Planting Village: Free One-Stop Shop for Church Planting resources; available in Spanish, Korean, French, Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Russian, Vietnamese, Portuguese (NAMB/SBC)

Church planting sermons by Dr. Dan Botterbrodt, Independent Baptist Institute:

  1. Origin of the First Church
  2. The Lord’s Commission, Matthew 28, verses 18-20
  3. The Master Church Planter, 1 Peter 2, verses 21-24
  4. The Master Church Planter 2, 1 Peter 2, verses 21-24
  5. Church Planting Movement 1, Acts 9, verse 31
  6. Church Planting Movement 2, Acts 5-8
  7. Church Planting Movement 3, Acts 8-13
  8. Church Planting Movement 4, Acts 9-20
  9. Church Planting Movement 5
  10. Motives for Church Planting
  11. Preparing for an Increase

Churches Planting Churches, by Dr. Dennis Leatherman (Mountain Lake Independent Baptist)

Building A Solid Foundation for Church Planting, by Voddie Baucham (Grace Family Baptist Church)

Materials from Church Planting Conference ’10, College Park Baptist Church, Cary, North Carolina

  1. Dealing With Difficult People, by Pastor Dayton Walker
  2. God’s Work is Never Worthless, by Pastor Jeff Kelly
  3. The Elijah Syndrome, by Dr. Fred Moritz
  4. Building Churches on the Mission Field, by Dr. Fred Moritz
  5. Bud Calvert on Church Planting
  6. Tim Sneeden on Church Planting
  7. The Right Focus, by Pastor Larry Hobbes

Church Planting in France, by Tim Ross (First Baptist Church of Parker)

A Macro View of Church Planting, by Charles A. Bonadies (Suber Road Baptist Church)

Church Planting, by Michael Crawford (Immanuel Baptist Church)

Materials from 2005 ARBCA Church Planting School

  1. Theology of Church Planting, by Jim Renihan
  2. Cultivating Men for Church Planting, by Steve Martin
  3. Practical Matters of Church Planting, by Jim Renihan
  4. Legal and Financial Matters of Church Planting, by Mike McKnight

Church Planting, by Stephen Gambill (Reformed Baptist of Nashville)

Church Planting, by Jeremy Smith (Calvary Baptist Tabernacle)

Materials by Stacy A. Johnson (First Baptist of San Jacinto)

  1. Are You a Candidate for a Church Planting Team? Pt.1
  2. Are You a Candidate for a Church Planting Team? Pt.2
  3. Are You a Candidate for a Church Planting Team? Pt.3

Materials by Boon-Sing Poh (Christ Reformed Baptist Church)

  1. The Biblical and Theological Basis of Church Planting
  2. The Method and Application of Church Planting
  3. The Urgency and Need of Church Planting

Church Planting, by Douglas Van Dorn (Reformed Baptist of N. Co.)

Church Planting, by Jeremy Van Delinder (Thompson Road Baptist Church)

Cross Roads Church Planting, by Missionary Tim Heinrich (Calvary Baptist Tabernacle)


PDFs on church planting

Getting A Church Started, A student manual for the theological foundation and practical techniques of planting a church, by Elmer L. Towns (148 pages, 543Kb)

Starting new churches is the genius of Christianity. As the population explodes and another community comes into existence, new churches are needed. As old churches lose their fervency and slip into liberalism, new churches are needed to take their place.

Wendell Belew of the Southern Baptist Home Mission Board plans over 500 new churches in America every year. Someone asks, “What method do you plan to use to plant 500 new churches a year?” He replies, “For 500 churches, we need 500 methods.”
Every community has different needs, and every group of people reflects a different composite personality. Each pastor must minister according to his spiritual gifts, hence there is a different application of Biblical principles in every new church.

New churches are successful in rural, small towns, city and metropolitan areas. Men use a different formula in building each church. Yet, many patterns are similar because certain timeless principles transcend space and culture. These grow out of the nature of the church and the principles in the New Testament.

Some churches have grown faster than others. No church is perfect - like young children they are growing through the pains of childhood. But even in youth, there is something compelling about a child. Each church, as reflected in each of its pastor-founders, has different strengths. Hence, each is a different example to guide those building a church.

Some will not be able to follow the principles of this book and start a successful church -because they have different concepts about the church. The end product always determines the process. The end product in this book is a soul-winning, Bible-teaching church that stands for purity, obedience to the Great Commission, and separation from apostasy. Therefore, if this is not the type of church a man wants to build, all of these principles will not apply to his situation. But, in fact, not all of these principles will apply in any situation. They must be read in light of Scripture, applied in relationship to the community, and integrated by the man of God.

The church is close to the heart of God (Eph. 5:25), and those who start a church have a special place in God’s affection. When preaching on the doctrine of the church, I often ask for charter members of that congregation to raise their hands. These, I note, have a special place in God’s love for the sacrifice, vision, and labor that brought a church into existence. One of the greatest privileges in life is to help bring a candlestick (Rev. 2:1,5) into existence.
Church Planting Movements (NAMB/SBC); download David Garrison’s 1999 CPM booklet in English, simplified Chinese, Turkish, Bahasa Indonesia, Spanish, French, Israeli English, Hebrew)

What is a Church Planting Movement? A simple, concise definition of a Church Planting Movement (CPM) is a rapid and multiplicative increase of indigenous churches planting churches within a given people group or population segment.

There are several key components to this definition. The first is rapid. As a movement, a Church Planting Movement occurs with rapid increases in new church starts. Saturation church planting over decades and even centuries is good, but doesn’t qualify as a Church Planting Movement.

Secondly, there is a multiplicative increase. This means that the increase in churches is not simply incremental growth - adding a few churches every year or so. Instead, it compounds with two churches becoming four, four churches becoming eight to 10 and so forth. Multiplicative increase is only possible when new churches are being started by the churches themselves–rather than by professional church planters or missionaries.

Finally, they are indigenous churches. This means they are generated from within rather than from without. This is not to say that the gospel is able to spring up intuitively within a people group. The gospel always enters a people group from the outside; this is the task of the missionary. However, in a Church Planting Movement the momentum quickly becomes indigenous so that the initiative and drive of the movement comes from within the people group rather than from outsiders.

If this definition isn’t enough, we might also clarify what a Church Planting Movement is not. A Church Planting Movement is more than “evangelism that results in churches.” Evangelism that results in churches is a part of a Church
Planting Movement, but the “endvision” is less extensive. A church planter might satisfy himself with the goal of planting a single church or even a handful of churches, but fail to see that it will take a movement of churches planting churches to reach an entire nation of people.
The Process of Church Planting, by Danie Vermeulen, Dawn Africa (75 pages, 1.02 MB)
After twenty-two years of pastoral experience and having been involved in 38 church plants during this time, I have been confronted on so many occasions with the question, “How does one go about planting a church”? I have never felt adequately informed to write something in this regard but lately the Lord has burdened my heart to share on this topic from my experience, specifically within an African context.

This morning at the breakfast table I was telling my family about the new training manual I am writing on church planting. My twelve-year-old son, Danie Jr. casually remarked, “but Dad, is it really necessary? It is so basic! All you do is get a few people saved and build a building and there you go.” Needless to say after we all had a little chuckle I said to him, “You are right son, it is rather basic. It is rather basic for a married couple to have children and if we are the Body of Christ it should be rather basic for this ‘body’ to reproduce itself.” Very proud of himself he said, “So what’s the big deal.” My explanation satisfied him when I said, “Son, suppose you were unaware of the fact that one day, when you got married, you could reproduce, would you do it?

Most churches are unaware that it is actually basic that they should reproduce themselves into many other churches and that is why I feel the urgency of writing this manual.” I want every pastor and every church to know that you don’t need a special gifting to plant a new church. It is natural!

I believe that I will be able to lay a foundation for my conviction from the Scriptures to help you understand that church planting is not a good idea but rather a Biblical basis for the fulfilment of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19. I am not a theologian but I do believe with all my heart that it should be Father’s heart and vision that would motivate us and spur us on to complete the work He has given us.

Resources for Churches and Church Planters, by Roger McNamara (copyright by Baptist Mid-Missions)
Where Have All The Leaders Gone? pdf file (653 kb) is a 92-page guide for moving people from conversion, to spiritual growth, maturity, ministry, and lay leadership through a four-phase discipleship program. Each level focuses on what you want the people to know, what changes you want to see in their lives, and what you want them to be able to do at that level. A well-balanced discipleship process is the key to developing lay leaders in the church. People flounder and don’t grow unless you have an effective discipling process in place.

Checklist for Church Planters pdf file (252 kb)

Church Child Safety Guidelines pdf file (626 kb) contains 99 pages of valuable information on how to protect your church and its ministry from accusations of child abuse. Many churches are grossly negligent in this area because they think “it could never happen here.” This manual explains what constitutes “child abuse” and describes in detail the steps your church should take to minimize the possibility of it happening. Helpful information includes screening guidelines and practical steps your church can take to protect itself.

Biblical Principles of Stewardship pdf file (1.91 mb) is one of the keys to developing a healthy church plant. It enables churches to grow spiritually as well as financially. Stewardship is really about life management – how people use their time, talents, treasure, and testimonies. Biblical Principles of Stewardship grapples with the purpose, principles, parameters, promises, period, and programs of a biblical approach to stewardship. This 92-page manual will provide you with information, suggestions, and samples that will help you build stronger believers and a healthier ministry.

How to Write a Church Constitution pdf file (411 kb); Sample Church Constitution pdf file (105 kb)

STARTING THE JOURNEY – Discipleship 101 pdf file (579 kb) – the first of a series of discipleship lessons designed to help believers move from the new birth to spiritual maturity to ministry involvement and to lay leadership. This introductory set of six lessons was written for new believers, perspective members, and people who want to explore the claims of Christ. It exposes them to some of the elementary truths of Scripture that anyone wanting to be a follower of Christ should know.

CATCH THE VISION – Discipleship 102 pdf file (937 kb) – the second in a series of discipleship lessons designed to help people grow spiritually. These eight lessons focus on the local church. They serve as a get-acquainted course for those who want to know more about your congregation. They can also be used as a pre-membership for those who are thinking of uniting with your church. You will find yourself evaluating your own ministry as you move through each session, and will be challenged to improve the way in which you “do church.”
Saturation Church Planting

The Alliance for Saturation Church Planting attempts to facilitate church planting in the 27 countries of post-communist Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Alliance-related Facilitation Teams resident in 14 of these countries seek to identify, envision, train and mobilize existing and emerging churches to plant new churches. So that the gospel is available to every person, these teams desire to facilitate church multiplication. Facilitation efforts exist in Central Asia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia&Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine. Alliance partners are also employing saturation church planting elements in Albania, Belarus and Bulgaria.

Omega Course - a five volume set of manuals on church planter training with each manual offering 26 hours of instruction on spiritual character, inductive Bible study, leadership, mentoring and vision; designed for modular instruction in a working seminar format, the training schedule can be adapted for work/ministry realities of your trainees.

Prayer Book - a 160 page book called “Prayer that Strengthens and Expands the Church” by Glenn Livingston that examines the question “what does the prayer life of a disciple of the Lord look like?”

Prayer Care - a brochure designed to stimulate believers in their own prayer life and in their ministry.

Essential Vision - a 67 page book outlining the concept of saturation church planting and the elements involved.

Mentoring Manual - a 125 page book by Bob Martin, the manual is a practical tool that helps leaders understand the role of mentoring in helping church planters to be faithful to God’s call.

Church Planting Prayer Strategy, NAMB/SBC (65 pages, 386 Kb)


Note: This ministry does not necessarily endorse or share all the views and opinions expressed in the materials, resources or links mentioned in these posts. Please always refer to the Articles of Faith and Biblical distinctives of Baptists when you study these materials.

Posted by Atty. Gerry T. Galacio at 10:32 AM 0 comments

Saturday, October 09, 2010

Study guides for Apologetics (interim curriculum)

Click hereThe articles from “A Ready Defense” by Josh McDowell are part of the interim curriculum. We have prepared these study guides which you can use in two ways: (1) Read the study guide first so you can have an overview of the article; and (2) After reading the article, try answering the study guide questions to test your comprehension.

Index of study guides

  1. Old Testament prophecy fulfilled in history
  2. How can you believe the miracles in the Bible?
  3. What about all those contradictions?
  4. Is the New Testament filled with myths?
  5. Was Jesus born of a virgin?
  6. The historicity of Jesus
  7. The resurrection of Jesus
  8. The Trilemma: Lord, Liar or Lunatic?
  9. Is Jesus both Messiah and God?
  10. Questions About God
  11. Questions About Faith and Reason
  12. Is the Christian experience just a delusion?
  13. Did you hear what happened to Saul?

Chapter 06 - Old Testament prophecy fulfilled in history
  1. What is one of the unique and fascinating aspects of the Bible found in no other religious literature?
  2. What do Isaiah 44:28; 54:1 prophesy about Cyrus? What was significant about this prophecy at the time Isaiah recorded it in 700 B.C.?
  3. What is Daniel’s Seventy Weeks all about? What will happen at the end of 69 weeks?
  4. What were several commandments, or decrees, in Israel’s history which have been suggested as the end of the 483 years?
  5. Based on Hoehner’s Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ, what is the only logical day for Christ’s crucifixion?
  6. After the termination of the 69 weeks and before the commencement of the 70th week, what two events had to occur?
  7. What was the prophecy or seven predictions about Tyre in Ezekiel 26 (592-570 B.C.)?
  8. What part did Nebuchadnezzar and Alexander the Great play in these predictions about Tyre?
  9. What was the prophecy about Sidon in Ezekiel 28:22-23 (592 - 570 B.C.)? According to Floyd Hamilton, how was this prophecy fulfilled?
  10. What was the prophecy about Samaria in Hosea 13:16 and Micah 1:6? How was this fulfilled?
  11. What was the prophecy about Gaza-Ashkelon in Amos 1:8 (775 - 750 B.C.) Jeremiah 47:5 (626 - 586 B.C.) Zephaniah 2:4,6 (640 - 621 B.C.)? How was this fulfilled?
  12. What were the prophecies regarding Petra and Edom by Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel? How were these prophecies specifically fulfilled?
  13. What were the prophecies regarding the Jewish people?
Back to index of study guides


Chapter 10 - How can you believe the miracles in the Bible?
  1. What is the so-called “Hume hangover”?
  2. What is Hume’s argument against miracles?
  3. What did Dr. Lawrence Burkholder, chairman of the Department of the Church at the Harvard Divinity School, say about Hume’s arguments against miracles?
  4. What did Professor Clark Pinnock say about Hume’s methodology?
  5. What did C. S. Lewis say about Hume’s arguments against miracles?
  6. What did Merald Westphal, in his review of “The Historian and the Believer,” say about the experiences of the first explorers in Australia with regard the platypus?
  7. What is the basis for believing in the miraculous?
Back to index of study guides


Chapter 11 - What about all those contradictions?
  1. “How can you believe a Bible that is full of contradictions?” What does this question assume?
  2. What constitutes a contradiction? What is the law of non-contradiction?
  3. What is important to remember when facing possible contradictions?
  4. “Matthew relates how two blind men met Jesus, while both Mark and Luke mention only one.” Is this a contradiction?
  5. What is the supposed contradiction in the account of the death of Sisera in the Book of Judges?
  6. What is the reason why two passages can sometimes appear contradictory?
  7. What was the supposed contradiction in the story of Paul’s conversion in the Damascus road in Acts 9:7 and Acts 22:9? How does Greek scholar W. F. Arndt refute this supposed contradiction?
  8. “Doesn’t Matthew make a mistake by attributing a prophecy to Jeremiah when it actually was given by Zechariah?”
  9. How do Dr. J. E. Rosscup of Talbot Seminary and John N. Cool explain this supposed error by Matthew?
  10. “How would you explain the inaccuracy between Judas ‘went away and hanged himself’ in Matthew 27:5 and ‘falling headlong, he burst open’ in Acts 1:18?”
  11. “How could Jesus have remained in the tomb three days and three nights if He was crucified on Friday and rose on Sunday?”
  12. Don’t the resurrection accounts repeatedly contradict themselves?
  13. What did Sir Norman Anderson, the Director of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies at the University of London, say about apparent conflicts in the testimony of different witnesses?
Back to index of study guides


Chapter 14 - Is the New Testament filled with myths?
  1. Did the early Christians turn a human Jesus into a supernatural figure by borrowing supernatural elements from the mystery religions?
  2. What was the taurobolium? What are several reasons why the taurobolium cannot be the source for any Christian doctrine or practice?
  3. Did the early Christians copy their rite of baptism from pagan religions around them?
  4. What was the resurrection story in the early Egyptian cult of Isis and Osiris? How is the resurrection story of Jesus different from this Egyptian myth?
  5. “Others also have claimed that the concept of rebirth is central to the mystery religions and that Christianity depended on them for its doctrine of the new birth.” Explain and refute.
  6. What are the six differences between the deaths of the so-called savior-gods and that of Jesus, according to Nash?
  7. What are the fallacies of Linking Christianity with mystery religions?
  8. What do Acts 14:11-13 say about the refusal of the early Christians to borrow from the mystery religions?
  9. What is the fallacy of combinationalism or universalism?
  10. What is the fallacy of “coloring the evidence”?
  11. What is the fallacy of oversimplification?
  12. What is the fallacy of “Who’s Influencing Whom?”
  13. What does Walter Kunneth, professor of systematic theology at Erlangen University in Germany, state concerning the exclusiveness of the gospel?
  14. What did Adolf von Harnack, the most influential German church historian and theologian of his day, say about rejecting comparative mythology?
Back to index of study guides


Chapter 17 - Was Jesus born of a virgin?
  1. What are several reasons why the virgin birth was a necessity? What was the prophecy in Jeremiah 22:28-30 about King Jeconiah?
  2. “A common objection to the virgin birth is that it is a biological impossibility, acceptable only because of people’s ignorance of these things.” How did C.S. Lewis answer this objection?
  3. Could the story of virgin birth have been borrowed from Greek or Babylonian mythology?
Back to index of study guides


Chapter 18 - The historicity of Jesus
  1. What did Journalist Louis Cassels write in 1973 about books trying to debunk Jesus?
  2. “What collateral proof is there in existence of the historical fact of the life of Jesus Christ? Why aren’t there more nonbiblical historical accounts of the resurrection of Christ?”
  3. Why didn’t Pontius Pilate report to Rome about Christ?
  4. What did Justin Martyr, writing in approximately A.D. 150, inform emperor Antoninus Pius about the fulfillment of Psalm 22:16?
  5. “How much nonbiblical material on any subject actually survived from the first century?”
  6. What common device did a writer of antiquity do to discredit someone?
  7. ‘“If the biblical description of Jesus’ activities is accurate, wouldn’t Jesus have attracted sufficient attention to be mentioned in first century writings?”
  8. “Is absence of evidence evidence of absence?”
  9. What did ancient secular writers like Cornelius Tacitus (born A.D. 52-54), Lucian of Samosata, Flavius Josephus (born A.D. 37), Suetonius (A.D.120), Plinius Secundus, Pliny The Younger, Thallus, the Samaritan-born historian, Phlegon, a first-century historian, say about Christ or the Christians?
  10. What does the rabbinic literature ay about Christ or the Christians?
  11. How does “The Jewishness of Jesus” prove his historicity?
  12. What examples does David Biven, the director of the Jerusalem School of Synoptic Studies, give which illustrate the deep Jewish roots of Jesus’ learning and teaching styles?
  13. How was Jesus different from the rabbis who preceded Him?
Back to index of study guides


Chapter 20 - The resurrection of Jesus
  1. “The resurrection of Jesus Christ is either one of the most wicked, vicious, heartless hoaxes ever foisted upon people, or it is the most important fact of history.” Explain.
  2. What are the positive historical, literary and legal testimony supporting the validity of the resurrection? How did scholars like Professor Thomas Arnold, B.F. Wescott, Dr. Paul L. Maier, Lord Caldecote (Lord Chief Justice of England), Dr. Simon Greenleaf (Royall Professor of Law at Harvard University), lawyer Dr. Frank Morrison, say about the resurrection of Jesus?
  3. What were the prophecies about the resurrection?
  4. “The resurrection of Jesus Christ and Christianity stand or fall together.” Explain.
  5. Why is “historical/biblical Christian faith an intelligent faith”?
  6. What does the word “tekmerion” used in Acts 1:3 by Luke mean?
  7. What were these “security precautions” all about: The Trial; Death by Crucifixion; Solid Rock Tomb; Jewish Burial; Very Large Stone; Roman Security; and Roman Seal?
  8. What are these seven facts to be reckoned with regards the resurrection: Broken Roman Seal; The Empty Tomb; Large Stone Moved; Roman Guard Goes AWOL; Grave clothes Tell a Tale; Appearances of Christ Confirmed; Women Saw Him First?
  9. What is an important principle to remember when studying an event in history?
  10. What does Dr. Ewin M. Yamauchi, associate professor of history at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, say about Paul’s statement to the Corinthians that there were five hundred witnesses of Christ’s resurrection still alive?
  11. What did Professor Merrill C. Tenney of Wheaton College say about the variety of locations and people involved in Jesus’ appearances?
Back to index of study guides


Chapter 21 - The Trilemma: Lord, Liar or Lunatic?
  1. What did C. S. Lewis, who was a professor at Cambridge University and once an agnostic, say about the foolishness of saying that Jesus was simply a great moral teacher?
  2. If Jesus’ claim to be God was false, what are the two alternatives?
  3. What did William Lecky, one of Great Britain’s most noted historians and a dedicated opponent of organized Christianity, and historian Philip Schaff write about the impact and influence of Christ on men and women down the centuries?
  4. Was Jesus a lunatic? What did Clark H. Pinnock, psychiatrist J. T. Fisher, C.S. Lewis and Philip Schaff say about this view?
For further explanation of the trilemma diagram, please read the books “Evidence That Demands A Verdict” (chapter 7) and “More Than a Carpenter” (chapter 2) by Josh McDowell.

Back to index of study guides


Chapter 22 - Is Jesus both Messiah and God?
  1. Did Jesus Think He Was Messiah?
  2. Was Jesus the Messiah?
  3. Did Jesus Really Believe He Was God?
  4. Was Jesus the God He Thought He Was?
Back to index of study guides


Chapter 40 - Questions About God
  1. How do you know God exists?
  2. Is God different in the Old and New testaments?
  3. Isn’t there more than one way to God?
  4. Is belief in the Trinity belief in three Gods?
  5. Why does a good God allow evil to exist?
Back to index of study guides


Chapter 41 - Questions About Faith and Reason
  1. What about all the hypocrites in the church?
  2. What about those who have never heard the Gospel?
  3. Isn’t it enough just to be sincere?
  4. Is Christianity merely a psychological crutch?
  5. I'm a good person; won’t God accept me?
  6. Can you prove Christianity scientifically?
Back to index of study guides


Chapter 42 - Is the Christian experience just a delusion?
  1. What is the objective reality or basis for my subjective experience-a changed life?
  2. How many others have had this same subjective experience from being related to the objective reality, Jesus Christ?
  3. What did E. Y. Mullins write about Christianity being a delusion?
Back to index of study guides


Chapter 43 - Did you hear what happened to Saul?
  1. In what four ways was Paul’s life affected by his Damascus road experience?
  2. What was Paul’s offense with the Christian message according to Jacques Dupont?

Back to index of study guides

Posted by Atty. Gerry T. Galacio at 8:44 AM 0 comments

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Index of lessons and online, interactive quizzes with automatic scoring from Scofield Reference Notes (1917)

Since it was originally written in 1909, the Scofield Reference Notes (1917 Edition) has been a very popular reference. We are preparing lessons and online, interactive review quizzes with automatic scoring based on materials from this work. This ministry does not necessarily endorse everything that Scofield taught (like the Gap Theory of creation or his view of the church, for examples). Please always refer to the Articles of Faith and Biblical distinctives of Baptists when you study these materials.

Lessons and online, interactive quizzes with automatic scoring currently available are:

  1. Index of online review quizzes
  2. Abrahamic Covenant (lesson); online review quiz
  3. Adamic Covenant (lesson); online review quiz
  4. Adoption (lesson); online review quiz
  5. Angels (lesson); online review quiz
  6. Apostasy (lesson); online review quiz
  7. Atonement (lesson); online review quiz
  8. Beast (lesson); online review quiz
  9. Christian doctrine of the law (lesson); online review quiz
  10. Davidic Covenant (lesson); online review quiz
  11. Day of Jehovah (lesson); online review quiz
  12. Death (spiritual) (lesson); online review quiz
  13. Demons (lesson); online review quiz
  14. Dispensation of Conscience (lesson); online review quiz
  15. Dispensation of Grace (lesson); online review quiz
  16. Dispensation of Human Government (lesson); online review quiz
  17. Dispensation of Innocency (lesson); online review quiz
  18. Dispensation of Law (lesson); online review quiz
  19. Dispensation of Promise (lesson); online review quiz
  20. Dispensation of the Fulness of Times (lesson); online review quiz
  21. Edenic Covenant (lesson); online review quiz
  22. Eight Covenants, summary (lesson); online review quiz
  23. Eternal life (lesson); online review quiz
  24. Faith (lesson); online review quiz
  25. Flesh (lesson); online review quiz
  26. Forgiveness (lesson); online review quiz
  27. Gospel (lesson); online review quiz
  28. Grace (lesson); online review quiz
  29. Great Tribulation (lesson); online review quiz
  30. Holy Spirit in the New Testament (lesson); online review quiz
  31. Holy Spirit in the Old Testament (lesson); online review quiz
  32. Imputation (lesson); online review quiz
  33. Inspiration (lesson); online review quiz
  34. Judgments (lesson); online review quiz
  35. Justification (lesson); online review quiz
  36. Kingdom (lesson); online review quiz
  37. Law of Christ (lesson); online review quiz
  38. Law of Moses (lesson); online review quiz
  39. Lord (lesson); online review quiz
  40. Mosaic Covenant (lesson); online review quiz
  41. Mysteries in the Scriptures (lesson); online review quiz
  42. New Covenant (lesson); online review quiz
  43. Noahic Covenant (lesson); online review quiz
  44. Old Testament revelation of God (lesson); online review quiz
  45. Palestinian Covenant (lesson); online review quiz
  46. Priesthood in the New Testament (lesson); online review quiz
  47. Propitiation (lesson); online review quiz
  48. Purpose of the law (lesson); online review quiz
  49. Redemption (lesson); online review quiz
  50. Relation of Christ to the eight covenants (lesson); online review quiz
  51. Resurrection (lesson); online review quiz
  52. Sacrifice (lesson); online review quiz
  53. Salvation (lesson); online review quiz
  54. Sanctification (lesson); online review quiz
  55. Satan (lesson); online review quiz
  56. Second death (lesson); online review quiz
  57. Separation (lesson); online review quiz
  58. Sin (lesson); online review quiz
  59. Son of man (lesson); online review quiz
  60. Times of the Gentiles (lesson); online review quiz
  61. Two Advents (lesson); online review quiz

Scofield Reference Notes (1917) index

Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalm, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation

Note: This ministry does not necessarily endorse or share all the views and opinions expressed in the materials, resources or links mentioned in these posts. Please always refer to the Articles of Faith and Biblical distinctives of Baptists when you study these materials.

Posted by Atty. Gerry T. Galacio at 11:38 AM 0 comments

Monday, August 23, 2010

Study guides and online quizzes in Christology (interim curriculum)

Click hereThe articles on Christology from “Jesus: A Biblical Defense of His Deity” by Josh McDowell and Bart Larson are part of the interim curriculum. We have prepared these study guides which you can use in two ways: (1) Read the study guide first so you can have an overview of the article; and (2) After reading the article, try answering the study guide questions to test your comprehension. Online, interactive quizzes with automatic scoring are also available.

Index of study guides

  1. Appendix
  2. Jesus Christ Is God
  3. Jesus Christ Possesses the Names and Titles of God
  4. Jesus Christ Possesses the Attributes of God
  5. Jesus Christ Possesses the Authority of God
  6. God Became Man in Jesus Christ
  7. We Have the Witness of the Early Church
  8. What Are Some Common Objections to the Deity of Christ?
  9. Is Jesus Christ Your Lord?
  10. How the Authors Discovered New Life in Jesus Christ

Appendix

How do the following religious systems view the deity of Christ?
  • Agnostic
  • Atheist
  • Bahai
  • Black Muslims
  • Buddhism
  • Children of God (Family Of Love)
  • Christian Science
  • Confucianism
  • Divine Light Mission
  • Eckankar
  • EST (Erhard Seminars Training)
  • Hare Krishna (ISKCON – International Society for Krishna Consciousness)
  • Hinduism
  • I-Ching
  • Islam
  • Jainism
  • Jehovah’s Witnesses
  • Judaism
  • Mormonism
  • New Age Movement
  • Radio Church of God
  • Reorganized Church of Later Day Saints
  • Scientology (Church of Scientology)
  • Shintoism
  • Sikhism
  • Spiritism
  • Theosophy
  • Transcendental Meditation (TM)
  • Unification Church
  • Unitarianism
  • Unity
  • The Way International
  • Zen Buddhism
  • Buddhism and Taoism
  • Zoroastrianism
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Jesus Christ Is God
  1. “To say that Jesus was ‘just’ a good moral man or a good teacher is out of the question.” Why?
  2. “The present authors believe God has revealed Himself in various ways, but each of them can be objectively tested by His two supreme revelations, the Bible and the person of Jesus.” How?
  3. What do 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Jude 3, Galatians 1:8, Revelation 22.19 and Deuteronomy 4:2 state about the Bible’s claims to be the final authority for determining matters of doctrine?
  4. What do Job 11:7, 42:2-6, Psalm 145:3, Isaiah 40:13, 55:8, 9 and Romans 8:33 state about the incomprehensibility of God?
  5. What do Hebrews 1: 1-3, John 14:8 and Colossians 1:15 say about God’s revelation of Himself in the person of Jesus?
  6. What are the issues if Christ was God in the form of a man?
  7. What do Isaiah 42:8, 48:8, Isaiah 45:5, 21-22, Jeremiah 10:6, 1 Corinthians 8:4-6, Deuteronomy 6:13-14 and Matthew 4:10 say about idolatry?
  8. What do the Scriptures teach about God?
  9. What does Robert Passantino say about the general and moral attributes of God?
  10. What do we mean (and do not mean) when we say that God is triune?
  11. How can we summarize biblical doctrine of the Trinity?
  12. “Jesus Christ is both a name and a title.” Explain.
  13. How do Philippians 2:5-11 describe Jesus’ dual nature as both God and man?
  14. “Why would God become a man?”

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Jesus Christ Possesses the Names and Titles of God

  1. What is the strongest argument for the deity of Christ? What effect did it have on the Jewish authorities?
  2. What name of God most revered by the Jews did Jesus claim for Himself?
  3. In what parts of the Bible did Jesus used the term “ego eimi” of Himself as it can be used only of God?
  4. Why did the Jews try to stone Jesus in John 8:57-59?
  5. How did Mark in his Gospel interpret Isaiah 40:3?
  6. How did Paul in Romans 10:13 interpret Joel 2:32? How did Peter use Joel 2:32 in Acts chapter 2 to claim deity for Christ?
  7. How do John 10.30-33 prove that even Christ’s enemies recognized He was claiming deity?
  8. What is meant by the “Granville Sharpe construction”?
  9. What does Dr. Ernest Cadman Colwell of the University of Chicago say about why the indefinite article '”a”' cannot be used before '”God” in John 1:1?
  10. What does F. F. Bruce, an expert in biblical languages, say about the construction of John 1:1?
  11. How can Jesus be “God” and “with God” at the same time?
  12. How does The Way International interpret Jesus’ being the “Word”? What are the problems with their interpretation?
  13. The “first 18 verses of John is repeated about Jesus elsewhere in the Gospel or in other New Testament passages”. What are these passages?
  14. “Jesus and God are both called the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, in Scripture.” What are these Scriptures?
  15. How is “Kurios” used in the Old and the New Testaments?
  16. What is one reason the early Christians and Jews were persecuted?
  17. What are several clear examples in the Scriptures where Jesus is called “Lord” in the sacred sense?
  18. What are the five New Testament examples where prayer is offered to Jesus in heaven as Lord (or the Son of God)?
  19. “Paul used the same language and imagery in calling Jesus Lord that Isaiah used in the Old Testament of Yahweh (Jehovah).” Explain.
  20. The Jews who heard Jesus’ statements about the Sabbath considered His words blasphemy. Why?
  21. “The God of the Old Testament stated unequivocally that He alone is the Savior….Yet Scripture explicitly states that Jesus is also savior.” What are these Scriptures?
  22. How did Paul in Titus 2:10, 13, 3:4, 6 claim that Jesus is God?
  23. How do I Timothy 6:14-16 argue for Christ’s divinity?
  24. How do the following titles prove the claims for Christ’s divinity?
  • Judge
  • Light
  • Rock
  • Redeemer
  • The Lord Our Righteousness
  • Husband
  • Shepherd
  • Creator
  • Giver of Life
  • Forgiver of sins
  • The Lord our Healer
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Jesus Christ Possesses the Attributes of God
  1. “Just as God is omnipresent in a personal sense (Psalm 139:7; Proverbs 15:3), and thus is able to help, deliver, love, defend and meet His people's deepest longings and needs, so the New Testament describes Christ also as omnipresent.” Explain.
  2. How do Matthew 18:20, 28:20, Romans 8:9, Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 3:17, Colossians 1:27, Revelation 3:20 and 2 Corinthians 13:5 prove that Christ is omnipresent?
  3. What do we mean when we say that God is omniscient?
  4. How do John 2:24-25, 6:64, 16:30 and 21:17 prove that Christ is omniscient?
  5. What do Dr. John Walvoord and Thomas Schultz say about the omniscience of Christ?
  6. What do the Hebrew words “El Shaddai” mean?
  7. What does Dr. John Walvoord say about the evidence for the omnipotence of Christ?
  8. “Many passages in Scripture support Jesus' existing prior to His birth, not as a mere idea in the foreknowledge of God, but in actuality.” What are these verses?
  9. What do Exodus 3.14, Habakkuk 3:6 and Deuteronomy 33:26-27 say about the eternalness of God?
  10. What proofs are there that Christ is also eternal?
  11. What is “immutability”? What do Malachi 3:6, James 1:17, Psalm 33:11 and Isaiah 46:9-10 say about the immutability of God?
  12. If Jesus went through “human developmental changes”, how can He be immutable?
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Jesus Christ Possesses the Authority of God
  1. What one word does the New Testament use primarily for worship?
  2. What Scriptures show that Christ received worship by men? By angels?
  3. What do John 2:19 and 10:18 say about Christ’s power and authority to resurrect Himself?
  4. “Not only did Jesus claim the names, titles, and attributes of God, receive worship, and claim the authority to resurrect Himself, but He also spoke things that only God could rightfully speak.” What were these things?
  5. What did C.S. Lewis say about the choices people can have in viewing who Christ is?
  6. Enumerate the Old and New Testament references of names, titles and attributes demonstrating that Jesus and Yahweh are one:
  • YHWH (I AM)
  • God
  • Alpha and Omega (First and Last)
  • Lord
  • Savior
  • King
  • Judge
  • Light
  • Rock
  • Redeemer
  • Our righteousness
  • Husband
  • Shepherd
  • Creator
  • Giver of Life
  • Forgiver of sin
  • Lord our Healer
  • Omnipresent
  • Omniscient
  • Omnipotent
  • Pre-existent
  • Eternal
  • Immutable
  • Receiver of worship
  • Speaker with Divine Authority
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God Became Man in Jesus Christ
  1. What does Colossians 2:9 say about Christ being God and man?
  2. Recite Philippians 2:5-8.
  3. What is assumed by the statement that Jesus gave up His equality with God? The Greek word for “equality” comes from what root word?
  4. What does the Philippians passage teach about Jesus existing in two forms?
  5. What does the word “grasped” imply?
  6. “Jesus’ submission does not deny His essential equality with the Father and the Holy Spirit.” Explain using John 5:17, 18 and the illustration bybiblical commentator Leon Morris.
  7. To the Jews, what was the implication Jesus called God His own Father?
  8. Scriptures like Exodus 33:20; John 1: 18; 1 Timothy 6:16; l John 4:12, etc. state that “no one has seen God”. How was God “seen” in Exodus 33:23, Genesis 32:28 compared with Hosea 12:3-4, Genesis 32:30, Exodus 24:9, 2 Judges 13:22 and Isaiah 6:1-3, 5?
  9. “The New Testament teaches that God has been seen in time and history in the person of Jesus Christ.” Explain.
  10. What does the Greek term for “exact reproduction” mean according to Thayer?
  11. According to C.S. Lewis, “Why is God landing in this enemy-occupied world in disguise and starting a sort of secret society to undermine the devil?”
  12. What do the Greek words “teknon” and “huios” mean?
  13. The word “Son” was used of Jesus in what four ways?
  14. How was the term “Son of Man” used in the Old Testament? What about in the New Testament?
  15. “Christ used the title ‘Son of Man’ to reveal a divine figure.” Explain.
  16. “Christ used the title ‘Son of Man’ to reveal a human figure.” What were the three ways this title was used of Christ?
  17. What is the significance of Christ identifying Himself as the “Son of man” referred to in Daniel 7:13-14?
  18. According to Gleason Archer, why would the Messiah of necessity have two natures, human and divine?
  19. “That Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity, is essential to the doctrine of the incarnation.” Explain.
  20. According to Boettner, what ideas do the terms “Father” and “Son” carry?
  21. According to Griffith Thomas, why is the term “Son of God” a title to deity?
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We Have the Witness of the Early Church
  1. What did the following church fathers say about the deity of Christ?
  • Polycarp
  • Ignatius
  • Irenaeus
  • Justin Martyr
  • Clement
  1. Could these documents by these church fathers have been forged?
  2. Could Scriptures have been tampered with?
  3. Why did Arius’ denial of the deity of Christ become a major theological issue within the church?
  4. What was the Council of Nicea?
  5. How did Arianism influence the church?
  6. What did Mark Noll write about the Nicene Creed?
  7. Explain the following declarations of the Nicene Creed:
  1. What was the Council of Chalcedon?
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What Are Some Common Objections to the Deity of Christ?

How do you answer the following questions or objections to the deity of Christ?
  • The Father is Greater than I
  • God the Father Is the “Head” of Christ
  • Jesus Was Subject to the Father
  • Jesus Was “Begotten”
  • Jesus Was a Man
  • Jesus Was Called the First-Born of Creation
  • Jesus and God Were “One in Agreement”
  • Jesus Had Limited Knowledge
  • “No One Except God Is Good”
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Is Jesus Christ Your Lord?

“Many people through the centuries have experienced a similar struggle when confronted with Jesus’ question, ‘Who do you say that I am?’ We are faced with a trilemma.” Explain what this trilemma is all about using the diagram below.

For further explanation of the trilemma diagram, please read the books “Evidence That Demands A Verdict” (chapter 7) and “More Than a Carpenter” (chapter 2) by Josh McDowell.

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Posted by Atty. Gerry T. Galacio at 10:34 AM 0 comments
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