Our Christian Identity Class Session 2 © John Stevenson, 2008

Our Christian IdentityOur Christian Identity

Class Session 2

© John Stevenson, 2008

ReviewReview• We all have a world view; a way of looking

at the world around us.

• Christ’s Kingdom takes an upside-down approach both from:– The world– Common religious thinking

• We are called to be in the world, though not of the world (John 17:14-16). At the same time, we can engage our culture.

Turn in Turn in Homework Homework from Last from Last

WeekWeek

Session ObjectivesSession Objectives

• To examine your own personal worldview

• To consider the components and implications of a biblical worldview

• To understand the biblical meaning of culture

Your Personal World ViewYour Personal World View

• Upbringing

• Education

• Church

• Events

• Books

• Experiences

is influenced by a number of factors…is influenced by a number of factors…

What have been the most significant in shaping your own world view?

Homework QuestionsHomework Questions

Homework Questions: Homework Questions:

The BibleThe Bible

• If the Bible includes both testaments, why do we have editions of the Bible with just the New Testament?

• Are we guilty of being Marcionites? • If all of scripture is inspired and if the

purpose of all of it is “to show forth Christ,” why do some Bibles print the quotations of Jesus in red letters?


The Question of PainThe Question of Pain

How would you respond to this question: Did God create AIDS?


Genesis 3 Genesis 3 ─ ─ The FallThe Fall

• Are there signs of God’s grace even in the account of the Fall?

• Why does evil often look good to us, even exciting?

• Why do we find the story of a bank robbery more interesting than the story of a bank deposit?


The CrossThe Cross

How is your view of life affected by your understanding of the incarnation, the cross, and the resurrection?


The ChurchThe Church

What are the responsibilities of the church ? • To worship and to create

worshipers that are satisfied in God

• A relationship of love for others

• Equip & nurture believers for good works in the world


Eschatological ViewsEschatological Views

Views of the Millennium and the future

Church Age

“Rapture”

Tribulation Millennium EternalState

SecondComing

Judgment




Church Age Tribulation Millennium EternalState

SecondComing

Judgment

(“Rapture”)




Church Age

(Millennium)

EternalState

SecondComing

Judgment“Rapture”

(Tribulation)




Church Age Millennium EternalState

“Rapture”Judgment

SecondComing




ShortMillennium

“Rapture”Judgment

SecondComing

Church Church(Eternal State)70

A.D.

A Christian World ViewA Christian World View

Four Basic QuestionsFour Basic Questions

• What is real?– What is the nature of

ultimate reality?– Is this universe all

there is?– Is this physical

universe an illusion?– Who or what is God?

Timothy Phillips&

Sennis Okholm

Page 27

Genesis 1:1

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.


• What is real?

• Who am I?– What does it mean to

be human?– What is the purpose of

human existence?– What are we doing

here?Timothy Phillips&

Sennis Okholm

Page 27

Genesis 1:26-27

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.


• What is real?

• Who am I?

• What is wrong?– What is the origin of

suffering and evil?– Why do we die?– What keeps humans

from utopia?Timothy Phillips&

Sennis Okholm

Page 27

What is Wrong?What is Wrong?

• The very idea that something is wrong is a Christian ideal.

• This world is not the way it is supposed to be.

• Sin entered the world and death by sin (Romans 5:12)


• What is real?

• Who am I?

• What is wrong?

• What is the solution?– How does one remedy

this problem?– How does one attain

“salvation”?Timothy Phillips&

Sennis Okholm

Page 27


• What is real?

• Who am I?

• What is wrong?

• What is the solution?– How does one remedy

this problem?– How does one attain

“salvation”?

What would be your reply to an

unchurched friend asking

you, “What is the Bible all about?”

Major Themes in the BibleMajor Themes in the Bible

• Creation

• Fall

• Redemption

Major Themes in the BibleMajor Themes in the Bible

How do these categories

help to organize the “stuff” of the

Bible?

Small Group Exercise

• Divide into two groups

• You will be given a number of verses, each dealing with a particular theme

• Look them up and try to come up with two observations or conclusions from each passage

• You will be sharing these with the rest of the class

FallGen.1:1, 31;

Ps. 19:1a; 33:6, 9;

John 1:1-3; Col 1:15-17; Heb. 11:3a; Ps. 95:3-7

Creation RedemptionGen. 3:8-12; I John 5:19; Rom 6:23; 7:15; 8:20; Amos 5:11; Isa. 64:6;

Eph. 2:1-3; Ps. 14:1-3

Gen.3:15; 17:7;

Isa.35:6-7; Jer.31:33-34; Luke 4:16-21;

Col. 2:15; Rom 5:12-21;

8:21-25

Genesis 1:1Genesis 1:1In the beginning God created

the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:31Genesis 1:31God saw all that He had

made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Psalm 19:1Psalm 19:1The heavens are telling of the glory of God;

And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

Psalm 33:6, 9Psalm 33:6, 9By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,

And by the breath of His mouth all their host.

For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.

John 3:1-3John 3:1-3In the beginning was the

Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

Colossians 1:15-17Colossians 1:15-17He is the image of the invisible

God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Colossians 1:15-17Colossians 1:15-17He is the image of the invisible

God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Hebrews 11:3Hebrews 11:3By faith we understand that

the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

Psalm 95:3-7Psalm 95:3-7For the LORD is a great God And a great King above all gods, 4 In whose hand are the depths of the earth, The peaks of the mountains are His also. 5 The sea is His, for it was He who made it, And His hands formed the dry land. 6 Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. 7 For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.

FallGen.1:1, 31;

Ps. 19:1a; 33:6, 9;

John 1:1-3; Col 1:15-17; Heb. 11:3a; Ps. 95:3-7


Eph. 2:1-3; Ps. 14:1-3

Gen.3:15; 17:7;

Isa.35:6-7; Jer.31:33-34; Luke 4:16-21;

Col. 2:15; Rom 5:18-19;

8:22-23

Genesis 3:8-12Genesis 3:8-12They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" 10 He said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself."

Genesis 3:8-12Genesis 3:8-1211 And He said, "Who told you

that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" 12 The man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate."

1 John 5:191 John 5:19We know that we are of God,

and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

Romans 6:23Romans 6:23For the wages of sin is death,

but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 7:15Romans 7:15For what I am doing, I do not

understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.

Romans 8:20Romans 8:20For the creation was subjected

to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it…

Amos 5:11Amos 5:11Therefore because you impose

heavy rent on the poor And exact a tribute of grain from them, Though you have built houses of well-hewn stone, Yet you will not live in them; You have planted pleasant vineyards, yet you will not drink their wine.

Isaiah 64:6Isaiah 64:6For all of us have become like one who is unclean,

And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;

And all of us wither like a leaf,

And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

Ephesians 2:1-3Ephesians 2:1-3And you were dead in your

trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

Ephesians 2:1-3Ephesians 2:1-33 Among them we too all

formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

Psalm 14:1-3Psalm 14:1-3The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good. 2 The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there are any who understand, Who seek after God. 3 They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one.

FallGen.1:1, 31;

Ps. 19:1a; 33:6, 9;

John 1:1-3; Col 1:15-17; Heb. 11:3a; Ps. 95:3-7


Eph. 2:1-3; Ps. 14:1-3

Gen.3:15; 17:7;

Isa.35:6-7; Jer.31:33-34; Luke 4:16-21;

Col. 2:15; Rom 5:18-19;

8:22-23

Genesis 3:15 Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity

Between you and the woman,

And between your seed and her seed;

He shall bruise you on the head,

And you shall bruise him on the heel."

Genesis 17:7Genesis 17:7“I will establish My covenant

between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.”

Isaiah 35:6-7 Isaiah 35:6-7 Then the lame will leap like a

deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness And streams in the Arabah. 7 The scorched land will become a pool And the thirsty ground springs of water; In the haunt of jackals, its resting place, Grass becomes reeds and rushes.

Jeremiah 31:33-34Jeremiah 31:33-34“But this is the covenant which I will

make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Luke 4:16-21 Luke 4:16-21 And He came to Nazareth,

where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.

Luke 4:16-21 Luke 4:16-21 17 And the book of the prophet Isaiah

was handed to Him. And He opened the book, and found the place where it was written, 18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are downtrodden, 19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord."

Luke 4:16-21 Luke 4:16-21 20 And He closed the book, and

gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon Him.

21 And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

Colossians 2:15 Colossians 2:15 When He had disarmed the

rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.

Romans 5:18-19Romans 5:18-19So then as through one

transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. 19 For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.

Romans 8:22-23 Romans 8:22-23 For we know that the whole

creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.

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Our Christian Identity Class Session 2 © John Stevenson, 2008