Bible Study

Worse off than Frogs

2007-12-18T15:39:00.000-05:00

Have you ever heard it said "God didn't die for frogs (or dogs or cats or whatever). So he was responding to our value as humans."?

Here is John Piper's take on that statement:

"This turns grace on its head. We are worse off than frogs. They have not sinned. They have not rebelled and treated God with the contempt of being inconsequential in our lives. God did not have to die for frogs. They aren't bad enough. We are. Our debt is so great only divine sacrifice can pay it."

Lord, forgive my pride.

God's love for us has nothing to do with our worth, but everything to do with his infinite worth. We were given the intelligence, unlike frogs, to choose good or evil in the garden, and we chose evil and are therefore condemned. Because of God's love, we have a savior, through whom, if we repent and believe, we can enjoy a blissful eternity with him instead of the eternal torment we deserve outside of his grace.

So I guess I'm better off than the frogs after all! Woohoo!

Craigs's Top 10 Lies of the Devil

2007-07-12T01:59:00.000-05:00

I just returned from the 2007 CMC Youth Retreat. It rained every day, but still was a blast. The highlight for me and for many was Craig's talk on Tuesday night about Satan and his wiles... how he wants to kill us, just like he wanted to kill the pigs that the group of demons named "Legion" went into. And how he doesn't go around in some kind of red suit... he is far more subtle than that. Here is his top 10 list of Satan's lies that he tells us through media, other people, our own selfish desires, etc:

Top 10 lies the devil tells us today: (Craig Combs, Youth Retreat 2007)
10. The devil does not exist. He wants us to believe he is a figment of the imagination.
9. Good and evil are 2 sides of the same coin - (that Star Wars is right about good and evil!) World tells us we can balance good with evil, like standing on a tight rope with a long pole, you can balance, its ok if we are a little bad, as long as we are mostly good.
RESULT: YOU BELIEVE THE LIE THAT YOU DON’T NEED SAVING.
8. All religions are the same - they all basically say be good and you’ll be alright.’
RESULT: YOU BELIEVE IF ALL TRUTH IS ONE TRUTH, THERE IS NO LIE.
7. How you look is more important than who you are.
RESULT: YOU NEVER EXAMINE YOUR HEART - THE DEVIL WANTS YOU TO CHOOSE WHAT “GOOD” LOOKS LIKE.
6. The one who dies with the most/best toys wins.
RESULT: WE LIVE FOR THINGS.
5. Good intentions are good enough.
RESULT: THINKING THAT GOD GRADES ON A CURVE.
4. You deserve everything you desire. The culture perpetuates this lie with commercials/Christmas/birthdays
RESULT: YOU ARE NEVER SATISFIED AND NEVER THANKFUL.
3. If it feels good, it IS good. (Ecl. 2) - often comes from music, ex. “its Fergilicious”
2. You have all the time in the world.
RESULT: YOU BELIEVE THE LIE THAT YOU SHOULD LIVE FOR TODAY, YOU CAN WORRY ABOUT GOD STUFF LATER
1. THERES NO SIN, THERES NO GOD, THERES NO DEATH, THERES NO DEVIL.
ALL THESE LIES SAY THE SAME THING: THAT GOD IS LIEING.
PSALM 1 - SUMS UP THE OLD TESTIMENT, THE WISE MAN LISTENS TO GOD AND WILL STAND IN JUDGEMENT, THE WICKED WILL NOT REMAIN STANDING WHEN JUDGED.

Mormons!

2007-06-29T21:12:00.000-05:00

Along with being a new homeowner comes the privilege of being visited by Mormons. Actually, it took them a while, and I still haven't seen any Jehovah's witnesses. It could be because of my strange schedule... maybe they've just missed me.

Anyhoo, they came around today and I didn't have much time but talked to them for a few minutes. I was torn between deciding whether it was profitable or a waste to spend time talking with them, but I was curious so I did.

I think they have some kind of schpeil they normally go into, but I just started in with some questions. I asked what it is about this Joseph Smith guy that makes him seem so special. They said he lived in Vermont at a time when the world was spiritually dark and couldn't find any church with true doctrine, or at least could not determine which was true and which wasn't. So he prayed to God, and God appeared as a pillar of light and explained it all to him, and he wrote it down into what we know as the Book of Mormon.

I said I believe the Bible, and they said "oh, we do too!".

I was like "oh, ok, great! So you believe then that Jesus Christ is the only way to God"

"Yep!"

"And that those who don't believe go to hell when they die, and those who do go to heaven"

"Oh, well, no we believe that there is a second chance".

"Oh! Well, that's not what the Bible says. This is exactly what I've heard about you guys... you try to say you are Christians too, and that you believe the Bible, and then it turns out that you don't."

They didn't seem very disturbed by this statement. They neither refuted nor confirmed it and that is pretty much where we left it for now. So I guess I have a bit of a homework assignment now... to find out why I believe that after we die, it is too late for any chance of salvation. The obvious one is the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, in Luke 16:19-31. Brad reminded me that Revelation is pretty full too. I'll check that out next. Any other ideas, anyone?

Audio Biblegateway!!!

2007-03-08T07:56:00.000-05:00

Everyone knows you can read the Bible on Biblegateway, but did you know you can listen too? Neither did I, until I accidentally clicked my way there the other week. I started listening to the book of Acts and ended up listening to the whole thing over the course of about a week. I had a bit of a lull in my reading lately and this was just the thing to get me going. With work, school, house, and other stuff going on, every time I sit down to read I feel like little fires are springing up all over the place. My computer is near the kitchen so I cranked it up and listened while cleaning house, doing dishes, preparing meals, etc and sometimes cranked out a couple chapters while having lunch. I could have gotten through the whole book in a couple days I think this way, but I listened to some chapters two or three times to make sure I got it because sometimes I'd forget to listen if I was doing something else. But it was pretty exciting to get through a significant portion of scripture in such a short time... its been a while. Not that it was that much, but it was just incredible how quickly a chapter flew that way. I highly recommend adding it to your routine! Here's the link:

Free Audio Bible!

The excitement of it has gotten my reading back in the groove again too. I should have bought the bible on CD/tape/mp3/whatever a long time ago. Think I will soon.

Tips on Quiet Time

2006-11-20T13:39:00.000-05:00

We had a seminar with the Hanudels recently that I found very helpful. My notes are brief, but here they are:

meet with God as a friend

keep it fresh -- mix it up with different stuff, locations, etc to keep it interesting

I'm not too busy to spend time with God. I'm too busy not to spend time with God.

keep in mind we tend to make time for what we prefer.

ask myself, what do I tend to do with my idle time

pray big... really big (and small too). The "impossible".

don't doubt God's goodness

Romans 8:28

sometimes write prayers down... helps with focus

have an occasional "blitzkreig"... long reading session.

memorize Colossians 3

Set some goals, low at first, and talk to one person about that goal

We went over some categories for quiet time:

Hear: Romans 10:14

Read: Revelation 1:3

Study: Acts 17:11

Memorize: Psalm 119:9-11

Meditate: Psalm 1:1-3 and Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (prayerful reflection with a view to application).

And some recommended books (some of these are not necessarily the right titles... will need some googling to get them right):

Passion -- Elliot

Knowing God -- Packer

Bondage of the Will -- Luther

Lorraine Boettner -- Reformation

The Religious Affections -- Edwards

Faith Alone -- Sproul (easy read)

Biblical Christianity

Pink -- Sovereignty of God

Jim Downing -- Meditation

Eric Liddle -- The Dash (movie)

Psalm 61

2006-10-02T00:41:00.000-05:00

I was inspired by friends to memorize this psalm. Other than the fact that it was short, it was chosen randomly and at a glance would seem a rather random passage to memorize. It took a ridiculous amount of time to memorize it, but I finally have gotten to the point where I can type it and say it somewhat fluently. Let's see how I can do here (I memorized it in NIV):

Hear my cry, O God,
Listen to my prayer.

From the ends of the earth I call to you;
I call as my heart grows faint.
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

For you have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the foe.

I long to dwell in your tent forever,
and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. Selah.

For you have heard my vows, O God,
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

Increase the days of the king's life,
his years for many generations.

May he be enthroned in God's presence forever;
appoint your love and faithfulness to protect him.

Then I will ever sing praise to your name,
and fulfill my vows day after day.

Other than some punctuation, looks like I got it. At first I was a bit weirded out by verse 5 about increasing the king's life. This is a psalm of David, and if David is the king and he is asking for a long life in return for singing praise to God's name, that seemed a little bold, not that I don't feel that way too sometimes. But I talked with a friend about it and he suggested that "days" may really be more of an illustration of abundance, where life is synonymous with salvation (which would be in synch with the rest of scripture) and he is asking for salvation in abundance. Putting it that way, it seems quite beautiful and of course it is not hard to imagine the Christ picture there... king, enthroned, etc. Pretty cool. I highly recommend this memorization thing. If I had just read this psalm a couple times through, I probably would have glossed over all that. When you memorize it, each word makes you stop and think. Pretty cool. Next up: Ephesians 6:10-18.

A couple recent tidbits

2006-06-14T11:20:00.000-05:00

George, Doug, Paul, and I were reading Proverbs 9 one morning recently, and George asked a good question. I actually don't remember exactly what the question was, but it had to do with verses 7, 8, and 9. It appears that we are being commanded to not rebuke unwise people, yet it seems from other scripture they ought to be rebuked. So what is going on? Well, there are probably a lot of things going on, but Paul had a good answer. Perhaps the emphasis is more on the importance of wisdom than on who we should instruct or rebuke.

In looking further at it, I think he's right. Although the mocker is the object of the sentence instead of the subject, I think he's the main idea. We should be the wise man and seek wisdom, and should not be the mocker who rejects wisdom. I don't know if I'm smart enough (ok, I know that I'm not) to make a formula for when to apply this principle, but at least now I can keep in mind that grammatical subject is not necessarily the actual subject. Kinda neat. George and I have been reading Psalms and Proverbs together lately, so maybe we'll see more of the results of that here.

The other night Dan and I read Philippians 3 and 4. The reason we went there is because we had been talking about the Philippians 4:13, which says "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength". To me this used to actually be kind of a discouraging verse, because I knew I could not do all things, so I had doubts as to whether I actually had His strength in me. Looking at the context of it, though, is helpful. Paul is talking about how he has gotten through all sorts of different circumstances because of his faith and Christ's strength. So, not to worry if we cannot lift 2000 pound boulders, or become the president of the United States, be a straight-A student, or whatever. This verse isn't really talking about that. It shows that we have the power, from God, to be content in any circumstances. And that's pretty cool.

Speaking the Truth in Love

2006-05-01T00:28:00.000-05:00

Oddly enough, many of my one-on-one impromptu Bible studies are now occuring at about 4AM. One recent one with Brad was a lot of fun. It was so impromtu that we didn't even have Bibles with us but we were able to interact on what we could remember. We were discussing "speaking the truth in love" in Ephesians 4:15. Brad mentioned that in American culture the word "truth" has become such a negative word. When someone says "ya gotta speak some truth to that boy"... it usually means a reprimand, or perhaps a wake up call, as in "hard truth". Also, the idea that there is any universal "truth" is widely considered closed-minded. So its not surprising that when we read the phrase in the Bible "speaking the truth in love" we often think of rebuke.

So we tried to think of some possible positive ways to take the verse, just out of curiosity. This made me think of Hebrews 10:24-25 "and let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another -- and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

Putting this into its slightly broader context, verse 23 has the word "hope" and verse 26 has the word "truth", which appear to be nearly synonymous in this passage. Hmm...
Wait a minute....
truth...
What does the Bible usually mean when it says "truth"...
What is THE truth of the whole Bible...
THE GOSPEL!!! Ding ding ding!!!

Speaking the truth in love...
Speaking the gospel in love...
AHA!

Looking back in Ephesians it seems so obvious now. The verse just before it is about "every wind of teaching" and "deceitful scheming". The antidote? The gospel of course. Duh! We are to be speaking the gospel to each other to avoid being blown here and there by every wind of teaching. And this includes rebuke sometimes, but it seems to me now that rebuke is not the main thrust of the passage.

NEAT!!!

Adoration

2006-04-10T23:04:00.000-05:00

April 18, 2006 update: A reader emailed in Psalm 34 which I added to the list below and also used for my quiet time today. The Psalms, of course, should be pretty rich in the adoration area:

I went with the College and Career Group at my church to the spring retreat of the Baptist Conference of New England this weekend, and had a great time. One of the highlights was about 10 of us hanging around the campfire even though it was too windy for the fire to be of very much help in staying warm. We just sort of got real close and did the rotisserie thing. One person there was very intentional about keeping the conversation on track which was a great example. So often I steer toward small talk because its more comfortable.

One of the things that came up was the question of how do we praise God on a daily basis. We had some trouble coming up with good answers. It made me think of our last C&CG meeting where we spent the whole time in prayer, in the following order: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. We did the confession individually (silently) but the rest in small or large groups. The thing that I noticed was that we struggled the most with adoration. I think its something we tend to not practice much in our prayers. When we were in this category people were mostly doing thanksgiving more than adoration. There isn't necessarily anything wrong with mixing categories of course, it happens in prayers in the Bible all the time. But just the same it seems we're just not used to saying words of adoration to God.

So for a few days I'm going to be spending my time in the Word looking for examples of adoration. Please leave a comment if you know of any, or with any thoughts on the original question of how do we praise God on a daily basis. Here's what I have so far from my time today, which concentrated on the New Testament:

Psalm 34 The first of probably many Psalms that will be added to this list. I suppose I could just say "the Psalms" but I'll stick with ones that I actually have read. This one was submitted by a reader as a personal favorite so I checked it out. I especially like: "I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame."

Ephesians 1:3-14. Our blessings through the Father, then through the Son, then through the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 3:14-21. A prayer of supplication that is saturated with adoration. 20 and 21 are pure adoration.

Revelation 1:4-8

Revelation 4:8-11

Revelation 5:9-14

Ezekiel

2006-03-25T17:05:00.000-05:00

I've been meaning to read Ezekiel for a couple of weeks now and finally got started today. I'm still way at the beginning, so I'm not too sure of anything yet, but what really grabbed my attention is that the Holy Spirit is mentioned in just about every paragraph. I didn't really realize that the Spirit shows up so much in the Old Testament. Neat.

One less paradox after all?

2006-01-31T04:33:00.000-05:00

I believe in the doctrine of "election", and so does my church. In short, its the belief that God decided before the beginning of time who he would save. A core aspect of this belief is the fact that man is sinful and blind and a blind person cannot do anything to become sighted. He can choose and desire to see, but he will still be blind. Or another way scripture often illustrates it is that we are spiritually dead, and a dead person is helpless to do anything to become alive.

People who hold this view often say they feel a tension between the Biblical idea of man being responsible, and the other Biblical idea of God's sovereignty, often likening it to other things we can't understand but must just accept, like the trinity and God's omnieverything. I'm increasingly puzzled at what the problem is.

The trinity is clearly a mathematical paradox. It says that 1+1+1=1. We can't understand this. We just have to either accept it, or reject the Bible.

The fact that God has no beginning makes no sense mathematically either. Everything must have a beginning, right? You can't have infinity of something. But somehow God always was. It makes no sense to us, and we must just accept it.

The doctrine of election says that I am fully responsible for my sin, and God is fully responsible for my salvation. What is the mathematical problem here? Or is the problem not mathematical? It seems to make perfect sense to me. Difficult to swallow perhaps, hard to believe, but not hard to understand. Am I oversimplifying?

Any thoughts?

Job as a Foreshadow of Christ

2006-01-26T22:09:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday I visited my old church, which was planted by my current church, and heard a good sermon on the sovereignty of God. It turned out to be nearly a sermon about Job. Job lost everything in spite of being blameless before God. He remained blameless in spite of his harrassing "friends". Check out this excerpt from Job 42:

After the LORD had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has." So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the LORD told them; and the LORD accepted Job's prayer.

After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before. All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the LORD had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.[NIV]

Wow. Intercession. Burnt offerings. Righteous saving the unrighteous. Death/resurrection (ie Job lost everything, gained it all back, and then some). This has Jesus written all over it. Cool stuff.

Here's the rest of Job 42.
Here's that sermon.

Psalm 139

2006-01-24T12:24:00.000-05:00

I'm going to revive this section of my site by taking a slightly different turn. For a short time I was doing my weekly homegroup Bible Studies on here, on the theory that it is no harder to do them here than with paper and pencil, but for a variety of reasons I decided to go back to paper and pencil after all. Now I would like to just mention things I've learned from Bible studies I attend, sermons I've listened to, or from my own time in God's Word.

For our College/Career Group Bible study this past Saturday night, we studied Psalm 139, especially as it pertains to God's will. I had first read it in the NASB, which is a more literal translation, kind of like the King James but in modern English, and verse 12 said "darkness and light are alike to you". This confused me a little, but as we studied it it became clear that it just means we can't hide from God, he can see in darkness just as well as in light. The NIV, which is what I have linked to here, gets a little interpretive as it often does and says, quite accurately I think, "...for darkness is as light to you". John 3:19-21 tells us a bit about how we try to hide from God. This psalm reminds us how futile this is. It makes me think of a kid covering his eyes thinking that by doing that no one can see him. When we sin and try to hide from God, we're sort of doing the same thing.

A Contrast of Covenants

2005-04-26T18:00:00.000-05:00

Genesis 16:1 to 18:15

This study, along with the whole Genesis series in general, has gradually given me a whole new way of seeing the Bible and the relationship between the testaments. I grew up basically being told that the New Testament is what's really relevant for us, while the Old Testament just gives some background as to what life was like BC and maybe some guidelines for how to live (Daniel) or how not to live (pick your favorite). Later, I found out that the OT is all about Christ, just like the NT. This was maybe 16 years ago now. I still concentrated my efforts on learning the NT, while only occasionally glancing at the old. Now that we're concentrating in the OT for two years in church, while using the NT as an "answer key", things are making so much more sense. Think of it this way: A math textbook. How much space is devoted to the answer key? And how much time do you spend reading it? It is essential to have and to use, but alone it makes no sense at all. The proportions in the Bible are a little different (the NT is more substantial than a textbook answer key) but the same principle applies. The NT is the answer key to the OT. If anything, I think it makes more sense to spend more time reading the old, while "looking up the answers in the back" to understand what its saying. After all, about half the NT even claims to be explaining the OT, quotes and all. Bottom line... its all (every book) about Christ, and his solution for our problem, sin.

From the Pastor: Based on Galatians 4:21-31, this section of Genesis lays the foundation for the entire Old Covenant/New Covenant dichotomy. Chapter 16 lays the groundwork for the Old Covenant, a covenant based on man’s ability (the flesh) to keep God’s holy Law and embodied in the bond woman, Hagar, and her son, Ishmael. This Old Covenant will reach its climax in the Mosaic Covenant, introduced in chapter 16, is juxtaposed against the New Covenant, clarified in 17:1-18:15. This New Covenant is based on God’s promise through Christ by faith alone, and is embodied in the free woman, Sarah, and her son, Isaac. It is the comparison of these two covenants which fills so many of the pages of the New Testament, including most of Galatians, most of Hebrews, and significant sections of Romans. For the Old Covenant leads only to bondage, but the New Covenant, confirmed by Christ’s death, leads to freedom.

1. Read Genesis 16:1-16.
a) Although tempting, what might be some reasons why one should refrain from moralizing about things like Abram’s polygamy with Hagar and Sarai’s harsh treatment of Hagar? Having a surrogate was not unusual in the day, and there was a legal system for it. Sarai would be the legal mother of Hagar's child. Sarai's harsh treatment of Hagar may have been the result of Hagar, and maybe Abram too, trying to supercede Sarai, which would be very much against God's promise. We don't know what the harsh treatment was, maybe just a demotion, since Hagar was very highly esteemed, being way above the other slaves in status. Most of all, although Sarai probably was wrong in doing this and showed a weakness in faith, the most important reason for us not to get too bogged down in the morals of what she did is that it distracts us from the real point of the passage.

b) On the other hand, what in 16:1-2 reveals some deficiencies in both Abram and Sarai’s faith? They seemed to feel that they had to sort of "help" God with carrying out the promise.

c) Read Galatians 4:21-25. How does this help you to interpret God’s plan in introducing Hagar and Ishmael into redemptive history? Ishmael represents the slavery of sin, and the "present" Jerusalem, the old covanant. (new Jerusalem = new covanant) . (BTW Muslims believe, and their scriptures teach, that it was Ishmael on the altar, not Isaac).

d) How does Galatians 4:1-6 and Hebrews 6:1-2 help us to understand the slavery of the Old Covenant? An heir is no different from a slave until the appointed time that he takes the inheritance. (Is this a picture of the grafting in of Gentiles?)

2. Read Genesis 17:1-14.
a) How does God respond in 17:1-8 to Abram’s little slip in chapter 16? God explains his covanant in detail. Despite Abraham's slip, God is sticking with the plan.

b) What aspects of the covenant in 17:1-8 stand out to you? Again, how should Galatians 3:16 govern our interpretation (indeed translation) of the word “descendants” (NASB) in 17:7-8? A case of the NT "answer key" being critical. "Descendents" is clearly an incorrect translation. "Seed", meaning "Christ", would be correct.

c) What do you observe about the rite of circumcision as the sign of the covenant in 17:9-14? It's applied to everyone who becomes part of Abraham's family (hmm.. sounds a lot like "grafting")

d) How do the following NT passages help you to see the fulfillment of circumcision in redemptive history?
i) Romans 2:25-29  Circumcisn is really just a foreshadowing -- real circumcision is on the heart.
ii) Galatians 5:1-6  Physical circumcision must not be considered a way to earn salvation.
iii) Philippians 3:2-9  The flesh is not what's important.

e) How does Romans 4:9-12 vs. 4:13-17 show that the timing of Abraham’s circumcision (after Gen. 15:6) is ultimately a contrast of the Old and New Covenants? He was saved by faith both before and after, just like both covanants (saved by faith in both covanants). It does seem strange, though to associate circumcision with the new covanant. (??) Oh, also he is able to be father to both the circumcised and uncircumcised.

3. Read Genesis 17:15-18:15.
a) It’s time for the gift of laughter. What doctrine are Abraham and Sarah still having trouble believing? Resurrection (since Sarai's womb was "resurrected"). Even miracles in general.

b) What promise does God make to both Abraham and Sarah? And how does the NT interpret their final responses to this promise?
i) Abraham from Romans 4:18-22  Abraham finally did truly believe that Sarah would have a son.
ii) Sarah from Hebrews 11:11-12  I'm not sure I see the connection here (??)

c) How does Galatians 4:26-31 reveal the difference between this covenant through Sarah and the one through Hagar? How does Romans 4:16-22 and 9:6-9 reinforce this difference between the covenants?

4. What marks the essential difference in someone under the New Covenant rather than the Old? (Hint: Reread Galatians 5:1-6 and contrast 5:19-21 with 5:22-24.) What covenant association does your life suggest? Free/Slave

Genesis 15: A Covenant Clarified, A Covenant Confirmed

2005-03-29T22:00:00.000-05:00

With the beginning of chapter 15 of Genesis, the covenant shifts into clarification gear. The promise of seed is explicitly linked to Abram’s offspring in chapter 15 and to Sarah’s offspring in chapter 17. Hence, a resurrection motif is set up, since Romans 4 is clear that both of their bodies were “dead”, as far as child-bearing was concerned. And God’s glorious condescension in the gospel is on display in the last half of chapter 15 as He confirms the covenant to Abram. It’s a marvelous covenant, promising both greatness in numbers and real estate, though not without hardship. And the most encouraging thing of all is that this covenant is confirmed to all who attach themselves to Abram’s Seed by faith alone. For that Seed has ultimately confirmed it.

1. Read Genesis 15:1-6.
a) What evidences are there that Abram thought he was too old to father children? (15:1-3)
Vs2&3: Abram's heir is Eliezer; Abram is childless and seems to assume he always will be at this point. (Why Eliezer and not Lot? We dont' really know but Lot must have somehow come off the list. Maybe more of a peer at this point, not to mention far away.

b) How does God show both His power and His generosity in His response to Abram? (15:4-5)
God tells Abram that his descendants... from his own body... will be as numberous as the stars, reminding Abram also that God made the stars and certainly has the power to give Abram a son.

c) How does Abram respond according to 15:6?
He believes, apparently with a saving faith (credited to him as righteousness).

d) Read Romans 4:1-25. What critical observations can you make regarding justification by faith?
i) From verses 1-8, note the nature of justification
It is from faith, not works. Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. If you "work", a wage is owed you; if you "believe" you are considered righteous (verse 8: "...sin the Lord will not take into account"). Why then can't we "work" and be "owed" salvation? I guess it must be that our work is not good enough for salvation, which makes sense since since salvation requires perfection, and our work is far from perfect. Christ is perfect, and this is where our salvation comes from (verse 7: "sins have been covered". Covered by whom? Christ) . In verse 8, it is interesting that now it seems like he's not believing, thought just before this his "faith is credited to him as righteousness". Also, this time it is about the land, not the promise of a son. But it also shows that faith is a process. After all, having Ishmael was the product of another moment of doubt, but when push came to shove, Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac.

ii) From verses 9-12, note the timing of justification
It was before the circumcision -- that is, not by works

iii) From verses 13-25, note the basis of justification
Not through the law (Q: What law was there in Abram's day?), but thru the righteousness that comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and be guaranteed. The law brings wrath, but without the law is no transgression. It is made possible by Christ's death and resurrection.

2. Read Hebrews 9:11-28.
a) How does death, in general, inaugurate one’s personal covenant, called our last will and testament?
Death puts the will into effect.

b) What connections does the writer of the Hebrews make between our wills and Christ’s “will”, if you will? (note especially verses 15-22)
Christ's death was necessary for the new covanent to go into effect. (Death was also required in the first covenant).

c) Why was it crucial for Christ to rise from the dead in relation to His “will”, according to Heb. 9:23-28?

3. Read Genesis 15:7-17.
a) How does the Hebrews passage help you to interpret the imagery in Genesis 15:7-17?

b) Although there is debate, the particulars can be plausibly identified as follows:
i) Slain “Clean” Animals ==> Israel, and ultimately Christ, confirming the covenant in His death;
ii) Birds of Prey ==> Egypt, and ultimately Satan, crushing the Seed’s heel;
iii) Firepot ==> God’s presence, ultimately embodied in Christ, who passes through the covenant-confirming death.

c) How does this imagery encourage you to trust in Christ for your well-being?
Its a reminder that He is in control. It also validates scripture, tying together Genesis 3, Genesis 15, and the New Testament in a way that is self-authenticating.

4. Read Genesis 15:18-21.
a) What land does God confirm to Abram according to 15:7-8 and 18-21?
Between River of Egypt and Euphrates. Huge area. Verse 7-8 represent where we come from, verse 18-21 where we are going if saved.

b) What “land” was Abram looking for according to Hebrews 11:8-16?
The city of foundations, meaning with permanent dwellings... heaven. Abram was living in tents on earth because he knew it was temporary. His eyes were focused on the eternal.

c) What “land” will the saints inherit according to Revelation 21:1-5?

5. What keeps us holding on to this world, in light of such a glorious inheritance?