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God’s Word Shows The Way

THE TRUE GUIDE FOR OUR LIVES

Jesus gave us the keys to life through His Word. This study shows that the Bible can guide us through life, steering us away from dangerous paths.

Read Luke 6:46-49. The people listening to Jesus called Him “Lord.” This title meant Master, or the one in charge of their lives.

The problem was they were not treating him like their Lord or Master. They listened to His words, but did not do the things He said.

They did not build their lives on what Jesus was teaching.

FALSE FOUNDATIONS

Here is a list of false foundations that people build their lives on.

Money– Luke 12:15-21
Emotions– Proverbs 14:12; Jeremiah 10:23
Self– Psalm 49:13-14
Man’s Interpretation– 2 Peter 1:19-21
Traditions– Mark 7:1-4-8-13 (You cannot have two guides in your life. One will eventually contradict the others; Matthew 6:24.)
The Majority– Matthew 7:13-14
Religious Leaders– Matthew 7:15-20 (Christians are often referred to as sheep; John 10:14; Matthew 25:32.)
Good works– Matthew 7:21-23

These are not bad things, but they are not what you should base your whole life on.

Notice in Matthew 7:24-27 we have the same parable we started with in Luke 6:46-49.

The setting is different this time, so we are looking at two separate occasions. Jesus ends both sermons with the parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders.

He is emphasizing how important it is to build your life on the Bible.

The question you need to ask your self is do you want to be a wise or a foolish builder? If you want to be wise, do more than just hear the words of Jesus. Do what He says.

THE BIBLE IS THE STANDARD FOR JUDGEMENT

John 12:47-48 We will be judged by Jesus’ Word on the final day. Learn what His Word says now, so you will be ready for Judgment Day.

Hebrews 4:12-13 The Word is alive. It is not dead or outdated. It is so up-to-date and practical that it cuts to our hearts when we read it.

The Word is our judge and we need to learn what it says.

Make a promise to yourself to read the Bible every day (Acts 17:11.)

Be serious about it. Consistent study of God’s Word will help you to have a deeper relationship with God than you ever dreamed possible.

Bible Classes

Checotah Church of Christ

Goal for the Class: Textual studies like this have something for everyone. No matter where you are spiritually, you can benefit from studying a book about Jesus. By the time this course is over every student should…

1. Understand the book of Matthew in its historical setting.

2. Know the life of Jesus well enough to explain him to others and be able to show how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies.

3. Be able to take Jesus’ teachings and apply them to life’s daily problems.

Author: There is no historical reason to doubt that Matthew, the tax collector, wrote the gospel of Matthew. Patriarchal fathers such as Eusebius (250 A.D.), Irenaeus (180 A.D.) and Tatian (170 A.D.) all acknowledge Matthew as the author. “Matthew also issued a written gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect.” -Irenaeus

Date: Some time would pass after the resurrection and ascension of Christ before there would be a need for a written record of His life and teachings.

Naturalists try to date Matthew after 70 A.D. because of the detailed description of the destruction of Jerusalem in chapter 24. However, there is historical evidence that Christians heeded the warning of Mat 24 and escaped from Jerusalem in time.

This would prove the book existed before 70. Matthew was written sometime between 60 and 70 A.D.

Purpose: Matthew is designed to show Jews that Jesus is undoubtedly the prophesied Messiah. In every way, Jesus fulfilled what was prophesied about the Messiah.

His miracles also confirmed His authenticity. Matthew shows that Jesus is the Savior promised by God and is worthy of our worship.

Five major speech sections anchor the structure of the whole book. Our study will revolve around these sections of teaching.

The Synoptic Problem: There are obvious similarities between Matthew and the other gospels and yet clear differences as well, which raises the question, did the gospel writers copy from each other? If so, which one copied from which?

Did they have sources, besides each other to copy from? This is referred to as the synoptic problem. Luke ascribes his investigation of Christ to several sources in the beginning of his gospel account.

No doubt, each gospel writer had various ways of learning about Jesus, but there is no need to seek organic explanations when one understands the working of the Holy Spirit. Despite similarities, each gospel serves a different purpose.

The Holy Spirit inspired each writer to record the words which best served the book’s intended purpose (John 14:26; 2:22; Luke 24:44-45; John 16:13).

Synoptic Problem:

Aramaic Gospel– (Dessing & Eicchorn) Independent source for Mt, Mk & Lk. Document never seen by anyone. Doesn’t explain the differences.

Fragment Theory– (F. Schleirmacher 1825) Several fragments of Jesus’ teaching were floating around, based on Lk 1:2. -No such fragment MSS have been found.

Oral Theory– (J.K.L. Giesler, B.F. Westcott) Israelites were famous for passing on oral traditions.
-Does not explain how Mt, Mk & Lk could be so similar in order of events.

Mutual Literary Dependence Theories– Writers copied from one another or another source.
(Augustine DeHippo early 400s)- “Mk followed Mt closely and looks like an imitator and an epitomizer.”

(Karl Lachmann 1835)- Discovered strong textual congruity between Mt & Lk in pericopes corresponding with Mk. Other independent texts were in different order. He concluded Mk was the original source. Darwinism popularized this theory; evolving from the simple.

(C.H. Weisse 1801-1866)- Agreed Mk was first but that Mt & Lk had another source he called Quella. The Two Source Theory.

(B.C. Butler 1951)- Demonstrated that it was just as easy for Mk to use Mt as a source and condense.

(Sir John Hawkins)- Did statistical studies on Gospel synopsis. Founded the 4 Document Theory.

(B.H. Streeter 1924)- Further clarified.