Complete Bible Framework: Recent Episodes

Charles Clough

Rather than reading the Bible through the eyes of modern secularism, this provocative six-part course teaches you to read the Bible through its own eyes—as a record of God’s dealing with the human race. When you read it at this level, you will discover reasons to worship God in areas of life you probably never before associated with “religion.”

Compilation of snippets from Charles Clough's 224-lesson Bible Framework series providing an overview of the course.

Historical, unbelieving, responses to the resurrection event. What is particularly offensive to unbelief about the resurrection? The resurrection confronts each of us with our future, permanent state; threatening “the enemies of Christianity with the consequences of unrepentant death!” Questions and answers.

Why we need the Bible Framework. The truths of Scripture must support each other, integrate with human history, and affect every area of knowledge. The biblical definition of “faith.” If you don’t believe in God, you have no basis to make a moral judgment. Examples of applying the Bible Framework. Final questions and answers on the Bible Framework.

Review of pre-tribulationism. The four historical objections to pre-tribulationism. The suffering in the Tribulation is not discipline; it is judgment. The purpose of the Bible Framework. We must associate God, man, and nature with the cosmic act (historical event) of Creation. Questions and answers.

Features of pre-tribulationism that make it the best solution. Critics of pre-tribulationism. Many cults today are modern versions of ancient heresies. The church is not found in Matthew chapter 24. God has very real contingencies in history that do not compromise His sovereignty. Questions and answers.

A biblical example of how eschatology is used to control one’s soul during historical or personal disaster. Eschatology provides the big picture and gives stability. We don’t feel our way to God; we think our way. The biggest battles in the Christian life are in our soul. Pre-tribulationism and the immanency of the Rapture. The features of pre-tribulationalism. The arguments against pre-tribulationalism. Pre-tribulationism throughout church history. Questions and answers.

The mid-tribulation Rapture view. The uniqueness of the Tribulation period. Evaluating the three key assertions of the mid-tribulation view. The pre-tribulation Rapture view. Accomplishments of the pre-tribulation position.

How each Tribulation position attempts to immunize the church from “the wrath of God.” All the judgments in the Tribulation represent “the wrath of God.” Problems with the ¾ Tribulation view. The mid-tribulation Rapture view.

Relating the story of Israel and the story of the church to the end of history. Problems with the ¾ Tribulation position. Questions and answers.

The Rapture of the church. The purpose of the Tribulation. Israel’s worldwide blessing, past and future. Problems with post-tribulationism. The ¾ tribulation position. Defining “the wrath of God.” Questions and answers.

The “Tribulation” and the “Great Tribulation.” The Rapture of the church. The Bema Seat and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Comparing and contrasting the Rapture of the church and the Second Coming of Christ. Problems with the post-tribulation view and preterism. Questions and answers.

The preterist, futurist, and historicist views concerning the church and prophecy. The post-tribulation, mid-tribulation, and pre-tribulation positions concerning the Rapture of the church. Resurrection passages in Scripture. Questions and answers.

Church history can be seen as the maturing of the “body of Christ,” with respect to understanding God’s Word. The “these things” and “this generation” of Matthew 24:33–34. Preterism has difficulty with the math of Daniel chapter 9 and is, therefore, forced into a non-literal hermeneutic. Preterism must early date the writing of the Book of Revelation. Questions and answers.

The plan for the church and its termination. Tying in New Testament truths with the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. The amillennial, postmillennial, and premillennial eschatologies. The only way to avoid opposition to what God is doing in history is to understand what He is doing in history. How preterism redefines scriptural terms. Problem passages for preterism. Questions and answers.

Man chose to fall while in a sinless environment, revealing that sin’s causes are not environmental. The New Covenant with Israel. Church history. Clarifying what the church is and is not. The future of the church. Preterism. Questions and answers.

You will not understand the prophecies of the Bible if you do not understand the distinction between Israel and the church. Metaphors for childbirth used in prophecy related to the Kingdom. The terms “Day of the Lord,” “Jacob’s Trouble,” and “Daniel’s 70th Week.” The “Tribulation.” Questions and answers.

History is a sequence of things that refute man’s excuses and displays man’s depravity. The final milestones of Israel. Resurrection is either to damnation or blessing and is fixed forever, without conversion. Themes common to the church. The Rapture of the church.

Understanding how Israel functions in history. Israel’s physical and spiritual deliverance. How Old Testament prophets administered the Word of God. Rib proceedings. Technology from the antediluvian civilization. The “glory of God” means that God is concerned with His reputation. Questions and answers.

The biblical view of history contrasted with the pagan view. Distinctions between measures of progress for Israel and the church. To understand the Word of God, you must understand God’s covenants with Israel. The covenants with Israel, blessings and cycles of national discipline. God follows through on His promises for His own glory. Questions and answers.

The stages of church history. The Book of Acts should not be considered normative for the Church Age. The issue of oral traditions. What distinguishes Israel from the church? Questions and answers.

The inter-advent age illustrates judgment/salvation. Five things to associate with judgment/salvation. Christ denied that the church existed in His day. The term “church” does not refer to every believer in every age. The “body of Christ.” Questions and answers.

Scripture has publicly observable, historical events that no other religion has. Christ’s crucifixion reflects the national refusal to accept Jesus Christ as the Messiah. The three years Jesus Christ was on earth ministering are packed with Old Testament background. The suffering Servant and the glorious King pictures of the Messiah are reconciled by the inter-advent age. Pentecost was the manifestation on earth of Christ’s session in Heaven. Questions and answers.

Review of the ascension and session of Jesus Christ. Christ’s resurrection body is the first piece of the ultimate eternal universe that will replace the current one. No man can totally suppress his knowledge of God. Aspects of Christ’s ascension and session. Praying in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Questions and answers.

The reason for and review of the Biblical Framework. The Bible cannot be taught in isolation from everything else. Biblical doctrines should be associated with great biblical events. One reason for anti-Semitism is a hatred for the fact that God runs history His way. The Bible proclaims that God speaks publicly. Questions and answers.

The carnal mind is at war with God. There is no neutrality in sanctification. The believer is either maturing or not. The dimensions of sanctification. Every other religion in the world demands that man approach God based on his own merit. What occurs at salvation? Ritual uncleanness, in the Old Testament, related to coming into contact with the results of the fall. Confession and restoration to fellowship. The enemies of sanctification.

Sanctification in the Church Age. The phases of sanctification. The aim of sanctification. Jesus Christ’s humanity went through a sanctification process. The dimensions of sanctification. The true definition of “confession.” The means of sanctification. Questions and answers.

If God’s revelation is not your authority, something else will be. Evolution is ultimately an irrational belief because it destroys categories and, therefore, destroys logic. Church history: the Modernists versus the Fundamentalists. Fundamentalists believe what was once universally held by all Christians. Ministries of the three Persons of the Trinity. The intersession of God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Questions and answers.

Church history. Grace is not a reward for obedience. The connection between the nature of the church and the nature of future things. Premillennialism, amillennialism, and postmillennialism. The church was premillennial for the first 300–400 years of its history. Matter is not inherently evil. Anti-Semitism. The Bible Conference Movement, the Scofield Bible and Fundamentalism. Your view of the nature of the church is intimately related to your eschatology. Questions and answers.

Church history during the Reformation. The issue of how God’s grace comes to man from the Cross. The three areas of sin. The Council of Trent and the Reformation. Roman Catholic and Protestant definitions of “justification.” The correct definition of sin. What is the purpose, goal, nature, and role of the church? Questions and answers.

Review of the Framework. Apostolic succession. You can’t understand the Cross of Christ without a firm understanding of God’s justice. The ethical dilemma of all religions without a blood atonement. Debates in church history over human free will and total depravity. In what way are all men related to Adam and the fall? Questions and answers.

Major doctrinal questions in church history, from Augustine to the Reformation. Lines of evidence for the deity of Christ. Historical church debate over the purpose and results of the work of Christ on the Cross. Questions and answers.

God the Holy Spirit’s sequencing of the church’s foundation period. The authority for truth resides in the revelation (Scripture) not the human messenger or tradition. The tests for a true prophet. The powerful way the New Testament writers showed that Jesus Christ is God. The many arguments concerning Christ’s deity. Questions and answers.

Revelation and inspiration are not the same thing. Defining the Canon of Scripture. The sufficiency of Scripture. Is the standard of truth (authority) Scripture or church tradition? Questions and answers.

Features of the founding period of the church. Why it’s important to study church history. Historically interrupted revelation requires a canon. Apocalyptic literature. The authority of oral tradition versus the authority of written tradition. Questions and answers.

The works (acts) God the Father causes to come about on behalf of every Church Age believer. If there were not a personal sovereign God, there would be no personal human responsibility. Foreknowledge. Predestination. Calling. Justification. Glorification. Cleansing. God gives different amounts of revelation to different people, in different places, at different times in history. God’s sovereignty over evil and good is applied asymmetrically. Questions and answers.

In saving man, God’s absolute holiness is protected through the substitutionary, finished work of Christ. Every other religion on earth compromises God’s holiness. The intercessionary chain, concerning the church, between the Members of the Godhead. God is the personal, ultimate, final cause of all things. The concept of causation means something different for the creature than the Creator. God’s foreknowledge. Questions and answers.

Positional truth. The core issue of the Reformation. God the Father is the ultimate speaker; God the Son is the message spoken; and God the Holy Spirit is the implementation of the message. Resurrection. [Brief Q&A inserted into the lesson: What is eternal life? The Apostle John introduced the idea that eternal life is a present reality for the believer.] Jesus Christ’s priestly intercession.

The positional truth unique to the Church Age. Things common to every Christian that give meaning and purpose and reveal the content of God’s plan: imputed righteousness; we share in Christ’s resurrection. Questions and answers.

A story in Acts where divine sovereignty and human responsibility combine. Heresies are like parasites that feed on weaknesses in the church. God uses human means to reach His sovereign ends. There is a personal cause to all things in history. Ministries of God the Holy Spirit on behalf of every believer. Questions and answers.

The prophesies of Genesis Chapter 9 are related to Paul and Luke’s evangelization of Europe (Acts 16). God the Holy Spirit’s leading of the early church to growth. The dilemma of the early church concerning what is the status of Jewish believers and their relationship to the Law. Paul’s return to Jerusalem. Questions and answers.

Because of human nature, the Mosaic Law was not successful in motivating obedience. The giving of the Mosaic Law. The Ten Commandments. Most of the Mosaic Law is not repeated in the New Testament. The purpose of the Mosaic Law. Drawing wisdom principles from the Mosaic Law. Questions and answers.

Jesus Christ predicted what would occur in the Book of Acts. The early church addresses what the function and purpose of the Mosaic Law now is and how it relates to Gentile believers. Questions and answers.

How God the Holy Spirit developed the early church (continued). Stephen’s apologetic (continued). Anti-Semitism will always receive the cursing of God. Stephen undermines the moral and ethical claim of his accusers with a counterclaim. Questions and answers.

Stephen’s apologetic (continued). Stephen’s apologetic includes a series of historical events reflecting biblical truths of God’s sovereign mission for Israel. Stephen argues that the pattern of God’s development of the sovereign nation of Israel, in the early centuries, parallels what was done to the Lord Jesus Christ. Stephen’s approach defends him against the charge of attacking the Torah. He uses the Torah to undercut the position of his accusers. Believers should seek to identify the spiritual opportunities that may come with changing circumstances.

How God the Holy Spirit developed the early Church. In the book of Acts, Israel gradually decreased and the Church gradually increased. Stephen’s apologetic (Acts 6, 7). Questions and answers.

The sealing ministry of God the Holy Spirit. The intercession ministry of God the Holy Spirit. Reasons for suffering. The ministry of God the Holy Spirit related to spiritual gifts. Questions and answers.

Brief review. The baptism of God the Holy Spirit. What the word “baptism” means and how it’s used in Scripture. Judgment/salvation imagery for the baptism of the Spirit. The function of the baptism of the Spirit. Arguments for the church beginning at Pentecost. Implications of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Questions and answers.

Since God the Holy Spirit is omnipresent, in what sense did He come to earth? Regeneration. Sin is “intrinsically foreign to who we are as regenerate people in Christ.” What it means for Christ to be begotten. The post-Pentecost indwelling of God the Holy Spirit and His pre-Pentecost ministries. Temple imagery for God the Holy Spirit’s indwelling. Questions and answers.

Christ’s subordination of role does not imply inferiority of essence. Applications of kenosis and impeccability. The book of Acts is transitional. Ministries of God the Holy Spirit. The purpose of First John. Clearing up “problem passages” in the epistles of First John, Galatians, and Romans. Questions and answers.

Review of the foundation. Every great biblical truth can be linked to a key event. The Christian faith is a coherent set of sub-beliefs. You cannot believe in the content of biblical stories and deny their historicity. After salvation, the Kingdom of God is expanding the dominion over nature that God gave Adam. The Kingdom of God cannot come by means of fallen man. The life of Christ as background for regeneration (kenosis, impeccability). The basic Christian virtue is humility toward God. Questions and answers.

God’s character does not change, but He does vary the way He works in history. Ministries of God the Holy Spirit throughout Scripture. The doctrine of regeneration. “Eternal life” refers to that life which qualifies for eternal fellowship with God. How the Apostle John and the Apostle Paul approach Christian sin and fellowship with God. Questions and answers.

Brief review of the life of Christ. Only in the Bible does history have eternal repercussions. How to detect a genuine work of God the Holy Spirit. God the Holy Spirit’s emphasis is always Christ centered. Church creeds and God the Holy Spirit. Historical controversies concerning Jesus Christ and God the Holy Spirit. The person and work of God the Holy Spirit. God the Holy Spirit was “with” believers prior to Pentecost and is “in” believers after.

The idea of union with Christ is first seen at Saul’s Damascus road experience. How God expects believers to be obedient in one dispensation is different for believers in other dispensations. The human body is designed by God to glorify God as no other part of the universe can. The baptism of the Holy Spirit takes us out of union with the first Adam and puts us in union with the Second Adam (Jesus Christ). Cessation. The Trinity and God the Holy Spirit. Questions and answers.

A parable of Christ that foretells events recorded in Acts. A quick survey of the Book of Acts. God the Holy Spirit works differently in different situations in the Book of Acts. The repetition of Pentecostal phenomena tells us about the expansion of the church. The church universal. Cessation. Questions and answers.

Things to remember about God’s promises. Lack of faith insults God’s character. Step two of the faith-rest process. Examples of how to apply the Bible Framework. Peter’s interpretation of Pentecost. If you are not a dispensationalist, you’ll never understand the Book of Acts. Events of the Book of Acts were predicted in Matthew chapter 22. Questions and answers.

Guest speaker – Dr. Thomas Ice. Four foundational issues around which eschatology revolves. Amillenialism, premillenialism, and postmillennialism. The early church was entirely premillenial. Preterism, historicism, futurism, and idealism. The pre-tribulation, post-tribulation, and mid-tribulation Rapture views.

(Promise – Isaiah 41:10) Peter’s analysis of what occurred at Pentecost. Pentecost results from Christ’s session. Peter takes truths of Christ’s life and puts them inside an Old Testament structure. As a prophet, when writing Psalms, David sometimes enveloped himself prophetically in his whole dynasty. At Pentecost, Peter taught that Jesus Christ fulfilled that whole dynastic picture. Pentecost is the historical evidence that Jesus Christ made it to the Father’s right hand. Christ’s session is the heavenly origin of the church and Pentecost is the earthly origin of the church. Questions and answers.

Always envelop problems inside the Word of God. The detail of prophetic fulfillment reflects the veracity of the Word of God. The Old Testament Jewish calendar is the timepiece of human history. Mastering the logic of Peter’s presentation at the Pentecost event. Questions and answers.

(Promise – Colossians 2:6) God has chosen to play favorites in human history, but He also holds His own people to higher standards! The earthly origin of the church. What was observed at Pentecost. The Old Testament Jewish calendar reveals God’s precise direction of human history. Questions and answers (basic truths that compose the gospel).

(Promise – Isaiah 26:3, 4) The events of Acts chapter one (Acts 1:1-8). Christ’s session precedes and forms the basis of Pentecost. John’s baptism. Jesus Christ reveals the coming baptism of the Holy Spirit. The kingdom postponed and the coming Church Age. Questions and answers.

The verb for “fulfilled” is sometimes used, in Scripture, as a platform or analogy and does not always refer to prophecy. The ultimate purpose of history is doxological, not redemptive. “If life in the resurrected state has a purpose, goals must exist beyond salvation.” Israel and the church are two distinct and separate peoples of God. Dispensational Theology and Reformed Theology have differences regarding the nature and mission of the church. Historic fruits of dispensationalism. Questions and answers.

(Promises) Dispensational theology. Dispensationalism carries the Protestant Reformation one more step: into the area of eschatology. Dispensational theology was the dominating force in the modern missionary movement. The structure of dispensationalism. Dispensationalism emphasizes a literal interpretation of the biblical covenants. Dispensationalism believes the ultimate purpose of history is doxological, not redemptive. Dispensational theology starts with the Old Testament and works forward to the New Testament. Questions and answers.

Reformed and dispensational theology. Reformed Theology kept some Roman Catholic practices and elements of Catholic theology. An example of how Reformed Theology attempts to attack premillennialism. The issue is how you think about faith. The effects of Covenant Theology. Covenant theology inductively creates two generic covenants, which are not stated in Scripture, above all the biblical covenants that are stated in Scripture. Reformed Theology has frozen the 16th and 17th century level of theology into permanent creeds and established unique rules for biblical interpretation. Questions and answers.

(Promise - Romans 8:32) The Bible doesn’t view faith as weak knowledge. The reformers advanced some elements of theology and froze some others in place. A point-by-point analysis of the acrostic TULIP. To “set aside one’s beliefs” is to adopt other beliefs. For Calvin, “because one has assurance of salvation, one can walk by faith” (relies on the perseverance of God rather than that of the believer). Questions and answers.

(Promise - Ephesians 3:20) Church history leading up to the reformation. Reformed Theology. The early reformation. Luther and Calvin defined faith as assurance. The second, third, and fourth generation reformers changed Luther and Calvin’s soteriology in response to Roman Catholic counterattacks. Soteriology, not eschatology, was the central battleground of the reformation. Questions and answers.

The heavenly origin of the church. The credentials of Jesus Christ, sitting at the Father’s right hand, cannot be challenged by Satan. David as an analog of Jesus Christ waiting for His kingdom. Christ’s current indirect strategy. Jesus Christ proved out the Church Age procedures available to every believer. Tactical victories in the angelic conflict. The impulse behind human good. Questions and answers.

(Promise - Philippians 4:6-7) Satan’s program and objectives in human history. Reasons for and categories of human suffering. God adjusts national boundaries according to whether people are seeking God or not. Suffering examples from Zechariah and Job. Satan’s operation is to get the creature to agree with him that God is not worthy of praise, worship and trust. Questions and answers.

(Promise - 1 Peter 5:6–10) God never saves apart from judgment. When God judges, He judges man, nature, and angels (as part of nature). Angels are implicated in historic acts. Angelic capabilities. Angels and political leaders. The fall of Satan. The angelic conflict and the resurrected, ascended, and seated Jesus Christ. Questions and answers.

When God judges, He always saves, and when He saves, He always judges. There’s always the threat of judgment in the message of God’s grace. The doctrinal consequences of Christ’s ascension and session. Judgment/salvation. The criteria for God’s perfect discrimination. Imputation has powerful implications. The high purpose for recording history is to document God and man’s behavior. Nature is involved in judgment/salvation as it relates to Christ’s session. Angelic involvement in God’s control of nature and history. Questions and answers.

(Promise - Romans 8:28) Reasons for suffering. All Christian suffering has a rational and ethical justification, but that justification may remain at the Creator level (Job). Old Testament passages that New Testament authors used to explain the ascension and session of Christ. Democracy and paganism. Questions and answers.

(Promise - Romans 8:28) Resting in the fact that God has a perfect plan. Old Testament pictures of the ascension and session of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul identified Jesus Christ with YHWH God of the Old Testament. God views the political power structures of history, in a fallen world, as sub-human, animal-like. How the New Testament uses the “Son of Man” imagery. Looking above history. Questions and answers.

Faith rest (Romans 8:28). The pagan mind always attempts to remove personal responsibility before God. The physical ascension of Christ proves that Pentecost was not the second coming of Christ. The ascension and the three heavens. The ascension and session of Jesus Christ.

John the Baptist and Jesus Christ had the same message at the beginning of Christ’s ministry: “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” The Cross works out of Christ’s rejection as king. The first and second advents of Christ are inseparately tied together. A weak view of Christ leads to a strong view of Caesar (the State). The sin central to God the Holy Spirit’s gospel ministry is the sin of rejection and disbelief in Jesus Christ. The ascension of Christ was as much a physical event as the Cross. Questions and answers (Clear gospel presentations).

Basic promises from the Word of God. The origin of the church. The kingdom will be established sequentially. Theology concerning the Millennium establishes the priorities for the obedience of the church. Dispensational versus non-dispensational Reformed Theology. The clear pattern of God working in history and the agency of man’s negative choices. Questions and answers.

Paul confronts unbelief (continued). The purpose of history. There are right ways and wrong ways to think. The resurrection of Christ is the first installment of the eternal state and, therefore, a massive threat to the unbeliever. God can’t reveal Himself any clearer than He is in the Person of Jesus Christ. Recognizing foolishness for foolishness and wisdom for wisdom.

Using the faith-rest drill. Deflating unbelief by exposing its foolishness. Unbelief is structurally hypocritical. How the Apostle Paul utilized the Word of God to confront a culture of unbelief (Paul dismantled his hearer’s worldview). The purpose of history. Questions and answers.

How the Apostle Paul approached and reasoned with a profoundly pagan group of people. Giving a reasoned defense for your faith. There is no such thing as “natural law.” Nothing works independently of God! Unbelief is inherently hypocritical. Quick review of the Framework series to this point.

The sobering side of the resurrection. The glorification of nature. Applications of the resurrection. The resurrection is the basis for the Christian hope and a powerful incentive to Christian living. The resurrection and the gospel. “The chief and the highest end of man.” Questions and answers.

God is glorified sequentially in time. God is also glorified in eternity. Man will ultimately be glorified in the Person of Jesus Christ because, as the Son of Man, He fulfills the destiny of man. Nature will be glorified in the new heavens and new earth. Questions and answers.

Review of the biblical context of the resurrection. Using the resurrection to represent a vague hope is improper and reveals a false theology. The fall and final judgment have cosmic results and bracket evil. Glorification is the ultimate, final aim and purpose of history. God is progressively glorified throughout history.

The facts of the resurrection of Christ. The distinction between a spirit body (angels), resuscitation, and resurrection. The context of the resurrection. Our relationship with God requires that we have a body. Salvation is incomplete unless it includes the body. The resurrection is both implicit and explicit. The meaning of the resurrection. New Testament references to the resurrection. Questions and answers.

More examples from a debate. Rejecting the requirement for a blood atonement compromises the nature of God. The gospel will always offend unbelief. The historicity of the resurrection of Christ is essential to the historicity of the gospel! Jesus Christ’s post-resurrection appearances.

Evaluating a debate as a practical exercise to think through the Scripture. All the authors of the New Testament were monotheistic Jews (possible exception is Luke) and they had no problem with the Trinity and Christ’s deity. The rise of Islam in modern times. Major events in Scripture model the atonement. The nature and extent of the atonement. The Cross frees God to forgive sin without compromising His holiness. Questions and answers.

Issues from the death of Christ. The extent of the atonement and the protestant reformation. Luther and Calvin believed that Christ is the source of our assurance and that faith is assurance of our election. Later reformers altered the views of Calvin and Luther as a political/theological response to the attacks of Roman Catholicism. Four questions: election, justification, the nature of faith and sanctification. Questions and answers.

What is the relationship of the Cross of Christ to unbelievers and angels? The Cross changes the final condemnation of unbelievers from sin to unbelief. The Cross dooms fallen angels. The atonement is the sole legal basis for all grace. God calls all men to Himself with an atonement big enough for all people. God administers salvation asymmetrically. The fundamental difference between Roman Catholicism and the Protestantism of the Reformation. Whatever good exists is due to God. Evil exists because of rejection of God. [Lesson ends prematurely]

Using a magazine article to illustrate pagan tactical use of language. Words and language are very deeply and profoundly spiritual. Satan cannot deceive by presenting bulk error; he always includes enough undeniable truth. Questions and answers. The text for the Love Article is included at the bottom of the transcript for Lesson #139.

How to use the Biblical Framework over against the pagan world system. Unbelief does not endure because it doesn’t fit the universe the way God made it. Paul in Athens. Pagan tactical and strategic use of language. Questions and answers. Note:The text for the Love Article is included at the bottom of the transcript.

Review of the interconnected Biblical Framework, from creation through the death of Jesus Christ. Identifying and challenging the pagan worldview. Using major biblical themes as a yardstick for evaluation. The Bible is a story of the disruption of sinful civilization. The Bible is coherent! Questions and answers.

The extent of the atonement. Limitations of the human influence and governmental views of the Cross. The limited and unlimited atonement views. The atonement is the sole legal basis for all grace. Questions and answers.

The nature of atonement. Three approaches to the Cross of Christ from church history. The issue of salvation is theological and God-centered not psychological and man-centered. It is, therefore, unchanging and stable. The sanctification, human influence, and governmental views of the Cross, seen in two historical events of judgment-salvation. Questions and answers.

The Cross of Christ and unbelief. Unbelief in the virgin birth and the incarnation rejects the Creator/creature distinction. Unbelief in Scripture, as a historical record, reject a God Who speaks and reveals Himself. The Cross of Christ changes the basis for condemnation from personal sin to unbelief. The gospel both softens and hardens hearts. Jewish unbelief. Unbelief wants salvation without judgment. Gentile unbelief. Repentance alone does not save; there must be restitution. Without the need for atonement, the Cross of Christ becomes unnecessary. Unbelief must redefine the Cross of Christ. The act of approving what is wicked is worse than doing it! Questions and answers.

How the New Testament presents the Cross of Christ. Christ was in charge of His unique death and was both priest and sacrifice. The Cross has cosmic effects, changing the basis for condemnation. The Cross of Christ had angelic implications. God’s timing and the Cross of Christ. Questions and answers.

Features of the death of the Messiah. God creates truth and man discovers it. The Messiah is linked with suffering and substitutionary atonement. The history of Jewish interpretation of Isaiah chapter 53. The non-glorious death of the Messiah. Questions and answers.

Biblical faith is an historic faith. You can’t have doctrinal truths without historical integrity. The dilemma and limitations of the empirical approach. In every area of life, start with the Word of God. Questions and answers. Note:The text for the “Is the Bible True?” article is included at the bottom of the transcript.

Criticism leveled toward Christianity by the media. Reason and faith are not opposites. You can’t reason without faith. The unbelieving mind is inherently idolatrous. Justice is not ultimately determined by man. Man’s sense of justice is a derivative of God’s attribute of holiness. Man’s laws attempt to approximate God’s justice. The source of restitution for sin. Note:The text for the “Is the Bible True?” article is included at the bottom of the transcript for Lesson #132.

Pagan thought insists on the sufficiency of natural causes, but natural causes are insufficient. Our thought pattern is 95% of the battle in the Christian life. The Old Testament view of justice linked to the Cross of Christ. Blood atonement satisfies God’s justice. In Old Testament justice, the sin is against God, not man. There is a restitutionary component to biblical justice that refers to repairing the damage to God’s order. Questions and answers. Note:The text for the “Is the Bible True?” article is included at the bottom of the transcript for Lesson #132.

Two titles Jesus Christ used to identify Himself: “The Son of God” and ”The Son of Man.” “Son of Man” fulfills the Genesis mandate to rule, indicates moral perfection, and reflects a kingdom of perfect righteousness ruled by Jesus Christ. Questions and answers.

A quick review of the previous years teaching. The Bible’s two-level view of reality versus the pagan one-level view of reality. Jesus Christ poses this question to every human being: “Who do you say that I am?” The necessity for the virgin birth. The virgin birth offends unbelieving man. What unbelieving man has done with the life of Christ.

Thinking scripturally or not. The battle for the mind of the believer. Heaven and hell is the biblical solution to evil. When God created the universe, there was no evil in it. All evil originated because of creature rebellion against the Creator. Unbelief is fragile and has inherent problems (Romans Chapter 1). Sin effects how we think. Questions and answers.

The infallibility of Christ. Can a perfect person make technical errors? The testing criteria for evaluating a prophet. The inerrancy of Scripture. Critics of the Scripture’s inerrancy relocate inerrancy to concepts, things, men, or institutions. Questions and answers.

Having a correct image of Who Christ was and how He acted. Jesus Christ was humble toward God, but, in His life, His will was anything but weak. Being “Christ like” does not conform to modern standards of a “healthy personality.” The implications of Christ’s impeccability. In eternity there will be an infinite number of lessons to learn about God. The doctrine of infallibility. Jesus’ historical and scientific claims. Questions and answers.

Review of the three major implications of kenosis. Jesus Christ is a pure Judge and an empathetic Priest. It is Jesus Christ Who commends people to hell for all eternity. Jesus is the standard for behavior. If our standards for behavior negatively judge His behavior, then our standards must be wrong! The doctrine of impeccability. Questions and answers.

The implications of kenosis. The cardinal virtue of Christianity is humility before God. Christ, in His kenosis, modeled what this humility ought to look like. Christ is eternally subjected to the Father in role, but not essence. This relationship in no way demeans Him. Questions and answers.

Every Christian should know the doctrine of kenosis. Jesus Christ is the model for living the Christian way of life, proving it works. Kenosis disproves that the Christian life was different for Jesus than it is for us. The progressive sanctification of Jesus Christ. The issue of sanctification precedes the issue of sin and suffering. Examples of kenosis as it relates to Christ’s sanctification. Jesus Christ did not cheat, during times of testing, by using His omniscience or omnipotence. Questions and answers.

How unbelief handles Jesus Christ (continued). The modern response to the King. How the fallen intellect always distorts and suppresses revelation to avoid accountability to God. Implicit in our hearts, we know our Creator’s voice and don’t require a reason to believe. Unbelief rejects the existence of miracles because miracles violate the certainty of human knowledge, man being the supposed source of that certainty, not God. The agenda of unbelief is to make the world safe for sinners. The Word of God both hardens and softens hearts! The pagan worldview denies there can be any revelation from God. Questions and answers.

How unbelief handles Jesus Christ (God’s greatest revelation to man). The ancient response to the King. Jesus said that the traditions of His time were obscuring the power of the original Word of God. Jesus Christ claimed to fulfill the whole sweep of Old Testament ideas in Himself and in His work. Jesus’ personal life made people uncomfortable. Jesus Christ was self-authenticating and did not appeal to a standard outside of Him. Questions and answers.

Solitary monotheism is totally incompatible with the God of the Scripture. Implications of the hypostatic union. God cannot be revealed any more clearly than He is in the Person of Jesus Christ. Ultimately, all murder is a sinful response toward God Himself. The doctrine of the Trinity. The implications of the Trinity. Divine institutions. Questions and answers.

We can know God, but cannot comprehend Him. The Creator-creature distinction as it relates to knowledge. The tools of reasoning we use are derivatives of God’s attributes. God’s threeness relates to modes of being, not merely roles. Questions and answers.

The deity of Jesus Christ. New Testament supporting data for the full deity and the full personhood of God the Holy Spirit. Man’s sense of absolutes is derived from God’s character. God is all of His attributes. All of God is righteousness; all of God is justice, etc. Questions and answers.

The Trinity. All men know that God exists. Unbelief is self-deception. The unbeliever has to utilize the absolutes of God (create universals) in order to attack God. The one and the many in creation is derivative of the one and the many of the Creator. Old Testament Scripture where plurality in God exists and the Trinity is or may be present. Moses and the prophets saw plurality inside God. Questions and answers.

The Trinity. The issue of the one and the many. Without the Trinity there is no language or logic. Man operates everyday as if the one and the many are in harmony. Therefore, the doctrine of the Trinity is no stranger than the one and the many in our everyday lives. God is as much one as He is three. Questions and answers.

Review of the evidences for Christ’s deity. Implications of the hypostatic union. Jesus Christ is the final and most complete revelation of God. Our personal history has eternal consequences. Questions and answers.

False views of Jesus Christ’s humanity, throughout church history, compared to the biblical doctrine of the hypostatic union. If Christ is not God, worshiping Him is blasphemy. Questions and answers.

New Testament passages that speak of the full deity of Jesus Christ. God is not dependent on His creation for anything. False models for God, throughout Church history, compared to the biblical Trinitarian model. Questions and answers.

We should not study the Bible from the New Testament backwards, but instead, from the Old Testament forward. Three categories of evidence for the person of Christ. (1) Two categories of prophecy converge in human history. (2) Jesus Christ substituted for God in Old Testament passages, quoted in the New Testament. (3) Jesus Christ does the same things God is said to do. Questions and answers.

The pathological nature of unbelief. Rejecting God’s revelation begins a self-destructive process. Man is held accountable for the knowledge of God in the creation. A history of modern Gentile unbelief and the rejection of the virgin birth. God doesn’t move in history without Satan making a countermove. The “modernist” versus the “fundamentalists.” Questions and answers.

Because Jesus Christ is God’s highest revelation to man, man is measured by his response to Christ. Linking the virgin birth of Jesus Christ to the doctrine of the hypostatic union. The legal and moral necessity for the virgin birth of Christ. The spiritual necessity for the virgin birth of Christ. The virgin birth of Jesus Christ resolves the issues of imputed sin and inherent sin. The ancient Jewish reaction to the virgin birth claim.

If you don’t understand the doctrines of God, man, and nature, you cannot understand Jesus Christ. The virgin birth is implicit in the Old Testament. The problem of a corrupt lineage is completely avoided through the virgin birth of Jesus Christ (Joseph’s line was under the Coniah curse). The virgin birth was prophetically necessary. Jesus Christ could not be who He claimed to be unless He was born of a virgin. Questions and answers.

“The fullness of time” means that the Gentiles and the Jews had enough exposure that there was no excuse for misidentifying Jesus Christ. Recognizing Jesus Christ as the Messiah is both an individual and a national (Israel) decision. The nature and method of Christ’s presentation during His incarnation. Five reasons Jesus Christ was crucified. Jewish reasons for rejecting Jesus Christ. Reasons modern Jews reject Jesus Christ as the Messiah. Whenever you have a weak Christology, you have a strong state. Gentile reasons for rejecting Jesus Christ. Questions and answers.

How the pagan world was prepared for the arrival of the Son of God (continued). How the Jewish world was prepared for the arrival of the Son of God. The intense Jewishness of Jesus Christ. Questions and answers.

The confrontation with the King. God reveals the hearts of men through their response to the person of Christ. The revelation of Jesus Christ is God’s highest revelation to the human race. Jesus argued that He was self-authenticating, that because He said it, it was true. Rebellion against God blinds you, deafens you, and hardens your heart. How the pagan world was prepared for the arrival of the Son of God. God has a plan that includes every molecule and every action of every molecule in human history. Questions and answers.

What view of the Kingdom best fits what the creation teaches about man and nature? The doctrine of the covenants applied to prophecy. The issue of rejection of Christ and the inter-advent age. Prophecy fulfillment and the Jewish calendar. Brief questions and answers.

Eschatology. Comparing the three views of the Millennium (part 4). Premillennialism has a very high view of what it takes to bring in the Kingdom and what the Kingdom will be (catastrophic origins, miraculous geophysical and biological changes). Interpreting Old Testament prophecy related to the Kingdom. Kingdom implications of a biblical view of nature and a biblical view of man.

Eschatology. On a pagan basis, there is no future resolution in history. Any pagan who is optimistic about history is borrowing from Scripture or is a naïve sentimentalist. Comparing the three views of the Millennium (part 3). Features of amillenialism (continued). Features of postmillennialism. Questions and answers.

Eschatology. Comparing the three views of the Millennium (part 2). Premillenialists throughout church history. Features of premillenialism. Features of amillenialism. Questions and answers.

Eschatology. Everyone has an eschatology, but, apart from the Bible, no one has a correct eschatology. The glory of God is a higher goal than salvation. “The kingdom of God” is not a synonym for Heaven. What is the relationship of the church to “the Kingdom of God?” Comparing the three views of the Millennium (part 1). The power and historical consequences of various eschatologies. Questions and answers.

Four basic conclusions about the partial restoration of Israel to the land. The church must be submissive to the authority of Scripture. Important factors in canonicity. A picture of how a text of Scripture came into existence. The prophet’s protection and updating of the Scriptures. The preservation of the text of Scripture after the prophets. Jesus Christ and the Apostles accepted the Old Testament as the Word of God. Questions and answers.

A message from the book of Daniel. History is dynamic. It has a pattern and a purpose. God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. The problem of textual variations. The closing of the Old Testament text. Extended questions and answers.

Mastering a pattern of biblical thinking (review). The Bible is a package deal. You must not allow its doctrines to lay on the table unconnected! Eve’s decision-making process in the garden is an analog of what goes on in our hearts every time we sin. The launching path for faith is always God’s revelation. An example of a believer living under an imperial, pagan regime who survived and was blessed through prayer. Questions and answers.

Why study systematic theology? You can’t separate the history of God’s revelation from biblical doctrine. Demonstrating that most of the New Testament is not new. The writers of the New Testament assumed their readers knew the Old Testament. God disrupts sin patterns in our lives because He cares for us. The Bible is coherent because God thinks coherently. God is big enough to be sovereign and still allow personal responsibility. If you have a view of your life or past that is not a consequence of your choices, you will never change your life for the better. Man’s fall.

Examining our presuppositions. The biblical map of reality compared to the pagan map. All of paganism follows the same basic trends and model. Sin should not be thought of in terms of social consequences. All sin is against God alone! What is your ultimate reality? What is man? Anchoring yourself in the major events of Scripture. What do you evaluate as the final value of our life? How do you view salvation? Questions and answers.

Living in the exile. The Mosaic Law is one of the great normative pieces of legislation in the history of man. God never taxed His people’s capital, only their income and only at a flat rate. When God’s laws are put into practice, they work. The definition of biblical revelation. How critics attack the Book of Daniel and evidences that disprove their attacks. The apocalyptic vision gives us confidence to live, recognizing that the world is passing away.

The doctrine of separation. The format and purpose of apocalyptic literature. The emphasis in separation is not on what you are doing or where you are living, but how you think. The connection between separation and apocalyptic literature. Apocalyptic literature cuts pagan power down to size and says God has a final plan in history. [Lesson ends prematurely] Note that the audio quality of this lesson is now much improved.

Due to technical difficulties part of this lesson was not recorded.

Since the common values and common ideas of a pagan unbelieving society have paganism as their source, functioning in a pagan society can, in a sense, be “serving other gods.” True biblical separation begins with the renewing of our minds. Three core counterfeits to true biblical separation: physical separation, capitulation, accommodation. Apocalyptic literature provides an energizing motive to stand against the relentless pressure to give in to pagan society. Questions and answers.

A wise believer in a pagan society. Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, and the fiery furnace. An example of how quickly society can turn demonic. Paganism dissipates, distorts, and perverts truth. There cannot be harmony between paganism and the Word of God. A classic statement of godly civil disobedience and the spirit in which it is given. Two repercussions of the exile. The differences between prophetic and apocalyptic literature. Questions and answers.

The glory of God departs from the house of Israel (Ezekiel chapters 10 & 11) at the Mount of Olives. From the Mount of Olives Christ ascended and to there He will return. Even in her exile, Israel was a blessing to the nations. Extended questions and answers.

How God uses the enemies of sanctification. Both elect and fallen angels have a role in the believer’s spiritual growth. The period of the exile. Daniel’s example of how to live in a pagan world. Dreams in Scripture. Questions and answers.

The phases of sanctification and identifying them in scripture. Positional sanctification defines and controls experiential sanctification. The dimensions of sanctification. The point of prophecy is to help us to endure the present by knowing how it all will end. The aim of sanctification is for man to develop historical loyalty and obedience to God. Sanctification preceded the fall of Adam. The tools God uses in sanctification. New Testament analogs to the severity of God’s discipline in the Old Testament. Questions and answers.

The Bible is a progressive revelation of God over centuries of time. The twelve tribes of Israel fractured, during the period of the judges, because they did not have a unified world view. The period of the monarchy. David as a model of godliness and Saul as a model of ungodliness. In one sense, sanctification is a form of divine parenting. Sanctification is not the same as justification.

Review of God’s covenants. The New Covenant promises Israel’s restoration to the land. Reasons for suffering. How a holy, righteous God reconciles Himself to a sinful people. The Cross solved an Old Testament mystery.

How God sets up history. Every heresy in Church history was, fundamentally, preceded by a false answer to the question: What is God like? Miracles are never and have never been a test of orthodoxy. The land covenant with Israel. God supplies the righteousness necessary to bless the nation of Israel. The failure of Israel demonstrates that the flesh cannot consistently obey the Word of God. The promises to Abraham are ultimately promises to regenerate Israel.

Two themes of the prophets. The prophets interpreted history in relation to the covenants. The national anthem of Israel. The Mosaic Law was not the product of men, but God’s revelation of what pleases and displeases Him. The consequences of breaking God’s covenant. The prophets were God’s spokesmen and historians. The Coniah curse. Questions and answers.

The dual-tracked ministry of the prophets. God controls pagan nations as much as He controls Israel and Judah (e.g., Assyria). Sennacherib attacks the Southern Kingdom. Hezekiah’s prayer and God’s answer. Connecting what God is doing in history with the promises in the Word of God. Questions and answers.

The prophetic section of the Bible. What the prophets were about. Why the believer must have a clear vision of Who God really is. The sovereignty of God over historical processes. The biblical prophets were reactionaries, not revolutionaries. Seeing the footprints of God’s march through time provides a vision of Who God is. The doctrine of election applied to the time of the prophets.

The divided kingdom. Fallen man, entrusted with total power, will always become a tyrant. Samuel’s farewell address to the nation. What should be the source of our motivation to obey God? Sin reinterprets our circumstances according to the flesh. The biblical meaning of election. How God chastens His people. How believers train their flesh in unrighteousness. God will not permit His elect people to damage themselves irreparably. Questions and answers.

Very little of the New Testament is new. Only in Judeo-Christianity does God make contracts with human beings. The believer is to trust first, then obey. The Saul model and the David model of leadership compared. Trusting God’s character and that He has a purpose in suffering. Reasons for suffering. The focus of sanctification. Questions and answers.

Elijah and the test on Mount Carmel. Being a false prophet was a capital offense. God runs the nation of Israel as a good father runs his family. Property ownership in God’s kingdom. True revival reflects Who God is, not what people are doing. The ends of Ahab and Jezebel. Questions and answers.

A picture of how God rules His own. God takes authority structures, inside His kingdom, very seriously. The Southern and Northern Kingdoms compared. Human solutions, in defiance of the Word of God, collapse of their own weight. How to tell a true prophet from a false prophet. God’s plans don’t change. Jeroboam establishes a man-made religion with a biblical vocabulary. Elijah, Ahab, and Jezebel. The gospel of Baal proven feckless. Questions and answers.

The foundation of the second kingdom. God’s plans work in and through man, but do not need man. The exaltation of civil law over the Word of God is sin and structurally warps society. When sin erases truth, it can’t stand the vacuum and fills it with something else. Questions and answers.

The geography of the nation Israel. Solomon’s spiritual decline leads to national decline. The nation of Israel fractures. In marriage, the common ground will either be biblical truth or not. The first rejection of the Davidic Covenant. Biblical history is the revelation of God’s faithfulness.

How kings should operate (the Davidic/Messianic leadership model). The structure of a psalm. David spares Saul’s life and places his trust entirely in the Lord. Psalm chapter 57. Questions and answers.

The aim of sanctification is loyalty to God. Responses to the world system: capitulation, accommodation, separation, or engagement filtered through the Word of God. Strong sanctification leads to biblical culture that reflects that sanctification. Characteristics of biblical culture. Questions and answers.

The biblical model for a political leader. Solomon: religious apostasy, international treaties, and religiously mixed marriages. Solomon confused the wisdom of God with the wisdom of men. Sanctification shapes believers to live with God for eternity. The parts of sanctification. The need for sanctification would exist even if Adam had not sinned. Models of sanctification: Jesus Christ, Adam, David, and the nation Israel. Questions and answers.

How biblical wisdom generates culture. Good and evil cannot be separated without righteous violence. The true and the false view of wisdom. The features of wisdom. A wise culture will have wise legislation. A foolish culture will have foolish legislation. As long as man stays within the constraints of wisdom, God gives him creative freedom. A society without a wisdom structure will lack creativity. Where biblical wisdom plays a role in the believer’s life. Rebellion against the Word of God has profound effects on society. Questions and answers.

Orientation to the doctrine of Christian sanctification (example: Solomon). Biblical prayers have a structure. There is no such thing as “natural law.” The Abrahamic Covenant guarantees the future of Israel, not the Mosaic Covenant. God teaches through His disciplinary processes. The golden era of Solomon. The Queen of Sheba. Questions and answers.

The golden era of Solomon was the peak of Israel’s culture. Israel’s history is controlled by the covenants. Solomon’s prayer, dedicating the Temple. Inside God’s kingdom: how God disciplines His own. The manifestations of blessing and of cursing for Israel.

David as a model for leadership in the Kingdom of God. The aim of and the tools God uses in the believer’s sanctification. The enemies of sanctification. The dimensions of sanctification. Resolving sin in the believer’s life: conviction, confession, and God’s response. Questions and answers.

David and Bathsheba. Grace is the corollary of sorrow and death. Either there is grace, sorrow, and death or there is no grace and, instead, judgment. A big sin is usually preceded by small sins. Historically, outside of Israel there was no developed sense of sin. The essence of sin is that all sin is against God and is between He and us. God preserves the Davidic dynasty against the sins of men. Questions and answers.

The Creator-creature distinction compared with the continuity of being idea found in all paganism. The theory of evolution did not begin with Darwin, but was always inclusive in paganism. In paganism, there is no sovereign person over the entire universe. David fulfilled a king-priest model. Combined in Jesus Christ are king, priest, and sacrifice. The Davidic Covenant. In paganism, the gods receive. In the Bible, God gives in grace. Questions and answers.

David gives us a model of what leadership in the kingdom of God should look like. The theology of kingship. The contrast of two dynasties (Saul and David). A godly king compared with a secular, pagan king (David and Esarhaddon). Questions and answers.

The first historical accounts of any significance are in the Bible. History has a pattern to it. It’s moving somewhere. The secular, pagan view of a king compared with God’s view. The king’s role, in Israel, was to obey the Law. The prophets were agents of God calling Israel back to loyalty to the covenant. An evil prayer answered with tragic results. Questions and answers.

Matching biblical events with biblical doctrines. On a non-biblical basis, evil is necessary for existence. The Bible is very historically oriented and not just a “religious story.” Society collapsed during the day of the judges. Debate over the monarchy of Israel. God’s Word limits political authority. Questions and answers.

The concept of the Biblical Framework; avoids seeing the Bible as a collection of disconnected stories; connects biblical truths with actual history; and views all biblical truths as interconnected. The Bible is a unique library of many books and letters, written by many different authors in many different life situations. Yet it has an internal coherence. The kingdom of man contrasted with the kingdom of God: foundations, goals, beginnings, ethics, and leadership. Review of sanctification.

Summary of past lessons. Applying the Bible Framework. In the exodus story, blood atonement separated the damned from the saved. Our personal experience is too flimsy a foundation to cope with life. Handel’s treatment of Exodus chapter 15.

Using the Framework to sharpen a biblical view of civilization. The existence of one Christian is a threat to the pagan world because it speaks of the end times. The prayers of God the Holy Spirit on our behalf. The process and aim of experiential sanctification. The justification for the ethics of “holy war”. The imprecatory psalms and imprecatory prayers. Questions and answers.

Comparing pagan and biblical approaches to problem solving. The means of sanctification. Both legalism and licentiousness distort law and grace. Emotions and feelings must be in subjection to the revealed will of God. If we eliminate God’s grace, we eliminate the necessity to rely upon Him and, subsequently, gratitude. Questions and answers.

The phases of sanctification. The believer’s experience (experiential sanctification) is controlled by and depends on his position (positional sanctification) in the elect plan of God (Example: Israel). Jesus Christ went through an experiential sanctification process, though without sin. The aim of experiential sanctification is developing a trust and obedience to God the Father. Experiential sanctification can proceed in good days and bad.

The geography of the Holy Land as it relates to conquest and settlement. The curse on he who rebuilds Jericho. When we think biblically, we must think in terms of the whole Bible. Grace is not a permanent feature of the plan of God. The ethics of common grace do not imply permanent tolerance of evil. Joshua and the wars of conquest must be considered within the whole Biblical Framework. Questions and answers.

The essential core difference between faith and unbelief. Holy war. The examples of Ruth and Rahab argue for the fairness of God and against the unbelief of their time in Canaan. God honors private obedience, not public righteousness. Questions and answers.

Setting personal and historical events into a larger picture. God is both infinite and personal in His nature. The universe was not created with evil in it. In biblical Christianity, evil has boundaries. In paganism, evil has no beginning and no end. We should be motivated by gratitude for what God has done for us.

Associating Scripture with the big problems of life. The grandeur of civilization does not fulfill the needs of man’s heart. Genocide, intolerance, and an aversion to peaceful coexistence were commanded by God during the conquest and settlement period. Great truths from the Mount Sinai covenant-breaking event. To submit to God, people must have a circumcised heart. It does not come naturally. For sinful people to abide in fellowship with God, there must be an intercessor. Holy war, in the Old Testament, is a preview of the wrath of God at the final end of world history. Questions and answers.

Characteristics of revelation (continued). When man creates his own gods, he’s defining his own reality. The Bible insists that the source for values, ethics, and law must be God. Revelation is comprehensive. When God speaks His revelation, He speaks to all areas of life. Revelation is prophetic. Christianity has over fourteen centuries of prophets (beginning with Moses), all basically saying the same thing. No other religion (paganism) can claim that. The relationship between inspiration and revelation. The inerrancy of Scripture. The Bible, not the church is the authority.

Apart from the Scriptures, there is no absolute reference point for values, ethics, and law. The Mosaic Law’s object was to address the heart then, secondarily, social behavior. The free grace and lordship salvation views. Characteristics of revelation. Revelation is verbal, not a feeling. Revelation is personal, a message from a personal God. Revelation does not happen all the time. Questions and answers.

The Mount Sinai event was public revelation. The Mosaic Law is defined in terms of a personal relationship. The biblical view versus the pagan view of values, ethics, and law. In a sinless environment, it was essential for God to define things. How much more in a fallen environment. Fallen man, at the deepest level, is insecure because he knows he’s offensive to God. How the Pharisees bureaucratized the Law. Paganism always seesaws between legalism and licentiousness. Free grace versus lordship salvation. Questions and answers.

Connecting major events of the Bible with events in your life. The exodus is a counterpart to pagan revolution. At Mount Sinai, all the people heard God speaking. Suzerain-vassal treaty form. The prophets did not introduce new, revolutionary ideas. They, instead, went back to the ideas of Moses. The outline of Israel’s national history (cursing and blessing). The biblical view versus the pagan view of values, ethics, and law. “If society were it’s own moral authority (the determiner of right and wrong), there would be no room for reformers.” Questions and answers.

The events of the exodus and the giving of the Law to Israel at Mount Sinai. The role of the Law in the Old Testament. God’s Father/son relationship with Israel. The uniqueness of the Old Testament Law code format is that it includes personal exhortation. Questions and answers.

The exodus comes very close to defining what salvation is all about. God is always gracious before He judges. All of God’s judgments perfectly discriminate. In God’s judgments, salvation is always appropriated by faith. Salvation is not complete until both body and spirit are saved. Features of the resurrection body. Redemption, propitiation, and reconciliation. With God you cannot lose! If you are against God, you cannot win! Questions and answers.

The character of how God disrupts paganism. The Word of God will either increase someone’s rebellion or induce submission to God. There is a rational connection between the exodus event and the call of Abraham. The sacred name of God. Jesus Christ’s use of the sacred name of God. The lesson of the exodus is that civilization cannot remove the fall. God took His people and walked out from the greatest existing civilization. Characteristics of God’s judgments. Part of God’s justice is restitutionary in nature. Questions and answers.

The exodus was a momentous event! The “god of the world” (Satan) is busy reconstructing history so as to make the Word of God not true (mythologized). When we read the Scriptures, we should read them as history. What is the big picture of the exodus? The glory of God is the controlling principle in history. God hardened Pharaoh’s heart by giving him more revelation. The Bible presents a coherent, rational purpose for history.

The reason for the Egyptian captivity. Egypt can be considered the historic womb of the nation Israel. The structure of Egyptian society. How did Egyptian society view Pharaoh? The exodus took place in the most unlikely politically and socially structured society in human history. The plagues prior to the exodus. The exodus. Rethinking Egyptian history and classic chronology. Questions and answers.

Jewish history leading up to the exodus. God put the Jews into a segregated society (Egypt) in order to prevent them from assimilating with other cultures. Egyptian society. Pharaoh was considered the mediator between Heaven and Earth. The confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh was a confrontation between God and the Egyptian gods, two belief systems and two mighty ideas.

Review of the major events of the Old Testament, prior to the exodus. The exodus event is the major picture of salvation in the Old Testament. The event of creation defines the three major parts of that creation: God, man, and nature. The Christian God speaks and makes contracts! The scriptural view is that man’s image is unique from that of animals. Reasons for suffering.

The doctrine of faith. Justification must not be confused with regeneration or sanctification. Luther and Calvin taught that faith is assurance of salvation. What is biblical faith? What is the content of “saving faith?” The motive for Christian sanctification must be gratitude for what God has already done for you.

The doctrine of justification. In paganism, man invents truth. In biblical Christianity, man discovers truth. Gospel preaching is not an impudent, superficial act; it is the powerful call of God that creates the elect in human history. Man must be credited with a perfect righteousness that he does not generate. Justification is due to righteousness outside of man: the imputed righteousness of Christ. The Cross was the greatest act of obedience. The Protestant view of justification, contrasted with the Roman Catholic view. The whole point of justification is that the believer’s relationship with God is permanently fixed. [Brief technical difficulties begin around the 43:00 minute mark and last for a couple minutes] Questions and answers.

Linking biblical events with doctrinal truths. Background for the doctrine of election. God can control us without eliminating individual responsibility. When election happens in history, it’s a revelation, a surprise event. Jesus Christ expected people to deduce the doctrine of resurrection from the Abrahamic Covenant. Questions and answers.

The Abrahamic Covenant. Missions begin once God breaks from the rest of the world (Genesis 12). The seed of Abraham promise was fulfilled in a miraculous way. You must have an infinite, personal, God in order to have the basis for a covenant (contract). The existence of a covenant with God argues for the inerrancy of Scripture. The significance of circumcision. Questions and answers.

The structure of the world system (it’s spiritual orientation) by the time God called Abraham. The activities of civilization tend to further “the lust of the eye,” “the lust of the flesh”, and “the pride of life.” Features of pagan thought. The hallmark of pagan society. Babel was man uniting to create a one-world system for security against God. The call of Abraham. By leaving the world system, Abraham became a worldwide blessing. Questions and answers.

Why God had to call Abraham. The process of going from a high civilization, with great promise, to a paganized world system. What constitutes the “world system.” Man’s knowledge is derived, never original, because man is not omniscient. Truth is discovered by man and was there prior to man.

The Bible is communication from the Creator concerning most everything, not just religious matters. The sons of Noah used high technology and generated civilization very quickly. The textual structure of the Book of Genesis, as it relates to what occurs in Genesis chapters 10 and 11. The Tower of Babel event.

Nourishing your soul with thoughts of Biblical events. God’s control of human history. The sons of Noah. Using Scripture to rethink history. The strange shape of history following the flood.

Genesis chapters 10 and 11 form a bridge from the flood to Abraham and provide the background for every culture that will ever exist. Climatic changes after the flood. The “Ice Age” problem is answered in Scripture. History moves at a steady state, periodically interrupted by high-energy events. Explaining evidences of primitive man. Questions and answers.

Exclusivism as it relates to the gospel and to the call of Abraham. God’s design of the rainbow. The Noahic Covenant set up boundaries to physical laws, controlling the physics of nature. The flood was both a terrestrial and extraterrestrial event. The post-flood period, before the call of Abraham.

You will either interpret the world around you using the Word of God or let the world around you interpret the Word of God. On the biblical basis, there are two levels of existence: the Creator level and the creature level. Since the fall, creature existence is abnormal. The biblical view is that evil is caused by mankind and angelic rebellion, which means guilt before God. In paganism, evil is normal and everyone is a victim. Features of God’s judgments.

Reintroduction of the Biblical Framework series. Where the Framework series will be going. Paul’s strategic envelopment in Athens. There are only two creation stories: the pagan view and the biblical view. The pagan view denies creation out of nothing (ex nihilo) and denies the Creator/creature distinction. Questions and answers.

Interpreting historical geology inside a Biblical Framework. Sin distorts thinking. The pagan concept of “continuity of being” has existed from ancient times. Sedimentary rock is formed under water and is consistent with a high-energy, water-based catastrophe that changed the world (the global flood). Uniformitarian-based geology versus flood-based geology.

True biblical faith is locked into historical reality. Evolution is a modern statement of an ancient idea: continuity of being. Dating systems to measure the age of the earth: non-terrestrial clocks (which are more speculative and require a longer chain of conjecture). Not all constants show an earth of great age. For “theological” reasons, cosmologists assume a universe with no center and no boundaries. A theory explaining a universe with both continuities and discontinuities.

Physics: dating systems and measuring ages. Salvation by works is related to evolution: transmuting a sinner into a saint. The Bible makes faith contingent on historical reality. The term “natural law” implies that nature never changes. Without a lawgiver, “natural law” is just conjecture. Various dating systems to measure the age of the earth: terrestrial clocks.

Historical biology. Structural differences between creation and evolution. Inside the Mosaic Law there is a passion to preserve the categories and structures God created. The differences between evolution as “fact” and evolution as theory. Continuity of being versus common design. Problems with mutation and other aspects of evolutionary theory.

The internal Church issue of interpreting Genesis. All reality is the result of God’s language. If you destroy language, you destroy thinking and are left with emotion. Your worldview is determined by your doctrine of language. Scripture shows that Jesus believed in a literal interpretation of Genesis.

The four major events of Genesis chapters one through eleven (Creation, Fall, Flood, Noahic covenant) make up the structure that supports the rest of the Bible. A summary of and key questions from those four events. Either a biblical worldview dominates in our soul or a pagan worldview will dominate. Intelligent unbelievers think in resistance to God's revelation. Evil, suffering, and death are normal for paganism, but not normal if one believes the Bible. All four major events are interlocked.

God reconstituted the Divine Institutions after the flood. Noah and his sons were nation builders, not just survivors of the flood. The oracle of Noah. The new Divine Institution: civil government. Guest speaker: Police Homicide Supervisor. Capital punishment. Questions and answers.

The pagan mind is deceived at the most basic levels, so it’s not surprising that it’s theories are in conflict with the Bible. The structure of man after the flood. The very way man sustains life, in the postdiluvian world, is through substitutionary death.

The nature of biblical covenants. The implications of covenant structure for the environment in which history is to take place. Nature is bounded by the Word of God. God is a trustworthy, covenant-keeping God. “Natural law” is a pagan substitute for the Word of God and His faithfulness.

The Noahic Covenant. The necessary preconditions to have a covenant. Why God enters into covenants. The four parts of a covenant. The rainbow is a physical analogy to the glory of God on His throne. Questions and answers.

The characteristics of biblical salvation. The flood of Noah as a picture of salvation. God perfectly discriminates.

The events of creation, the fall, and the flood shape the rest of the Bible. Arguments for a global flood. Five characteristics of the flood story that provide a picture of salvation. Questions and answers.

The historical nature of the Bible. You cannot have biblical faith without an inerrant Bible. The flood. In Scripture, you cannot have salvation without judgment. The three arguments that show the Bible clearly teaches a radical, global flood. Distinctive features of the antediluvian world. Questions and answers.

The pagan response to evil and suffering. The biblical response to evil and suffering. When you pray for the end of evil and suffering, you are praying for the end of history. Patterns of suffering. Suffering: the steps of the biblical coping strategy.

The effects of the fall of man on nature’s design. Everything produced by man is contaminated by the fall. Pagan strategies and the biblical strategy for coping with suffering and evil. Questions and answers.

Evil and man. In paganism, the universe is and will always be good and evil. The effects of sin on man’s body and spirit. The effects of sin on the Divine Institutions. How modern paganism addresses the problems sin creates. Questions and answers.

Guest speaker: today’s literary criticism, from the university to the public schools, reflects a pagan worldview. The biblical and the pagan views of evil. The intense antagonism toward Christianity betrays that, deep down, pagans know it’s true. Suffering. God has a rational and just answer for what He does, but does not see fit to always reveal that answer to man.

The fall of man. Comparing and contrasting the inspired biblical story of the fall of man with the uninspired pagan myths. In paganism, evil always exists in some form and is a corollary to existence. Paganism always denies personal responsibility. Questions and answers.

Paganism always blurs the distinctions of God, man, and nature. The limitations of man. The secret to life, happiness and meaning is not to be found in nature. Constants are located at the Creator level, not the creature level.

The Divine Institutions. Violating a Divine Institution means you are violating the structure of how God created us and there are consequences. Responsible labor. Marriage. Family. How nature glorifies God.

Distinctions between man and nature. The man-nature distinction separates biblical Christianity from paganism. God didn’t create man the way He created animals. Man’s spirit and the image of God. Features of man that are analogous to features of God. Questions and answers.

The doctrine of man. God is dependent on nothing outside of Himself. The man-nature distinction. The Word of God is the only key authority for the interpretation of all reality. The unique design of man. Man is an image of God in both body and spirit. Man’s body was created with the incarnation of Jesus Christ in mind. Through his body, man rules nature. Questions and answers.

The attributes of God (continued). Holiness. The central weakness in atheism is that no non-Christian can come up with values that are transcendent. God is the standard! Something is right because God says it is right. Love. God’s love is never contingent! Omniscience. Idols are “safe gods” because they are made by man and are comprehensible. Questions and answers.

The attributes of God. The attributes of God and those of man may be similar, but they are not identical. Omnipresence. Omnipotence. Immutability. Eternality. Sovereignty. The attributes of God are not impersonal ideas. They are the attributes of the Creator. Questions and answers.

God insists that we start with His rules and the Creator/creature distinction when speaking with Him. Arguments about God and where/why they fail. We can never dictate to God the paths of our lives. God is incomprehensible. Our God is that immense! Man is the only life form in creation that is an appropriate expression of God. Questions and answers.

The distinctive characteristics of the event of creation and where they lead us. A comparison of how paganism and biblical Christianity answer key questions. Who is man? What is truth? How should I then live?

The link between modern and ancient versions of paganism. The “continuity of being” versus the Creator-creature distinction. How did Jesus Christ and New Testament Christians interpret the Old Testament? A comparison and contrast of evolution and creation. Three strategies the Church has used to address the tension between evolution and creation. Questions and answers.

There are only two kinds of creation story: the pagan and the biblical. A “presupposition” is your basic worldview that underlies your premise. Everyone has presuppositions. No one is neutral. Mathematics only works if the universe is structured as the Bible claims. Jesus Christ is the incarnation of that Person Who spoke the universe into existence. Questions and answers.

Discovering someone’s worldview. “You can’t say anything about anything without saying something about everything.” The Creator/creature distinction is what makes the Bible anti-pagan. Failure to make this distinction is idolatry and spiritual rebellion. God has unchallenged control over everything. “Continuity of being” is the opposite of the Creator/creature distinction. God is an infinite, personal God Who is self-contained and pre-existed the universe.

The event of creation is crucial for defining Who and what God is. God created and that sets Him apart! A person’s view of origins reveals their view of God and their ultimate belief system. The biblical view of language. If God is Creator, then He is important for every subject.

The objectives and features of the Bible Framework. The Apostle Paul’s apologetic strategy in Athens. Features of the pagan mind. How God handles an apologetic. The ultimate presupposition of the pagan and that of the Christian.