Jane Aubry - I remember one day in the 1970's playing my guitar, looking up to heaven, and saying, “If there is a God, I want to know Him.” When I met Roger, my husband to be, he told me he was “saved”.  I had never heard the word before.  I had thought we could only “hope” to go to heaven. He told me how he was saved and that was the end of talking about it for a time. more...

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Elizabeth Stickfort

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Ann Wielenga

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 Marriage and the Family - Dr. Sandy Higgins explores the roles of parents, raising children, abortion, courtship, the Basis of Christian Living in the Home, God's Pattern Under Pressure, Heartbroken Homes, Being Single, Failing Fathers and other topics from the Bible's point of view.

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Jason My Child

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How to write your testimony effectively - Telling your own story is perhaps one of the most effective methods in sharing the gospel message.  It's Biblical, attractive and effective if done right.  “The problem with some writing isn’t that it’s bad writing. It’s just boring,” - Ginger Kolbaba, managing editor of Marriage Partnership magazine...

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How were people saved in the Old Testament?

Did people in the Old Testament get saved by performing sacrifices?  Were they saved because they were Jews?  If not, then how could they be saved if they had never heard of Jesus, the cross or the resurrection?  Some people say that God credits salvation to people who are sincere in their understanding of regardless of what they believe as long as they are faithful.  They extend that thinking to the saints of the Old Testament who were saved because they believed what God had revealed up to that time which excluded the knowledge of Christ dying for sins on the cross.  Let's see what the Bible says about people in the Old Testament in their salvation.  

Works vs Grace

Some mistakenly believe that salvation in the Old Testament was based on keeping the law, doing sacrifices and doing good works.  This is refuted multiple times in the Bible. 

"It is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins?" (Hebrews 10:4)." TARGET="_blank">Hebrews 10:4).

"By the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight?" (Romans 3:20" TARGET="_blank">Romans 3:20 ).

Those activities, though God-honoring, are not the manner in which a believer was ever, or ever will be saved.

Salvation through Christ

Every sacrifice and prophecy ultimately points to Christ and his work on the cross.  The people who believed in Christ in the Old Testament had less information about the ultimate sacrifice, but had the faith to believe that God eventually would resolve the problem of sin.

Romans 3:25-26" TARGET="_blank">Romans 3:25-26 teaches us that Christ died for sins of all time, including those of the Old Testament.  Christ was foreordained to be the Lamb of God since before the world began.  Revelation 13:8." TARGET="_blank">Revelation 13:8.  Isaiah 53:6" TARGET="_blank">Isaiah 53:6 tells us that "the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." The salvation that God imputed to Old Testament believers was based on the death of Christ, which in the mind of God was as good as accomplished even before the creation.

Salvation through faith in Christ

The greatest example of salvation through faith was Abraham.  "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness... ...But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness" (Romans 4:3, 5)." TARGET="_blank">Romans 4:3, 5).   Abraham didn't earn salvation, it was accounted to him for his faith.

But what exactly did Abraham believe?  Some would say that Abraham simply believed that God would multiply his seed like the stars of the heaven.  That is the immediate context of Genesis 15:6." TARGET="_blank">Genesis 15:6.  But Christ tells us that Abraham believed something more about the Seed that would be multiplied.  "Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad" (John 8:56" TARGET="_blank">John 8:56 ). Abraham knew that the Messiah was coming and trusted God to work out the matter of salvation at a future time.  Abraham was saved by faith in Christ.

Job knew that "my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth. And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God" (Job 19:25" TARGET="_blank">Job 19:25 -26).  Obviously, Job didn't know how or when, but he trusted God to take care of his redemption.

Moses also trusted in Christ many years before Christ came.  Hebrews says Moses "...esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt ; for he looked to the reward" (Hebrews 11:26" TARGET="_blank">Hebrews 11:26 ).

Although we look back to Christ's life and death, we don't know all the details, only what God has chosen to preserve in His Word.  The Old Testament believers didn't know all the details about the Messiah either, but they trusted Him for their salvation. They looked forward to Christ who was coming.  We look back to Christ who has come.

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THE INTERMEDIATE STATE
If we enter at the very moment of death into our Lord’s presence, do we enter bodily?

If so, in what kind of body do we enter?

If this immediate entry were true, would not resurrection be superfluous; and how reconcile it with 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17" TARGET="_blank">1 Thessalonians 4:15-17?
 
Certainly the Scriptures do not teach that at the moment of death the believer enters “bodily” into the presence of Christ, and yet the Apostle Paul says very plainly, “To depart and to be with Christ, which is far better” (Philippians 1:23)." TARGET="_blank">Philippians 1:23). He adds however, “nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you;” so that the presence with Christ is not “in the flesh,” it is not bodily: the body is laid in the grave, it sleeps awaiting the resurrection.

Then again in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5" TARGET="_blank">1 Corinthians 5:1-5 the apostle describes his earnest desire to depart and to be with Christ, which was so great, that he was willing even to enter the disembodied state, so as to be with Christ, evep in that imperfect condition. “We are confident and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

The passage in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17" TARGET="_blank">1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 describes quite another thing, namely, the coming of the Lord; the raising of the sleeping saints (sleeping, that is as to their bodies and whose spirits God will bring with Christ); and the changing of the living saints—two companies which will be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air. This will be the perfected condition.

2 Corinthians 12:2-4" TARGET="_blank">2 Corinthians 12:2-4 is clear proof that the human spirit can exist consciously and intelligently apart from the body, for Paul, when he was caught up, knew perfectly that he was at the third heaven, and in Paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for man to utter, and yet he twice assures us that he could not tell whether he was in the body or out of the body. This shows that he believed in the possibility of spiritual existence apart from the body.

W.H.

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To create a Bible word search puzzle or other similar bible word puzzle, choose one of the following programs:

You may also want to choose a Bible word search puzzle from one of the 350 Sunday school worksheets .  Each worksheet contains a Bible word search puzzle as well as a crossword puzzle, quizzes, a coloring page and other activities will help you prepare for next week's Sunday school lesson.

Some of the other items available for Sunday school teachers include printable Bible craft ideas for making 3d paper models, mini story books and power power lessons. For an example of what kind of projects you can use see the 3D Tabernacle model and other teaching materials at Sunday School Activities

You can also get a weekly lesson idea in your inbox.  Click here to subscribe to the weekly Sunday school projects . 

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The R.V. of Psalm 68:11" TARGET="_blank">Psalm 68:11: “The women that publish the tidings are a great host,” has been used in favour of public preaching of the Gospel by women. What is its real meaning?

Psalm 68" TARGET="_blank">Psalm 68 is primarily connected with the bringing up of the Ark by David to the “resting place” (Psalm 132:8," TARGET="_blank">Psalm 132:8, R.V.) which he had, in accordance with his boyhood’s vow, prepared for it; though, of course, prophetically it looks forward to events far beyond that. It begins in v. with the words uttered by Moses on the occasions when the Ark was being taken up to move onward through the wilderness (Numbers 10:35);" TARGET="_blank">Numbers 10:35); and in its earlier verses it recounts in few words the bright side of Israel’s past history, as connected with what the Ark symbolised—the presence and power of God with His people. Their march through the desert; their arrival in the promised inheritance; and their victories over the nations that dwelt there, and those others that surrounded it; are pictured as won by the Presence of God with them. On various occasions these were celebrated in song, especially by their women-folk; and it is to such celebrations that the words quoted in the question refer.

See examples of them, in Exodus 15:20, 21," TARGET="_blank">Exodus 15:20, 21, after the Red Sea crossing; in Judges 5:1-3," TARGET="_blank">Judges 5:1-3, after Barak’s defeat of the host of Sisera; and in 1 Samuel 18:6, 7," TARGET="_blank">1 Samuel 18:6, 7, after David’s own victory over Goliath. Also compare the rejoicing on this occasion of the bringing up of the Ark as described in 2 Sam. 6. 15-22." TARGET="_blank">2 Sam. 6. 15-22. It is worthy of note that in many respects our psalm may be compared with the above-mentioned Song of Deborah.  Those who advocate that women should do what in the New Testament they are forbidden to do, must be hard bestead for proof, if they have to come to Psalm 68:11" TARGET="_blank">Psalm 68:11 for it.

W.R.

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