Grace NotesTraining in Bible Teaching

Topic Library

Amorites

The name Amorite is used in the OT to denote (1) the inhabitants of Palestine generally, (2) the population of the hills as opposed to the plain, and (3) a specific people under a king of their own.

Apocrypha and non-Canonical Writings

The word Apocrypha means "hidden", or "secret". The term "Apocrypha" is usually applied to a collection of books, from eleven to sixteen in number, which appeared during the interim between the Old and New Testaments. These books have come down to us in more or less close connection with the canonical books of the Bible.

Athanasius of Alexandria

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, Athanasius the Confessor or, primarily in the Coptic Orthodox Church, Athanasius the Apostolic, was the twentieth bishop of Alexandria. His episcopate lasted 45 years (c. 8 June 328 – 2 May 373), of which over 17 were spent in five exiles ordered by four different Roman emperors.

Babylon

Babylon lay on the bank of the Euphrates in the land of Shinar (Gen. 10:10), in the northern area of Babylonia (now southern Iraq) called Accad (as opposed to the southern area called Sumer).

Busybody

A busybody is a person who inserts himself uninvited into some else’s life, who meddles or pries into the affairs of others. The Bible is very clear that this is wrong, totally inappropriate behavior, especially in a local church congregation.

Chios

mentioned on Paul’s third missionary journey. Chios was especially noted in antiquity for its claim to be the birthplace of Homer, for its school of epic poets, and its sculptors.

Deuteronomy - Introduction

The book of Deuteronomy contains not so much "a recapitulation of the things commanded and done, as related in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers" (Theod.), as "a compendium and summary of the whole law and wisdom of the people of Israel, wherein those things which related to the priests and Levites are omitted, and only such things included as the people generally required to know" (Luther).

Divine Decree

The classic definition comes from R.B. Thieme, Jr.: "The decree of God is His eternal (always existed), holy (perfect integrity), wise (the application of omniscience to creation), and sovereign purpose, comprehending simultaneously all things that ever were or will be in their causes, conditions (status), successions (interaction with others that leads to certain decisions), relations, and determining their certain futurition."

Ecumenical Council

An ecumenical council is a conference of ecclesiastical dignitaries and theological experts convened to discuss and settle matters of Church doctrine and practice in which those entitled to vote are convoked from the whole world (οικυμενει) and which secures the approbation of the whole Church.

Eternity

We don’t know much in detail about eternity, what it’s like, or what we will be doing there. However, the Bible does have some information from which we can draw some inferences.

Hannibal

Hannibal - When Hannibal was twenty-eight years old he had received a soldier's training through nineteen years in camp. He had disciplined his body to hardship, his appetite to moderation, his tongue to silence, his thought to objectivity.

Heart, Hardness of

Scar tissue of the soul. Prolonged negative volition, a continued neglect of the Word of God or the commands of Scripture, a refusal to walk in faith and be occupied with Christ, lead a Christian into a spiritual condition known as hardness of the heart.

Herodotus - The History

“These are the researches of Herodotus of Halicarnassus, which he publishes, in the hope of thereby preserving from decay the remembrance of what men have done, and of preventing the great and wonderful actions of the Greeks and the Barbarians from losing their due share of glory.”

Jealousy

Jealousy is a mental attitude or emotional sin which is characterized by resentment of another person's accomplishments, recognition, attractiveness, or possessions, or by hostility towards someone else who is believed to be enjoying some advantage.

Jewish Civilization

Jewish Civilization - A holy religion the characteristic of the civilization of the Jews, and their religious feelings were directed to something in the future. All the circumstances of their national life tended to fix their thoughts on One that was to come.

Logistical Grace

Logistical grace is the divine planning, divine support, divine provision, and divine blessing for the execution of the plan of God by members of the royal family [Christian believers] for the fulfillment of God's will, purpose, and plan for the Christian life.

Mental Attitude

Mental Attitude - A thorough article on the problems of mental attitude and how to grow into stability in the Christian Way of Life; how to have a relaxed mental attitude; how to avoid many kinds of neurosis.

Nehemiah

A postexile governor of Judah and writer of the memoirs in the book called by his name. All that is known from contemporary sources about this Jewish patriot is found in the book of Nehemiah.

Novice Christian

Any Christian believer is either winning or losing in the attempt to live as a Christian. A believer is either living according to the revealed plan of God, or is serving “the ruler of this world.” There is no in-between or middle ground.

Paul's Missionary Labors

The public life of Paul, from the third year after his conversion to his martyrdom, A.D. 40-64, embraces a quarter of a century, three great missionary campaigns with minor expeditions, five visits to Jerusalem, and at least four years of captivity in Caesarea and Rome.

Poor, The

The Lord Jesus said "The poor you will have with you always" (Mark 14:17), and the Bible has extensive teaching on the subject of poverty and how a Christian's duties include responsibility and care for poor people.

Red Heifer Offering

When a person became ceremonially unclean by some contact with an unclean animal or person or by contact with a dead person, he was required to go through a ritual cleansing. comprehensive study of the doctrine showing how the Lord deals with recalcitrant and implacable Christians.

Rhodes

The capital city of Rhodes is mentioned in Acts 21:1 as one of Paul's stopping places on his final journey to Jerusalem. Though the port city had once been one of the most powerful commercial centers of the Mediterranean, by the time of Paul's visit it was little more than a beautiful city with a glorious past.

Roman Law

The source of Roman law is the family or gens. The proprietary rights of the pater familias as head of this primitive unit of organization are fundamental in private law, and the scope of the criminal jurisdiction of the state was limited by the power of life and death exercised by the head of the family over those under his authority.

Sanctification

Sanctification is a state of separation unto God; all believers enter into this state when they are born again. There are three phases of sanctification: Positional, Experiential, and Ultimate Sanctification.

Self Deception

by Paton James Gloag, minister of the Parish of Dunning, Blantyre and Galashiels, early 20th century. "The greatest care and caution are necessary in examining the evidences of our conversion. We ought to exercise a holy jealousy over ourselves, and to avoid arriving at any definite conclusion as to the safety of our condition, except on sure and scriptural grounds."

Standing, Doctrine of

The advanced Christian, the person who has "attained to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ," has completed basic preparation, is standing firm, and is ready to be promoted into mature production in the Lord.

Synagogues

a discussion of the makeup and organization of synagogues in the times of the early church; from Sketches of Jewish Social Life, by Alfred Edersheim, Chapters 16 and 17; also from Conybeare and Howson, The Life and Epistles of St. Paul.

Syracuse

A city on the east coast of Sicily, about midway between Catania and the southeastern extremity of the island; Paul stopped there three days on his voyage from Malta to Rome (Acts 28:12).

Torah, Jewish Teachings on

In its most limited sense, "Torah" refers to the Five Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. But the word "torah" can also be used to refer to the entire Jewish bible (the body of scripture known to non-Jews as the Old Testament and to Jews as the Tanakh or Written Torah), or in its broadest sense, to the whole body of Jewish law and teachings.