The Bible Our Guide
Plain Scriptural Teaching for the Followers of Christ
Part One
The statements on this page represent Christadelphian beliefs. The statements are deliberately challenging, asking every reader to compare his own opinions with the plain teaching of Scripture, examining carefully the Bible passages offered as proof. If, as a result, a change of mind and heart is called for, there will be no doubt that the teaching of the Lord, and the book he trusted, must be followed wherever it leads.
Scripture quotations taken from the New King James (also known as the Revised Authorized) Version of the Bible.
The Bible
If we claim to follow Christ we should trust in the Scriptures as confidently as Jesus and his Apostles did:
Jesus:
The Scripture cannot be broken.
(John 10:35)
Paul:
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
(2 Timothy 3:16)
Peter:
For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit
(2 Peter 1:21)
The things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven
(1 Peter 1:12)
True faith must be founded on a fully inspired Bible.
Human Nature
If we claim to follow Christ we should admit that we are sinful and dying creatures, without hope of life except in Christ:
Moses:
Dust you are and to dust you shall return.
(Genesis 3:19)
Isaiah:
All flesh is grass, and its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades.
(Isaiah 40:6-7)
James:
For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
(James 4:14)
Peter:
All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers and the flower falls away.
(1 Peter 1:24)
The Bible makes it plain that we are mortal: only when we admit this can we truly look forward to the salvation it offers.
The Future of the Righteous
If we claim to follow Christ we should admit that our reward is to be looked for on the earth, not in heaven:
The Psalms
But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
(Psalm 37:11; Matthew 5:5)
Jesus:
And have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on earth.
(Revelation 5:10)
Daniel:
The stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth ... In the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed.
(Daniel 2:35,44)
The greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High.
(Daniel 7:27)
The Psalms:
The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD's; but the earth he has given to the children of men
(Psalm 115:16)
John:
No man has ascended to heaven, but he who came down from heaven, that is the Son of Man who is in heaven.
(John 3:13)
The Bible tells us that the reward is at present reserved in heaven with Christ, to be revealed on earth at his coming:
Peter:
An inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you ... salvation ready to be revealed in the last time ... and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
(1 Peter 1:4,5,13)
Paul:
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly await for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body.
(Philippians 3:20,21)
The Bible tells us that the earth, where god placed men in the beginning is the place where he will receive his blessing.
The State of the Dead
If we claim to follow Christ we should recognize that the grave is a place of unconsciousness, which only resurrection can bring to an end:
The Psalms:
For in death there is no remembrance of you; in the grave who will give you thanks?
(Psalm 6:5)
Hezekiah:
For Sheol [=grave] cannot thank you, death cannot praise you; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your truth.
(Isaiah 38:18)
Peter:
David, that is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day ... For David did not ascend into the heavens
(Acts 2:29,34)
Paul:
And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are all still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.
(1 Corinthians 15:17-19)
The grave, and the hell of the Old Testament, are the same word and the same place. It is to this place of oblivion that all the dead must go.
The Return of Christ to Earth
If we claim to follow Christ we should join all his early disciples in looking for his second coming:
Jesus:
The son of man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him...
(Matthew 25:31)
Angels:
This same Jesus, who is taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw him go into heaven
(Acts 1:11)
Peter:
And that (God) may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before
(Acts 3:20)
Paul:
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God
(1 Thessalonians 4:16)
Only by his second coming can Christ complete the work he began when he came before.
Jesus the King
If we claim to follow Christ we shall be sure that our Lord Jesus Christ, on his return, is to be king over the earth:
The Angel Gabriel:
He will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.
(Luke 1:32,33)
Jesus:
Do not swear ... by Jerusalem for it is the city of the Great King
(Matthew 5:34,35)
Jeremiah:
Behold, the days are coming, saith the LORD, that I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is his name by which he will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
(Jeremiah 23:5,6)
Zechariah:
And in that day his feet will stand on the mount of Olives ... And the Lord shall be king over all the earth. In that day it shall be - "The LORD is one", and his name one.
(Zechariah 14:4,9)
Paul:
Because (God) has appointed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained . He has given assurance of this to all, by raising him from the dead.
(Acts 17:31)
Only by the righteous reign of Jesus over the whole earth will it be possible for God to fill the whole earth with His glory.
The Kingdom of God
If we claim to follow Christ we can rejoice in the knowledge that God will establish His Kingdom in power over all the earth:
Daniel
And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it shall stand for ever.
(Daniel 2:44)
Jesus:
The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever ... We give you thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the one who is and who was and who is to come, because you have taken your great power and reigned.
(Revelation 11:15,17)
God is truly ruler over all his universe.
The Psalms:
The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.
(Psalm 103:19)
Daniel:
The Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he chooses ... his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation.
(Daniel 4:25,34)
He once established His kingdom in Israel, and removed it because of His people's wickedness:
Moses:
If you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant ... you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
(Exodus 19:5,6)
David:
Blessed are you, LORD God of Israel, our Father, for ever and ever. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head over all... Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father, and prospered.
( 1 Chronicles 29:10,11,23)
Ezekiel:
Now to you O profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, whose iniquity shall end, thus saith the LORD GOD: Remove the turban and take off the crown ... Overthrown, overthrown, I will make it overthrown! It shall be no longer, until he come whose right it is, and I will give it to him.
(Ezekiel 21:25-27)
When Jesus reestablishes the kingdom, rebellious Israel must repent, and the unrepentant will be rejected:
Zechariah:
Then they will look on me whom they have pierced; they will mourn for him as one mourns for his only son.
(Zechariah 12:10; see Revelation 1:7)
Jesus:
There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.
(Luke 13:28)
Jesus will establish his kingdom by subduing the nations, and moreover the nation which crucified him will need to submit.
Go to part two.
The text of this page is taken from the Christadelphian booklet The Bible Our Guide, author unknown.
