Why Study Other Belief
Systems?
A
Topical Bible Study
First, in order to quench unneeded
misunderstanding: 1. We can’t
“save” anyone by clever arguments or even by presenting truth. 2. What works for
one person won’t necessarily work for another. 3. We need to
always trust the Holy Spirit to guide our conversations. The message we share is good news, that
God loves us so much to allow His Son to die in our place. He wishes us to
be with Him forever and the only pathway is through Jesus.
Accepting His free gift results in us being His children. In order
to accept His gift, we need to admit our need for Him, our wrongdoing, even the
smallest of sins standing in the way, turn toward Him and follow His ways. Whereas not all examples of witnessing
apply today, for example Paul saying that those present witnessed the risen
Christ, there are principles and examples of how to witness. The high points of the below study are to
be as prepared as possible to answer any argument that may come our way. Learning
the belief system of others is necessary to effectively become all things to all
men. Share the “good news” as the message, and sin as the roadblock. Share
with love and respect. (All the bible verses quoted can be found
below the outline.) The message overall is a positive one. ·
Proclaiming the good news, Jesus is the Christ Acts 5:42 Acts 8:12 Acts
10:36 ·
We are to give the message of reconciliation II
Cor 5:19 ·
Proclaim the mystery of Christ Col 4:3 The message requires change ·
Turn to God in faith and repentance Acts 20:21 The message is preceded by finding common ground. ·
Stephen Acts 7:2-52 ·
Philip Acts 8:30-35 ·
Paul Acts 13:17-40 ·
Paul in Athens “looked carefully at your objects of worship” Acts
17:16-31 ·
All things to all men to win some I Cor 9:19-23 The message is better received because of preparation. ·
To be able to reason preceding and defending gospel. o
Paul in the synagogue Acts 17:2-3 Acts 18:4-6, 19 o
Paul in Athens Acts 17:17 o
Paul was prepared Acts 18:28, Acts 19:8-9a ·
We are told to be prepared o Not to be swayed by false teaching Eph
4:14-15 o Always be ready to give answer Col
4:4-6 o Answer for the hope within us I Pet
3:15 o Correct with careful instruction 2 Tim
4:2 The message is to be shared with love, grace, gentleness and
respect ·
Speak truth in love, seasoned with grace, gentle and with respect Eph
4:14-15, Col 4:4-6 I Pet 3:15 ·
Did not speak against the other religion Acts 19:37 The message may be shared in different ways ·
Believe and be saved - The jailer Acts 16:30-31 ·
Gave personal testimony Acts 22:3-21 ·
Christ be preached no matter what Phil 1:15-17 The message to the Jews, “You crucified Jesus.”
Acts 2:22-24 Acts 2:36-38 Acts 3:15-20 Acts 4:10-12 Acts 5:30 ·
God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. ·
God raised him from the dead ·
Repent and turn to God ·
No other path to salvation ·
Receive forgiveness and refreshment from God and the Holy Spirit |
All references below use the 1984 NIV 22"Men
of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you
by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you
yourselves know. 23This
man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with
the help of wicked men,F9
put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24But
God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it
was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. Acts 2:22-24 36"Therefore
let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified,
both Lord and Christ." 37When
the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the
other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" 38Peter
replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit. Acts 2:36-38 15You
killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of
this. 16By
faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It
is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete
healing to him, as you can all see. 17"Now,
brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. 18But
this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying
that his ChristF13would
suffer. 19Repent,
then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of
refreshing may come from the Lord, 20and
that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you--even Jesus. Acts
3:15-20 10then
know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man
stands before you healed. 11He
is "
'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.F16
'F17
12Salvation
is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by
which we must be saved." Acts 4:10-12 30The
God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead--whom you had killed by hanging
him on a tree. 31God
exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give
repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. 32We
are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to
those who obey him." Acts 5:30 42Day
after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped
teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.F22
Acts 5:42 2To
this he replied: "Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory
appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he
lived in Haran. 3'Leave
your country and your people,' God said, 'and go to the land I will show you.'F23
Acts 7:2-3 …the history lesson... 52Was
there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who
predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and
murdered him-- Acts 7:52 12But
when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and
the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Acts 8:12 30Then
Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet.
"Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked. Acts
8:30 35Then
Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news
about Jesus. Acts 8:35 36You
know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of
peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. Acts 10:36 17The
God of the people of Israel chose our fathers; he made the people prosper during
their stay in Egypt, with mighty power he led them out of that country, Acts
13:17 ...history lesson… 32"We
tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers 33he
has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in
the second Psalm: "
'You are my Son; today
I have become your Father.F48
'F49
34The
fact that God raised him from the dead, never to decay, is stated in these
words: "
'I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.'F50
35So
it is stated elsewhere: "
'You will not let your Holy One see decay.'F51
Warning from their belief system 40Take
care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you: 41"
'Look, you scoffers, wonder and
perish, for I am going
to do something in your days that
you would never believe, even if
someone told you.'F52
" 1At
Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they
spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. Acts
14:1 30He
then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 31They
replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your
household." 32Then
they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. Acts
16:30 2As
his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he
reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3explaining
and proving that the ChristF61
had to suffer and rise from the dead. "This Jesus I am proclaiming to you
is the Christ, Acts 17:2-3 16While
Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the
city was full of idols. 17So
he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well
as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 18A
group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of
them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked,
"He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul
was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. 19Then
they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to
him, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20You
are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they
mean." 21(All
the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing
but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.) 22Paul
then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I
see that in every way you are very religious. 23For
as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found
an altar with this inscription:|sc TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as
something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. 24"The
God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and
does not live in temples built by hands. 25And
he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself
gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26From
one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth;
and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should
live. 27God
did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him,
though he is not far from each one of us. 28'For
in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have
said, 'We are his offspring.' 29"Therefore
since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like
gold or silver or stone--an image made by man's design and skill. 30In
the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people
everywhere to repent. 31For
he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has
appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the
dead." Acts 17:16-31 4Every
Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. 5When
Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to
preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.F64
6But
when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in
protest and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of
my responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles." Acts 18:4-6 19They
arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into
the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. Acts 18:19 28For
he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures
that Jesus was the Christ. Acts 18:28
8Paul
entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing
persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9But
some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the
Way. So Paul left them. Acts 19:8-9a 37You
have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor
blasphemed our goddess. Acts 19:37 21I
have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance
and have faith in our Lord Jesus. Acts 20:21 Gave testimony 3Then
Paul said: "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this
city. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was
just as zealous for God as any of you are today. 4I
persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and
women and throwing them into prison, 5as
also the high priest and all the Council can testify. I even obtained letters
from them to their brothers in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as
prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished. 6"About
noon as I came near Damascus... Acts 22:3-6 Though I am free and belong to no man, I
make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20To
the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became
like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win
those under the law. 21To
those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not
free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having
the law. 22To
the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so
that by all possible means I might save some. 23I
do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
I Cor 9:19-23 : 19that
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins
against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. II Cor
5:19 4The
weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they
have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We
demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the
knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to
Christ II Cor 10:4-5 14Then
we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here
and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in
their deceitful scheming. 15Instead,
speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the
Head, that is, Christ. Eph 4:14-15 14Because
of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the
word of God more courageously and fearlessly. 15It
is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of
goodwill. 16The
latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17The
former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they
can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.F3
18But
what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from
false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Phil
1:15-17 3And
pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may
proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4Pray
that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5Be
wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6Let
your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may
know how to answer everyone. Col 4:4-6 15But
in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to
everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this
with gentleness and respect, I Pet 3:15 Preach the Word; be prepared in season
and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and
careful instruction. 2 Tim 4:2
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