WORLD BIBLE SCHOOL
Introduction Lesson: Lesson 2
“THE WAY”
Instructions:
1. Read the lesson.
2. In the Reply Section, answer the questions and complete the Student Information.
3. Cut and return the Reply Section me via e-mail, to be graded. You will find your
The Guide Who Is Also The Way
The Bible often pictures life as a journey, in which we must choose the road we will travel. We should be careful because,
“There is a way that seems right to a man but in the end it leads to death (Proverbs 16:25).”
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it (Matthew 7:13-14).”
Although there may seem to be many roads, in reality they come down to two choices. How can we see which way to take? “I am the light of the world,” Jesus said, “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness” (John 8:12). As for the gate which leads to life, He is that Gate (John 10:9). He is also the Way (John 14:6; Hebrews 10:20). All who enter by this Gate, and follow this Way, come to the City prepared by God Himself. In this City God meets all our needs (Hebrews 11:16; 12:22; Revelation 21:22).
It is not surprising, then, that early Christianity was called “the Way” (Acts 24:14,22). This “Way” is not just one more idea, among many ideas, about life. The Way of the Bible brings us to a Person, a Guide who says of Himself, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life” 14:6).
Claims With Proof
Many people and books claim to guide us to a better life. Many claim to speak for, or about, God. Making loud claims is easy. The hard part is proving those claims to be true.
Most books by great thinkers do not try to offer real proof for what they say about God. The Bible not only offers good evidence, it is itself the proof! Remember that the Bible was written over a long period of history. Because of this, the Bible stands alone in being able to combine two things: It could foretell coming events. And, much later, it could then report their fulfillment.
Earlier Bible writers told of things yet to come. Then, even centuries later, other Bible writers saw and recorded those things coming true. These are not ‘guesses’ about small, hidden happenings. Many of these prophecies deal with entire nations, and world-changing events. Many of the prophecies are about the Christ.
Prophecies showed the line of parents through whom He would be born (Genesis 22:18; 49:10; Psalm 89; Jeremiah 23:5). They predicted the exact place of His birth (Micah 5:2). They described His nature and work (Psalm 2; 110; Isaiah 9:6-7; 11:1-10). They foretold His death, and even His victory over death (Isaiah 53).
This picture of the Christ was drawn hundreds of years before the coming of Jesus. Yet Jesus fit every part of this prophetic picture so well that He is now called Jesus, the Christ. The evidences about Christ are so strong that the world has never been the same since His arrival.
What About Wrongs Done By ‘Christians’?
Because the Bible is so convincing, Christianity has spread around the world. As it spread, some took its good name and twisted it, for their own selfish purposes. Terrible things have been done in the name of ‘Christianity’. Much of what claims to be ‘Christian,’ is not! Jesus Himself said that His name would be misused (Matthew 7:15-23). The apostles predicted that “many” would follow false leaders who would change Christianity (2 Peter 2:1-2; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12; 1 Timothy 4:1-3; 2 Timothy 3:5; 4:3-4). False forms of Christianity have caused people to ask, “Where is the true Way, The Christianity of Jesus? Can we find it again?” Here is the greatest value of the Bible, for it has safely kept the true knowledge of Jesus.
Real Christianity is, and will always be, CHRISTianity – based on what Christ is, does and teaches (1 Corinthians 3:11; Acts 1:1; 8:5,35). Christ Himself commanded all people to follow the original teachings He gave to His apostles. He said to the apostles,
“…Teaching them to obey everything I (Christ) have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:20).”
If we wish to have Christ with us, we must find and follow what Christ taught from the beginning. For that we must learn from the Bible. Some doubt that we can properly understand Scripture. Yet the Bible itself clearly says that even ordinary people can understand it (Deuteronomy 29:29; 30:11-14; Nehemiah 8:2,8: John 8:32; Ephesians 3:4; 2 Timothy 2:7). Jesus said that God’s word is like a seed in good ground (Matthew 13: Luke 8).
“The one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it (Matthew 13:23).”
He understands when he listens with “a good (honest) heart” (Luke 8:15).
“The Way”
As a person is willing to listen with “a good (honest) heart”, sometimes the Lord gives him understanding through the help of a Christian friend. This is what happened to a man from Ethiopia:
The journey was long, and there was much time for thought. The official read carefully. His mind was on the greatest journey of all – life and death. This death, of which he read, was unusual. He did not fully understand it. Yet he knew that it was an important death, for the book telling about this strange death was _The Book_. Generation after generation, century after century, The Book’s wisdom led the way to a better life. The part he now read had first been penned 800 years earlier, by the prophet Isaiah.
To whom did Isaiah point, when he wrote of One killed as a sacrifice, like a lamb? Looking up, the official saw a man coming. Could this man help him? Could this be the friend he needed? The friend was a Christian called Philip. The official immediately asked him, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about…?” [Let's conclude the story in the words of the Bible itself...]
“Then Philip began with that very passage of scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” The eunuch answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing (Acts 8:35-39).”
As chief treasurer for the queen of Ethiopia, the official (or “eunuch”) had many duties. Yet no duty was greater than his duty to God – from Whom all else comes. The official was religious. He had just been in Jerusalem to worship God. He was a Bible reader. These things did not make him proud. They made him aware of how much more he needed to learn. He welcomed a friend who could help him more fully understand God’s word. In so doing, he gained great happiness. In baptism he was “buried” and then raised up with Christ to a new and better life (Romans 6:3-4; Colossians 2:12; 1 Peter 3:21, Acts 22:16). Now, in the best sense, he was on his way Home, because He had found The Way!
REPLY SECTION
Complete and Return the Following via E-mail
Questions On The Introduction Lesson: Part Two
“The Way”
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS:
Type in the correct letter (A, B, OR C) representing the correct answer. There is only one correct answer for each Scripture given.
[ ] 1. {Matthew 7:13-14} The road that leads to life is …(A)wide, (B)narrow, (C)always changing
[ ] 2. {Acts 24:14,22} Another name for early Christianity was … (A)”The Way”, (B)”The Map”, (C)”The Hope”
[ ] 3. {John 14:6} Jesus said, “I am the Way and the Truth and the … (A)Wisdom, (B)Life, (C)Light
[ ] 4. The birth-place of Christ was predicted in … (A)Micah 5:2, (B)Isaiah 66:25, (C)Genesis 3:25
[ ] 5. The Christ’s death was foretold in… (A)Isaiah 66, (B)Isaiah 53, (C)Isaiah 7
[ ] 6. {Matthew 13; Luke 8} The word of God is like a … (A)seed, (B)song, (C)sword
[ ] 7. {Matthew 13:23} “Good soil” people hear the word and …(A)question it, (B)spread it, (C)understand it
[ ] 8. {Luke 8:15} We understand God’s word when we hear it with a …(A)good heart, (B)willing ear, (C)friend’s help
[ ] 9. {Acts 8} The Ethiopian treasurer was reading from the book of… (A)Isaiah, (B)Jeremiah, (C)Ezekiel
[ ] 10. {Acts 8} Philip told the Good News about … (A)Moses, (B)Jesus, (C)Paul
[ ] 11. {Acts 8} After obeying this Good News, the Ethiopian was… (A) rejoicing, (B)proud, (C)fearful
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Philip told “Good News” to the Ethiopian treasurer (Acts 8). What is this Good News, and how does it help a person?
2. The Ethiopian believed and “went down into the water” for baptism. Why be baptized? Have you been baptized like this?
3. Have you learned something new from these Introduction Lessons? If so, what is the most important new thing you have learned?
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