What Does The Bible Say?

In this episode, Arnie and Fred discuss two of the theories skeptics have proposed over the years to explain the empty tomb Jesus' body had been in. We begin by looking at a number of passages written by the witnesses that show that Jesus' body had in fact been in Joseph of Arimathea's new sepulcher. The apostles who wrote the accounts and others mentioned therein had witnessed that fact. The first theory we look at was proposed by a Dr. who taught at the Harvard Divinity School in 1907. His theory was that those involved went to the wrong tomb and found it empty. We talk about the individuals who were involved in burying Jesus and the fact that they were acutely aware of the location of the tomb He was put in. We discuss the knowledge the chief priests and the soldiers who guarded had of its location. We note that its location would be a matter of official Roman record as well. We then look at the theory that the body was stolen by the disciples, the Romans or the Jews. We look at obvious reasons this is simply not true. Take about thirty minutes to listen in on our conversation. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript provided of this Buzzsprout episode for your convenience.

In this last episode about those who watch after the flock, Arnie and Fred finish up discussing passages where the word elder appears. Some of those passages were not referring to elders in the local church. We note that every church that has qualified men must appoint elders. We discuss the plural form of the word elder which is sometimes translated presbytery, elderhood or eldership, referring to the same plurality of those men in the local church. We talk about the fact that all elders are of equal "rank". Peter shows this when he uses the term "fellow elder" in his first epistle. We note that an elder is the same as an overseer in the local assembly. We complete this episode by looking at the terms pastor and shepherd which refer to the same individual who is an elder. We again talk about the use of these terms in the Bible. The terms overseer, elder, pastor or shepherd all designate men serving with the same responsibility in a local church. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. For your convenience, there is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided.

In this episode, Arnie and Fred complete their discussion on overseers in the local church. We note that Christ is the overseer of men's souls, and no human archbishop or chief bishop ever appears in the Scriptures. We begin talking about those who are referred to as elders in the local church. We note that these two terms are referring to the same individual. We look at the term elder and what it indicates and implies of the individual seeking to serve the assembly in that capacity. The term elder appears throughout the New Testament in many different contexts. We examine those examples. We will have to complete our discussion of elders in the next episode. We will include a discussion of pastors and shepherds at that time also. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on what we have to say. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode for your convenience.

In this episode, Arnie and Fred look at what the Bible says about those who are responsible to watch over the Lord's local flock. We begin by reading where Paul tells Timothy about these people. We discuss the terms used for these men and note that there are some translated words that are not as good in describing them. We talk about several passages that show that there is no hierarchy, clergy, laity or titles of honor used in the Lord's local assembly. We focus in on the term overseer and the other word we find that is a mistranslation of it. We look at the responsibilities of these overseers, noting that there is always a plurality of them in each local church. We close out this episode by noting another word that is used for the overseers. We run out of time before we can complete that discussion. Tune in the next episode to hear the rest of that discussion. Take about 30-minutes to listen to this episode. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.

Arnie and Fred begin this final episode about the church of Christ at Philippi by noting how they first dedicated themselves to God and consequently were involved in aiding God's saints in Jerusalem. We talk about how they abounded in the knowledge of the truth and how they attained that knowledge. Paul noted that they were genuine and blameless, and we discuss what he said. It is said that they produced the fruit of the Spirit. We talk about what that means and how they attained it. It is said also that they gave themselves to other disciples. We discuss this and note how important this is to the successful functioning of the local church. We return to notice the benevolent spirit that the church at Philippi had and its effect. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.

In this episode, Arnie and Fred continue their discussion of the church of Christ at Philippi. We begin by noting that the church had to combat local prejudices from the start. We look at one of those situations, but also notice that in spite of this they were able to grow rapidly and continually, both spiritually and numerically. They were successful a number of important areas. They were self-supporting, they helped support Paul as well as others that were named as Paul's helpers. Additionally, they participated in helping the needy saints in Jerusalem who were suffering from a famine there. We also talk about their support of Paul while he was incarcerated in Rome in about AD 63. In Paul's letter to them, he noted that they had selected both elders/bishops and servants/deacons to serve the congregation. We discuss how this rapid growth and achievement was possible and what they did to accomplish it. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcription of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.

In this episode, Arnie and Fred begin their discussion about the local church of Christ that was established at Philippi which was a prominent city in North East Macedonia. It was about nine miles North of the coast of the Aegean Sea. This was the first European city that Paul preached in on his second missionary journey in about AD 52. Paul was at Troas and received a vision in which a man said to "come to Macedonia and help us". When they arrived at Philippi after a few days they met a woman named Lydia and had the opportunity to teach her and her family the gospel and we talk about what occurred at that time. Later as they went to prayer, they met a woman who was possessed with a spirit of divination. We discuss what Paul did and the jailing of Paul and Silas because of it. We note the opportunity that this gave them to teach the jailer the gospel and what occurred because of that. We note the growth of the church at Philippi and its modest beginnings. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.

In this final episode of Who Is This Jesus, Arnie and Fred begin by revisiting Jesus' interaction with His twelve apostles at the Last Supper. Specifically, we look at His lesson to them about serving others. We move on to Pontius Pilate and his extensive discussions while Jesus stood before him in judgment. We note Pilate's doubts concerning the Jews charge against Him. We then talk about John and Mark's record of several women who visited the sepulcher after Jesus was raised from the dead. We end this episode by talking about what Thomas had to say and why the doubts that he expressed are important to us. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcription of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.

Arnie and Fred continue to discuss some of other people who through various circumstances had close contact or unusual experiences with Jesus, who recognized the special attributes that were unique to Him. They became witnesses which were led to distinctly different conclusions regarding His identity. In this episode we pick up the record John wrote of the Levitical police officers that were sent to arrest Jesus. We note their impression of Jesus which they related to the religious leaders after they refused to arrest Him. We next look at John's record of the blind man Jesus healed, his conclusions about Jesus and the reaction of the Scribes and Pharisees when they encountered him. John also recorded the time that Jesus resurrected His friend Lazarus. Jesus spoke with Martha, Lazarus' sister at this time and John records that discussion. We key in on what she had to say. There were a number of Jerusalem Jews there also who witnessed what Jesus did. We talk about what John recorded of their reaction. John records the discussion that the Chief Priests and Pharisees at Jerusalem had about Jesus and the miracles He had performed, and we look at that. We close out this episode at the Passover, looking at the reaction of the multitude that was there for that feast when Jesus entered Jerusalem, and at the Last Supper Jesus had with His apostles at that time. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript provided of this Buzzsprout episode for your convenience.

In this third episode of Who Is This Jesus, Arnie and Fred continue to discuss some of the people who had the closest contact or unusual experiences with Jesus and recognized the special attributes that were unique to Him. Consequently, this led them to distinctly different conclusions regarding His identity. We begin with Philip the apostle who recognized Jesus as the individual Moses spoke of in the Old Testament. We talk about Nathaniel next who Philip sought out to tell him who they had found. We notice what convinced Nathaniel that Jesus was the Son of God and King of Israel. We next look at Nicodemus who was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews. We discuss what he had concluded about Jesus and some of what Jesus taught him. We next move to the Samaritan woman at the Sychar well and the people of Sychar who she told of her discussion with Jesus. We closeout this episode noticing those who followed Jesus from Galilee to the Golan Heights and what He said to them. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.

Arnie and Fred continue their discussion of Who Is This Jesus? in this second episode. We begin by noting that Jesus referred to Himself as the Messiah or the Christ on numerous occasions and once in prayer. He used picturesque terms as well such as the door of the sheep, the bread of life and three more that we looked at. He also referred to Himself as simply I AM. We discuss the significance of this term. We look at a number of times that His enemies in the Jewish religious establishment spoke of Him in different ways and why they did so. We close out this episode by looking at some of those who had the closest contact with Jesus and what they said about Him. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript available of this Buzzsprout episode for your convenience.

Arnie and Fred begin this episode by discussing the various questions that arose concerning who Jesus was in the first century. We note that these same questions are asked today. Jesus had asked the question of His apostles, "Who do men say that I am?" We look at the occasions that Matthew, Mark and Luke recorded what was said. John didn't record this particular occasion. But he did record a number of the miracles Jesus performed and who men recognized Jesus to be. John also referred to Jesus as the Nazarene and there is a short discussion of the significance of this term. Throughout this episode we talk about what John recorded. We note that Jesus' name was a common one in the first century and we look at a number of men who went by that name that we find in the Bible. Jesus used various expressions to refer to Himself as well. We begin to look at these but run out of time before completing our discussion. We will begin the next episode by looking at the terms Jesus used to refer to Himself. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.

Arnie and Fred continue in this last episode to discuss more facts about the gospel. We finish up the fact that the gospel is verifiable. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to give the apostles the ability to perform miracles in order to confirm what they taught as coming from God. We can now verify the gospel through the written record that the inspired writers provided us in our Bibles. We next talked about the fact that the gospel is understandable by reading it. We looked at what Peter said about some of what Paul wrote as being hard to understand. We discussed how we can understand these hard writings. We next moved to the credibility of the gospel. Mathew, Mark, Luke and John all noted this. We talk about the places they wrote about this. The gospel is also universal. Jesus had commanded the apostles to go into all the world teaching and preaching the gospel. We discuss the passages that indicate they were successful in obeying the Lord's command in this regard. We close out this episode noting how essential the gospel is to one's salvation. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode for your convenience.

Arnie and Fred continue to discuss more facts about the gospel. We begin this episode by looking at the fact that the gospel is immutable or cannot be changed. We discuss what Paul and John said about this subject and note that there are some warnings in what they said. We next talk about the indestructible or eternal nature of the gospel. Jesus along with four other writers note this fact. We look at all of them. We find that the gospel is also verifiable. Four inspired writers note this and provide us with the evidence to make the verifications. We talk about how important this is for us today. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.

In this episode, Arnie and Fred continue their discussion of various facts about the gospel in the Bible. We begin by noting that the gospel was confirmed by various miracles. We look at a couple of passages that indicate that. We also note that the Bible is complete and says that the writers were provided all truth by the Holy Spirit. We talk about some of the claims that some modern men say about receiving other words from God. We continue with a discussion of the uniqueness of the gospel by noting what Paul and the Hebrew writer had to say about that. We close out this episode by beginning to look at the immutability or unchanging nature of the gospel. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and will have to complete this discussion in the next episode. Take about 30 - minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript provided of this Buzzsprout episode for your convenience.

In this episode, Arnie and Fred begin a discussion about various facts about the gospel. We start by noting that in discussing God's word, Jesus referred to it by another term. We discuss that term. We talk about five other terms that New Testament writers also use which are, the New Testament, the doctrine of Christ, revelation, the counsel of God, and the word of truth. The Hebrew writer refers to Jesus as the mediator. We look at those two places and discuss what that means. Paul, John and Peter all discuss inspiration. We talk about what they had to say and why that is important to us today. Paul notes that the gospel is explicit in what it says. We look at the two places that he notes this. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript provided of this Buzzsprout episode for your convenience.

In this final episode on what the Bible says about various kinds of faith, Arnie and Fred begin by discussing active faith and what that entails. We discuss what Jesus said about active faith in the judgment scene recorded by Mathew in chapter 25. We move on to look at the reference to a dead faith that James makes in his extensive discussion of faith in his second chapter. He discusses the need for one's faith to be one that is working and vital. We look at what Jesus said about this in Matthew 25 again, in the judgment scene. Paul mentions an availing faith. We talk about what that means. Jesus had a discussion with Peter about his faith after Peter said he would never leave the Lord. Jesus told Peter that there would be a point very shortly that his faith would fail. We discuss this problem that so many saints have. We also note that Peter's faith later on became very strong. Faith is something that must be kept, even in times of aversity. Paul is the perfect example. Paul enjoins saints in two letters to keep the faith. We look at that guidance. Finally, it is possible to cast off one's faith. We talk about two situations that Paul records of this problem that some had. Our faith is essential to salvation. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our final episode of this important subject. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript provided of this Buzzsprout episode for your convenience.

Arnie and Fred continue their discussion of various kinds of faith by talking about a strong faith in this episode. Abraham is the basis of this subject, being a great example of a strong faith. We look at several instances in his life that shows us this quality. We move on to a weak faith and why one may display this kind of faith and how one might avoid this. We next note what a confessed faith is and how important it is to one's salvation. We close out this episode with a look at denied faith and how this is displayed by some disciples. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript provided for your convenience.

In this episode, we talk about the various kinds of faith referred to in the Bible. We begin by looking at the Hebrew letter where the writer defines what faith is. There are certain facts that one must know in order to develop the proper faith discussed in the Bible. We note that true faith is an essential element of salvation. Again, the Hebrew writer indicates that God is not pleased with unbelievers who ignore and disbelieve His evidence. We look at the passage where Jesus says that one who does not believe the gospel cannot be saved. Consequently, salvation is promised only to those who are obedient believers. We discuss this principle. One time, Jesus spoke to a certain woman who was a Gentile and told her she had great faith. We note what her faith consisted of. We next look at a situation where Jesus told an individual he had little faith. We note what led to this individual's small amount of faith. Unfortunately, many are spiritually like this individual. In looking at what the Bible says about this person, we find out that he developed greater faith later on in his life. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.

In this fourth and final episode, Arnie and Fred continue to ask, Is Jesus Jehovah? We look at what Moses and Malachi say about Jehovah being unchangeable. We then note that both Paul and the Hebrew writer discuss that same characteristic. Next, Isaiah says that Jehovah , the Lord, is a stone of stumbling. Listen to our discussion of what Peter says about that. We move on to discuss the Harbinger and what we find Isaiah and Matthew recording about that same subject. We close out this episode by talking about whose name is to be called upon. Joel mentions this in the Old Testament. Both Paul and Peter mention what Joel had to say. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript provided for your convenience.