The Bible Explained, part 37/40: Conclusion

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THE BIBLE EXPLAINED

A Guide to the Holy Bible
for Parents and Teenagers

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Where did you come from?
What is your purpose?
What happens when you die?

These questions--and more--are answered in 'The
Bible Explained', which is based on the teachings
of the Holy Bible. The Holy Bible is a collection
of ancient books which claim to be the word of the
one and only God. This one and only God claims to
be the sole creator, owner, and sustainer of all
things; he further claims to hold the one and only
key to eternal life. Are these claims true? Get
the facts and then decide for yourself.

This document is meant to be understood by everyone,
and is therefore written in plain, simple language,
avoiding complex religious jargon.

Understand the Bible like never before.

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Introduction
Quest for Truth
The Holy Bible
Origin and Destiny
The Big Picture: Good and Evil
The Story of Man
The Purpose of the Earth
The Standard and the Test
Work: The Key to Success and Life
Pyramid Society
Failure of Man
Male and Female
Family Relationships
Marriage and Family
Sexual Immorality
The Value of Life
Multiplication and Overpopulation
Racism
Creation and Evolution
Government
Politics
Justice
Words, Speech, and Censorship
Church Matters
Monotheism, Jews, and Christians
Temptation
The Nature of Evil
Life and Death of Satan
Reincarnation
The Rapture
The End Times
The Near Future
Preparing for the Future
Groups and Labels
Understanding Judgement
Preparing for Death
Conclusion
Appendix A: Questions and Answers
Appendix B: The Ten Commandments
Appendix C: Marriage

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TITLE: "The Bible Explained"
AUTHOR: "Arrant Knave"
ISBN-10: "1468197061"
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-----<excerpt from book>

Conclusion

God created humans to be free individuals; and he gave them his law as the one and only path to life eternal. Therefore, no man should ever oppress another man; neither should anyone force God's law on anyone else. The keeping of God's law should always be a free, individual choice.

Freedom and Covenant: Each man is free to do as he pleases. There is only one circumstance under which a man's freedoms are restricted: When he chooses to inherit life eternal as prescribed by the LORD God, he is obligated to live the remainder of his life according to the standard which leads to life: the Ten Commandments.

The Message Reiterated: The message of God is simple: 'I set before you life and death. Choose life that you may live. Life comes through the keeping of the Ten Commandments. He who keeps the Ten Commandments shall inherit life eternal; he who refuses to keep the Ten Commandments earns death eternal: for the wages of sin is death; and sin is the transgression of the commandments.'

Knowing God: If you are walking down the street and you see a perfect stranger, do you trust him? The only logical answer is: 'Since I don't know the person, I have no reason to trust him and no reason to distrust him.' Therefore, if you don't know God, you can't fairly judge him. It would be unfair to judge God before you know him. God reveals himself in his word. If you want to know God, you must personally study his word with an open mind and a pure heart and with the Holy Spirit as your guide.

God and Knowledge: God knows all things; and all knowledge comes from God: "...in whom (God) are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." [Colossians 2:3] If God wants us to know him, why does he not simply throw open the door to knowledge, so that we may know all things as he knows all things? Because God wants us to inherit life eternal, whereas all knowledge would bring death eternal. Why? A person is accountable in accordance with his knowledge -- the more one knows, the more responsible he becomes. If a person were all-knowing, then he would also be all-
responsible -- and must therefore answer for all things, including his own life. That is, being all-
responsible, he himself must redeem himself from death -- which no man can do, since every man inherits Adam's sin, making him imperfect, whereas God's law requires perfect life for perfect life: Adam was created perfect; Adam sinned; Adam died: "The soul who sins shall die." [Ezekiel 18:4] In order to redeem Adam from death, the price of death must be paid -- life for life; perfect life for perfect life: "You shall give life for life." [Exodus 21:23] Adam was created perfect, so perfect life must be given in order to redeem him. Jesus was perfect, so he paid the price in full. Man now has the option of receiving freely the gift of life eternal through the redemptive work of Jesus. In summary, God keeps men in relative darkness so that they should not be burdened with the impossible task of redeeming themselves but rather be burdened with the lighter task of accepting life eternal which is a free gift from God to anyone who asks in sincerity of heart. If you accept life eternal, God will reveal all things to you in eternity: "For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known." [1 Corinthians 13:12]

Proving the Existence of God: If you wish to receive life eternal from God, you must form a personal relationship with him -- akin to the husband-wife relationship. Therefore, it is the task of each individual to prove the existence of God to himself: "Test all things; hold fast what is good." [1 Thessalonians 5:21] To expect someone else to prove to you the existence of God is an expression of laziness and a deliberate avoidance of your own personal responsibility: "But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul." [Deuteronomy 4:29] Some people do not desire to find God for the same reason a criminal does not wish to find a police officer. However, whereas the officer may throw you into prison, God is willing to set you free from the bondage of sin and permit you to begin anew.

Avoiding God: People avoid God because they have a negative view of him, since his image has been distorted by his adversary -- Satan the devil, who is the god of this current world. Satan operates by twisting things, making good appear evil and evil appear good. If God is good, why is there suffering in the world? Because God has given man freewill -- and men use their freewill to do evil, being deceived by Satan. If every human kept God's Ten Commandments, there would be peace and prosperity for everyone. Would you prefer to live amongst those who keep God's Ten Commandments or amongst those who do not? Those who keep God's commandments are predictable; those who do not keep God's commandments are unpredictable.

False Impression of God: You may see God as a wrath-filled ogre in the sky who is diligently searching for any flimsy reason to smite you with his rod of justice, however, that is a lie from Satan, designed to separate you from God, love, and life. The true God is merciful and willing and eager to forgive our sins -- if we turn to him in repentance: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." [1 John 1:9] Not only will God forgive our sins, but he will also forget them: "For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." [Jeremiah 31:34] You may be surprised to discover that the true God is gentle, loving, and harmless; however, God does hate evil (that which destroys). God hates division, destruction, and death.

How to View God: God is our heavenly father (creator). Suppose you're a parent with a young, inexperienced child, whom you bid not to eat a cookie; however, in a moment of weakness, the child succumbs to temptation, and eats the cookie. Being well aware of what the child has done, how do you want him to react when confronted? Do you want him to deny the act? Keep silent? Or admit his action? Which response will garner the most respect from you?

God's Expectation of Man: "He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" [Micah 6:8]

Final Words: "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every work into judgement, including every secret thing, whether it is good or whether it is evil." [Ecclesiastes 12:13-14] "Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the well. Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it." [Ecclesiastes 12:6-7]

-----<availability>

The above book is available for purchase at:

http://www.amazon.com

Search for:
TITLE: "The Bible Explained"
AUTHOR: "Arrant Knave"
ISBN-10: "1468197061"
ISBN-13: "9781468197068"

Or try this direct link:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Bible-Explained-Parents-Teenagers/dp/1468197061

-----<copyright notice>

The above excerpt from 'The Bible Explained' is copyright
2010 by Arrant Knave. All rights reserved. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted in any form or by any means without the
prior written permission of the publisher, except by a
reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be
printed in a newspaper, magazine, or journal.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are
taken from the New King James Version (R). Copyright (C)
1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights
reserved.

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