Classes - Benchley church of Christ

DW

April 02, 2017

-- / --
  • Special study: “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart.”
    • Exodus 7:1-13
    • How could a just God control Pharaoh’s heart and then punish him for it?
      • God was not controlling Pharaoh’s will, but simply presenting him with a demand He knew Pharaoh would not obey.
    • Key passage: Exodus 14:1-8
    • Passages about Pharaoh’s hard heart fall into three main groups:
      • God hardens his heart
      • Pharaoh hardens his heart
      • His heart is hardened
    • Exodus 6:1
    • Exodus 9:14
    • I Samuel 6:6
    • Romans 9:15-24
      • John Calvin used this passage to teach that God controls people and decides who will be saved.
      • God chooses to use certain people in certain ways, but that does not mean He chooses specific people for salvation.
    • James 1:13-14 – God does not tempt anyone! He does test people from time to time, but He never tries to get people to sin.
    • Ezekiel 33:11; II Peter 3:9 – God does not want anyone to perish. His desire was not to punish people.
    • What does it mean to say God is not partial? Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11; Galatians 2:6; Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 3:25
      • We can all serve God to the extent that our circumstances allow.

For further study, see also:

Questions or comments? Join our Discord server for further study.

Classes - Benchley church of Christ

JJ

March 29, 2017

-- / --
  • II Corinthians 7:1-16
  • II Corinthians 7:1 – This verse makes more sense as part of chapter 6. Paul is encouraging them to keep themselves pure because of the great promises God has made to them.
  • II Corinthians 7:7 – See Romans 8:18.
  • II Corinthians 7:8 – Paul’s rebuke caused them sorrow, but he did not regret it once he saw the way they handled it. He did not like rebuking them at the time, though.
  • II Corinthians 7:11 – These are all the things that gave evidence of their godly sorrow.
  • II Corinthians 7:12 – This is a not-but passage. Paul did write I Corinthians for the sake of both the offender and offended, but that was not his primary purpose.

For further study, see also:

Questions or comments? Join our Discord server for further study.

Sermons - Benchley church of Christ

LB

March 26, 2017

-- / --
  • Hardest thing is to repent
  • Repentance is duty imposed on all mankind
    • Acts 17:30
  • What repentance does not mean
    • Not just being afraid – Acts 24:25
    • Not simply being sorry – Acts 2:37
    • Not simply reformation of life
  • What repentance means
    • Matthew 21:28-30
    • Matthew 12:31 (Jonah 3:10)
    • Luke 15:11-24 (prodigal son)
    • Repentance involves
      • Sense of sin
      • Sorrow for sin
      • Severance from sin
      • II Corinthians 7:9-10
    • Two things used to bring men to repentance
      • Fear – II Corinthians 5:10-11; Philippians 2:12; Jude 1:23
      • Love – Romans 2:4
    • Cannot escape repentance
      • Luke 13:3 – “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
    • Alien sinners
      • Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38; 3:19
    • Erring Christians
      • Acts 8
      • I John 1:5-10
    • Conclusion
      • Hebrews 4:7

For further study, see also:

Questions or comments? Join our Discord server for further study.

Sermons - Benchley church of Christ

DW

March 26, 2017

-- / --
  • I Peter 1:22-25
  • Sometimes contradictions are the result of a copyist error.
    • II Samuel 8:3; I Chronicles 18:3 – Hadadezer vs. Hadarezer
    • II Kings 8:26; II Chronicles 22:2 – Ahaziah’s age. See II Kings 8:17. The correct age must be 22.
    • I Samuel 17; II Samuel 21:19; I Chronicles 20:5 – Who killed Goliath? I Chronicles 20:5 is probably the correct reading, rather than II Samuel 21:19.
    • Those errors do not destroy our faith!
      • The Dead Sea Scrolls – date back to the time of Christ or before!
      • Thousands of manuscripts
        • Over 5,000 Greek New Testament manuscripts.
      • Critics inflate the number of errors in manuscripts by counting the same error in each manuscript. In reality, the plurality of manuscripts helps us detect and root out these errors!
    • Many alleged contradictions are not actual contradictions.
      • What about the order of Creation?
        • Genesis 1:24-27 vs. Genesis 2:7-22
        • Genesis 1 is chronological. Genesis 2 just adds more detail.
      • How many times did the rooster crow?
        • Mark 14:30, 68, 72 vs Matthew, Luke, and John
        • Not a contradiction – Mark just added more detail.
      • How did Judas die?
        • Matthew 27:5 vs Acts 1:18-19
        • Acts 1 just adds more detail after Judas’ death.
      • Does God tempt people or not?
        • Genesis 22:1 vs James 1:13
        • In Genesis 22, God was testing Abraham, not tempting him to sin. In James 1, it says God does not tempt people to sin.
      • Points to remember
        • Only the original books of the Bible were inspired, but the thousands of uninspired copies that we have to compare today give us a reliable Biblical text.
        • None of the alleged contradictions involve any critical change in doctrine.
        • Vague attacks are easy. Ask for specifics.
        • Study honestly: are 2 passages talking about the same thing at the same time and in the same sense?

For further study, see also:

Questions or comments? Join our Discord server for further study.

Classes - Benchley church of Christ

DW

March 26, 2017

-- / --
  • The first opposition (Exodus 5-6)
    • “Who is the Lord?” (Exodus 5:2)
      • God repeatedly tells him. Exodus 7:17. See also Exodus 7:5; 8:10, 22; 9:14, 29; 11:7; 14:4, 18.
      • God will trample Pharaoh’s pride. See Exodus 9:16, quoted in Romans 9:17. Also compare II Chronicles 32:13-19.
      • Proverbs 30:9
    • God deals with a fledgling faith (Exodus 5:20-6:13)
      • Pharaoh forced the people to gather their own straw for the bricks. The people had seen the signs (Exodus 4:30-31), but this added burden was enough to cause the people to turn on Moses and Aaron (Exodus 5:20-25).
      • God’s response:
        • Patience: He does not punish Moses or the people at this point.
        • He provides His word as assurance. He explains (again) what the future holds.
      • “By my name, LORD” (Exodus 6:3)
        • God had appeared to the patriarchs as “God Almighty” (Hebrew: El Shaddai), but now emphasizes a new name: “LORD” (Hebrew: Yahweh).
        • In Exodus, God repeatedly says, “I am the LORD” and refers to Israel as His people. Exodus marks a turning point in Israel’s relationship with God as He takes special care of them.
        • It’s remarkable that in comparison to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses, God has provided “something better for us” (Hebrews 4:10).
        • I John 3:2

For further study, see also:

Questions or comments? Join our Discord server for further study.

1
358
359
360
644

Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on Google PodcastsListon on Stitcher

© 2026, Mark Watson

Powered by Gatsby