Wendy Reid

Q4. Extra Credit: In what sense have we been set free or relased from slavery to sin? Why do we need the Holy Spirit to help us keep this freedom? We are no longer a slave to the power of sin. We need not fear because Jesus has paid the price. HALLELUJAH !!!!!!! To lead us into all truth. He will cvontinually convict us when we sin. He helps us to stay true to Jesus and God's word.

Q3. According to the slave-ransom analogy, who is the slave? What is he enslaved by? Who offers the ransom? If Satan is involved in the enslaving process, why isn't the ransom paid to him? Why isn't the slave-ransom analogy spelled out completely in the New Testament? We are all slaves, all of humankind, before we accepted Jesus Christ as our Saviour. We are enslaved by, the power of sin: pleasures of this world, disobedience to God etc. Satan never owned us, only God. It would get very confusing trying to explaon that God owned us, and that the ransom should also be paid to Him.

Q2. How should we disciples apply the principles: "You are not your own, you were bought with a price"? How should this affect our living? Jesus bought us with a great price. We belong to Him and should obey Him and lovingly serve Him. We should always strive to bring Honor to His name.

Q1. In the New Testament world, what class of humans were freed by payment of a redemption price or a ransom? Why do you think that Jesus, Peter, and Paul used this analogy in this week's theme verses. What about the Christian life does it help explain? The slaves. The listeners would understand the terms redeem as that is how a slave is set free, their freedom has to be purchased. Sin entraps us and we become slaves to its power, just as the slaves could not buy their own freedom so too we cannot purchase our freedom from sin. Only Jesus Christ could redeem us from the power of sin.

Q5. Which single New Testament passage best sums up for you the lessons of Isaiah 53? Why did you chose this passage? 1 Peter 2:24-25 -- "To this you were called, because Chist suffered for you........ This sums up Isaiah 53 because Jesus suffered for us, He died that we might live and have fellowship with God the Father. He gives us His peace that we might keep focused on Him alone.

Q4. The Servant also bears the punishment deserved by sinners. In what sense, if any, did Jesus bear the punishment due you when he died on the cross? I deserved to be punished for my sins, to go to hell and never have a relationship with Father God. I deserved to be beaten and scourged and ridiculed. Not Jesus. He took my punishment, even when His Father forsook Him on calvary, because He knew that I could never bear this.

Q3. Isaiah 53 teaches what theologians call "the substitutionary atonement." In what sense does the Servant act as a substitute to bear our sins? Put it in your own words. Jesus knew that we could never pay the price of our sins. "The wages of sin is death...." The Father in His love wanted to reconcile us to Himself. As a servant would do anything for his master, so too Jesus lay down His life for us. He took our actual sin, on His body with Him to calvary. His life in exchange for ours.

Q2. Which New Testament parallels to Isaiah 53 convince you that Jesus himself saw his own mission and destiny spelled out in Isaiah 53? If you aren't convinced, what stands in your way? Mark 9.12 "Jesus replied, To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected?" I believe that Jesus new before He came, what His mission was. How mucj he must love us to have to suffer such a cruel death.

Q6. What do you think God intended animal sacrifice teach us about sin? About holiness? About God's nature? I think that God wants us to know that ONLY BLOOD, and a life (as the life is in the blood) can take away sin. It took the blood of His dearly beloved Son to take away the sin of the world. God cannot abide sin becasue He is so Holy. Holiness cannot have filthiness colese by. That God so loved the world that He GAVE His only begotton Son that whoever believes on Him shall not die but have eternal life. If thats not love I don't know what is.

Q5. In what sense is God's provision of animal sacrifice for forgiveness of sins an expression of his mercy? Were animal sacrifices actually adequate to atone for human sin? God expressed His mercy by animal sacrifice because the Jews could not attain to Gods law, the scarifice covers over their sin. They are not punished, the animal carries there sin for them. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin (Hebrews 10.4)

Q4. What are the basic elements involved in a sacrifice for sin? (Leviticus 4:32-35; 5:5-6) Which of these are still necessary for forgiveness of sins today? Which are no longer necessary? Why? Confession of sin, to bring female Lamb without belmish, lay hands on the animal and to slaugher it, priest shall take some of the blood and place it on the horns of the alter, the rest poured out at the base, all fat to be removed and burnt. Confession, acknowlegement of sin and beliving in your heart is imperative to salvation. Identifying Jesus as the sacrifice, and that we"die" with Him. Jesus was the sacrifice for all humankind. To bring an animal sacrifice for the sins we commit as Jesus is the perfect sacrifice, once to die.

Q3. Why is animal sacrifice repulsive to modern people? How much of this has to do with a city vs. a farming way of life? Because we have been alienated from the relaities of slaughter. We buy meat in a supermarket or butchery already "wrapped". We don't have anything to do with the actual killing, or draining of the blood.

Q2. Why is anger an appropriate response to sin? What is the difference between capricious or uncontrolled anger and anger that brings about justice? Even God gets angry at SIN. Uncontrolled anger hurts people, the person being angry and the person that it is directed at. Anger that brings justice - The end results are thought about before doing anything in anger. This is normally a restorative action.

Hi I'm Wendy, I live in South Africa. I so enjoyed the Gideon Study, that I just had to sign on for this one.

Q1. How do you know that John the Baptist's statement about the Lamb of God refers to sacrifice? (John 1:29). How was the comprehensiveness of "sins of the world" so radical a concept? Lambs were used as sacrifies in the old testament. "sins of the world" must have meen a radical concept because one person had to sacrifice a lamb for his sin, you could not do it on behalf of someone else. The whole world would include Jews and gentile alike.

Q6. How does Gideon influence Israel during his life? (8:28-35) What is the positive continuing effect of his leadership as judge? His leadership keeps Isarel strong enough, both spiritually and militarily. God blesses him with peace in Israel for the rest of his lifetime.

Q5. Why is spiritual unfaithfulness looked at as prostitution or adultery? (8:24-27) What is the concept of God's relationship to his people which underlies this analogy? What kinds of temptations to spiritual adultery do you face today. (This is not a place to dump on denominations or sects, but to examine your own personal temptations to spiritual adultery.) We are referref to as "the Bride of Christ". If we are unfaithul to Him it is the same as a wife / husband being unfaithful to their spouse. We are Christ's bride. We are in covenant with Him. Time and spending time with my family, I do not spend enough time in prayer and worship of the Lord God. A little bitterness with people that always put me down, instead of seeing what God sees in me, if I spend more time worshipping Him.

Q4. What is a snare? In what way does Gideon's ephod ensnare his family and the people of Israel? (8:24-27) How can something be a sin if we don't see it as a sin? What was the essence of the sin the Israelites committed? What is the essence of Gideon's sin? A snare is a trap. His father used to be the caretaker of the Baal alter, now thay have become the caretakers of the Ephod. Even if we don't see something as sin. God still does. He warns us that these things will ensnare us and lead us to death. The Israelites committed Spiritual Adultery. He in advertantly gave the Israelites something else to worship instead of worshipping Yahweh alone.

Q3. What is an ephod? (8:24-27) What might the gold ephod have looked like? An Ephod is a sacred garment. Like the Ephod of the High Priest.

Q2. What does Gideon ask for his reward? (8:24-27) Was Gideon wrong to take a reward? Where did the sin begin? A gold rearring from each soldier. No he was not wrong. In what he did with the gold. Making the ephod he had unwittingly given the Israelites something other than God to worship.

Q1. Why does Gideon refuse to be king over Israel? (8:22-23) In what sense would becoming king be treason? Why didn't the Israelites see bestowing kingship as treason? Because he saw God as the king of Israel, God would rule over them. Because Gideon would have to take the place of the present king, being God. The Israelites only saw that Gideon had saved them, not that God had saved them trough Gideon.

Q5. Why does Gideon slay Zebah and Zalmunna? Is he unjust or fulfilling his just obligation? (Numbers 35:16) Why does Romans 12:19 prohibit Christians from taking vengeance? Because they had killed his brothers. He is fulfilling his just obligation. We are to leave room for God's wrath. He will avenge, He will repay.

Q4. Why do the cities of Succoth and Peniel refuse aid to Gideon's army? (8:4-9) Why does Gideon punish these cities later? What is their sin? Is Gideon just? Can you think of a circumstance when a Christian might be guilty of the sin of Succoth and Peniel? (8:13-17) They were scared that he would not kill Midianite kings, and that they would return to punish Succth and Peniel Becase they has committed a terrible breach of hospitality to their kinsmen, and a grave sin against the God of Covenant. I do not think he acted justly. He acted out of anger and showed no mercy. He was very cruel in the punishment. When we turn our backs on the Lord when we know that we should stand firm, but we don't. We give in to our fear instead of trusting in God.

Q3. Why must Gideon vanquish the Midianite force of 15,000 men in Karkor? What danger do we face when we deal with problems only half-way? (8:10-12) To protect his people from future incursions. That the problem will only come back to "attack" us again and again, making us weaker in the things of Christ.

Q2. What does Gideon ask the Ephraimites to do? Why are they so angry? Who do you learn from Gideon's approach to the Ephraimites' arrogance? (7:24-8:3) To help in the capture of the Midianites - to "take" the waters of the Jordan, so that the Midianites can not cross over. They are angry because Gideon did not ask they to battle earlier. Gideons humble response shows wisdom and restraint, when he praises them for capturing the two leaders.