Quote from Forum Archives on January 3, 2003, 4:52 pm

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E-pistle
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Dr. Curt Scarborough, President FreeWay Foundation January 3, 2003

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Happy New Year!

In This Issue:
Sermon: I Peter 1
Bible Study: Mark 16:1-20
"Iron Sharpens Iron" meeting

Peter's Letter to Spiritual Pilgrims
(I Peter 1:1-25)

I. Concentration: on the contents of this chapter
1. Peter sent his greeting to the elect pilgrims, vv. 1-2.
2. Peter assured them of their heavenly inheritance, vv. 3-12.
3. Peter urged them to live holy lives because God is holy; he reminded
them that they had been redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, vv. 13-21.
4. Peter wrote of their being born again through the word of God which lives and
abides forever, vv. 22-25.
II. Observation: on spiritual pilgrims . . . God's elect, vv. 1-3.
1. Elect (chosen) according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, v. 2.
2. Sanctified (growing toward spiritual maturity) by the Holy Spirit, v. 2.
3. Sprinkled by the blood of Jesus, for forgiveness and cleansing, v. 2.
4. Blessed spiritually according to God's abundant mercy, v. 3.
III. Meditation: on God's bountiful and merciful blessings, vv. 3-7.
1. They include a living hope, through the resurrection, v. 3.
2. They include an eternal inheritance reserved in heaven, v. 4.
3. They include the assurance of security through the power of God, v. 5.
4. They include the ability to rejoice through times of temporary suffering
(grief in trials), vv. 6-7.
IV. Revelation: on a pilgrim's responses to the revelation of Christ, vv. 8-9
1. Love the Lord Jesus, although we have not seen Him in the flesh.
2. Believe in Him, although we have not physically seen Him.
3. Rejoice with inexpressible joy over His majestic glory.
4. Receive through faith His full salvation:
(1) PAST - salvation from the penalty of sin;
(2) PRESENT - salvation from the power of sin;
(3) FUTURE - salvation from the presence of sin (in heaven).
V. Applications: as a Christian (pilgrim), I need to . . .
1. Prepare my mind for spiritual action; exercise self-control, v. 13.
2. Establish my hope on the grace to be given when Christ is revealed, v. 13.
3. Do not comform to evil desires; rather be obedient children, living holy
lives because God is holy, vv. 14-16.
4. Live on this earth as strangers or foreigners (our citizenship is in heaven, Philippians 3:20)
. . . with fear and reverence for God the Father, v. 17.

Signs Which Follow Those Who Believe
(Mark 16:1-20)

I. Concentration: on the final verses of the Four Gospels
1. Matthew 28:20 . . . "(The Great Commission) . . . Amen."
2. Luke 24:53 . . . "in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen."
3. John 21:25 . . . "the world itself could not contain the books that would
be written. Amen."
4. Mark 16:8 . . . "They said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid."
Should the Gospel of Mark end here? . . . Or continue?
Mark 16:20 . . . "They went out and preached everywhere, the
Lord working with them and confirming the word
through the accompanying signs, Amen."

II. Meditation: on the disputed verses of Mark 16:9-20.
1. The Holy Spirit inspired the writing of the Gospels, and He has preserved
them over the centuries . . . including the "AMEN."
2. Mark 16:8 ends abruptly, not telling the rest of the story; that Jesus lives
. . . even though Mark was written 30 years after the resurrection.
3. I believe that Mark 16:9-20 was in the original manuscript, but was dropped
intentionally or lost accidentally in some copies (Cordex Sinaiticus and
Codex Vaticanus); later those lost verses were restored to the canon of Scripture.

III. Revelation: on Jesus' difficult words in Mark 16:15-18
1. "He who BELIEVES and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not
BELIEVE will be condemned," v. 16. The pivotal key word is "BELIEVES."
2. "Signs will follow those who BELIEVE," v. 17. See above note; signs are not
only to the Twelve Apostles, but to all BELIEVERS in every era.
3. The "signs" which Jesus named include:
* Casting out demons.
* Speaking with new tongues.
* Taking away serpents (not "UP"); see John 1:29; Luke 10:19; I John 3:5.
* If = on the condition or supposition that; whether; in cast that . . . implying
unintentional action; meaning, not "when" or "since," but "IF" they drink
anything deadly, it will not harm them.
* Healing the sick by laying on of hands.
4. These signs did (and do) follow believers, confirming God's word, v. 20.

IV. Applications: as a Christian, I need to . . .
1. Accept all Scriptures as infallible truth, including Mark 16:9-20.
2. Study the disputed passage, which some believers have neglected.
3. Meditate on the Four Gospels for their "over-arching" message to me.
4. Be able to give a sound, spiritual reason for my faith, I Peter 3:15.

The "Iron Sharpens Iron" men will meet on
Thursday, Januray 9, 2003

We will be discussing
"Breaking Into Spiritual Orbit"
Matthew 5:1-14

Anyone Who Wishes to Attend
This Meeting is Invited.

We meet at: FreeWay Foundation
3426 Bridgeland Drive
Bridgeton, MO 63044