ROMANS 1:1-3

Our exhaustive study of The Book of Romans.  We conduct scripture cross-references so that Scripture interprets Scripture, word searches to correctly understand each word meaning, historical and cultural contextual understandings, and commentaries from J. VernonMcGee, Charles Hodge, John MacArthur, Charles R. Swindoll, Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon, Matthew Henry, and David Guzik.  We will use the ESV, NASB, and or HCSB translation due to their reliance on the most reliable biblical manuscripts.

Are There Apostles Today?

This is an important question concerning Apostolic authority of divine witness and eternal truths.  It is key to understand what an Apostle IS, understanding the different types of apostles, their qualifications and validations, and then we can determine if there are Apostles today.

Who was John The Apostle?

 The Apostle John is an extremely important figure when it comes to our knowledge about what Jesus did and taught.  He is also extremely important in early church history.  He was the son of Zebedee and Salome. His brother was James, who was also one of the Twelve Apostles.  He was ready for anything did the most he could out of his love for Christ. 

Who was Simon Peter?

The Apostle Peter, also called Simon Peter or Simeon,  son of Jonah or John who was born in  the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee.  He had a brother name Andrew.  He was a fisherman by profession with his brother and and the sons of Zebedee, James and John. He was also married.  He then met Jesus and his life changed forever.  Does your pastor preach and teach like Peter?

The Original Biblical Writings

It is true that we may not currently have the original writings of the Prophets and Apostles BUT when researching the accounts from the early church teachers we can say that there exists a real possibility that we actual may have, if not the originals, first or second generation copies of the originals.  That's a big deal.  But how can we know that this possibility exists?

Early Accounts of Christianity from Non-Christians

Secular and Non-christian ancient writers were made witnesses without even knowing it. Now it is easy for these and any ancient account to be attacked but think about this:  We talk about and teach about Plato as if he was a real person of history who lived and taught around 400-300BC; yet the oldest manuscript we have of 'his' is around 800AD.  That is roughly a 1,200 year separation.  Yet, historians consider mentions about him in other earlier ancient writings as creditable and useful.  Below are lists of mentions of Jesus that are within 17-115 years after Jesus. Closer and more reliable than most sources of other ancient persons and are accepted as reliable.

Did the Apostles distort what Jesus taught?

There are allegations throughout history that The Apostles distorted what Jesus actually did and said.  This is an important issue because the claims formed completely new and separate religions.  Mormonism and Islam both claim the Apostles screwed up and distorted what Jesus taught.  Did they?  What evidence does Islam and Mormonism have to support this claim?  This is not about arguing the validity of one religion over another.  This is solely focused on what we know about Jesus and what has been distorted about Jesus.  Jesus is the primary subject and not any of the religions as a whole.

The Entire Bible is God's Word: pt3, The New Testament

The timeline of the events leading up to the New Testament and during are vital to understanding the writings themselves.

Before Jesus:

There was a time period of 400 years where there were no prophets or anyone who is hearing the voice of God.  Malachi was the last prophet but Israel did not listen; then, 400 years of silence from God.  Suddenly around 25-29 AD a man that was not like the rest of his culture appears calling for everyone to repent and make way for the Lord.  He proclaims that coming of someone great directly from God, and his coming is soon.  Next thing he knows, that someone, is here; Jesus of Nazareth.

Statement of Faith: The Bible

         The Bible is made up of the Old and New Testaments; written by the Prophets and Apostles who were in fact inspired by The Holy Spirit; it is infallible, the only authoritative true Word of God (Matthew 5:18;2 Timothy 3:16-17). The Bible is inerrant in the original writings, God-breathed, and the final authority for faith and practice; it addresses the beginning of creation and future for eternity making it forever timeless and complete for all time (2 Timothy 3:16-17).