Oras ng Pag-aaral | 4th Quarter | Magkakalabang mga Talata | Lesson 9
A SUMMARY OF LESSON 9/ 4th Qtr, November 19-25, 2022
by Don Leo M. Garilva, DMin
CONTRARY PASSAGES?
Memory Text
“ ‘You search the Scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.’ ”
John 5:39, NKJV
INTRODUCTION:
PETER warns us: “Always be READY to give a DEFENSE to everyone who asks you a REASON for the HOPE that is in you” (1 PET. 3:15, NKJV). This being the case, we should LOOK NOT ONLY at those PASSAGES that EASILY can be EXPLAINED to FIT OUR BELIEFS but also at PASSAGES that are COMMONLY USED to TEACH something DIFFERENT from what WE BELIEVE.
Here are the THREE POINTS that SUMMARIZE our lesson this week:
1. CONTRARY PASSAGES IN THE GOSPELS (SUNDAY & MONDAY)
The PARABLE of the RICH MAN and LAZARUS is a PASSAGE in the GOSPELS use to buttress the NATURAL IMMORTALITY of the SOUL. This parable presents a SHARP CONTRAST between a “RICH MAN” and “a certain beggar named LAZARUS, full of sores” (LUK. 16:19, 20, NKJV). Some SCHOLARS suggest that LUK. 16:19-31 should be interpreted LITERALLY, describing the STATE of the DEAD. But this VIEW would lead to UNBIBLICAL CONCLUSIONS and would CONTRADICT many BIBLICAL PASSAGES. This ACCOUNT instead TEACHES that: (1) STATUS in the PRESENT LIFE are NOT the CRITERIA for the FUTURE REWARD, and (2) the ETERNAL DESTINY of each PERSON is DECIDED in this LIFE and CANNOT be REVERSED in the AFTERLIFE (LUK. 16:25, 26).
Another PASSAGE in the GOSPELS widely USED to try to PROVE the IMMORTALITY of the SOUL is LUK. 23:43: “‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (NRSV). Almost all BIBLE VERSIONS TRANSLATE this TEXT to GIVE the IMPRESSION that on the DAY CHRIST DIED, HE and the THIEF would be TOGETHER in PARADISE. This is NOT SURPRISING because those TRANSLATIONS were made by SCHOLARS who BELIEVE in the NATURAL IMMORTALITY of the SOUL. But the most NATURAL READING of LUK. 23:43 would be “Truly I tell you today, you will be with Me in Paradise.” The IDIOMATIC
