The Basics of the Christian Life – Salvation

Salvation

Salvation comes by faith through grace. Today a person is saved by believing that Christ died for their sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures, 1 Corinthians 15:3, 4¹. God is offering salvation by grace, not works2. Grace is God’s attitude whereby He gives a benefit without the consideration of merit. In other words, you cannot earn salvation because God is not offering salvation based upon works, who you are, or even who you will become – no merit is considered3. What God requires for salvation is that you take Him at His Word. Faith is the undergirding4 of that which is hoped for, the evidence of accomplished deeds5 not seen and is always based upon a promise6. Direct faith at Christ through the facts of the good news by which we are saved (believing that He died for your […]

The Basics of the Christian Life – SalvationLuther Walker2016-10-12T06:02:30-07:00

Biblical Greek Year 1 Lesson 1

Biblical Greek is foundational for understanding the New Testament in its original language, and its study begins with learning the alphabet and its phonetic structure. The Greek alphabet consists of 24 letters, each representing a unique sound. Greek vowels are essential to this system, consisting of seven letters: α, ε, η, ι, ο, υ, and ω. These vowels can form diphthongs—combinations of two vowels producing a single sound—such as αι (pronounced like “ai” in aisle) and ει (like “ei” in vein). An essential aspect of Greek pronunciation is the breathing marks placed over vowels at the beginning of a word. These include the rough breathing (῾), which adds an “h” sound, and the smooth breathing (᾽), which indicates the absence of this sound. A mastery of these basics prepares the student for more complex grammatical and syntactical studies in Biblical Greek, allowing for a more accurate reading and interpretation of the New Testament texts.

Class Notes

Download Diphthongs

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Greek Alphabet

Form of the Capital	Name	Form of the Lower case	Sound
Α	Alpha	α	a in father
Β	Beta	β	b in boy
Γ	Gamma	γ	g in go
Δ	Delta	δ	d in day
Ε	Epsilon	ε	e (short) in met
Ζ	Zeta	ζ	z in daze
Η	Eta	η	e in fete a in mate
Θ	Theta	θ	th in thin
Ι	Iota	ι	i in police i in fit
Κ	Kappa	κ	k in keep
Λ	Lambda	λ	l in led
Μ	Mu	μ	m in man
Ν	Nu	ν	n in net
Ξ	Xi	ξ	x in lax
Ο	Omicron	ο	o (short) in omit
Π	Pi	π	p in peg
Ρ

Biblical Greek Year 1 Lesson 1Luther Walker2024-10-02T14:33:24-07:00

Brought to an Intended End (τέλειος)

In First Corinthians chapter thirteen verse ten, Paul writes of a time when a complete thing (τέλειος) will render ineffective that which is out from a part. Due to poor translations and hermeneutics applied to this passage, a lot of confusion has resulted from using “perfect”, especially around the conclusion of the use of specific Spiritual gifts and prophecy within the assembly. The Greek word τέλειος (telios), found in First Corinthians chapter thirteen verse ten, does not carry the same meaning as the English concept of “perfect”; rather, it conveys completion through bringing something to its intended end. Whether or not it is without flaw has to do with what the goal, or intent, was for that thing.

When Scripture articulates the concept of maturity concerning a human, it refers to a person’s lifestyle upon the earth, not in their resurrected state. Otherwise, it indicates completion, such as with the greater and more complete Tabernacle in the heavens that Christ entered into to obtain eternal salvation in Hebrews chapter nine verse eleven. In First Corinthians chapter two verse six, Paul writes that he speaks a wisdom for the mature, not a wisdom of this malignantly evil age. Paul uses the same concept of maturity while addressing the Christians in Jerusalem who went back to living under law and, therefore, were not training their senses to discern what is proper from what lacks in character. Solid food is for the mature, whereas milk is for the inarticulate babbler, Hebrews chapter five verse fourteen. Due to their lack of maturity, they need someone again to teach them the basics of the oracles of God. In First Corinthians chapter fourteen verse twenty, Paul uses τέλειος (telios) for maturity […]

Brought to an Intended End (τέλειος)Luther Walker2023-12-14T08:05:32-08:00

The Inarticulate Babbler – No Longer Tossed Around

And on the one hand God gave the apostles, and on the other hand the prophets, and the evangelist, and the pastors even teachers, towards the equipping of the saints unto a work of service, unto a building up of the body of the Christ, until we all arrive at a oneness of the faith and the full experiential knowledge of the Son of God, unto a mature man, unto a measure of maturity of the fulness of the Christ, in order that we are no longer inarticulate babblers, tossed around and carried about by every wind of teaching by the craftiness of men in cunning scheming of deceit, but while speaking the truth in love growing up unto Him in all things, Who is the head, Christ – Ephesians 4:11-15.

Nepios (νήπιος), is a word that describes a stage in life when we are under governors and tutors while being trained and brought to maturity. The importance of a good education and the integrity of those teaching is very important for the proper growth and maturity of a student. When the teachers fail to speak the truth, and do not hold the students accountable, maturity is never reached.

…always learning and never coming unto a full experiential knowledge of the truth – 2 Timothy 3:7

This is true in secular and religious settings. Today our government schools are intentionally based upon ideology and propaganda that teaches contrary to the truth and causes a lot of young people to be very confused about history, who they are, and basic truths in life. This same type of atmosphere is present in many large and well-known assemblies claiming to be Christians today. In the book of Revelation seven periods of […]

The Inarticulate Babbler – No Longer Tossed AroundLuther Walker2023-12-14T08:11:48-08:00

The Inarticulate Babbler

When I was an inarticulate babbler, I spoke as an inarticulate babbler, I framed the mind as an inarticulate babbler, I reasoned as an inarticulate babbler. When I became a man, I rendered ineffective the things of the inarticulate babbler. 1 Corinthians 13:11

Nepios (νήπιος), is a word that describes a stage in a child’s life when they lack the ability to speak in an understandable and intelligent way. This concept is then taken further to those who have grown up, but still act as though they are a child because they have not learned how to discern right from wrong. This is not restricted to how a household or business is managed, but also to the person’s own lifestyle. We have many people today that are coming out of schools and colleges of higher learning that lack the basic abilities to discern right from wrong; what is good from what is bad. They have not learned critical thinking skills; therefore, they accept ideas that go against truth and reality, against logics, against what is rational, and always lead to destruction, while ignoring facts and modifying history to justify their childish behavior.

This same lack of discernment plagues the Church, even though those in Christ have been given all things pertaining to life and godliness. Yet, so many reject God and follow after the next teaching of men that is always based upon trickery and deceit to manipulate the follower through ignorance. We mature through the exercising of our senses to discern right from wrong, while seeking truth through our relationship with the Holy Spirit as we learn to identify and pursue His desires. As we mature, we put away the childish ways of thinking and develop […]

The Inarticulate BabblerLuther Walker2023-12-14T08:12:07-08:00

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