TRANSFORMATION: Living a Christian Life

By Anthony L. Walker

trans•for•ma•tion tran(t)s-fər-’mā-shən  NOUN  -A marked change, of something or someone.

There is a spiritual transformation that we all should go through. This alteration involves changing on the inside and revealing it on the outside. Transformation—Living a Christian Life can be sum

• Language: English
• Publisher: TOPLINK PUBLISHING, LLC
• Release date: Feb 22, 2018
• ISBN: 9781948779050

Anthony L. Walker

Anthony L Walker was born in 1962 in Columbus, Georgia; lived in Atlanta, Georgia until completing high school, then served in the United States Marine Corps for 11 years. He retired from corporate America after 28 years. Anthony is married to Renee Walker with two children: Erica and Brandon. Anthony has served in various capacities in ministry, but it is his personal walk with God, that has taken him through real life experiences, and given him testimonies that he reveals through his writings, which provide information, and inspiration, that can lead to your transformation. Anthony enjoys sharing God's Word with everyone, especially God's plan of salvation. His greatest desire is to win souls for God's Kingdom. Anthony has also written the following books: "The Total Person" (inspirational) and two children's books: Junebug and Friends - "Hide and Seek," and "Trick or Treat."

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The Word

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CHAPTER 1

The Holy Bible

Do you believe the Bible? Do you read it for yourself to know what it actually says? If you have not studied the Word of God for yourself, your knowledge is based on what others tell you about God. The risk in that is what others are telling you may not actually line up with the Word of God. It may be based on religion, tradition, and incorrect information. You may not have been told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Therefore, what you believe could be an error or a perceived truth. I am not saying that you have been deliberately lied to or purposely deceived, but another person can only teach what they know or think they know. Romans 3:4 says, God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar . . . In other words, you are to believe the Word of God over the religion, or opinion of man. If you want to know the truths about God, seek it, and study His Word for yourself from the source: the Holy Bible.

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. (Col. 2:8)

The Bible is the world’s all-time best seller and the world’s most translated book. The Bible is not a single book, but a compilation of sixty-six books, more like a library. The Bible’s books are arranged by type, rather than chronologically. It contains a variety of literary styles of writing such as poetry, history, law, and prophecy and must be interpreted in the context of those styles. The Bible was written by about forty authors, on three different continents, over approximately 1,600 years, in three different languages.

The entire Bible is composed of two major covenants between God and man. These covenants are the Old Testament and a New Testament. The Old Testament was written mostly in Hebrew, with a small percentage in Aramaic. The New Testament was written in Greek. The Old Testament is the agreement God made with man about salvation before Christ came. The Old Testament by itself is incomplete, for it is anticipatory. It looks forward to the coming of the promised Redeemer. From beginning to end, it is a book of promise, looking forward to something not yet fulfilled. On the other hand, the New Testament is God’s agreement with man about salvation after Christ came. The New Testament speaks of the fulfillment of that expectation. There is a correlation between the Old and New Testaments:

The New Testament is contained in the Old Testament.

The Old Testament is explained in the New Testament.

The New Testament is concealed in the Old Testament.

The Old Testament is revealed in the New Testament.

The Old Testament anticipates the New Testament.

The New Testament authenticates the Old Testament.

In the Old Testament, the New Testament lies hidden.

In the New Testament, the Old Testament lies open.

The Old Testament foreshadows the New Testament.

The New Testament fulfills the Old Testament.

In the Old Testament, they were always seeking.

In the New Testament, they found.

The Old Testament predicts a Person.

The New Testament presents that Person.

The Bible describes the origin of man in the Garden of Eden along with his fall into sin and out of fellowship with God. It then describes how God called out a special people to Himself, the Israelites. He promised the Israelites a future Messiah who would restore mankind’s relationship with God. The Bible is the account of the work of God in history bringing to fruition His prophetic declarations concerning Jesus. Jesus was born of the Virgin, died on the Cross, and paid for sins, just as the Bible prophesied in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New Testament. In short, the Bible points to Jesus. The Lord Jesus Christ is that Person who fully validated the Old Testament. Furthermore, the Bible teaches us that forgiveness of sins is found in Jesus alone: And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.

The first five books of the Bible (Pentateuch) present figures of Christ. The Psalms presents the feelings of Christ.

The Prophets presents the foretelling of Christ.

The Gospels presents the facts of Christ.

The Epistles presents the fruits of Christ.

New Testament writers were eyewitnesses of the events they described or wrote from firsthand accounts. These writers were not writing fiction. They saw it happen.

For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. (2 Pet. 1:16)

Our Bible is indeed uniquely different from all other books. It has been read by more people and published in more languages than any other book. More copies of it have been produced than of any other book in history. No book could remotely compare with the circulation of the Scriptures, nor has any other attained its constant circulation. The Bible is unequalled in its survival of time. It has been copied and recopied for hundreds of years before the invention of the printing press; still its style and accuracy have never diminished. The Bible is remarkable in its survival of criticism. It has withstood vicious attacks from enemies as has no other book. Christ’s own claims assure us that His Word could never be forgotten:

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. (Matt. 24:35)

The Word of God is infallible because God Himself is infallible. The infallibility of the Bible applies to the original manuscripts, not to translations and versions. This divine Book is without error. It is the fulfillment of prophecy, both in Bible times and our present day. Ignorance of the Bible inevitably produces ignorance of God’s will for our lives. It must have priority in our interest and study.

The Scriptures contain great wisdom and truth, and it has been verified and proven throughout history as being flawlessly accurate. The Bible is authentic and accurate in science, medicine, history, archaeology, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Science

The Bible is the only book that is accurate in all scientific details. It has never been proven incorrect in one scientific aspect.

Medicine

Medical science has recently made tremendous advances, but greater progress may have been made sooner had physicians sought their treatments from the Bible. What has been documented as modern-day medical discoveries were actually recorded in the Bible thousands of years prior. Moses gave medical instructions to the Israelites which were far superior to the practices of contemporary medicine. Moses’s medical knowledge for the Israelites was given to him by God.

Sanitary Practices

For centuries, doctors were unaware that infectious diseases were transmitted by microorganisms outside the body. However, the Israelites used running water to wash themselves and their clothes if they came in contact with another person’s bodily fluids or even their own bodily discharges.

This was also the practice if they had come into contact with a dead human or animal. They would wash anything uncovered in the vicinity of a dead body, and if a vessel made contact with a dead carcass, they would destroy it.

Human waste was buried outside of camp, and the waste of their animals was burned. By doing this, the Israelites were protected against life-threatening infections caused by germs. If someone were to become infected, they were to shave and wash thoroughly. The Egyptians, on the other hand, were dying by the thousands due to unsanitary practices.

Bacteria

Leprosy is an infectious disease that causes severe, disfiguring skin sores and nerve damage. It is a bacteria, a living organism, that certainly can survive outside the human body. You can contract it from physical contact or by being in close proximity of someone who has it. You can even get it from clothes, household fixtures, etc. It is no wonder that God commanded the Levitical priests to burn the garments of leprosy victims.

He shall therefore burn that garment, whether warp or woof, in woollen or in linen, or any thing of skin, wherein the plague is: for it is a fretting leprosy; it shall be burnt in the fire. (Lev. 13:52)

Quarantine

To prevent the spread of leprosy and other infectious diseases, God instructed Moses to quarantine those infected. They were instructed to isolate themselves outside the camp until healed.

But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the LORD: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean. (Num. 19:20)

Before advancement in medical practices, the Israelites were the only culture to practice quarantine.

Antiseptic

Hyssop oil was used as a purifying agent. It contains antifungal and antibacterial agents.

And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave. (Num. 19:18)

Blood

For many centuries, physicians practiced the erroneous treatment of bleeding a suffering patient. Rather than bleeding patients, giving blood transfusions would have saved their lives.

For the life of the flesh is in the blood. (Lev. 17:11)

God’s law of circumcision required the procedure to be performed on the eighth day after birth. Vitamin K and Prothrombim are two main blood clotting factors which reach its highest level in life on the eighth day after birth.

And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. (Lev. 12:3)

These blood clotting agents help with rapid healing and reduce the chance of infection.

Dietary Guidelines

Scientific studies have shown that a low-fat, high-fiber diet high in fruits and vegetables and grains reduced the risk of diseases such as heart disease and cancer. This is the same type of diet found in the Bible. God permitted moderate consumption of meat. The Book of Daniel presents a comparison of a vegetarian diet to that of meat.

¹² Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse (an edible seed from a pod, e.g. a pea or bean) to eat, and water to drink. ¹³ Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king’s meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants. ¹⁴ So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. ¹⁵ And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king’s meat. (Dan. 1:12–15)

History

The Bible is the most reliable history of all ages. Every detail and account is historically accurate. It used to be thought that the Great Flood was only a myth or legend. In the history of every known civilization of the world, historians have found similar Flood traditions describing a universal destruction of the human race by water, with a boat provided as a means of escape, and in almost every account, man’s evil is given as the cause of the Flood punishment.

Archaeology

Bible. Archaeology is largely responsible for confirming the history of the Old Testament. Archaeology has refuted many modern critics. Tangible evidence has proven that the Bible is indeed accurate and reliable.

Dead Sea Scrolls

Critics have accused the Bible of being untrue and undependable, because they said no original manuscript existed. Since scholars today have confirmed that many old copies of the Bible do exist, thousands of copies from ancient times have been found. The Dead Sea Scrolls date back more than 1,900 years. They provide proof that the Bible is true and dependable.

The Seven Dispensations

Bible Scriptures divide time from the creation of Adam to the new heaven and new earth described in Revelation.

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. (Rev. 21:1)

The division was into seven unequal periods called dispensations, also called ages and days, as in day of the Lord. These periods are marked off in Scripture by some change in God’s method of dealing with mankind, or a portion of mankind, in respect of the two questions: of sin and of man’s responsibility.

Each of the dispensations may be regarded as a new test of the natural man, and each ends in judgment, marking his utter failure in every dispensation. Five of these dispensations, or periods of time, have been fulfilled; we are living in the sixth, probably toward its close, and have before us the seventh, and last: the millennium.

Innocence

The first dispensation of innocence begins with the creation of Adam and Eve to their expulsion from Eden. Adam was innocent and ignorant of good and evil when he was placed in the Garden of Eden. He with his wife Eve were to refrain from eating and even touching the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Their disobedience was the first failure of man. It ended in judgment with God driving them out of Eden.

Conscience

The second dispensation of conscience was for moral judgment. People were to be good and avoid evil. But the earth became corrupted and wicked. Man’s every thought was seeking evil continually. God ended the second testing of man with the judgment of the great flood. Only eight people were spared.

Government

The third dispensation of government became the responsibility of Noah and his descendants. This dispensation resulted in the attempt to become independent of God. This judgment closed with the confusion of tongues and the dispersed descendants of the builders of Babel.

Promise

The fourth dispensation of promise came about by a man God called Abram. God entered into covenant with Abram. Other promises were conditional based on the faithfulness and obedience of the Israelites. They violated every one of these conditions. Their judgment was of bondage in Egypt.

Law

The fifth dispensation of law was to redeem the chosen people out of the hand of the oppressor. God proposed to them the covenant of law. The Israelites blatantly and persistently violated the law. God ended the testing of man by law in judgment. After many years, Christ came, born of a virgin woman, and was crucified by both Jews and Gentiles.

Grace

The sixth dispensation of grace was introduced by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. Salvation was now freely offered to Jew and Gentile upon belief, repentance, baptism in Jesus’s name, and the receiving of the Holy Ghost.

This dispensation will close with the descent of the Lord from heaven and the Rapture.

¹⁶ For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: ¹⁷ Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thess. 4:16–17)

Kingdom

During the seventh dispensation of kingdom. Jesus Christ will reign over the earth for one thousand years (the millennium). The saints (the Church) will be associated with Him in His glory.

After the millennium, Satan will be loosed for a little season, and he gathers the nations to battle against the Lord and His saints. Then this last dispensation closes, like all the others, in judgment. When this occurs, Satan and the wicked dead are raised and judged and destroyed in the lake of fire. Then comes the new heaven and a new earth.

CHAPTER 2

How to Study the Bible

The Word

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)

The Bible is the written Word of God.

It begins with God and ends with God.

All of its contents concern Him.

The Bible is not a record of man’s quest for God.

The Bible is God’s message to man.

It is an unfolding of God’s truth to man so man might find a path back to God and a basis for fellowship with Him.

Our faith can rest upon the Word of God. The written Word reveals the Living Word.

With a solid scriptural foundation, we can intelligently and convincingly present the Good News.

The Bible is the source of Christianity in that the Bible contains the inspired words of God and how Christians are to apply it to their lives. It is not a man-made faith arrived at by the faulty guesses of men.

God chose to give man a trustworthy account of His revelation of truth. The record of this revelation is given by God to man for His edification, guidance, and blessings.

The Bible contains great wisdom and truth, and it has been verified throughout history as being flawlessly accurate.

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. (John 17:17)

Inspiration

¹⁶ All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: ¹⁷ That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. (2 Tim. 3:16–17)

Inspiration is a special act of the Holy Spirit by which He guided the writers of Scripture. It was written by human hands, molded in some degree by human thought, and using human words. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, the writers were prevented from writing anything but what God intended. Their words were free from error and omission and they conveyed the thoughts that the Holy Spirit desired.

The writers of the Bible claim to write the very words of God. The Bible is filled with expressions such as, God said . . ., the Lord spake saying . . ., the Lord commanded . . ., the Word of the Lord came unto me . . .

The Bible never states that the men who wrote were inspired; only their writings were inspired. The men were fallible; the Scripture they wrote is infallible. Moses lost his temper and killed a man, but that does not change the fact that the Holy Spirit kept him from error as he wrote the Pentateuch (Books of Moses and the Law). A similar statement could be made about David. He sinned, and yet God used him to record portions of the infallible Word. Each of the Bible writers used only those words in their vocabulary that the Holy Spirit approved and prompted them to use.

The Battle

Satan will use every device possible to keep you from the Word of God. Personal Bible study is a battle. Not too many people today seek a quiet place to study the Bible. There are constant distractions, and when we do plan to study, there never seems to be enough time. Reading the Bible does not have to be such a challenge. It is not hard to do; it is just hard to do.

Reading your Bible should be a routine just as ordinary as brushing your teeth, taking a bath, eating your food. Challenge yourself to feed your spirit through the reading of the Word before feeding your stomach with breakfast. One of two things will happen. You will either become very skinny or a powerful man or woman of God.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee. (Hosea 4:6)

Your Heart

To have a fulfilling personal Bible study, you must get your heart right. Unless the heart is prepared, you will miss the truths of the Word. You must have a humble heart, a willing heart, and a devoted heart. In all your study, you must carefully seek the help of the Holy Spirit. You cannot, by your own wisdom, understand the Bible. You should prepare yourself through prayer. It is impossible to truly know the Bible without prayer.

Bible Study

I often hear people say that the Bible is too hard to understand. I just say to them, Of course it is, and so is anything else that you don’t study. All of our young lives, we are in school. Five days a week for several hours a day, year after year, we are sitting in a classroom studying from books and listening to teachers and taking exams. And on top of all that, we have homework assignments to continue the study. We studied the alphabet over and over until we could recite it from memory. We applied this repetitive approach to learn math, science, English, etc.

If you were to apply these same practices to Bible study, understanding the Bible wouldn’t be so hard at all. It is hard when you only open it when the preacher tells you what verse to turn to for a congregational reading of the Word.

God meant for the Bible to be read, studied, and understood. The Bible is a book that requires reading, rereading, and more reading. Actual study involves reading the passage or book over and over again. Still the message is never exhausted. When you study the Bible, you should read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully, and reverently. Regular and systematic Bible reading is essential for Christian growth. Spiritual success can come only through Bible study and meditation. Through Bible reading, we learn who God is, what He is, what He has done, what He is doing, and what He is yet to do. Bible study brings the Christian into conformity to Christ. It brings renewed devotion to God.

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Tim. 2:15)

Interpretation

The Bible is a divine book, but it is phrased in human language. Knowledge of the Hebrew and Greek languages, of history, of geography, and of other general areas of knowledge can prove helpful, but one does not need to be a scholar to learn to interpret the Bible correctly.

We tend to interpret Scripture according to our preconceived notions. We are inclined to interpret the Bible in the way most favorable to what we want to believe or the way best suited to the manner in which we want to live.

Bible Study Principles

The principles of Bible interpretation can be summarized under three headings for the purpose of simplicity: accuracy, background, and common sense.

Accuracy

You must accurately identify all persons, places, events, and objects appearing in the passage. All words should be accurately defined with consideration to the true meaning of words. Another problem is learning the meaning of a verse, obscured by the customs and languages of the people of Bible times. Bear in mind that the King James Version of the Bible was translated from the Hebrew and Greek in 1611.

The meaning of words is always changing. Some words of the older Bible versions are obsolete or have completely changed in meaning. The speakers and the writers of Scripture illustrated their messages and writings with expressions in their common-day vernacular. An understanding of customs of that day brings understanding to passages. Study Bible history, Bible customs, and Bible geography to appreciate the significance and meaning in the illustrations.

Background

A text without a context is a pretext. Every verse in the Bible is set in its proper context or setting. Isolated passages taken out of the context are often misleading.

Psalms 14:1 states that there is no God, if we take it out of its setting. But the whole verse reads, The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

God’s Word is dishonored by people misquoting it. Scripture (a word, a verse, a passage, or a book) must be seen in its proper relationships. We must guard against studying only those topics that appeal to us.

Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. (John 5:39)

Jesus urged us to search the Scriptures, and this is not done if you emphasize the study of certain portions only. You must study all of it.

I admit that chapter divisions and even verse divisions are imperfect. They are very helpful for identification purposes, but to avoid confusion, we must consider them in the light of their context. Do not interpret a verse or a passage as an isolated piece of Scripture. Study it in its proper setting with all the passages related to it. The interpretation of a given verse will depend to a great extent upon who said it, to whom it was said to, and the occasion upon which it was said.

Keep in mind who is speaking—God, an apostle, a prophet, a saint, a sinner, an angel, or Satan.

Consider the character of the speaker. If he is a man, what is his age, his experience, and his background? Ask yourself to whom are the words addressed to: God, man, saint, sinner, backslider, individual, or a group? Also consider the time when it was spoken, the place where it took place, and the main theme (occasion and subject) of the passage. Doing these things will solve many of the contradictions and struggles.

Common Sense

The Bible usually means exactly what it says. Attempting to find hidden, obscure meanings can lead to error. A problem for interpreters is the confusion over what is literal and what is figurative. The Bible is filled with metaphors.

A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or a phrase, literally denoting one kind of object or idea, is used in place of another by way of suggesting a likeness or analogy between them. For example:

Ye are the salt of the earth . . . (Matt. 5:13).

I am the light of the world . . . (John 8:12).

I am the bread of life . . . (John 6:35).

And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. (Matt. 19:24)

Scripture Upon Scripture

Scripture must be compared with Scripture. The Bible presents all sides of truth, and all Scripture must be considered, for seldom does a single passage contain the entire teaching on a subject. Contradictions disappear as study continues. To illustrate, Paul states that salvation is by faith:

But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. (Rom. 4:5)

While James says, Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. (Jas. 2:24)

Both are right. Faith alone saves, but it results in good works. Paul rightly states that salvation is by faith alone, and James warns against an alone faith. One condemns works without faith; the other, faith without works.

The Holy Spirit

Finally, Bible interpretation must involve the Holy Spirit. If we are to know the message of the Bible, we need the aid of the heavenly Interpreter, the Holy Spirit, who has promised to lead us into all truth.

The Bible requires study. Its hidden depths will not be revealed to the superficial reader. The most important book to use in the study of the Bible is the Bible itself.

Too many people read many books about the Bible but not the Bible itself. True Bible study must begin with the Bible, for the Bible itself is primary.

⁹ But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. ¹⁰ But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. (1 Cor. 2:9–10)

Get a Grip

Many people read the Bible, even study it, but they do not seem to get a grip on it. The same book must be read repeatedly, possibly half a dozen times, until the message grips you and begins to reveal