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Being Berean
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“Be a Berean”
Today, “being Berean” is a common encouragement in Christian circles. It means:
- Don’t accept every teaching, sermon, book, or idea at face value — even from respected leaders.
- Test everything against the Bible with an open but discerning heart.
- Study Scripture regularly and eagerly for yourself.
- Approach God’s Word with humility, expecting it to shape your beliefs.
- Danwillie Blogger and Believer in Christ.: At 75, I have been blogging since Al Gore invented internet. When I was 9, a lady, Mrs Slayter lead me to Christ. At that time I had little knowledge other than I was a sinner and Christ provided my a path to heaven. Every day, I thank God for Mrs Slayter.
Paul's Revelation for both Jew and Gentile
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The Mystery that started the Body of Christ.
I have found 2 Youtube videos the are excellent demonstrating the importants of Understanding the mysteries Paul taught and the period they stand for.
These are the videos I found. Both demostrate the importants of Paul's Mysteries revealed to him By Jesus Christ. Below I with help of Grok summarize the two videos. One a Jew and one a Gentile reaching the same conclusion on Paul's Mysteries, Revelation and Prophesy and the Body of Christ.
- https://youtu.be/7iWQYMkoGqg CBC David Reid
Q266： Why does Paul quote the OT so much？ - ttps://youtu.be/G4mfQNVV4I8 Dinesh D'Souza and Dr. James Tour "What Christians Get Wrong About Israel and the Church with Dinesh D'souza & James Tour"
Why does Paul quote the OT so much？
David expounds- is that Paul quotes the Old Testament to explain a new message, not because that message was already written there.
he puzzle. Paul says he received a mystery that had been hidden for ages, yet he quotes the Old Testament constantly. Reid argues those two facts fit together.
The mystery was not in the Old Testament. From 1 Corinthians 2:7 and Ephesians 3, Reid says the dispensation of grace was revealed to Paul by God, not through Peter or the Twelve, and was not made known in earlier ages. It was “hid in God,” so it cannot be searched out of Genesis through the Gospels. Paul’s “unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8) means riches you cannot find by searching Israel’s scriptures. He contrasts that with John 5:39, where Jesus tells people the Old Testament can be searched and does point to him.
How believers are established. Romans 16:25–26 gives two requirements: believe what Paul calls “my gospel,” and understand Jesus Christ according to that mystery, not according to the earlier kingdom program. The phrase “by the scriptures of the prophets” is the method, not a third requirement. For most of Paul’s ministry the epistles did not exist yet, so God told him to make the new revelation known by using the prophets’ writings.
What the mystery actually is. It is not that God would bless Gentiles. That was already revealed (Genesis 12:3, Isaiah 11:10, Matthew 12:21). The mystery is that God now blesses Gentiles through Israel’s fall, not through Israel’s rise. In the future millennium, Reid says, a believing Israel is blessed and Gentiles are blessed through that rise. In the present dispensation of grace, Israel is blinded, and Gentiles are blessed through that fall.
Why the quotations. Paul is not saying his ministry fulfills those Old Testament verses. He uses them as principles and examples. Romans 15:4 and 1 Corinthians 10 say the earlier writings are for learning and warning. They are not being fulfilled now, but believers should still learn from them. Reid rejects the charge that this view means ignoring the Old Testament or worshiping Paul.
This Video from James Tour and Disesh D'Souza shows the Body of Christ discussing the importances of Paul's teaching and revelation.
What Christians Get Wrong About Israel and the Church
In this conversation (https://youtu.be/G4mfQNVV4I8), Dinesh D'Souza asks how the Old and New Testaments fit together, and James Tour answers as a Messianic Jew. Tour’s claim is that Israel’s covenant still stands, Jesus fulfilled that covenant, and Jews and Gentiles become one only by personally trusting him.
What D'Souza presses. He sets aside the political argument about Israel and asks the theological one: is Jesus a break with the Hebrew scriptures, or their continuation? He names replacement theology as one camp and continuity as the other. He also says the New Testament stays as Jewish as the Old, and he asks Tour what is actually settled when the Messiah returns.
What Tour argues.
• Judgment and salvation are personal. Each person stands alone before God (Romans 14:12, Ezekiel 18:20), not by ethnicity, family, or nation. No one is saved by their own goodness (Isaiah 64:6). Salvation is by grace, received by confessing Jesus as Lord and believing he rose from the dead (Ephesians 2:8–9, Romans 10:9).
• Israel is not replaced. God chose Israel as his covenant nation, and the promise of the land remains (Deuteronomy 7:6, Amos 9:14–15). Tour reads Israel’s rebirth in 1948 as that promise. He says the Jews stay in the land until Jesus returns. After seven years of tribulation, a believing remnant flees to Petra, and the Lord brings them back.
• In Christ, Jew and Gentile are one body. Gentiles were once outside Israel’s covenants. Once someone receives Jesus, that distinction ends (Galatians 3:28, Ephesians 3:3–6). Scripture then has three groups: Jews, Gentiles, and the church, made of both. The Old Testament already said God would show mercy to Gentiles. The new revelation is that Jews and Gentiles worship together as one.
• Jesus fulfilled the law and rejected later rules. Tour says Jesus kept the 613 commandments of Moses and opposed the rabbinic rules added after the Babylonian exile, such as the extra Sabbath restrictions. Reading the Gospels as Jewish books explains acts like healing with mud and spit: those broke rabbinic bans, not the law of Moses.
• Full resolution waits, but the divide can end now. At the second coming, Jesus reigns from Jerusalem for a thousand years, and it becomes plain that the Messiah Jews await and the Jesus Christians worship are the same person. Rebellion continues until the devil’s final judgment, then a new heaven and earth. Tour’s present claim is narrower: when a Jew or Gentile bows to that same Jesus, the Jew-versus-Christian conflict between them is already over, because they are one in Christ.
They are just AI summaries. Each video is much deeper. David Reid has an excellent grasp on Paul's teaching. James has that same grasp from a jewish point of view. They both see how many christians get Paul's teaching wrong in this dispensation.
- Danwillie Blogger and Believer in Christ.: At 75, I have been blogging since Al Gore invented internet. When I was 9, a lady, Mrs Slayter lead me to Christ. At that time I had little knowledge other than I was a sinner and Christ provided my a path to heaven. Every day, I thank God for Mrs Slayter.
Why Paul
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Youtube video by David Reid at Columbus Bible Church https://youtu.be/udT2rv7ndRo
- Different Gospels: Galatians 2:7 distinguishes between the "gospel of the uncircumcision" (committed to Paul) and the "gospel of the circumcision" (committed to Peter) (0:34).
- Different Audiences: In Matthew 10:5-6, Jesus explicitly commands the 12 apostles not to go to the Gentiles, but to focus on the "lost sheep of the house of Israel." (5:47) Conversely, in Romans 11:13, Paul declares himself "the apostle of the Gentiles." (6:19)
- Different Relationship to the Law: Acts 21:20 notes that the early Jewish believers under Peter's ministry were "all zealous of the law." (19:10) In contrast, Paul states in Romans 6:14 that believers today are "not under the law, but under grace." (14:27)
- Danwillie Blogger and Believer in Christ.: At 75, I have been blogging since Al Gore invented internet. When I was 9, a lady, Mrs Slayter lead me to Christ. At that time I had little knowledge other than I was a sinner and Christ provided my a path to heaven. Every day, I thank God for Mrs Slayter.
Big Picture of the Bible KJV
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THE BIBLE THE BIG PICTURE
“That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:” Ephesians 1:10
Time Past
“Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh…” Ephesians 2:11
But Now
“But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:13
Ages to Come
“That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace…” Ephesians 2:7
- Danwillie Blogger and Believer in Christ.: At 75, I have been blogging since Al Gore invented internet. When I was 9, a lady, Mrs Slayter lead me to Christ. At that time I had little knowledge other than I was a sinner and Christ provided my a path to heaven. Every day, I thank God for Mrs Slayter.
Rightly Dividing God's Word
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- Danwillie Blogger and Believer in Christ.: At 75, I have been blogging since Al Gore invented internet. When I was 9, a lady, Mrs Slayter lead me to Christ. At that time I had little knowledge other than I was a sinner and Christ provided my a path to heaven. Every day, I thank God for Mrs Slayter.
Finding your way thru Scripture!
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Finding your way thru Scripture using Charts!
These are helps to see various Big Pictures of Gods word. This is the best I have incorporating the dispensation of Grace.
Found at Columbus Bible Church, an excellent source for rightly dividing God's Word.
- Danwillie Blogger and Believer in Christ.: At 75, I have been blogging since Al Gore invented internet. When I was 9, a lady, Mrs Slayter lead me to Christ. At that time I had little knowledge other than I was a sinner and Christ provided my a path to heaven. Every day, I thank God for Mrs Slayter.
Prophecies fulfilled by Christ
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Prophecies fulfilled by Christ
In being a berean these prophecies were used to analysis Paul's teaching. Here is a clear, organized list of major Old Testament prophecies from the King James Bible that were fulfilled by Jesus Christ, along with their New Testament fulfillments. I included different AI's response to my various questions. At the end I include a study on the prophecy numbers. These numbers are based on external sources not AI calculation.
T.he New Testament writers frequently point these out to demonstrate that Jesus is the promised Messiah. While scholars identify hundreds of prophecies and typological references fulfilled in Christ (some counts exceed 300 when including broader themes), the following are among the most direct and widely recognized. I have quoted key verses directly from the King James Version (KJV).
Prophecies of His Birth and Early Life
1. Born of a virgin Prophecy (Isaiah 7:14): “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Fulfillment: Matthew 1:22-23 (the virgin birth of Jesus; note the spelling “Emmanuel” in the NT quotation).
- Danwillie Blogger and Believer in Christ.: At 75, I have been blogging since Al Gore invented internet. When I was 9, a lady, Mrs Slayter lead me to Christ. At that time I had little knowledge other than I was a sinner and Christ provided my a path to heaven. Every day, I thank God for Mrs Slayter.
Romans 8 KJV Assessment
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Download Romans 8 paragraph format
Romans 8 in the KJB- Sumarize the the key points and access chapter 7 overall influcient on chapter 8
I’ll read Romans 7 and 8 in the King James Bible so the summary follows that text and shows how chapter 7 sets up chapter 8.
Romans 8 in the King James Bible is the answer to the cry that ends Romans 7. The law has shown sin and left the man who delights in God's law still captive to sin in his members. Chapter 8 says those in Christ Jesus are under no condemnation, because the Spirit does what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.
Key points of Romans 8
No condemnation, and a new law (verses 1–4). "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus frees from the law of sin and death. God sent His own Son "in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin," and condemned sin in the flesh. The righteousness the law required is fulfilled in those who walk after the Spirit. In the King James text, that walk is already named in verse 1, and it is repeated in verse 4.
Flesh and Spirit (verses 5–13). To mind the flesh is death. To mind the Spirit is life and peace. The carnal mind is enmity against God. It is not subject to God's law, and it cannot be. Those in the flesh cannot please God. Believers are not in the flesh if the Spirit of God dwells in them. "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." The body is still dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. The same Spirit that raised Jesus will quicken their mortal bodies. They owe the flesh nothing. If they live after the flesh they will die. If through the Spirit they mortify the deeds of the body, they will live.
Sons, not slaves (verses 14–17). Those led by the Spirit are the sons of God. They have not received "the spirit of bondage again to fear," but the Spirit of adoption, by which they cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit bears witness with their spirit that they are God's children, and children are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, if they suffer with Him so they may be glorified together.
Suffering, groaning, and hope (verses 18–27). Present sufferings are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed. The whole creation groans, waiting to be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the children of God. Believers groan too, having the firstfruits of the Spirit, waiting for adoption, "to wit, the redemption of our body." They are saved by hope, and they wait with patience. The Spirit helps their infirmities and makes intercession with groanings which cannot be uttered, according to the will of God.
God's purpose and a love that holds (verses 28–39). "All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Whom He foreknew, He predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son. Whom He predestinated, He called, justified, and glorified. If God be for them, no one can be against them. God justifies. Christ died, rose, and intercedes. Tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, and sword do not separate them from the love of Christ. "In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us." Neither death, life, angels, principalities, powers, things present, things to come, height, depth, nor any other creature can separate them from the love of God in Christ Jesus their Lord.
How chapter 7 shapes chapter 8
Chapter 7 is the problem chapter 8 refuses to leave unanswered. The word "therefore" in Romans 8:1 reaches back over the whole argument, and especially over the last verse of chapter 7.
Chapter 7 says three things that chapter 8 takes up.
The believer is dead to the law and joined to Christ (7:1–6). The law bound a person the way a wife is bound while her husband lives. Death ends that bond. Believers are become dead to the law by the body of Christ so they may be married to Him who was raised, and bring forth fruit unto God. They are to serve "in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter." Chapter 8 is that new service. No condemnation follows because the old bond of condemnation has been broken by Christ's death. Walking after the Spirit is the fruit chapter 7 said the letter of the law could not produce.
The law is holy, and the flesh is the failure (7:7–14). Paul will not call the law sin. The law is holy, just, and good. It exposed coveting and made sin appear "exceeding sinful." The failure is that the commandment met a carnal man, "sold under sin." Chapter 8:3 says the same thing in one line: what the law could not do, because it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His Son. Chapter 8 does not throw the law away. It says the law's righteous requirement is fulfilled in those who walk after the Spirit (8:4).
Sin still dwells in the members (7:15–25). The inward man delights in God's law and wills the good, and does not perform it. Another law in the members wars against the law of the mind and brings him into captivity to the law of sin. The chapter ends, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord." With the mind he serves the law of God. With the flesh he serves the law of sin.
Chapter 8 answers that cry without pretending the war is over.
• The deliverer is named at once. The law of the Spirit of life frees from the law of sin and death (8:2). Chapter 7 had two laws at war. Chapter 8 brings in a third, and it is the one that frees.
• The split in 7:25 is explained, then relocated. The carnal mind cannot be subject to God's law (8:7), which is why the flesh in chapter 7 could never perform what the inward man willed. The believer's place, though, is no longer "in the flesh." If the Spirit of God dwells in him, he is in the Spirit (8:9).
• The body of death is still there. Chapter 8 says the body is dead because of sin (8:10), and full deliverance waits for "the redemption of our body" (8:23). The Spirit will quicken that mortal body (8:11). So chapter 7's struggle remains honest. The identity of the man has changed, and the end of the struggle is promised.
• "The spirit of bondage again to fear" (8:15) looks back at life under the law in chapter 7. The Spirit believers received is the Spirit of adoption. They cry "Abba, Father" where chapter 7 cried "who shall deliver me?"
• The man who could not perform the good, and who does not know how to pray as he ought, is not left to his own intercession. The Spirit intercedes (8:26–27). Christ intercedes (8:34). The God who justifies will let no charge stand (8:33).
Read straight through, chapter 7 keeps chapter 8 from becoming a claim that the Christian no longer feels sin. Chapter 8 keeps chapter 7 from becoming the last word. The wretched man is in Christ. Condemnation is gone. The Spirit leads him as a son. The body will be redeemed. Nothing in creation separates him from the love of God.
- Danwillie Blogger and Believer in Christ.: At 75, I have been blogging since Al Gore invented internet. When I was 9, a lady, Mrs Slayter lead me to Christ. At that time I had little knowledge other than I was a sinner and Christ provided my a path to heaven. Every day, I thank God for Mrs Slayter.
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Helps for being Berean
AI Covenants Confusion
In the King James Bible (KJB), the word "covenant" appears 292 times.
It refers to a solemn, binding agreement or contract—often between God and humanity (or a specific people)—involving promises, responsibilities, conditions (or unconditional promises), signs or tokens, and frequently ratified with blood or an oath. God’s covenants demonstrate His faithfulness even when people fail.[1] (https://kingjamesbibledictionary.com/Dictionary/covenants)
The KJB uses both “covenant” (especially in the Old Testament) and “testament” (in the New Testament, translating the same underlying idea of a binding agreement or will). The books themselves are called the “Old Testament” and “New Testament,” referring to the old and new covenants.
The Major Biblical Covenants
While the exact number and grouping vary by theological perspective, a common framework (widely used in KJB study resources and dispensational teaching) identifies seven covenants. Three are made with mankind in general; four involve Israel specifically.[2] (https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-covenants.html)
Dispensationism vs Covenant Dispensation vs Progressive Dispensation
Dispensationism vs Covenant Dispensation vs Progressive Dispensation
To me what is key is it Biblical. You be the Judge! Big words confuse me. I like progressive with covenant. Keep it Christ Centered and biblical and literal.
Covenant dispensation
Covenant dispensation (or more commonly, the "administrations" or "dispensations" of the covenant) is a concept primarily from covenant theology, a framework in Reformed and Protestant Christian thought for understanding God's relationship with humanity across redemptive history.
Key Concepts
- Covenant Theology organizes Scripture around God's covenants (formal agreements or relational bonds) rather than distinct "dispensations" as the primary structure.
- It typically identifies two main overarching covenants:
- Covenant of Works (or life): Made with Adam in Eden, promising life for perfect obedience (broken by the Fall).
- Covenant of Grace: God's promise of redemption and salvation through faith in Christ (the promised seed), established after the Fall and unfolding throughout history.
The covenant of grace is one unified covenant but administered (or "dispensed") differently in various eras. These are not separate tests or ways of salvation (salvation has always been by grace through faith), but progressive revelations and applications of the same gracious promise, pointing forward to Christ.