Challenging Questions People Ask

Lesson 5 w/Answers"New Christian" Questions

Questions

In this lesson, our study will be more focused on the kinds of questions new students of the Bible have asked me over time. While they may seem trivial to more "mature" Christians they serve a deeper need coming from a new believer who is trying to begin the journey of understanding God, Jesus and the Bible, God’s Holy Word. I am hoping that these will help you help other new believers as God draws them to you.

Here is a brief list of questions I have been asked. See if you can discern the answers as we search God’s Word together:

  1. Why do I see that some people’s Bibles have red letters in the print? Is that a special type of Bible? (Do a Google search on Louis Klopsch.)
    1. ANSWER: Louis Klopsch was the first publisher of the King James "Red Letter" Edition in 1901. It’s a special version of the Bible highlighting the words and prophecies of and about Christ in red ink.
  2. What did Luke 22:20 have to do with the Red Letter Edition of the Bible?
    1. ANSWER: The color of the blood of Christ poured out for us inspired him to put Christ’s words in red, the color of the blood he spilt for us.
  3. What other Christian activities was Louis Klopsch involved in?
    1. ANSWER 1: He was an editor of a Christian publication, "The Christian Herald".
    2. ANSWER 2: He was an early supporter of Moody’s Bible Institute in Chicago.
    3. ANSWER 3: He raised, through his magazine, more than $3 billion dollars for relief work throughout the world.
    4. ANSWER 4: He published more than 60,000 Bibles and New Testaments annually.
  4. In many study Bibles today, as you read specific Old Testament verses, a star (sometimes a red star) is printed by the verse or verses. What does it indicate?
    1. ANSWER: These represent Old Testament verses that are prophetic references about Christ.
  5. How is Louis Klopsch attempting to tie the Old and New Testaments together in a way that had never had been done before, and why?
    1. ANSWER: "In the Red Letter Bible, more clearly than in any other edition of the Holy Scriptures," continues Klopsch, "it becomes plain that from beginning to end, the central figure upon which all lines of law, history, poetry and prophecy converge is Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. He expounded in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself and the Divine plan for man’s redemption, and the Red Letter Bible indicates and emphasizes this Divine exposition and personal revelation at each successive stage, making them so clear that even the simplest may understand."
  6. What is Louis Klopsch referring to when he refers to the "Scarlet Thread of Redemption" in the Old Testament?
    1. ANSWER: The Red Letter version of the Bible "sheds a new radiance upon the sacred pages, by which the reader is enabled to trace unerringly the scarlet thread of prophecy from Genesis to Malachi. Like the Star which led the Magi to Bethlehem, this light, shining through the entire Word, leads straight to the person of the Divine Messiah, as the fulfillment of the promise of all the ages."
  7. Why is one section of the Bible called the "Old" Testament and one called the "New" Testament?
    1. ANSWER 1: Jeremiah 31:31-34 — God told us in advance, He foretold, that he would make a new covenant that was unlike the "Old" covenant which he had made with "their fathers".
    2. ANSWER 2: Luke 24:44 and Matthew 5:17 — Note that the "Old" covenant (The Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms) is not replaced by the "New".covenant.
    3. ANSWER 3: Hebrews 9:11-20 — Christ is the mediator of a new covenant or testament.
    4. ANSWER 4: Matthew 26:28-29 — For a "covenant" or Testament to be struck, someone has to die, blood must be shed. In this case, Christ’s blood was shed in order to make this new covenant.

We can see then from studying about the Red Letter version and the difference between the Old and New Testaments that Christ is the central theme throughout the Bible, not just the New Testament. And if we are to gain a deeper understanding of God’s plan for us and all of His creation we need to fully understand the complete Word of God, i.e., the Old and New Testaments. Doing so will make us fall in love with Jesus all over again.

I pray that you will find a new believer or a person seeking Christ and will be able to apply this in your effort to minister to their needs. There is nothing more exciting than helping a new believer grow or a seeker find Jesus; and I pray this is the week God will bless you with that work.

Thanks to all of you for your faithful study of His Holy Word. May God continue to bless you as you study with us.

In Christ,

Wes

[2021]

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