WAEC SSCE - Christian Religious Studies - 1992 (Essay)

Answer Details

The conversion of Saul (Acts 9:1-31)

• Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples, obtained letters from the high priest to the synagogues at Damascus, so that he might arrest any believers, men or women, and bring them bound to Jerusalem.
• As he neared Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?
• He asked, Who are you, Lord? and the voice replied, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Rise and enter the city, and you will be told what to do.
• Saul rose from the ground, but though his eyes were open he could see nothing; his companions led him by the hand into Damascus, and for three days he was blind and neither ate nor drank.
• The Lord sent a disciple named Ananias, who, though afraid, laid hands on Saul. Something like scales fell from his eyes, he regained his sight, was baptised, and received strength.
• Saul at once began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, He is the Son of God, confounding the Jews by proving that Jesus was the Christ.

Two examples of the effect of this conversion on the growth of the Church:

1. Bold preaching and expansion to the Gentiles. Saul (Paul) became the leading missionary who carried the gospel across Asia Minor and Europe, planting churches in cities such as Antioch, Corinth, Philippi and Ephesus, greatly enlarging the Church beyond Judaism.
2. Strengthening and encouragement of believers. The fierce persecutor turned defender; after his conversion the churches throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria had peace and were built up, and his epistles gave lasting teaching that nurtured Christians everywhere.

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(a) Jesus as the Living Water (John 4:1-26; also John 7:37-39)

The teaching arises chiefly from Jesus' meeting with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well.

• Tired from His journey, Jesus sat by the well and asked a Samaritan woman for a drink, though Jews normally had no dealings with Samaritans.
• He told her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, Give me a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.
• The woman, thinking of ordinary water, noted that He had nothing to draw with and the well was deep, and asked whether He was greater than Jacob.
• Jesus replied, Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
• The woman then asked for this water so that she would not thirst nor keep coming to draw.
• Elsewhere, at the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus cried out, If anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink, and John explains that He spoke of the Holy Spirit, rivers of living water flowing from the believer's heart.

(b) Ways this teaching applies to us

1. It teaches that only Christ can satisfy the deepest spiritual longings of the soul; earthly things leave us thirsting again.
2. The living water represents eternal life and the gift of the Holy Spirit, which every believer must receive from Christ.
3. We are invited to come to Jesus in faith, just as the woman did, regardless of our race, past sins or social standing.
4. Those who receive Christ become a source of blessing to others, as rivers of living water flow out of them.
5. It calls us to seek lasting spiritual satisfaction in God rather than in the passing pleasures of the world.

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(a) How Paul differentiated between law and grace (Romans 3-8; Galatians 2-3; Ephesians 2)

• The Law demands works; grace is a free gift. The Law commands, Do this and live, requiring perfect obedience, whereas grace is God's unmerited favour freely given in Christ, not earned by works, so that no one may boast.
• The Law exposes sin; grace forgives it. Through the Law comes the knowledge of sin, for the Law reveals wrongdoing but cannot remove it; grace justifies the sinner freely through faith in Christ's atoning death.
• The Law brings condemnation and death; grace brings righteousness and life. Since no one is justified by the works of the Law, all under it stand condemned, but by grace the believer receives eternal life as a gift of God.
• The Law was a temporary custodian; grace is the fulfilment in Christ. Paul says the Law was our schoolmaster to lead us to Christ, but now that faith has come we are no longer under that custodian.
• Justification is by faith, not by law. A person is justified by faith apart from works of the Law, for Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

(b) Significance of these two concepts in the life of a Christian

1. The Law makes the Christian aware of sin and his need of a Saviour, humbling him before God.
2. Grace assures the believer of free forgiveness and acceptance, giving peace and confidence before God.
3. Salvation by grace removes pride and self-righteousness, since it is God's gift and not human achievement.
4. Living under grace does not mean lawlessness; the believer, freed from condemnation, now serves God out of love and gratitude and fulfils the Law's true intent through the Spirit.
5. It gives the Christian security, knowing that his standing rests on Christ's finished work and not on his own imperfect obedience.

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(a) Why Elijah pronounced drought on Israel and Ahab’s reaction

Ahab, king of Israel, married Jezebel, the daughter of the king of Sidon. Under Jezebel’s influence, Ahab began to serve and worship Baal. He built an altar and a temple for Baal in Samaria and also made an Asherah. Ahab therefore led the people of Israel into idolatry and provoked the Lord more than the kings who reigned before him.

Because Ahab and Israel had forsaken the commandments of God and followed Baal, God sent Elijah the Tishbite to pronounce punishment on the land. Elijah appeared before Ahab and declared that there would be no dew or rain for years except at his word. The drought was God’s judgment against the worship of Baal, whom the people believed could control rain and fertility.

During the famine, Ahab sent Obadiah, the governor of his house, to search for water and pasture so that the horses and mules would not die. Ahab went in one direction while Obadiah went in another. Obadiah met Elijah, recognized him and bowed before him. Elijah told Obadiah to inform Ahab that he was there.

When Ahab met Elijah, he said, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?” Elijah replied that he had not troubled Israel, but that Ahab and his father’s house had troubled it by forsaking the commandments of the Lord and following the Baals. Elijah then instructed Ahab to gather the people of Israel and the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel.

(b) Lessons about the supremacy of God

1. God is supreme over nature, for He withheld rain and dew from the land and later restored rain at His command.
2. God punishes sin and idolatry; the drought came because Ahab and Israel abandoned God and worshipped Baal.
3. God is greater than Baal and all false gods, since Baal could not prevent or end the drought.
4. God provides for His faithful servants, as He provided food and water for Elijah during the famine.
5. God is more powerful than earthly rulers; although Ahab was king, he could not change or stop God’s judgment spoken through Elijah.
6. God protects those who remain loyal to Him, even in times of famine, persecution and national disaster.

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(a) The Transfiguration of Jesus Christ (Matthew 17:1-13)

• After about six days Jesus took Peter, James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
• There He was transfigured before them; His face shone like the sun, and His garments became white as light.
• Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared, talking with Him.
• Peter said to Jesus, Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three booths here, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.
• While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice out of the cloud said, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.
• When the disciples heard it they fell on their faces and were filled with awe. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, Rise, and have no fear.
• When they lifted up their eyes they saw no one but Jesus only.
• As they came down the mountain Jesus charged them to tell no one the vision until the Son of Man had been raised from the dead. He also explained that Elijah had already come, referring to John the Baptist.

(b) Significance to the Christian faith

1. It confirmed the divine sonship and deity of Jesus, since the Father's voice openly declared Him the beloved Son.
2. The presence of Moses and Elijah showed that Jesus fulfils the Law and the Prophets and is greater than both.
3. It gave a foretaste of Christ's future glory and resurrection, strengthening the disciples' faith before His suffering.
4. The command listen to him establishes Jesus as the final authority whose teaching Christians must obey.
5. It assures believers of the reality of heavenly glory and the hope of being transformed to share in it.

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(a) The story of the second creation (Genesis 2)

The second account focuses on the making of man and his environment. On the day the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, no plant had yet sprung up because God had not caused it to rain and there was no man to till the ground; a mist went up and watered the whole face of the ground.

• The forming of man. The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being (Adam).
• The Garden of Eden. God planted a garden eastward in Eden and put the man there. He caused every tree pleasant to the sight and good for food to grow, including the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, in the middle of the garden.
• The rivers. A river flowed out of Eden and divided into four heads: Pishon, Gihon, Tigris and Euphrates.
• Man's duty and the command. God put the man in the garden to till and keep it, permitting him to eat of every tree except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, warning that in the day he ate of it he would surely die.
• Naming of animals. God formed the beasts and birds and brought them to the man to name, but no suitable helper was found for him.
• The making of woman. God caused a deep sleep to fall on the man, took one of his ribs, and made a woman, bringing her to the man. Adam called her Woman because she was taken out of Man, and the two became one flesh. They were both naked and were not ashamed.

(b) How the story illustrates the sovereignty of God

1. God is the sole Creator who forms man out of dust and gives life by His own breath, showing His absolute power over life.
2. He plants and orders the whole environment, providing food, water and beauty, demonstrating His lordship over nature.
3. He assigns man his work and lays down a command with a penalty, proving His authority to rule and to be obeyed.
4. He alone provides a companion for man, showing that all human relationships depend on His will.
5. Everything exists at His word and pleasure, so man and creation are wholly dependent on Him.

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(a) Paul's teaching on new life in Christ (Romans 6; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 3; Galatians 2:20)

• Paul teaches that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. Conversion means a complete transformation of the person.
• Through baptism the believer is united with Christ's death and resurrection: we were buried with Him so that, just as Christ was raised, we too might walk in newness of life.
• The old self was crucified with Christ so that the body of sin might be destroyed and we should no longer be slaves to sin. We are to consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
• The new life is lived by faith; Paul says, It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.
• Believers must put off the old nature with its practices such as anger, malice, lying, immorality and greed, and put on the new nature of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forgiveness and love.
• They are to set their minds on things above, not on earthly things, and to yield their bodies as instruments of righteousness to God.

(b) Two ways Christians can manifest this new life

1. By turning away from sinful habits of the old nature and living holy, upright lives of honesty, purity and self-control.
2. By showing the fruit of the Spirit toward others, that is love, kindness, forgiveness, patience and service, so that Christ is seen in their conduct.

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(a) Paul's teaching on the dignity of labour (2 Thessalonians 3:6-13; Ephesians 4:28; 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12)

• Paul insists that honest work is a Christian duty. He commanded, If anyone will not work, let him not eat, rebuking idleness as disorderly conduct.
• He set himself as an example, working night and day with his own hands as a tentmaker so as not to be a burden to anyone, though as an apostle he had the right to support.
• He urged believers to aspire to live quietly, to mind their own affairs, and to work with their hands so that they might command the respect of outsiders and depend on nobody.
• He taught that the thief must steal no more but rather labour, doing honest work with his hands, so as to have something to share with the needy.
• Labour is therefore honourable and God-given; it provides for oneself and others, keeps one from becoming a busybody, and is a channel of generosity, not merely a means of survival.
• He encouraged the faithful, Do not grow weary in doing good, showing that diligent work is part of holy living.

(b) Two reasons why we should respect individual professions

1. Every honest profession contributes to the good and progress of society, so all lawful work deserves dignity and respect regardless of its status.
2. All honest labour is service to God and neighbour, since the same God gives different gifts and callings; to despise a profession is to despise the worker and the God who ordained honest work.

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Practices Amos condemned in Israel's religious life, and what he recommended in their place

Amos attacked a religion that was outwardly busy but inwardly corrupt. Israel kept the forms of worship while ignoring justice and mercy, so God rejected their devotion.

Three practices Amos condemned:

• Empty ritual sacrifice and offerings. The people multiplied burnt offerings, cereal offerings and peace offerings, but God said He would not accept them and would not look upon them, because the heart behind them was corrupt.
• Noisy, hollow festivals and worship at the shrines. God declared, I hate, I despise your feasts, and He took no delight in their solemn assemblies. He told them to bring their offerings to Bethel and Gilgal only to transgress, mocking their pilgrimage religion.
• Meaningless music and songs of praise. God commanded them to take away the noise of their songs, for He would not listen to the melody of their harps, since their praise masked oppression of the poor.

Three things he recommended in their place:

• Justice. Let justice roll down like waters, that is, fair treatment and honest judgment in the courts and markets.
• Righteousness. And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream, upright and godly living in every dealing.
• To seek God and do good. Amos urged, Seek good and not evil, that you may live, and hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate, so that the Lord might be gracious to the remnant.