WAEC SSCE - Christian Religious Studies - 1995 (Essay)

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(a) How John describes Jesus as the Lamb of God (John 1)

The description was given by John the Baptist. As John was baptising at the Jordan, he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" He explained that this was the one of whom he had said, "After me comes a man who ranks before me, for he was before me," and that he himself had come baptising with water so that Jesus might be revealed to Israel.

John testified further that he saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven and remain on Jesus, and that God, who sent him to baptise, had told him, "He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptises with the Holy Spirit." And John concluded, "And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God."

The next day, as John again saw Jesus walk by, he repeated, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" On hearing this, two of John's disciples followed Jesus.

By calling Jesus the "Lamb of God," John identified Him with the sacrificial lamb: the Passover lamb whose blood delivered Israel, and the lamb of the sin offering. He presented Jesus as the perfect, spotless sacrifice who would take away the sin of the whole world by His death.

(b) Two ways in which this description is significant to Christians

1. It points to Jesus as the sacrifice for sin - just as a lamb was offered to atone for sin, Jesus, the sinless Lamb, died on the cross to take away the sins of all who believe, reconciling humanity to God.
2. It fulfils Old Testament sacrifice and offers universal salvation - Jesus is the true Passover Lamb whose blood delivers believers from death and judgement, showing that salvation through Him is for the whole world, not the Jews only.

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(a) Paul's teaching on Spiritual Gifts and the analogy of the human body (1 Corinthians 12)

Writing to the divided church at Corinth, Paul explained the nature of spiritual gifts (charismata). He taught that there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; varieties of service, but the same Lord; and varieties of working, but the same God who inspires them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

He listed the gifts as coming from the one Spirit, including: the utterance of wisdom, the utterance of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, the working of miracles, prophecy, the ability to distinguish between spirits, various kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. All these are inspired by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as He wills.

Paul then likened the Church to the human body: "For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ." For by one Spirit all were baptised into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free.

He argued that the body is not one member but many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less part of the body; and if the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? God arranged the organs in the body as He chose. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor the head to the feet. On the contrary, the parts that seem weaker are indispensable, and God has so composed the body that there may be no discord, but that the members may have the same care for one another. "If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together." So the believers are the body of Christ and individually members of it, each with a different gift and function.

(b) The significance of this teaching to the Church

1. It teaches unity in diversity - the many different gifts and members form one body, so Christians should not despise one another or be divided, but work together in harmony.
2. It teaches that every member is important - no gift or person is useless or superior; each has a God-given role for the good of the whole Church.
3. It teaches mutual care and interdependence - members must care for one another, sharing in one another's joys and sufferings, since all belong to one body under Christ the head.
4. It corrects pride and envy - since the gifts come from the same Spirit for the common good, no one should boast or be jealous, for all serve the same Lord.

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(a) How Paul dealt with the Corinthians who did not believe in the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15)

Some members of the Corinthian church were saying that there is no resurrection of the dead. Paul answered them with a careful argument.

• He first reminded them of the gospel he had preached, that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures.
• He listed the eyewitnesses of the risen Christ: Cephas, then the twelve, then more than five hundred brethren at once, then James, then all the apostles, and last of all himself.
• He argued that if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, their preaching is useless, their faith is worthless, they are still in their sins, and those who have died in Christ have perished. If our hope in Christ is only for this life, then Christians are of all people most to be pitied.
• He then declared triumphantly that Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. As death came through Adam, so resurrection comes through Christ.
• To answer their question about how the dead are raised and with what body, he used the picture of a seed which must die before it grows into a new plant. The body sown is perishable, but it is raised imperishable; sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
• He concluded that at the last trumpet the dead will be raised imperishable and the living will be changed. Death will be swallowed up in victory, and he gave thanks to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

(b) Significance of the resurrection of Christ to Christians

• It is the foundation and proof of the Christian faith; without it preaching and faith would be in vain.
• It assures believers of the forgiveness of sins and that they are no longer under condemnation.
• It guarantees the future resurrection of all who die in Christ and gives hope of eternal life.
• It shows Christ's victory over sin, death and the grave, so believers need not fear death.
• It gives meaning and reward to Christian labour, so that their work in the Lord is never in vain.

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(a) The division of the kingdom of Israel (1 Kings 11 and 12)

After the death of Solomon, his son Rehoboam went to Shechem, where all Israel had gathered to make him king. Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had fled to Egypt from Solomon, was recalled, and he together with the assembly of Israel came to Rehoboam with a plea: "Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke upon us, and we will serve you." Rehoboam asked them to return after three days.

Rehoboam took counsel. The old men who had served Solomon advised him to be a servant to the people and speak good words to them, and they would serve him for ever. But Rehoboam rejected their advice and followed the counsel of the young men who had grown up with him. When the people returned, he answered harshly: "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions."

When Israel saw that the king would not listen, they said, "What portion have we in David? To your tents, O Israel!" So Israel departed. When Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the forced labour, the people stoned him to death, and Rehoboam fled to Jerusalem.

Thus the kingdom was divided: the ten northern tribes made Jeroboam king over Israel, while only the tribe of Judah (with Benjamin) remained loyal to the house of David under Rehoboam. This fulfilled the word which the LORD had spoken through the prophet Ahijah, that the kingdom would be torn from Solomon's house because of unfaithfulness, yet one tribe would be left for David's sake.

(b) Unwise policies of Solomon that led to the division

1. Idolatry - influenced by his many foreign wives, Solomon turned to the worship of foreign gods and built high places for them, provoking the LORD's anger.
2. Heavy taxation - he imposed a burdensome system of taxes on the people to maintain his lavish court and building projects.
3. Forced labour - he conscripted his subjects into hard forced labour for his many building works, embittering the northern tribes.
4. Extravagance and love of luxury - his enormous expenditure on his palace, harem and grandeur placed an unbearable strain on the people.

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(a) The healing of the leper and the significance of Jesus' instructions (Mark 1; Matthew 8)

A leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and kneeling, and said, "If you will, you can make me clean." Moved with pity (compassion), Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean." Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.

Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, saying, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to the people." But the man went out and began to talk freely about it, spreading the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town but stayed out in the country, yet people came to Him from every quarter.

Significance of the instructions:

1. "Show yourself to the priest" - under the Law of Moses, only the priest could officially declare a leper clean and restore him to the community; Jesus respected the Law and ensured the man's proper reintegration into society.
2. "Offer what Moses commanded, as a proof to the people" - the required offering served as a public testimony and legal certification that the man was truly healed and could resume normal life and worship.
3. "Say nothing to anyone" - Jesus wished to avoid premature publicity and a merely sensational following that valued miracles over His true message, and to prevent the crowds from hindering His teaching ministry.

By touching the leper, Jesus showed His compassion and power, cleansing rather than being defiled, and demonstrating His authority over disease.

(b) Two ways God still performs miracles today

1. Through healing of the sick - God restores health to people, sometimes instantly through prayer and faith, and also through the skill of doctors and medicine which He provides.
2. Through provision and deliverance in life's difficulties - God answers prayers by granting children to the barren, protecting people from accidents and danger, meeting needs, and transforming lives through the preaching of the gospel.

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(a) How Deborah led her people to victory (Judges 4 and 5)

Deborah was a prophetess and the judge of Israel at that time. She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came up to her for judgement.

At that time the Israelites had been cruelly oppressed for twenty years by Jabin, king of Canaan, whose army commander was Sisera, who had nine hundred chariots of iron. Deborah sent for Barak the son of Abinoam and gave him God's command: "Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor... and I will draw out Sisera to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand."

Barak replied, "If you will go with me, I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go." Deborah agreed to go, but told him that because of the way he chose, the glory of the victory would not be his, for the LORD would sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.

Deborah went up with Barak, and ten thousand men followed him to Mount Tabor. When Sisera came out with his chariots, Deborah said, "Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sisera into your hand." The LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots before Barak; the river Kishon swept them away. Sisera fled on foot and came to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. She welcomed him, gave him milk and covered him; but while he slept from exhaustion, she drove a tent peg through his temple and killed him. So God subdued Jabin, and the land had rest for forty years. Deborah and Barak then sang a song of victory praising the LORD.

(b) Three ways women today contribute towards national development

1. Leadership and governance - women serve as political leaders, administrators and public servants, helping to make and implement good policies.
2. Education and the professions - women work as teachers, doctors, lawyers, engineers and other professionals, training and serving the nation.
3. Economic and social activity - women engage in trade, farming, entrepreneurship and charitable work, and nurture families and moral values, strengthening the society.

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(a) Paul's teaching on the dignity of labour from his personal example (2 Thessalonians 3:6-13)

When Paul was among the Thessalonians he did not live as an idle person or become a burden to anyone. Although as an apostle he had the right to be supported by the church, he deliberately refused to eat any man's bread without paying for it. Instead he worked with his own hands, labouring night and day, so that he would not be a charge to any of them.

He offered himself as a pattern to be imitated, saying, "For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: If any would not work, neither should he eat." He had heard that some among them were living in idleness, being busybodies and doing no work, while depending on others for food. Paul rebuked such disorderly conduct and commanded them, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to work quietly and earn their own living. He thus taught that labour is honourable, that every believer should be self-supporting, and that idleness leads to disorder and dependence. He further urged the diligent ones not to grow weary in well-doing.

(b) Two ways Christians should uphold this teaching

• Christians should engage in honest and legitimate work to earn their living rather than depending idly on others or resorting to begging.
• Christians should be diligent and hardworking in their chosen callings, doing their work quietly and not being busybodies who meddle in others' affairs.

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(a) The story of Daniel in which his faith was put to test (Daniel 6)

When Darius the Mede received the kingdom, he set over it a hundred and twenty satraps, and over them three presidents, of whom Daniel was one. Because an excellent spirit was in him, Daniel distinguished himself above all, and the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.

The other presidents and satraps became jealous and sought to find grounds for complaint against Daniel, but they could find none, for he was faithful and without fault. So they said, "We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God."

They persuaded King Darius to sign an irrevocable decree, by the law of the Medes and Persians, that whoever made petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to the king, should be cast into the den of lions.

When Daniel knew the document was signed, he went to his house, where he had windows open toward Jerusalem, and got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks to God, as he had done before. His enemies caught him praying and reported him to the king. Darius was greatly distressed and laboured till sunset to deliver Daniel, but the conspirators reminded him that the law could not be changed. So the king reluctantly commanded that Daniel be cast into the den of lions, saying, "May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!" A stone was laid on the mouth of the den and sealed.

The king spent the night fasting and could not sleep. Early in the morning he ran to the den and cried, "O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God been able to deliver you from the lions?" Daniel answered, "My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths, because I was found blameless before him." The king was overjoyed and had Daniel taken up, and no hurt was found on him because he had trusted in his God. Then those who had accused him were cast into the den with their families and were devoured. King Darius decreed that in all his dominion men should tremble before the God of Daniel, the living God.

(b) Two suggestions to a present-day priest facing opposition in evangelization

1. Remain steadfast in faith and prayer - like Daniel, he should continue to trust God and pray without wavering, confident that God is able to protect and vindicate him.
2. Persevere with courage and integrity - he should keep a blameless character, refuse to compromise or abandon his duty out of fear, and continue the work of evangelization, leaving the outcome to God.

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(a) What happened to Stephen after he called the Council stiff-necked (Acts 7)

Stephen, one of the seven deacons, had been brought before the Jewish Council (Sanhedrin) on the false charge of speaking against the temple and the Law. In his long defence he recounted the history of Israel, then concluded by rebuking them: "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you." He accused them of betraying and murdering the Righteous One (Jesus), just as their fathers had persecuted the prophets.

When they heard these things, they were enraged and ground their teeth against him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. He said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God."

At this they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and rushed together upon him. They cast him out of the city and began to stone him. The witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul (who consented to his death).

As they stoned him, Stephen called out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he knelt down and cried with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them," and when he had said this, he fell asleep (died). Thus Stephen became the first Christian martyr. Devout men buried him and made great lamentation over him.

(b) Significance of this episode to the Early Church

1. Stephen became the first martyr, setting an example of faith, courage and forgiveness (praying for his killers as Jesus did) that inspired the persecuted Church.
2. It triggered a great persecution that scattered the believers throughout Judea, Samaria and beyond, which spread the gospel far and wide, so that persecution actually advanced the mission.
3. It marked a turning point for Saul, who witnessed and approved the death, and who would later be converted to become the great apostle Paul, showing God's power to turn a persecutor into a preacher.