WAEC SSCE - Christian Religious Studies - 2010 (Essay)

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(a) The event that led to the appointment of the seven deacons (Acts 6:1-7):

• As the number of disciples multiplied, a complaint (murmuring) arose from the Hellenists (Greek-speaking Jews) against the Hebrews (Aramaic-speaking Jews).
• The grievance was that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food and welfare.
• The twelve apostles summoned the whole body of disciples and said, "It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables."
• They directed the brethren to pick out seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, to be appointed to this duty of relief.
• The apostles would devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word.
• This proposal pleased the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus a proselyte of Antioch.
• They set these men before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
• As a result, the word of God increased, the number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and many priests became obedient to the faith.

(b) Three lessons Christians can learn:

• Fair and equitable treatment of all members, regardless of language or background, must be maintained in the Church.
• Division of labour and delegation allow leaders to focus on their primary calling while others handle practical needs.
• Leaders must be people of good character, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, chosen for service.

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(a) The meeting between Elijah and Obadiah (1 Kings 18:1-16):

• After three years of drought, the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, commanding him to go and show himself to Ahab, for God would send rain on the land.
• The famine was severe in Samaria. Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was over his household and greatly feared the Lord (he had hidden a hundred prophets by fifties in caves and fed them with bread and water during Jezebel's persecution).
• Ahab and Obadiah divided the land between them to search for grass to keep the horses and mules alive; Ahab went one way and Obadiah another.
• As Obadiah was on the road, Elijah met him. Obadiah recognised him, fell on his face, and said, "Is it you, my lord Elijah?"
• Elijah answered, "It is I. Go, tell your lord, 'Behold, Elijah is here.'"
• Obadiah was afraid, protesting that Ahab had searched every nation for Elijah. He feared that if he announced Elijah, the Spirit of the Lord would carry Elijah away to an unknown place, so that when Ahab came and could not find him, Ahab would kill Obadiah.
• Obadiah reminded Elijah of his own faithfulness in hiding and feeding the Lord's prophets from Jezebel.
• Elijah swore by the Lord of hosts, "As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today."
• Reassured, Obadiah went and told Ahab, and Ahab went to meet Elijah.

(b) Two lessons that can be learnt:

• Courage and obedience to God. Elijah boldly obeyed God's command to confront Ahab despite the danger to his own life.
• Faithfulness in difficult times. Obadiah served God faithfully, even within a wicked court, by protecting God's prophets at great personal risk. God preserves and uses faithful servants even in hostile places.

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(a) The encounter between Jesus and the three would-be disciples (Luke 9:57-62):

As Jesus and His disciples were going along the road, three men expressed a desire to follow Him, and Jesus tested the seriousness of their commitment.

• The first man said, "I will follow You wherever You go." Jesus answered, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." He warned that discipleship may bring homelessness and hardship.
• The second man was called by Jesus, "Follow Me." But he replied, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." Jesus said, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." The work of the kingdom takes priority over even pressing family duties.
• The third man said, "I will follow You, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Jesus answered, "No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." A disciple must not be divided in heart or look back.

(b) Three demands of discipleship:

• Total self-denial and readiness for hardship, being prepared to forgo comfort and security.
• Absolute priority of God's kingdom over every earthly attachment, including family ties.
• Wholehearted, single-minded commitment without looking back or turning aside.

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(a) Paul's counsel concerning the use of spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12-14):

• Spiritual gifts have one Source. There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; varieties of service, but the same Lord. Every gift is given by the one Spirit as He wills.
• Gifts are given for the common good. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the profit of all, not for personal display.
• The gifts are diverse. They include wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, tongues, and the interpretation of tongues.
• The Church is one body with many members. Just as the body has many parts that need one another, so believers with different gifts belong to one body of Christ; no member should feel inferior or despise another.
• No gift is to be despised or over-exalted. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you." The seemingly weaker members are indispensable.
• Love is the greatest and most excellent way. Without love, tongues, prophecy, knowledge, and even sacrifice profit nothing. Love is patient, kind, not jealous or boastful, and never ends.
• Prophecy is to be preferred to tongues in the assembly, because prophecy edifies, exhorts, and consoles the whole church, whereas uninterpreted tongues edify only the speaker.
• Tongues must be interpreted. If anyone speaks in a tongue, there should be an interpreter; otherwise he should keep silent in church.
• All things must be done decently and in order, for God is not a God of confusion but of peace. Two or three may speak in turn, and others weigh what is said.
• Believers should earnestly desire the higher gifts that build up the church.

(b) Three ways spiritual gifts are misused today:

• They are used for personal display and pride, to draw attention to oneself rather than to edify the church.
• They are commercialised, used to extort money from gullible people through false healing and prophecy.
• They are used to cause disorder and division, including uninterpreted tongues and confusion in worship.

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(a) The first creation story in chronological order (Genesis 1:1-2:3):

1. Day One: God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the deep. God said, "Let there be light," and separated the light (Day) from the darkness (Night).
2. Day Two: God made the firmament, separating the waters above from the waters below, and called the firmament Heaven (the sky).
3. Day Three: God gathered the waters under the heavens into one place so that dry land (Earth) appeared, and the gathered waters He called Seas. He also caused the earth to bring forth vegetation, plants, and fruit trees.
4. Day Four: God made the two great lights, the sun to rule the day and the moon to rule the night, and He made the stars, to mark seasons, days, and years.
5. Day Five: God created the creatures of the sea and the birds of the air, and blessed them to be fruitful and multiply.
6. Day Six: God made the land animals, cattle, creeping things, and beasts; then He created man, male and female, in His own image, and gave them dominion over all creatures. God saw that everything was very good.
7. Day Seven: God rested from all His work and blessed and hallowed the seventh day.

(b) Three reasons why man is regarded as the crown of creation:

• Man was made in the image and likeness of God, possessing reason, will, and a moral and spiritual nature that other creatures do not share.
• Man was given dominion over the fish, birds, animals, and all the earth, appointed as God's steward and ruler over creation.
• Man was created last, as the climax of God's work, after everything else had been prepared for his welfare, and God specially blessed him and communed with him.

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(a) The dreams of Pharaoh (Genesis 41):

After two full years, Pharaoh dreamed two dreams in one night:

• The first dream: Pharaoh stood by the river Nile. Seven cows, sleek and fat, came up out of the river and fed in the reed grass. After them came up seven other cows, gaunt and thin, and stood beside the fat cows on the riverbank. Then the thin, ugly cows ate up the seven sleek, fat cows, yet remained as gaunt as before. Pharaoh awoke.
• The second dream: He slept again and dreamed a second time. Seven ears of grain, plump and good, grew on one stalk. After them sprouted seven ears, thin and blighted by the east wind. The thin ears swallowed up the seven plump, full ears. Pharaoh awoke and found it was a dream.
• The trouble and the solution: In the morning his spirit was troubled, and none of the magicians or wise men of Egypt could interpret the dreams. The chief butler then remembered Joseph, who was brought from prison. Joseph declared that both dreams were one: God had shown Pharaoh what He was about to do. The seven fat cows and full ears were seven years of great plenty; the seven thin cows and blighted ears were seven years of severe famine that would follow and consume the plenty. The doubling of the dream meant the matter was fixed by God and would soon come to pass. Joseph advised Pharaoh to appoint a discreet man to store one-fifth of the produce during the years of plenty against the famine.

(b) Three ways the interpretation affected Joseph and his people:

• Joseph was elevated to power. Pharaoh set him over all Egypt as prime minister, gave him his signet ring, fine linen, and a gold chain.
• Joseph's family and the region were saved from famine. The stored grain fed Egypt and the surrounding lands, including Joseph's own family who came from Canaan to buy food.
• The reconciliation and migration of Israel. The famine brought Joseph's brothers to Egypt, leading to their reconciliation and the settling of Jacob's household in Goshen, preserving the nation of Israel.

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(a) Paul's teaching on the dignity of labour (2 Thessalonians 3:6-15; cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12):

• Paul commanded the believers, in the name of the Lord Jesus, to keep away from any brother who lives in idleness and does not follow the tradition of hard work that they received.
• He set before them his own example: he was never lazy while he was among them.
• He never accepted anyone's food without paying for it.
• He worked hard, day and night, so as not to be a burden to any of them.
• This he did even though he had the right to be supported by them.
• He deliberately made himself a model for them to imitate.
• He laid down the firm rule: "If anyone will not work, let him not eat."
• He had heard that some among them were living in idleness, mere busybodies, not busy at work.
• In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ he commanded such persons to work quietly and earn their own living.
• He urged the faithful not to grow weary in doing good.
• Anyone who refused to obey was to be noted and kept away from, so that he would be ashamed, yet he was to be warned as a brother and not treated as an enemy.
• In 1 Thessalonians he adds that they should aspire to live quietly, mind their own affairs and work with their hands, so as to depend on no one and command the respect of outsiders.

(b) Four lessons that can be derived from this teaching:

• Laziness and idleness are to be condemned; idleness brings shame and can lead to the downfall of the family, the church and the nation.
• Every person should be self-reliant and earn a living rather than become a parasite dependent on others.
• One should be proud of one's job, for no particular job is superior to another and all forms of honest work are complementary.
• Hard work is a Christian virtue that enables a person to help the needy; looking down on so-called menial jobs is unchristian.

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(a) Paul's teaching on Christian giving (2 Corinthians 8-9):

Paul appealed to the Corinthians to complete the collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem, and set out principles of Christian giving:

• The example of the Macedonian churches. In severe affliction and deep poverty, they gave with abundant joy and generosity, even beyond their means and of their own free will.
• The supreme example of Christ. "Though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich."
• Giving must be willing and cheerful. "Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."
• Giving according to one's means. The gift is acceptable according to what a man has, not according to what he has not; the aim is equality, not that others are eased while givers are burdened.
• Giving should be planned and ready. They were to set aside their gift beforehand as a willing gift, not as an exaction.
• The principle of sowing and reaping. "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully."
• God supplies the giver. God is able to make all grace abound, so that having enough of everything, they may abound in every good work.
• Giving results in thanksgiving to God. The generosity of the givers produces thanksgiving and glorifies God, and the recipients pray for the givers.

(b) Two ways people benefit from giving:

• Spiritual and material blessing from God, for the generous giver reaps bountifully and God supplies all his needs.
• It fosters love, unity, and thanksgiving, meeting the needs of others and strengthening fellowship in the body of Christ.

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(a) The content of the New Covenant:

(i) In Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:31-34):

• The Lord will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and Judah, not like the old covenant made at the Exodus which they broke.
• God will put His law within them and write it upon their hearts, rather than on tablets of stone.
• He will be their God, and they shall be His people.
• They shall all know the Lord, from the least to the greatest, without needing to teach one another to know Him.
• God will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more.

(ii) In Ezekiel (Ezekiel 36:24-28):

• God will gather them from the nations and bring them back into their own land.
• He will sprinkle clean water upon them to cleanse them from their uncleanness and idols.
• He will give them a new heart and put a new spirit within them.
• He will remove the heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.
• He will put His Spirit within them and cause them to walk in His statutes; they shall be His people, and He their God.

(b) Five benefits of the Covenant to Israel:

• Forgiveness of sins, for God promised to remember their sins no more.
• Inner renewal, receiving a new heart and a new spirit in place of the heart of stone.
• Personal knowledge of God, so that all would know the Lord directly.
• Restored relationship, as God pledged, "I will be their God, and they shall be My people."
• The indwelling and empowering of God's Spirit, enabling them to obey His laws written on their hearts.

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(a) James' teaching on faith and works (James 2:14-26):

• James asks, "What good is it if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can that faith save him?"
• He gives an illustration: if a brother or sister is ill-clad and lacking daily food, and one says, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them what they need, such words profit nothing.
• He concludes, "Faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead."
• He anticipates an objection: one may say, "You have faith and I have works." James replies, "Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith."
• Even the demons believe that God is one, and they shudder; mere belief is not saving faith.
• The example of Abraham: he was justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar. His faith was active along with his works, and by works his faith was completed. Thus the scripture was fulfilled, "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness," and he was called the friend of God.
• The example of Rahab the harlot: she was justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way.
• James concludes, "As the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead." Genuine faith must express itself in action.

(b) Two lessons Christians can learn:

• True faith must be practical and active, demonstrated through good deeds and acts of charity, not mere profession.
• Faith and works are inseparable; a believer proves the reality of his faith by obedience and service to others.

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(a) Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:19-34):

(i) On earthly possessions:

• "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal."
• Rather, "lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven," which are imperishable and secure.
• "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
• The eye is the lamp of the body; a sound (single) eye fills the body with light, but an unsound eye fills it with darkness.
• "No one can serve two masters... You cannot serve God and mammon (wealth)." One must choose between devotion to God and slavery to money.

(ii) On anxiety:

• "Do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on."
• Consider the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap, yet the heavenly Father feeds them, and you are of more value.
• Anxiety cannot add a single cubit to one's span of life.
• Consider the lilies of the field: they neither toil nor spin, yet Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass, will He not much more clothe you, O men of little faith?
• Do not be anxious like the Gentiles, for your heavenly Father knows your needs. "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." Do not be anxious about tomorrow.

(b) Five ways the misuse of wealth can lead to serious consequences for a nation:

• It breeds corruption and embezzlement, draining public funds meant for development.
• It widens inequality, creating a gulf between rich and poor that leads to social unrest.
• It fuels injustice and oppression, as the wealthy bribe their way and deny the poor justice.
• It promotes materialism and moral decay, encouraging greed, fraud, and neglect of godly values.
• It leads to insecurity and violence, as poverty and resentment drive crime, kidnapping, and instability.

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(a) The story of the Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-8; Matthew 17:1-8; Luke 9:28-36):

• About six (or eight) days after teaching about His coming suffering, Jesus took Peter, James, and John with Him up a high mountain apart, to pray.
• There He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His garments became dazzling white, whiter than any launderer on earth could bleach them.
• Two great figures of the Old Testament, Moses and Elijah, appeared and talked with Jesus, speaking of His departure (exodus) which He was to accomplish at Jerusalem.
• Peter, overwhelmed, said, "Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah," not knowing what to say, for they were terrified.
• Then a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud saying, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him."
• Suddenly, when the disciples looked around, they saw no one but Jesus only.
• As they came down the mountain, Jesus charged them to tell no one what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

(b) Three points of significance:

• It confirmed the divine Sonship of Jesus. The heavenly voice declared Him God's beloved Son, affirming His divinity and authority.
• It linked Jesus with the Law and the Prophets. The presence of Moses (the Law) and Elijah (the Prophets) shows that Jesus is the fulfilment of the Old Testament.
• It strengthened the disciples for the coming suffering. The glimpse of Christ's glory prepared Peter, James, and John for His passion and pointed forward to His resurrection and glory.