WAEC SSCE - Christian Religious Studies - 2014 (Essay)

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(a) Summary of Peter's speech on Pentecost day (Acts 2:14-40)

• When the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and they spoke in other tongues, some in the crowd mocked, saying they were filled with new wine. Peter stood up with the eleven and addressed the crowd.
• He explained that they were not drunk, since it was only the third hour of the day, but that this was the fulfilment of the prophecy of Joel: "In the last days I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh," and whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
• He proclaimed Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested by God with mighty works, wonders and signs, whom they had crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men, according to God's definite plan and foreknowledge.
• He declared that God raised Jesus from the dead, freeing Him from the pangs of death, since it was not possible for death to hold Him.
• He cited David, who foresaw that God's Holy One would not see corruption, arguing that David died and was buried, but spoke of the resurrection of the Christ.
• He testified that God had raised this Jesus and that they were all witnesses, and that being exalted at the right hand of God, Jesus had poured out the Spirit which they saw and heard.
• He concluded, "Let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."
• When the people were cut to the heart and asked what they should do, Peter called them to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. About three thousand souls were added that day.

(b) Three changes in the life of the disciples after Pentecost

1. Boldness in place of fear. The once-timid disciples now preached Christ courageously before the crowd.
2. Spiritual power and new abilities, including speaking in other tongues and working signs and wonders.
3. Deeper understanding and unity, devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayers, and sharing their possessions.

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(a) What James said about effective prayer (James 5:13-18)

• James asks whether any among them is suffering, and answers that such a one should pray; whoever is cheerful should sing praise.
• Concerning the sick, he directs that they call for the elders of the church, who should pray over the sick person and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
• He assures that "the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven."
• He urges believers to confess their sins to one another and to pray for one another, that they may be healed.
• He gives the great principle: "The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects." Effective prayer must come from a righteous life and be offered in faith and fervency.
• He illustrates with Elijah, a man of like nature with us, who prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months; then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth brought forth its fruit.
• Thus James teaches that effective prayer is prayer offered in faith, in righteousness, fervently, in mutual love and confession, and it is powerful in its results.

(b) Three reasons why some prayers are not answered

1. Unconfessed sin and unrighteous living, which separate the one praying from God.
2. Lack of faith, since prayer must be offered believing, not doubting.
3. Wrong or selfish motives, asking amiss to spend on one's own pleasures, together with an unforgiving heart.

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(a) Amos' vision of a basket of ripe fruit (Amos 8)

• The Lord God showed Amos a vision: behold, a basket of summer (ripe) fruit.
• The Lord asked, "Amos, what do you see?" and he answered, "A basket of summer fruit."
• Then the Lord said to him, "The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass by them." Just as ripe fruit is ready to be eaten and will soon spoil, so Israel was ripe for judgement.
• The Lord declared that the songs of the temple would become wailings in that day, that many dead bodies would be cast out in silence.
• God then rebuked those who trampled on the needy and brought the poor of the land to an end.
• He condemned the merchants who could hardly wait for the new moon and the Sabbath to be over so that they might sell grain and wheat, making the ephah small and the shekel great, dealing deceitfully with false balances, buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the refuse of the wheat.
• The Lord swore that He would never forget any of their deeds; the land would tremble and mourn, and He would turn their feasts into mourning and their songs into lamentation.
• He warned of a famine, not of bread or water, but of hearing the words of the Lord, when people would wander and seek God's word but not find it.

(b) Three practices that Amos condemned

1. Oppression and exploitation of the poor and needy, trampling upon them and selling them for trifles.
2. Dishonest trade, using false balances, small measures and inflated prices to cheat buyers.
3. Empty and hypocritical religion, keeping feasts and sabbaths outwardly while practising injustice.

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(a) The role of King Hiram of Tyre in Solomon's preparation to build the temple (1 Kings 5)

• Hiram king of Tyre, who had always been a friend of David, sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that Solomon had been anointed king in place of his father.
• Solomon sent a message to Hiram, recalling that his father David could not build a house for the name of the Lord because of the wars around him, but now the Lord had given rest and peace, and Solomon purposed to build the temple.
• Solomon requested Hiram to command that cedars of Lebanon be cut for him, promising that his servants would join Hiram's servants, since the Sidonians were skilled in cutting timber.
• Hiram rejoiced greatly at Solomon's words, blessed the Lord, and agreed to supply the timber of cedar and cypress (fir) from Lebanon.
• Hiram's servants brought the logs down to the sea and floated them in rafts by sea to the place Solomon appointed, where they were broken up and taken inland.
• In return, Solomon gave Hiram wheat and beaten oil year by year as food for his household.
• Hiram also supplied skilled craftsmen and labour, and there was peace between the two kings, and they made a treaty (covenant) together.
• Thus Hiram provided the essential building materials, skilled workmen and a friendly alliance that enabled Solomon to proceed with the great work of the temple.

(b) Three benefits of making friends

1. Mutual help and support in times of need, as Hiram assisted Solomon with materials and labour.
2. Cooperation and shared resources that make great tasks achievable.
3. Peace, goodwill and lasting alliances that promote harmony and prevent conflict.

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(a) How Israel asked for a king (1 Samuel 8)

• When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons Joel and Abijah as judges over Israel, but they did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after gain, took bribes and perverted justice.
• Because of this, all the elders of Israel gathered and came to Samuel at Ramah.
• They said to him, "Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint for us a king to govern us like all the nations."
• The demand displeased Samuel, and he prayed to the Lord. The Lord told him to listen to the voice of the people, for they had not rejected Samuel but had rejected God from being king over them.
• The Lord instructed Samuel to warn them solemnly of the ways of the king who would reign over them.
• Samuel warned that the king would take their sons for his chariots and armies, their daughters as perfumers and cooks, the best of their fields, vineyards and olive orchards, a tenth of their grain and flocks, and their servants, and they would become his slaves and cry out in that day.
• But the people refused to listen, insisting, "No! but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles."
• The Lord then told Samuel to hearken to their voice and make them a king, and Saul was later anointed.

(b) Four consequences of the king's disobedience to God

Saul, the first king, repeatedly disobeyed God, and the consequences were grave:

1. Rejection as king. Because he disobeyed by offering the sacrifice himself and by sparing Agag and the best of the spoil, God rejected Saul from being king.
2. Loss of the kingdom to another. The kingdom was torn from him and given to a neighbour better than he, namely David.
3. Departure of God's Spirit and torment. The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit tormented him.
4. Death in battle and defeat. Saul and his sons were slain by the Philistines on Mount Gilboa, and Israel suffered defeat.

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(a) The demands Jesus made of the prospective disciples (Luke 9:57-62)

As Jesus and His disciples went along the road, three would-be followers came to Him, and to each He set out the demands of discipleship:

• The first man said, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." He demanded readiness to accept hardship, homelessness and self-denial.
• The second man was called by Jesus, "Follow me," but he asked first to go and bury his father. Jesus answered, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." He demanded that the kingdom take priority even over pressing family and social obligations.
• The third man said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." He demanded wholehearted commitment without looking back.

In sum, Jesus demanded willingness to endure hardship, to give the kingdom of God first place above all other ties, and to follow Him with undivided, forward-looking devotion.

(b) Three attitudes true disciples must exhibit

1. Total commitment and readiness for sacrifice, putting Christ above comfort and possessions.
2. Prioritising the kingdom of God above family, social and personal interests.
3. Steadfastness and singleness of purpose, never looking back once they have set out to follow Christ.

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(a) God's creation (Genesis 1-2)

(i) Light

• At the beginning the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, while the Spirit of God moved over the waters.
• On the first day God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God simply spoke and light came into being.
• God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.
• God called the light Day and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

(ii) Woman

• The Lord God observed that it was not good for the man to be alone, and resolved to make him a helper fit for him.
• He first brought the animals and birds to Adam to name, but among them no suitable helper was found for the man.
• So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and while he slept He took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.
• From the rib the Lord God built a woman and brought her to the man.
• Adam rejoiced, saying, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man."
• For this reason a man leaves his father and mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh.

(b) Three ways creation reveals God's nature

1. God is almighty and sovereign, for He created all things by His word out of nothing.
2. God is wise and orderly, as seen in the careful, purposeful arrangement of creation, each thing in its place.
3. God is good and caring, providing light, life and a companion for man, and declaring His works good.

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(a) Jesus' encounter with Matthew, the tax collector (Matthew 9:9-13; cf. Mark 2, Luke 5)

• As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man called Matthew (also known as Levi) sitting at the tax office (the place of toll).
• Jesus said to him, "Follow me." And Matthew rose at once, left everything, and followed Him.
• Afterward Matthew made a great feast in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners came and sat at table with Jesus and His disciples.
• When the Pharisees saw this, they complained to His disciples, asking, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
• Hearing it, Jesus answered, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick."
• He told them to go and learn what this means: "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice," and declared, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."

(b) Three lessons from the encounter

1. Jesus calls all kinds of people, including outcasts and sinners, to follow Him; no one is beyond His grace.
2. True discipleship demands immediate and total response; Matthew left his lucrative work at once to follow Jesus.
3. Christ came to seek and save sinners and desires mercy rather than self-righteous judgement of others.

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(a) How Peter exhorts Christians to be good citizens (1 Peter 2:11-17)

Peter first appeals to believers as sojourners and exiles, urging them to abstain from the passions of the flesh which war against the soul. Their good conduct is to be the foundation of responsible citizenship.

• Honourable conduct among the Gentiles. They should keep their behaviour excellent so that pagans who accuse them of wrongdoing may instead glorify God when they observe their good deeds.
• Submission to civil authority for the Lord's sake. Christians are to be subject to every human institution, whether to the emperor as supreme or to governors sent by him to punish evildoers and praise those who do right.
• Obedience as the will of God. By doing good they silence the ignorance of foolish men, showing that the faith does not breed rebellion.
• Right use of freedom. They must live as free people, yet not use their liberty as a cover-up for evil, but live as servants of God.
• A fourfold duty. Peter sums up their citizenship: Honour everyone, love the brotherhood, fear God, honour the emperor.
• Payment of civic obligations and respect for rulers. Even earthly kings and officials are to be respected because they serve God's purpose of maintaining order.

(b) Three ways the exhortation is significant

1. It teaches that genuine faith and loyal citizenship are compatible, so Christians can serve both God and the state without conflict.
2. It provides a witness that wins outsiders, since exemplary conduct silences accusations and draws unbelievers to glorify God.
3. It promotes peace, order and stability in society by encouraging obedience to lawful authority and respect for all persons.