Author: believersarmedanddangerous

We’ve seen that most Bible study methods are ways of looking more closely at a particular verse or passage.  This week’s study method does that in spades.  The ABCD Bible Study method can be used on just about any portion of Scripture from a few short verses to an entire book.  Let’s say we want to examine a chapter more closely and learn more about what’s happening there.  The ABCD method will work well for that.  Here’s how you do that:

• Pray asking for God’s guidance
• Read the passage through several times.
• Now look for these four points as you read:
  • A Title
    • What would you say is the overall topic of the passage? Write it down.
  • Basic truth or verse
    • What verse would you say is central to the passage? Write it down.
  • Commitment
    • What commitment does this passage make on my life? Write it down.
  • Difficulty
    • Was there a portion you saw as a difficulty or raised a question? You may not have anything for this point, and that’s okay.  If you do, you can use the other Bible study methods in earlier blogs to solve some of those difficulties.
  • Try this on the book of Philemon this week and see what you find.

So, you’re reading along in Colossians and come to Col 4:7 and a character you’ve never seen before: Tychicus.  You wonder who he was and how he fit into Paul’s ministry.  Ever wonder how the pastor finds out?  Well, there’s the “cheating” way.  You can just look up Tychicus in your Bible dictionary.  But, since Bible study is a personal discipline, it might be good to research him on your own to see what the Bible says about him.  That’s called a character study.

To do a character study, follow basically the same process done in the word study except this time you’ll be looking at the traits and history around a particular character such as David or the apostle Thomas.  Let’s look at Tychicus, this time.  Here are the steps to the study again:

• Pray first
• Find a character that intrigues you in any passage, “Tychicus” in Col. 4:7, for instance.
• Read the context around Tychicus, at least the surrounding paragraph, a few times first.
• Go online to http://www.blueletterbible.com
• Enter the name looking for: “Tychicus” in Col. 4:7, for instance, into the search window at the top of the page.
• Go to Col. 4:7
• Click on “tools” in the left hand column.
• Scroll down until you see “Tychicus” in the list.
• Two columns to the right of “Tychicus” you will see the strong’s number. Click on it.
• You will now see a screen showing what the name means in Greek and other places in Scripture where that name appears.
• Write down what you learn from the descriptions found in the surrounding verses and context.
• Put all that information into a sentence or two, a paragraph at most unless you’re doing a study on a major character, of course, like David or Solomon.
• Now you have seen how a particular character is described in Scripture.

It’s that simple.

 

Ever wonder how that pastor gets all those nuggets from a single word in the original languages?  Mostly, they have had training in those languages.  Many haven’t, though, but they still find treasures from a single Greek or Hebrew word.  And, so can you!  Here’s how:

• Pray
• Find a word that intrigues you in any passage, “only begotten” in John 1:18, for instance.
• To see what that word means in Greek, go online to http://www.blueletterbible.com (or use your own Bible software).
• Enter the word you’re looking for: “only begotten” in John 1:18, for instance, into the search window at the top of the page.
• Go to John 1:18
• Click on “tools” in the left hand column.
• Scroll down until you see “only begotten” in the list.
• “Only begotten” appears because that is how the word appears in the KJV.
• Two columns to the right of “only begotten” you will see the strong’s number (g3439). That’s a universal number assigned to the Greek word for “only begotten.”
• Click on it.
• You will now see a screen showing definitions of that word and other places in Scripture where that Greek word appears. Be sure to scroll down to see it all. There are shortcuts at the bottom if there are a lot of places the word appears.
• Write down what you learn from the definitions given and how it might be used in other verses.
• Put all that information into a sentence or two, a paragraph at most.
• Now you have seen how a particular Greek word is used and what it means.

You should see that the word, “monogenes” doesn’t always mean “only one born.”  Sometimes, as in John 1:18, it means, “one of a kind.”  Jesus is the only, “one of a kind,” Son of God.  The unique One.

Sometimes, we come across passages of Scripture that are difficult to understand because of a particular word or phrase: 1 Peter 3:18, for instance.  What does, “in the Spirit” mean there?  Was Jesus raised as a spirit as the Jehovah’s Witnesses claim and use this verse to prove it?  If so, it doesn’t seem to agree with the rest of the Bible.

If you’ll look it up in the same way as described above, you’ll see the phrase can also mean” by the Spirit.”  So, Jesus was raised by the Holy Spirit.  That makes more sense in the light of the rest of Scripture.  You’ll see “in the Spirit,” appears a number of times in the New Testament including Rev. 1:10 where John says he was “in the Spirit” on the Lord’s day.  Was John a spirit?  No.  He was empowered by the Holy Spirit to write the book of Revelation.  So, we see a clarity here of what is being said.

Once you do this a few times, it becomes a very quick and easy way to research those words that make a difference in how we read and understand God’s Word.

 

 

Ever wonder how the pastor comes up with all those gems you hear on Sunday mornings?  Of course, besides God leading him, he’s been trained to study the Bible in ways most Christians weren’t.  I thought it would be good to lay out some ways to study your Bible so you can discover some of these gems yourself and learn more about the God we serve.

I’ll start with the simpler methods and progress over the next few weeks to some more detailed but and more rewording methods.

Bible study is a lot like mining for gold.  You can walk around the claim looking at the ground and maybe pick up a nugget or two here and there, but you don’t really glean the major rewards until you start digging.

Always start your devotions and studies with prayer.  That’s rule number one!  If you don’t you miss out on the author Himself explaining what you’re reading. (2 Pet. 1:21)

Your daily devotions can produce some nuggets just reading Scripture.  Let me suggest this to start with: if you are reading a portion of Scripture that speaks to you, go back to it after your devotions and paraphrase that passage.  It might be a single verse or an entire chapter, but put it in your own words.  This will make you look more closely at the passage which will naturally cause you to gain more information from it.

My favorite passage of Scripture is Jude 1:24-25.  It reads,

Jude 1:24-25 (NKJV)
²⁴  Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
²⁵  To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.

If I were to paraphrase it, it might read something like this:

“Jesus can keep me from stumbling and will be thrilled to introduce me to the Father.  Jesus is God our savior, and I wish glory, majesty, dominion, and power to Him forever.”

So, pick a favorite verse or short passage and try this method today.  See if it doesn’t bring Scripture more to life, more to your heart.  Next week, we’ll grab a pick and shovel to dig a little deeper still.

 

“Do I have to go to church to be a Christian?”  Well, no.  The old saying still stands: “Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian anymore than going to McDonald’s makes you a hamburger.”  The church doesn’t make us Christians, but being a Christian should make us want to attend church.  We all have something to learn and something to offer in our Christian life (Heb. 10:24-25).  Church is where much of that takes place.  And if you’re not there, the church is lacking (1 Cor.12:21-26)

In The Truth Project , a wonderful  video series produced by Focus on the Family, Del Thacket points out that even God, the most self-sufficient being in existence, has community: the Trinity.  God is a God of community starting with marriage, family, friendship, even our day-to-day acquaintances, and for the Christian, the church.  We aren’t alone in this world nor are we alone in our faith.

When I speak of the church, I’m talking about the body of Christ, the total of believers (1 Cor. 1:2).  Your local Bible-believing church is a part of that body, but not all of it.  If your church isn’t a Bible teaching church, you should be looking elsewhere.

Jesus Himself speaks of the church as a natural expectation of His ministry (Matt. 16:18).  So, if Jesus expects the church to exist and be produced by His teachings, shouldn’t we take advantage of the body He has set up for us?

Jesus also acknowledges it as the place where Christians are held accountable (Matt. 18:17).  Paul tells us quite a bit about church life.  Here are just three points:

• We are to stir up one another with love and good works (Heb. 10:24-25)
• We are not to neglect gathering together with other believers (Heb. 10:24-25)
• How this is all supposed to work (Col. 3:16).

Just a couple of observations to close: our witness to the world is effected by how we act.  Someone who claims to be a Christian and doesn’t regularly attend church is seen as something of a hypocrite by the world.  Their witness fails.  James says our faith is seen by others through our acts, not our words (James 1:14-18).  While you don’t need to be at church every week, we all have things that come up – work, etc.  As Christians, though, we should seek out the fellowship and blessings we get from other believers.  If not, we and our church are losing out.

As usual, this post also appears as a page in the menu and includes the passages cited in full.

The Body of Christ

A lot of years ago now, I wrote a poem describing  the entire assembly of Christians past, present, and future.  The Bible calls that group the “body of Christ.”  The prayer mentioned was a simple childhood request for God to show Himself to me.  Please excuse the lack of proper structure and meter.  Here’s part of that poem:

As I look around the church today

I see dear friends of mine

Who show me through their lives and loves

God’s qualities divine.

 

In some I see the joy of God

His patience and His kindness.

While others share His love in Truth

To cure the world’s blindness.

 

With some it’s His authority

That comes bursting through

With others, His sense of humor

In the funny things they do.

 

If you’ve prayed a prayer like mine

On some dark and lonely night,

Just look around.  He’s wall to wall.

Behold the body of Christ.

The Body of Christ is not just a group of people with a common cause.  We are representatives of Christ to the world, whether individually or collectively.  We are His hands, His voice, His heart.

Just a few weeks ago I was challenged to prove the missionary organizations Christians support are actually doing what they claim.  I needed only to show him a copy of our church bulletin.  In it were announcements about people I knew headed to Brazil, the food bank we have for those who need a hand, the ministry to seniors, Operation Christmas Child, the Bible studies and prayer groups who meet to glorify God.  Our mission statement was there as well: to Win, Equip, and to Serve others.  In short, I showed Him the Body of Christ functioning as it should.

Billy Graham was once asked what it must be like to be at the head of the line to heaven.  He responded by saying there will be millions ahead of him we’ve never heard of who are praying earnestly, helping selflessly, and working silently day by day to further God’s kingdom.  We’re all different in our ministries (Rom. 12:4-8).  If you’re doing something you think is minor in God’s plan, remember, nothing goes unseen.  God doesn’t  grade on a curve but on obedience.  If you’re greeting, ushering, parking cars, sewing clothes for others in need, privately praying for the sick and homeless, sharing Christ with someone on an elevator, publically evangelizing, teaching a Sunday School class, or preaching from the pulpit, you are worshipping God.  You are showing the world the physical representation of His hand.  You are an important part of the body of Christ.  If you ever feel weak and alone in this, remember He has given us the greatest Helper and Comforter of all, God the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-17).

As usual, an expanded version of this blog along with the Scriptures cited is available as a separate page in the menu.

We’ve all experienced conversations where we’re talking about one thing with someone and they think we’re talking about something totally different.

A couple of months ago, I was going to help someone at our church move.  We agreed to meet at the Name Brand Storage in town at 10:00.  I was at the storage place on time, but no one else was there.  I waited for some time then decided to check.  There were two Name Brand Storages in town.  I was at the wrong one.  Had I listened more closely to where we were going to meet and heard the correct address, I would not have ended up late and red faced.

Sometimes talking with someone about the Lord is the like that.  We think we both understand what the other is saying, but the truth is we don’t.  When you ask a cultist, “Do you know Jesus?” you’ll often hear, “My church teaches that we have to know Jesus to have eternal life,” or something similar.  That sounds very mainstream, but the truth is they define Who Jesus is as Someone very different than the Bible does.  There is another Jesus, a another Spirit, and another gospel.  Paul warns us of this in 2 Cor. 11:3-4.  If you have the wrong Jesus, you’re wrong enough to lose your soul.

To Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jesus is the Archangel Michael who is God’s first and greatest creation.  To Mormons, He’s one God among many gods.  To the United Pentecostal Church, He’s just one Hat that the one Person called God wears.  So, be careful how you define your terms.  A simple, “Who is Jesus to you?” will often reveal the difference, but not always.

When I talk with someone like I’ve described and they tell me they worship a different Jesus, I’ll ask them a series of short questions:

• If a man were to worship a tree, would you call him a Christian?
• If a man cut down the tree and carved it into the shape of an idol and worshipped it, would you call Him a Christian?
• If the man brought the idol into his house and worshipped it, would you call him a Christian?
• If he renamed the tree, “Jesus,” would he be a Christian?

Of course, the answer to each of these is, “no,” but it helps focus on the problem.  Just because you worship someone or something called, “Jesus,” doesn’t mean the Jesus you worship is the Jesus of the Bible, The Almighty God, second Person of the Trinity.

So, it’s good to check out what you’re talking about.  Define terms early in your discussion, and you are much less likely to walk away red faced.

 

 

How do we know the books of the Bible we have are the right ones?  Maybe you’ve heard this question or even asked it yourself.  After all, there are the “Lost Books of the Bible” or similar volumes published?  There have even been TV shows dedicated to the books which were not included in the Bible, the New Testament in particular.  I’ll focus on those of the New Testament for this post.

Some of these “lost” books are completely bogus.  Remember many if not all of the heresies we see today began back in the first three centuries of the Christian Church.  During that time a lot of books were written by false teachers to support those heresies.

There are others which have claimed to be part of the Bible throughout history.  So, you might ask, “How did we end up with the books we have today?”   Here’s how:

The early church used some wise tests and quality control to examine the books up for inclusion into the canon (set of inspired books) of Scripture:

• Did they have apostolic authority (were they written and/or supervised by apostles?)? Two of the gospels were written by apostles: Matthew and John.  Two were written by traveling companions of apostles: Mark, who traveled with Peter, and Luke who was Paul’s traveling companion.

Peter and John gave apostolic authority to their epistles.  Lastly, we have James and      Jude who were half-brothers of Jesus Himself.  Acts was written by Luke, and                Revelation was written by John.  So, we have apostolic authority throughout the          New Testament.

This test in particular eliminated some of the very earliest writings that were being    considered.  The Shepherd of Hermas, for instance was considered for inclusion in      the Bible but had no apostolic authority.

• Was the book in question accepted by the first and second century church as God’s Word. There may have been writings by the apostles which were not Scripture.  For instance, some scholars believe there was a third epistle by Paul to the Corinthian church which is not included in the Bible because it was not accepted as Scripture by the church even though it had apostolic authority.

 

• Any book being considered needed to relate exactly the teachings of Jesus and the apostles. The books in today’s Bibles were used by the early church for teaching.

There are partial lists of acceptable books supplied by a number of writers beginning in the second century with Irenaeus.  In his Easter letter of 367, though, Athanasius, the bishop of Alexandria, included a complete list of the very books we have in our New Testament today.

You might ask why it took so long to decide which books to include.  The church saw the task as more of a discovery than a decision, and a very few books were yet to be agreed upon.  James and Revelation were two of the last to be included in the official Church Canon.

Don’t get the idea that the very early church was not united behind the vast majority of the books we have today.  The gospels, Acts, Paul’s epistles, and others were accepted at the time of their writing or shortly after.  Peter points to Paul’s epistles as Scripture in his second epistle (2 Peter 3:15-16).  Paul was still alive at the time.

Could there be more books coming?  Probably not.  The book of Jude says the faith has been delivered once and for all to the saints (Jude 3).  Revelation tells us not to add or subtract from “this book” which many believe to be referring to the canon itself.   Because of this, we believe the canon of Scripture is closed.

Rest assured, the Bible you hold in your hand today has been stringently examined and tested to make sure all the books are divinely inspired and all the divinely inspired books are in the Bible.

 

As usual, an expanded version of this blog with the Scriptures cited can be found in the menu under Apologetics.

Before we get to that questions, many cultists believe the Holy Spirit isn’t even a Person let alone Almighty God.  The Holy Spirit, like Jesus (Phil 2:5-8) and the Father likewise (John 14:9), has humility as one of His attributes.  Since He also wrote the Bible (1 Pet. 2:21) it is difficult to see the traits of a person in the Scriptures.  Difficult, but not impossible; note the following:

• The Holy Spirit teaches: John 14:26
• He speaks: Acts 13:2
• He makes decisions: Acts 15:28
• He can be lied to: Acts 5:3-4
• He forbids: Acts 16:6-7
• He searches the things of God: 1 Cor 2:10-11
• He apportions spiritual gifts: 1 Cor 12:11
• He intercedes for us and has a mind: Rom 8:26-27
• He glorifies Christ: John 16:13-14
• He can be blasphemed: Mark 3:29
• He is eternal: Heb. 9:14
• He is omnipresent: Ps 139:7-10
• He is omniscient: 1 Cor 2:10-11
• He is omnipotent: Luke 1:35

 

So, the Holy Spirit shows the attributes of God.  Is he ever called God?  He is called God directly by Peter in Acts 5:3-4.

Has He ever acted as God?  He, along with the Father and Son, raised Jesus: Rom 8:11, Gal 1:1, John 2:18-22.

From what you see here, you should be able to share with anyone that the Holy Spirit is not only a Person but God Almighty, third Person of the Trinity.

 

As usual, an expanded version of this post is available on the menu — this will be under “Basic Doctrines” with all Scriptures cited included on the page.

A few years ago, a member of the Church of Christ came to my door and asked if I would like to join a Bible study they were starting.  As we talked, I saw she was from a particular sect of the Church of Christ which believes you needed to be baptized to be saved.  I thought I’d share why that just isn’t so.

The two obvious examples in Scripture are the thief on the cross and Cornelius.  The thief was promised salvation by Jesus (Luke 23:39-43).  When the soldiers came to kill Jesus and the two thiefs, they didn’t need to break Jesus’ legs because He was already dead, He had already died for the thief’s sins.  So, the thief was saved under the New Testament and without being baptized.

Cornelius and his family received the Holy Spirit, a sign of salvation, before they were baptized (Acts 10:44-48).

In 1 Cor. 1:14-17 Paul says he was glad he did not baptize many in the church at Corinth and that baptism is not a part of the gospel.  These passages are all evidence that baptism is not necessary for salvation.

Now we come to 1 Peter 3:21 which seems to say that water baptism saves you.  And, there is a very important point to make here.  When we come across a passage or two which seem to contradict the teaching of the rest of Scripture, we can be sure we are misinterpreting that passage(s).  In the Bible, baptism is always preceded by faith.  Baptism is also used to described a number of things in Scripture besides water baptism.  We are baptized into Christ Jesus and into His death (Rom. 6:3), for instance.  1 Cor. 10:1-5 speaks of the Israelites being baptized into Moses.  So, baptism is often used as a description of aligning with a person rather than an act.  1 Peter 3:21, no doubt tells us that accepting Jesus, faith in Him, saves us.  Water cannot do what the blood of Christ has done.

Then there is Mark 16:16 which says that those who believe and are baptized will be saved.  A couple of points to make here.  First, this passage of Scripture (Mark 16:9-19) is not in some of the earliest manuscripts, but it is in a few.  Some scholars believe it to be an addition or “note to self” by a very early copyist who was making a copy for himself.  When he lent it to a friend, the friend copied it into the text as if it were supposed to be there, and this was passed on through later copies.  So, these scholars don’t believe Mark 16:16 is actually Scripture.

I’d rather stand on the conservative side, though, and accept this as fully inspired until proven otherwise.  So, if we see that baptism is preceded by faith in Scripture, we should offer the same explanation here.  You are not saved if you don’t believe.  And if you believe, you should be baptized.

If baptism doesn’t save you, should you be baptized then?  Well, it’s a command of Jesus Himself (Matt 28:16-20).  And, throughout the book of Acts, we see the same pattern repeated: belief then baptism.  If you have yet to be baptized as a believer, it is something you should certainly consider as a public declaration of your new life in Christ.

 

As usual, the text of this post along with the full text of the passages cited are on the page by the same name, “Baptism”.  You can find that page in the menu.