Bible Lesson 23
Welcome to the Bible Study. Today we will look at the Word of God, the Bible and glean some critical truths that will help us focus our beliefs; and will warn us of possible errors that have become ingrained in the religions of our day. It is not sufficient for us to “decide” to join one of the numerous denominational churches of our day, or begin to give our tithes, or to even go on mission trips and take upon ourselves some “ministry” that makes us appear as if we were God’ Children.
That kind of thing only makes us pseudo-Christians, which in reality is no Christian at all. That kind of thing is called “playing church” and is not worth the effort; because God has laid down for us in His Word, the Bible, what we are to believe, how we are to live, and how we are to worship Him. I would ask you to stop and think about God and what you believe about God today, for a few moments.
First, let me ask you, Do you believe the Bible is the Word of God and that it is the truth? When I ask if you believe the Bible is the truth, I’m not asking if you believe it contains the truth; but rather do you believe that it is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? That’s the first thing that I need to know about you and you need to understand about your self, is unless you believe that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, then you cannot know God; because we come to know God through Jesus Christ and faith in Him and His person and work on Calvary.
We are saved by Grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8); and Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17), so unless and until you come to believe what God has said, and that is the Bible, you are outside help or hope. Ask yourself, Do I really believe in an eternal Sovereign God, an All-knowing, Almighty, and Omnipresent God? Do I really believe that God created the heavens and the earth, and all things that exist today? Do I believe that God has an eternal plan for His Word?
Do I believe that man fell from grace in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God: and that Adam?s sin nature has passed to everyone who has ever been born, with the exception of Jesus Christ whose birth was a supernatural birth? Do I believe that Jesus Christ was and still is “God in the flesh”? Do I believe that He was born of a virgin?
Do I believe that the Father God sent His only begotten Son Jesus to the earth to be that free gift of God to man, the Lamb of God who came to offer his body and blood in my place and yours, to quench the Wrath of God against the sins of those who believe and obey Him?
Do I believe that Jesus went to the Cross for me, and that His sacrifice was sufficient to cleanse me from all my sin? Do I believe that Jesus died and was buried, and on the third day arose bodily and was seen by hundreds of people? Do I believe that this same Jesus was seen ascending back into heaven after 40 days?Â
Do I believe that Jesus Christ was given all power in heaven and in earth; and that He sits today at the Right Hand of God the Father making intersession for those who obey Him? Do I believe that some day soon, He will come back to judge the quick and the dead? Do I believe in Christ to the extent that my love for everyone else, and everything else on the earth, looks like hate(Luke 14:26-32)? Am I studying to learn all that I can about what God would have me know and do?
Am I obeying Jesus Christ because I love him, rather than in an attempt to escape hell and eternal punishment? Oh, how I pray that I could convince you who read this lesson, that we have neglected so great salvation; because we chose to neglect the study of God?s precious Word, the Bible.
Please understand me now, I am not encouraging you to worship or to place your faith in the Bible, as a book; but rather that you would read and understand the Bible and there find the truths that enable you to truly believe that God is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). The Bible is God?s operators manual, so to speak, for our lives. God created mankind and He created us for a specific purpose, that we cannot know unless we come to that knowledge by studying His Word the Bible. God has told us very specifically, what He demands of those who would be his Children. Let me demure here in order to correct a great heresy that has been spread in our society, and that is that we are all God? children. We are all born into this world as children of the devil, and we are rebels against God and all that God would have us to do (John 8:30-44). We are dead in trespass and sin (Ephesians 2:1-2) and we are by nature the children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3). We remain as children of Wrath and children of the devil, until God quickens us, or brings us back to Spiritual life, a condition that allows us to see the truth of God, and realize our great need for the Savior, Jesus Christ.
Let me be perfectly clear now, that I do not know if God requires us to believe all of this prior to our salvation; because we may not know whether it even is in the Bible; however, I know that God will have us willing to believe all of it soon after we are saved, and we will doubt none of it before we are saved. If you study your Bible in context, you will find that God is very specific about how we are saved; and believing begins with what we know about God and His Work on our behalf. This is not something that we can approach with a sloppy attitude; and if we move toward God with any degree of misunderstanding, it will be like firing one of the space shuttles a degree or two off what is required: When it gets to orbit altitude it will hundreds of miles off course and will be a failure.
I hope each of you will really consider what we are talking about here today. Consider that we will either deal with our eternal souls and where we will spend eternity, deal with the only name given under heaven, whereby man must be saved, the name of Jesus Christ. We cannot opt out on this important consideration. If we decide not to decide, to roll the dice, so to speak, actually what we are doing is to say no to God and the only provision that He has made for us to have our sins forgiven and be in a right relationship with Him. I cannot stress enough how very critical this is for you and for your eternal destiny. There will not be any “second chances”, no remedial study period, no overlooking by God, just judgment, and eternal damnation. Remember now, I?m not teaching you anything that God has not inspired to be written in His Holy Word, the Bible, my interest is that I have been commanded by God to speak His truths to you, without diminishing a word.
Some may wonder, why I don?t spend much time on the promises of God and the Love of God and the Mercy of God; and I?m glad that you asked that question. The answer is that I am preaching to a “mixed multitude”, some truly saved and others not saved; and the words of another Gospel Warrior, hold true today as they did when Jesus walked the earth. The truth is, that “no man will ever know the love of God, until He has dealt with the Wrath of God against his sins”. We live in a society, and too many worship in churches where there is a fear concerning the truths of God. We like to leave out the “hard sayings” of God, and just deal with the Love of God. That is like joining in a marathon, just a few feet from the finish line, and God has never accepted that. If you think that I am being too careful here, just try to enter into a meaningful conversation with most of the people in your congregation, you?ll be surprised what you will hear.
God did not give us His Word the Bible for us to edit, or criticize, or to change in anyway at all. God gave us the Word of God to change us from enemies of God to children and friends of God. He gave us the Word of God to change us from sinners to saints, and to change our destination from hell to heaven. He gave us the Word of God to cause us to see how depraved we are and to move us from His wrath to His Grace and Love.
That?s what we find when we begin to care about our eternal lives and where we will spend that eternity; and that?s why God commands us to study the Word and commit it to our understanding, so that we can be acceptable to God and thoroughly furnished to every good work (2nd Timothy 2:15; Psalms 119:11; 2nd Timothy3:16-17). The question now become, are you interested in your eternal future? Do you care that so far you may have ignored what Christ did for you as He died and shed His blood on Calvary? Are you willing to seek the face of God as you read and study and seek His truths?
Will you take my word for the fact that God can create in you a clean heart? Look to Jesus, the one who went to the cross to save his people. If you ask me how I know so much about Jesus Christ and why I preach his love for mankind, I would speak the words of the hymn, “Satisfied with Jesus”, that goes, I am satisfied with Jesus, He has done so much for me: He has suffered to redeem me, He has died to set me free. He is with me in my trials, Best of friends of all is He; I can always count on Jesus, Can he always count on Me? I can hear the voice of Jesus, calling out so pleadingly, “Go and win the lost and straying; Is He satisfied with me? When my work on earth is ended, and I cross the mystic sea, Oh, that I could hear him saying, “I am satisfied with thee”.
Remember, Jesus is the answer to the sin problem, take your burdens to the cross and leave them there.
Until next time,
may God bless and keep you
This is Bro. Bob