Isaiah 46:9, 10, 2 Timothy 3:16, 17
Memorize the names of the books of the Bible from Genesis to Esther.
You are taking this course because you are interested in the difference that real Christianity can make in your life. The topics that are taught in this course and the way in which they are taught have been chosen because the difference they have made in people's lives in the past has been observably beneficial. Think of this course as a lecture to prepare you for the laboratory course that we are all in: life. In order for the lessons of this course to be of real help to your life, what is learned here must be put into practice and applied to your life.
Matthew 7:24-27 - No matter how much is understood about meteorology or structural stress of sand and building materials, what matters is: where do you build your house? No matter how much you understand the content of these lessons, unless you build your life upon the content of this course, your life will not benefit from it.
John 13:17 - stated positively, you will be blessed if you put into practice the good things that you do learn in this class.
1 Corinthians 8:1-2 speaks about knowledge puffing people up, but love building people up. In learning good things from the Bible in this class, there will be a temptation to look down at other people who do not know these things. Here, we see that a person who is proud about what he knows doesn't understand what he knows properly. there is a deficiency in his knowledge which needs to be corrected by further study of proper kind.
Psalms 91: This Psalms describes the life of a person whose life the Lord blesses. Read this Psalms. This can be your life.
In the discussing how to build the most rewarding lives, why build our lives in a universe based on God? Why not a humanistic life? There must be a God. It is an obervable fact that the universe is running down energetically. Given enough time the whole universe will run down to a lifeless mass all the same (cold) temperature. No work can be done, not even the conduction of heat. The universe will have used up it's fuel (hydrogen gas) in the running of stars (suns), and will be without life, without motion, truly a dead universe. That the universe may be infinite does not prolong it's life indefinitely, because the consumption of the universe's energy is happening throughout that infinite universe and may be infinite as well. If the universe is infinitely old, it would have had time to run down completely by now. Seeing that the universe is not run down now, the universe cannot be infinitely old. Therefore, it must have come into existence at a finite time in the past. Either the universe popped into existence out of nothing for no cause (which is contrary to everything we can observe in the universe), or it was brought into existence by something/someone having eternal existance and not a part of the universe. There must be an external source for the universe, there must be a creator.
Once we have determined that there is a creator, we would like to know more about Him, we soon find that there are many different cults and religions that would like to have us to think about God in their own way. These groups contradict one another, and so we are faced with a choice: which of these groups (if any) is right?
Here is a rational methodology for us to use.
1. Do not take the time to investigate religions which say that it does not matter what you believe. If they are right you do not need to know about it - it does not matter.
2. Do not take the time right now to investigate religions that say that you have many lives and many opportunities to make the right decisions about how you worship God. You can even put off investigating them until one of your future lives - if they are right.
3. Do not investigate the religions that say that no evidence can be offered for their truth. If what they say is true, there is nothing to investigate. It seems that for religions of this type, all you can do is to hear their truth claims and decide in a vacuum on the basis of feelings whether or not you will choose to believe their system.
4. Start your investigation of the world's religions with the religions saying that it makes a large difference what you believe, that you only have one life and that there is evidence which you can investigate.
Matthew 25:46 - Jesus states here that there is a large eternal difference in the futures of those who are right with God and those who are not right with God.
Isaiah 41:21-24, 44:25-26a, 46:8-10, 48:5-6 - It is claimed that the God of the Bible, unlike all other so-called gods can tell His people what will happen in the future. If the other gods are worthy to be compared with Him, let them tell us what is going to happen in the future. How does God know the future? The second passage above says that God has the power to foil the false prophets and brings the predictions of His prophets to pass. The third passage above claims that God, in predicting the future, simply tells us what He is going to do and then He does it. This is a good test of whom to worship. The God who is powerful enough to always be able to carry out his plans, without interference from competing deities is the one who is worthy of our worship. Is it right for us to look forsuch evidence? Wouldn't it be more spiritual for us to believe in God without any evidence? In the fourth passage above, God tells about the future which He is going to bring about so that when it happens people cannot claim that their idols did these things. In a society in which many groups make claims about many different so-called gods, evidence is needed in order to tell the real God from idols. In dealing with the nation of Israel, God gives them this evidence so they can distinguish Him from other idols. Seeing that God Himself gives this evidence, it would not be wise for us to ignore it.
1. Approach the Bible as any other book. Read the Bible all the way through. Understand any passage in its immediate context (the chapter or book it is found in) and in its extended context (the whole Bible). Take literary styles and devices into account (poetry, metaphor, hyperbole, hebraisms).
2. Investigate the general reliability of the Bible. Is the Bible reliable in earthly matters it discusses, objective matters (historical and archaeological matters, geography, current social customs, etc.) Some excellent sources in this area are:
The Stones and the Scriptures By Edwin Yamauchi.
The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? By F.F. Bruce.
Evidence that Demands a Verdict By Josh MacDowell.
3. Investigate the special reliability of the Bible. Is the Bible reliable when it tells of verifiable matters generally beyond the ascertainment of unaided men? Such an area is the prediction of the future which is often done by Biblical prophets. (For more detail, refer to the module The Scriptures.)
4. Investigate what the Bible says about itself. Note the difference between: a) this approach: looking at facts external to the Bible to establish its reliability before looking at what it says about itself and b) circular reasoning: looking at what the Bible says about itself without looking at facts external to the Bible. After the Bible has shown itself to be reliable in general testable areas and special testable areas, it is proper to view it as reliable when it mentions itself.
1. Scripture is God's revelation of Himself and His plans to mankind through His servants: the prophets and the apostles.
2 Timothy 3:14-17: v. 16 literally says that all Scripture is "God-breathed." Not God's breathing into a fallible human book to make it better, but God's breathing out (bringing into being) a book of Divine origin and initiative. (See Psalm 18:15 and Psalm 33:6 where God's power to create and to accomplish His own ends is called His breath.)
2 Peter 1:21: The men who gave us Scripture "spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit".
Zechariah 7:12: What the prophets conveyed is described here as "the words that the LORD Almighty had sent by His Spirit through the earlier prophets". The very words they used were exactly those which God intended.
John 14:26 and 16:12,13: The apostles were here commissioned by Jesus to be the recipients of God's revelation, and to recall all that Jesus said to them. (See 2 Peter 3:2, 3:15, 17, Galatians 1:12, 1 Corinthians 7:40 and 14:37, as illustrations of the authority of the apostles given to them by Jesus.)
2. Knowledge of the Scriptures and obedience to them is both necessary and sufficient to have a complete, maximally fruitful Christian life with no cause for shame as our lives are evaluated by ourselves, others, or the Lord.
Many people have found rich blessings in reading rapidly. Reading rapidly improves the understanding of passages in their context and better enables one to see connections between passages that discuss the same topics or each other (getting God's insight on one passage from another passage: Scripture Interprets Scripture). Spending at least half an hour daily in God's word is needed to counteract the pollution of our minds and hearts by the world around us and to refresh us in viewing the world and our lives from God's perspective. As we desire to find the Lord's richest blessings, we cannot overlook the giving of our time and attention (and obedience) to His word.
Isaiah 55:10-11, (also: 12-13) cf. Isaiah 30:15: God's word is powerful to fulfill His purposes in our lives. The Israelites could have been blessed greatly, but they ignored God's word and they had to live with the consequences of their decision.
2 Timothy 3:16-17: God's purpose in the lives of His people is that they should be mature, prepared to do anything that is right and good. Furthermore, His word is necessary and sufficient to bring this purpose about in their lives.
Proverbs 4:3, 10, 18-19, 23: God is pleased to bless and preserve all who obey Him. Why not a good personal Life and a happy family life for you?
1. What is your goal in life?
2. What do you plan to accomplish in your life before you die?
3. On what basis have you arrived at these plans and goals?
4. How do you plan to treat the Bible or to incorporate the Bible's teachings into your life and into your goals?
5. How do you plan to incorporate what you learn in this class into your life?
Name the books of the Bible from Genesis to Esther.
Recite the Memory verses.
In what way is knowledge dangerous?
What is the proper use of knowledge?
You want to show that the God of the Bible is the true God who really exists.
A) How do you approach an investigation of the Bible (give 4 steps)?
B) Give 2 reasons why the Bible should be the first book to investigate?