NOTE: This information was gathered & accumulated over years, thru reading various material & setting under godly men. I do not take credit for this tool that has helped me, I can only take credit for gathering it together in a way that is beneficial to me & I hope others. I do not wish to plagiarize anyone’s individual work, but I am unable to express proper citation due to gathering various notes & scraps of paper from my own study that I have accumulated over the years. I am grateful for all those who have allowed God to use them to help use become better witnesses to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 15:4-6 4 For whatever was
written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that
through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might
have hope. 5 Now may the
God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same
mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one accord
you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
God’s Word:
Read and Obey
The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the
only safe and infallible revelation of God to man. Thus, it is the infallible rule for a
believer’s life and practice.
How did Jesus view the Scriptures?
Matthew 4:4 It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’
At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, after spending forty
days in the wilderness in prayer and fasting, He was confronted by the
devil. Seen to be in a weakened state
the devil tempted Jesus three times and each time Jesus defended Himself with
the Word of God (Matt 4:1-11).
How much more do we need the Word of God?
What is a believer to do with God’s Word?
1) Learn from God’s Word
2 Timothy 3:14-15 You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
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Spend time reading God’s Word and learn God’s
expectations for you
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Let it convince you of His Truth
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Allow believers to help you in your study of the
Bible
§ Its truth aligned with faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior brings Salvation
2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
The Authority of the Bible is based in that it is “inspired (God-breathed) by God,” because its authority is God it is inerrant (free from error) and infallible (incapable of error).
Profit from God’s Word
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For teaching (Doctrine)……………………………..What is
right in God’s eyes
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For reproof (Conviction)…………………………….What is not
right in God’s eyes
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For correction (Discipline)…………………………..How to
get it right in God’s eyes
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For training in righteousness
(Discipleship)………How to stay right in God’s eyes
2) Find purpose in God’s Word
So that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
God has never lowered His standard of perfection in thought or conduct and especially for those who He has bought and paid for with His blood. God has given us His Word that we might be made complete and fit for His service.
Why is the Bible Necessary?
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For knowing the Good News of Jesus Christ
(Romans
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For maintaining spiritual life (Deuteronomy
32:46-47)
§ For knowing God’s will (Romans 12:2)
Is the Word of God Sufficient?
A) Sufficient for life and godliness
2 Peter 1:3-4 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence . For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
The Bible is sufficient “pertaining to life and godliness.” The Bible will not tell you how to change the oil in your car or how to do surgery, but it will guide you through life’s difficult choices and draw you to God’s purpose and expectations for you. By learning who God is, His character, and expectations we are able (with the help of the Holy Sprit) to become more like Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29).
B) Sufficient for judging our hearts
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
C) Sufficient for equipping a believer for God’s work
2 Timothy
§
Does not mean “just enough to get by”
§ Means you will have what is necessary to accomplish God’s purpose
Is it enough to just read God’s Word?
· Be a doer of the Word
James 1:22-25 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.
A believer is
called not only to be a reader and hearer of God’s Word
but also a doer of His Word.
· Judgment comes by the Word of God
John 12:47-48 47 "If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 "He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.
· Refusing to do what God requires is sinful
James
Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.
Luke 11:28
