Sound Doctrine Ministries NY 2015 "12/12" Bible Study Series:
The Bible ("Why Important?"): 2 Tim. 3:16-17
Prayer & Intro:
Today you are going to get to know your bible better and understand why it's so important! So, Let's begin in prayer!
Fun Fact:
Did you know that the bible is the most produced, sold and read book ever in history? With over 100Million copies every year, that's nearly 275,000 everyday!That is an amazing fun fact! It has influenced every type of literature from love stories to horror to mystery to Movies and on and on and on.. The Bible is unique and is considered the most important book in the world and has been deemed life's guide book. Many people say the acronyms for the bible mean, Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. What you guys think about that___?
Lesson:
Who can tell me what the word 'bible' means__? (books or Library. Latin biblia, Greek biblios). How many books are in the Bible? (66, 39 OT 27NT). What are the 2 parts of the Bible called? (Old and New Testaments) and last but not least, What does the word Testament mean? (something that serves as a sign or evidence of a specific fact, event or quality).
The Old Testament is before Jesus and the New Testament is when He came and after. The process of the bible coming into being is something super special. The old testament was hand written to an exact and if there was ever any errors while making the manuscripts it would be thrown away. During the Holocaust when Nazi soldiers stormed into the Jewish temples to destroy the Torahs, dedicated men would cover them with their bodies as bullets killed them. Till this day in the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC there are many blood stained Torah scrolls on display. I wish the bible was treated like that nowadays! That goes to show you how important and special the bible was!
The bible was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Later on the bible was written in Latin and then translated into English. Now there are bibles in all languages of the world!
There are many different translations of the bible for the sake of understanding older language and terms but the meaning and essence is the same. Some translations I would recommend are; NIV (New International Version), NASB (New American Standard Bible), and NKJV (New King James Version). the NIV gives you an easier reading flow. The NASB tends to focus more on the meaning from the original languages. The NKJV captures the old version in a simpler form. I use all of them and its actually good to have different versions for studying and better understanding on how terms and language expressions were used!
As we said, The bible is a collection of books. It was written over a 1500 yr period with about 40 different authors but perfect in harmony and truth! Over the centuries God has preserved the bible even though the world and the enemy want to get rid of it. In many places like China, Arab countries and other countries, the bible is illegal. There were other books written in the days the bible was written but 66 are considered to be "Inspired" by the Holy Spirit and the others are mentioned as just commentators or historical notations.
I wouldn't be a good teacher if I didn't warn you about counterfeit bibles. There are 'so-called' bibles like the Mormon and Jehovah's witnesses bible that are not different translations but different meaning on core issues and therefore disqualify themselves to be called authentic or 'real bibles'! We will revisit this issue in the coming moths...
Bible Passage:
Read 2 Tim. 3:16-17"16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
Key Truth:
Alright, let's look at some key truths from this passage.
KT#1: The bible was written by God. Can someone re-read the first 5 words of this passage again please? It was God who inspired or breathed/spoke the words of the bible. Can Someone please read 1 Pet. 2:20-21.For a very long time God has spoken to us through the men and women that loved Him and were called to share His Word. This passage tells us that it was God speaking and man writing. Mankind is the pen and God is the person.. He is the Author of Scripture.
KT#2: The Bible has purpose. Let's look back at our main passage for today and break some things down.
-God Breathed. The Bible is the only book that claims to be living and God's actual breath or essence! No other 'holy' book makes that claim. They may say that god gave them visions or they wrote down what they heard but no other book makes the claim that 'all' letters are spiritually God's breath on paper! The Bible is Alive!
-The purposes mentioned here all relate to our lives. Teaching, Rebuking, Correcting and Training for a righteous life. The Bible is our guide and standard in the way we should be living. We do what we learn and we learn what we are taught. God's Word is our instruction manual. An illustration I can give you is like the lil manual your phone comes with. We never look at it unless we get stuck. We tend to try to live our lives like that too, just winging it or trying to figure life out as we go. But the Bible offers us direction, solutions and joy. Rebuking, correcting are tools we all need because none of us are perfect! We don't know everything and just like children who don't know what's always best for them, Our heavenly Father knows best! His Word is our guide!
KT#3: God's Word calls us to share it with others. The phrase 'every good work' in this passagemeans 'Godly actions'. That means whatever you do it should be filtered through what the Bible and God considers to be 'Righteous!' Now, I don't have it all together myself,for all fall short, but we should strive for righteous living. God's Word shows us what and what not to do! Where and where not to go! How to and how not to think, how to behave and speak! God's word equips us and calls us to live it and share it.
Finally, Here goes an interesting Key Truth,KT#4: The Bible is a Spiritual Book that manifests itself through our intellect, emotions and behavior. Its deeper than comprehending words on a sheet or just following orders. Its deeper than a group of words that provoke an idea! The Bible is alive and is a light to our path of life! Can someone please read Psalm 119:9-13.This is so beautiful! This entire Psalm 119 is dedicated to the precious word of God. You will be doing a short assignment from here due next time we meet.
Life Applications:
What are some things you can personally tell me about the bible in relation to your everyday life or a specific event in your life that the bible played a special role or gave you guidance in_____?
Alright, let's look at some life applications, similar to what you all just shared how the Bible applies to our lives.
LA#1:The Bible Teaches Us: Phillip was an Apostle that eye-witnessed Jesus' miracles, messages and love first hand. He was a special Disciple and had a great heart! Acts 8:26-35 tells us about how he was led by the Spirit of God to bring insight to an Ethiopian eunuch from the scriptures. Can someoneplease read Acts 8:26-35. We see here that The Word of God was used to teach. I remember when I was in school, I wasn't the brightest student. My grades were ok but never super. It was when I started reading the Bible that my desire for education and becoming 'smart' was cool for me. I started reading and learning and then became a teacher. If you ask any of my childhood friends if they thought I would be a teacher they would laugh! God's Word teaches us!
LA#2: The Bible Rebukes Us: There are many stories in the bible about rebuke. We can see that when someone violates godly living or the word, there were consequences. But a rebuke is a little different from a judgment! Judgment is more like punishment, rebuke is more like a scolding or a stern lesson taught! Wendy is more of a punishing parent (which is fine) and I'm more of a rebuking parent (which is also fine). The Bible rebukes our behavior and way of thinking by showing us examples and lessons on how to handle life and ourselves.
LA#3: The Bible Correct Us: Paul the Apostle was given the huge task of training young leaders to lead God's people. Timothy (who he wrote to in the passage we are looking at today), and Titus are great examples of how Paul pressed on them to keep Truth at the forefront of everything. He specifically insists on correcting falseness and teaching truth. can someone please read Titus 1:10-16. Why do you think Paul was so adamant about using the Bible for correcting____? Where do you see this type of correcting needed today____?
LA#4: The Bible Trains Us: God has given everyone a gift, talent and calling. Some operate in them and some are unaware. Some reject and some flourish. This is a subject we will talk about soon as well. But we have to understand that God's Word is not just for us personally! God wants us to live by it and also share its truths and power with others. Can someone please read Matt. 28:19-20. This is known as the Great Commission. This was a specific charge Jesus gave the Apostles to share the Gospel with the World. This is the Church's main objective! Any church that is not functioning in or neglecting this charge is considered a dead church according to scripture.
But not only the church was given this charge.
-1 Pet. 3:15 says 'we' are to be ready to have an answer for our faith.
-Col. 3:16 says 'we' should share the word with each other.
-2 Tim. 2:15 says 'we' should be able to handle the word of God.
For those who are called to teach, preach and minister, The Word must be respected, studied and shared not only through word but also in everyday behavior and in life! The Bible must be honored by all who call themselves God's people. It is the source of God's Will, God's Ways and God's Word for our lives!
But God's Word is not just for our mindset and behavior.. The Bible is our actual source of Spiritual food... Just like physical food, what happens when we don't eat____? We can get sick and die. Jesus said in Matt 4:4, that "man/woman, shall not live on bread/food alone but by every Word that comes from the Mouth of God!" The Bible is our source of life but we don't eat well and so sometimes we get sick.Lets try and change that from this point on in our lives. Amen?
Alright, let's do a quick activity and wrap up today's study afterwards.
Wendy's Commentary of how to Bible relates, areas: sick, sad, worried.....
Activity/Assignment:
Activity: Word Search Sheet
Assignment: For an assignment I would like you all to read the 119th chapter of Psalm and pick a short couple verses that stick out for you. Then write down whether those verses are a teaching, rebuking, correcting or training type of passage and how it relates or how you can make it relate to a specific situation in your life. No word min or max just write from your heart!
Next month study: The Deity of Christ.
Open Discussion/Close: