The Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount are some of the most read verses in the Bible, and yet they are also some of the most misunderstood as well. Many approach the beatitudes in a cafeteria style way where they pick one or two of the attributes that Jesus mentioned. The idea is that someone may excel in one area Jesus mentioned and be satisfied they are a follower of Christ. The beatitudes are actually a recipe, or check list, for what the whole Christian personality should be. When we strive to develop the attributes that Jesus describes, we will develop into the type of follower he desires to be the occupants of His kingdom.
The beatitudes present us with a dividing line between the kingdom of this world and the kingdom of God. Those who choose to pursue the characteristics Jesus has stated will be subjects in the kingdom of God, while those who refuse, will remain part of the kingdom of this world, which is ruled by Satan. It is interesting to note that most self-help books and programs which deal with secular and worldly success tend for the most part to center on one’s self. Jesus tells us in the beatitudes that spiritual success comes from denying oneself, caring for others, and seeking after God first in our lives. He begins each beatitude by saying the one who practices each characteristic is “blessed”. To be blessed means to have peace from God and be spiritually successful. Let’s examine each of the characteristics individually, and see how we each conform to the Lord’s spiritual checklist.
1. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Those who are poor in spirit are in the right condition to enter the kingdom because they see how urgently they need God in their lives to save them from sin and themselves. They realize they are lost in sin (Rom. 3:23, Eph. 2:12), and need Jesus for their salvation. “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit” (Psalm 34:18).
2. Blessed are those who mourn. Does this mean that God desires sad people in His kingdom? No, it means God desires followers who see the lost state of those who are around them and are touched by their condition. He desires those who will see people in need and be compassionate toward them.
3. Blessed are the meek. There is no room for pride and arrogance in the kingdom of God. This requires us to remember where we belong in the grand scheme of things. We would be lost without God, and He is the One who is in control.
4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. This one would definitely not be popular by the world’s standards. When we understand the holy, pure, and just nature of God, it will lead us to pursue being like Him with all our being. Refer to 1 Peter 1:13-16.
5. Blessed are the merciful. God is all loving and merciful. We would be lost without His great mercy, therefore Christians should understand the need to be merciful better than anyone. God will not forgive us if we refuse to forgive others (Matt. 6:14,15).
6. Blessed are the pure in heart. Having a pure heart means being greatly concerned with always doing what is right. A pure heart comes from a heart full of God’s Word.
7. Blessed are the peacemakers. Christians are to be a peaceful people, but Jesus says we need to be more than that. We need to be peacemakers. That means trying to expand the peace in our own lives so that it effects others as well. We can do this by living an example of peace that others will be influenced by. The ability to forgive and overcome the “grudge” begins with developing the heart of a peacemaker.
8. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. This is the attribute that shows the rest of the world, and God, that we intend to live according to all these characteristics. Jesus tells us that we will be persecuted for following after him. It is when we can live by these beatitudes under persecution, that we show our deep love for God. -Ed

There are many people today who would claim that Christianity is a burdensome religion which restricts the happiness of those who practice it, but in reality the Bible teaches us that there are great advantages to living the godly life. Godliness most definitely pays spiritually, but it will lead to a better life in a physical sense as well. In fact, the unbeliever could even live a better life (although unsaved) by adopting Biblical principles for living. The most important reason to live a godly life is to be pleasing to God, but there are many benefits that come with godliness that the world will notice too. Let’s consider some of the advantages of living a godly life.
1. Godliness will benefit us financially. Now understand up front that I am in no way stating we should lower the divine standard to appeal for a way to gain materially. But, a godly life will bring more financial security to the Christian indirectly when they apply Biblical principles for living. Some in the New Testament attempted to follow Christ for material gain and soon learned they were heading down the wrong path (John 6:26,27). We have to look at the overall picture. If we live according to the principles set forth in the New Testament, over time we will reap the benefits of good living. The Bible teaches us to deal honestly with one another (Matt. 7:12), to be thrifty (John 6:12), to be industrious (2 Thess. 3:10), and to be kind and courteous (1 Cor. 13:5). If we apply these principles, along with many others from the Bible, to the way we conduct business we will see rewards in the long term.
2. Godliness will benefit us physically. The Bible teaches us to be kind, temperate, patient, compassionate, anxiety free, and loving to all people. Science and medicine prove that these traits can make a person healthier. One of the greatest health culprits is stress. Stress is brought about by worry, strained relationships, lack of patience, and misplaced priorities. A lack of godly living can lead to the mind and spirit being overtaken by lustful desires, passions of hate, or gloom and despair that can lead to depression or even more severe mental disorders. A godly life will lead to a happy and healthy life.
3. Godliness will benefit us socially. The New Testament teaches that we should strive to get along with all people, both within the church and without (Rom. 12:18). Consider what traits will win the respect and admiration of all men; friendliness, cheerfulness, honesty, self-control, and good will. One only has to flip through the pages of the Bible to see these are the traits of a godly Christian. We should simply follow the example of Jesus. Jesus found favor with God and men (Luke 2:52). Those who knew Jesus may not have accepted his teaching, but they could not question his godly behavior.
4. Godliness will benefit us spiritually. This is obviously the most important and rewarding reason to live a godly life. By living a godly life we obtain the supreme good of striving to be like Christ. We maintain our fellowship with Christ because we are walking in the Light (1 John 1:7). Everyone around us will benefit spiritually as well because of the example and influence a godly life exerts. Godly living leads to spiritual maturity because we are putting into practice those things we have learned from studying God’s Word. Paul told Timothy, “godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come” (1 Tim. 4:8). -Ed

It’s amazing to look back over our lives and consider how far we have traveled in our Christian walks, but we often forget that at one point in our lives we were saved before we ever obeyed the gospel plan of salvation. I’m talking about before we reached the age of accountability. I’m sure all of you remember some of that time of your life. Life seemed so much easier then. We did not yet truly understand the concept of sin, right and wrong, or good and evil. We simply did what our parents told us too, and if they said something was bad or wrong, we believed them.
There are many in the “Christian religious” community today that do not believe in the concept of the age of accountability. Instead, they choose to believe a doctrine that teaches that all people are lost at the very moment they are born into this world. The false teaching has grown from the teachings of the Catholic church, and the teaching of John Calvin who was the founder of the Presbyterian church. St. Augustine of the Catholic church had a theory that all people inherited the original sin of Adam, and the guilt of that sin, the moment they were born. John Calvin was a protestant reformer who left the Catholic faith, but continued to teach the idea of “original sin” which became commonly known as “total hereditary depravity”. These theories led to the reason that infant baptism became so popular in those churches. Since they believed the babies were spiritually lost, they would baptize them (by sprinkling) shortly after birth. Let’s see what the Bible teaches about the “age of accountability” and whether or not newborn babies are in danger of being spiritually lost.
We must first recognize that the whole concept of inheriting anyone else’s sin is totally foreign to the Bible. The Bible clearly teaches that God gave each of us free will in which we can decide whether or not we want to follow God’s will. Just like Adam and Eve had the choice of whether or not to eat of the tree, we too have the choice whether to be obedient or disobedient to God. Each individual person will be held accountable for his or her own sins, not the sins of others. God told the world this when He spoke it through the prophet Ezekiel. Ezekiel said, “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself” (Eze. 18:20).
The Bible also teaches us about the “age of accountability”. The Bible does not refer to it as such, but it makes clear that at some point in our lives we will sin and become needful of salvation. The apostle Paul spoke of himself before he reached that age. He said, “I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died” (Rom. 7:9). When Paul said he was alive once without the law, he was referring to his early childhood when he did not comprehend or understand the ramifications of the law. Once he did understand, sin brought about spiritual death. Solomon said, “God had made man upright; but they have sought many inventions” (Eccl. 7:29). We start out good, but then fall, as we understand what the danger of sin is. God was talking about the king of Tyre when He said, “You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you” (Eze. 28:15). Remember that Jesus said, “Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3). -Ed

We often refer to the Bible as the Word of God because God chose to speak to us through a written revelation, but one thing many fail to realize is that the Bible is actually inspired word for word by God himself. Many today have the false impression that the Bible is an inspired book of thoughts or ideas. This could not be further from the truth. Each and every word of the Scripture was given to the Bible writers from the Holy Spirit. The apostle Peter said, “knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:20,21). So, it was the Holy Spirit that inspired the context of the Scriptures, but how do we know the Holy Spirit gave the writers each and every word? Paul told the Corinthians, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Cor. 2:12,13). Paul is telling us in this text that the Holy Spirit revealed God’s word to them in actual words. This is what is referred to as “verbal plenary word” inspiration.
Some may say, “why does it matter that much anyway?” Look at it this way. Say you were writing a deed contract or a legal will. Would you want the contract to be paraphrased according to your thoughts, or would you want it to say specifically what you wanted? The answer is obvious. If we desire specificity in legal contracts dealing with money or property, wouldn’t we desire the same when it comes to the salvation of our souls. If a surgeon was preparing for your surgery, would you want him to list out in detail the equipment and medications the nurses need to prepare, or would you prefer he just generalize? We would want specifics, wouldn’t we? This is why we must be careful what Bible translations we use. Some translations use what is referred to as “thought translation” where the general idea is translated instead of translating the Greek text word for word into English. The New International Version (NIV) is one example of a Bible translated with “thought translation”. This type of translation leaves too much wiggle room for translators that may be partial to a particular theological stance. The NIV Bible has a strong sway toward the incorrect “faith only” doctrine, because those who translated it believed in that false teaching.
We must always be conscious of the fact that the Holy Spirit put each and every individual word in the Bible the way He did for a specific reason. If man supplemented any of the individual words of the Bible, we would not be able to trust the Book as a whole. The inspired apostle Paul wrote, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16,17). If the Bible truly is the Word of God, and we know that it is, then Paul’s statement must be accepted as being true. It is either “all Scripture”, or it is not.
We should all be able to find great comfort in knowing that God has given us a word by word inspired revelation that we can depend on to guide us through this life on to Heaven. -Ed

Jesus fulfilled the old law of Moses by the perfect sinless life that He lived, and He then “nailed it to the cross” (Col. 2:14) when He died the sacrificial death on Calvary for all of mankind. The law of Moses was then replaced by Jesus becoming the “Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises” (Heb. 8:6). One of the many things that is “better” about the New Covenant, is that it ushered in the new morality of Jesus Christ. The morality that Jesus would teach all men to live by was very much superior to that of the Old Testament.
The Law of Moses was given to the children of Israel for two primary reasons. First, the law was needed to separate the Jewish people from the gentile world in order to protect the seed line of the coming Messiah. Secondly, the law was to make known and define sin for the people. The Apostle Paul said, “I would have not known sin except through the law” (Rom. 7:7). The law of Moses served as a “schoolmaster” or “tutor to bring us to Christ” (Gal. 3:24). Paul further defines the purpose of the law when he said it was “added because of transgression till the Seed (Christ) should come to whom the promise was made” (Gal. 3:19). The Old Covenant required a strict carnal legal system of rules to maintain the state of separation God expected for the Jewish people. It gave specific commands and rules that were not to be broken, and if they were broken the punishment was to be handed out immediately. The laws dealt with external actions, but not the internal motives for those actions.
The New Covenant of Jesus took things to the next step, which is why it was so much “better” than the old. The morality of Jesus would look to the very heart of what drove man to commit the sins that where violations of the law. The law of Moses would give commandments such as do not commit murder, or do not commit adultery. The morality of Jesus goes further and says do not have anger or lust in your hearts which would lead you to committing murder or adultery. People under the old law were told not to violate the laws because of the strict and immediate punishment that would follow. The morality of Jesus says we do not even think in our hearts to do such things because of the love we have for God and our fellow man.
The basis for the morality of Jesus can be found in the answer he gave to a man who ask him what the greatest commandment was. He said, “thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second, like unto it is this, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matt. 22:37-39). Everything starts first with our love for God, and then secondly, our love for our fellow man. Jesus understood that what a man says and does is based on the condition of that man’s heart. The morality of Jesus goes straight to the heart of man showing that the motives for why we do things is what is really important. King Solomon said, “for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7). Jesus said, “for out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Matt. 15:19).
Jesus wants His followers to do the things they do because of the love they have in their hearts for God and for man. He wants disciples who obey Him because they love him. He said, “If you love me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). -Ed

Christians are not immune to the strong pull of temptation, but God has promised us that He will help us to overcome and escape the desire to do things we shouldn’t. The apostle Paul was warning the church in Corinth of the dangers of falling backward in their faith, when he wrote an encouraging verse about how we can overcome temptation. Paul said, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Cor. 10:12,13). Let’s examine some of the truths Paul describes in this amazing verse, and see if they can help us in our daily battles against the temptations of the world.
1. We will face temptation, but nothing greater than what any other man has had to endure. Paul states in the beginning of the verse that we are not going to have to endure anything that is not common to all other men. In other words, if it is tempting, man has already been tempted by it somewhere at sometime. This should be comforting to us because we realize that others have faced the same temptations that come before us. Paul was saying that the same old temptations have lured mankind into sin since the beginning of time. John described them as the “lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). Knowing what we are up against should help us prepare for it when it comes.
2. Paul reassures us that God is not going to allow us to be tempted more than we can handle. Paul states that God is faithful in this matter, so we can rest assured that He is on our side. God knows each and everyone of us. He knows how much we can handle, and He knows when it will be too much for us as well. We must remember that God uses the temptations and trying times to test our faith, and also to help prepare us for eternal service in His kingdom. Precious metals are passed through the furnace to burn out the dross and impurities. The same could be said of Christians. God will allow us to go through the trials and temptations to build our character, but He will never allow us to go through something He knows we can’t handle.
3. Paul tells us that we will definitely go through times of temptation, but God will always provide us with a way of escape. This part of the verse is a testimony to the fact that God has given all men the gift of free will. He wants us to grow stronger and learn to resist temptations on our own. We are given the opportunity to walk away from the temptation by using the way of escape that God has so graciously provided. God does not simply pull us out of the temptation, because that would not help us grow or give us the opportunity to show Him how much we love him. Instead, God provides us with a way of escape from the temptation so we can choose whether or not we will take it. James wrote, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” (James 1:2,3). It’s like that old saying that says, “Whatever doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger.” Remember, God has a purpose for each one of us, and we have to be spiritually prepared to do the work. This is one way God providentially prepares us to become the Christians He knows we are capable of becoming. God uses the temptations we encounter to make us stronger and better equipped to take on the world. -Ed

As the hope of an eternal home in heaven springs forth from our soul, we cannot help but consider the joy of being reunited with our loved ones in the glorious presence of God. Will we know one another? Will we recognize our family members? Will we recognize and be able to sit at the feet of such great men as Abraham, Moses, Peter, Paul, and others? These are questions that stir our spirit, and excite our dreams, as we patiently wait for that great day when we will finally be free of the shackles of this world. The questions under consideration have no doubt stirred the imagination of millions over times past. What is the answer? Will we know one another? The Bible teaches conclusively that we most definitely will. Let’s examine a few of the many passages from the Bible that shed some light on the topic.
1. 2 Samuel 12:23. David had been fasting and weeping while waiting to see if his child by Bathsheba would live. The child died, and David said, “But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.” The significance of the statement “I shall go to him” in this passage can only be understood if David meant that he would know and recognize the child when he saw him in heaven.
2. Job 19:25-27. Job asserted in this passage that he understood his fleshy body would be resurrected and changed to a glorious state. He said, “in my flesh I shall see God…and my eyes shall behold, and not another.” Job said it would be his “flesh” and his “eyes” that would be in the presence of God. We can see from this that the inspired Job understood that his identity and personal characteristics would be with him in the presence of God.
3. Mark 9:2-8. We read in this text the account of Jesus being transfigured in the presence of Peter, James, and John. When the transfiguration occurred, Elijah and Moses appeared along side Jesus. The apostles no doubt recognized Elijah and Moses, because Peter offered to build tabernacles for each one of them. Peter could identify Elijah and Moses. This is even more interesting considering that Peter had never before seen them in person. If their spiritual bodies were identifiable on earth, they surely will be in heaven as well.
4. Revelation 6:9-10. Brother Guy Woods spoke of the souls in this passage as being, (a) personalities in the death state; (b) they had a consciousness of their surroundings; ( c) they knew why they were there; (d) they had been murdered; (e) they were aware of the fact that their murderers had not yet been punished.
5. Luke 16:19-31. The case of the rich man and Lazarus gives us a glimpse into the afterlife. Some contend this is only a parable and it cannot be relied on as an accurate picture of Hades. Parable or not, it is still Biblical truth. If it is a parable, it is the only one in the Bible where one of the people in it is listed by an actual name. All the characters where conscious, aware of their surroundings, and they possessed a memory of the world that was left behind. The rich man no doubt recognized who Lazarus and Abraham were. During the incident Abraham told the rich man to “remember,” which indicates we will have the ability to do so. We can safely infer from this passage that we will have memory of one another, and even recognize individuals we have never seen before in person (e.g., Abraham). -Ed

The Bible has many ways of describing the Christian’s walk through life, but I would like to compare it to something we are all well familiar with today. Paul often referred to the Christian life as a walk or race (Eph. 4-5), and Jesus compared us to branches on a vine and sheep in a flock. All of those things would be very familiar to the people that Paul and Jesus were addressing. One thing common to all of society today is the roads we travel on a daily basis. Let’s see some lessons we can learn from using that teaching method in today’s times.
1. “Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life” (Matt. 7:14). Jesus teaches that there will be few who make it to heaven because of the challenges the Christian life will present. It clearly takes dedication and focus. Imagine you’re driving down the highway and come to a construction zone. You find that the lanes are being closed until you are crammed between two concrete barriers in a lane barely the width of your car forced to drive at 60 mph. What is demanded of us in a situation like that? Can we be careless and distracted by our surroundings? It takes focus. You have to keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes squarely on the road. Lack of focus could cause you to swerve into one of the barriers. The Christian life is much the same way, except the Christian life is like driving between those concrete barriers all the time. We have chosen a roadway for our life that demands more effort than those who choose the easy way. The easy way is described as “the way that leads to destruction, there are many who go in by it” (Matt. 7:13).
2. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28). We must remember that while we are driving down the highway of life, we are heading to the greatest destination ever. We are taking this road trip because of our love for God, and because we were “called according to His purpose”. The roadway of life will have many obstacles to overcome. We will drive through many storms during our life. There will be times we will have a “flat”, or the “car” breaks down. We will hit the many potholes and speed bumps of life that will slow us down. But, during all this we have the promise of Paul in the verse above. That promise states that if we love God, He will take all those obstacles and somehow turn them into something good that will later benefit us on our journey. Paul also reminds us that no matter how hard the drive may be, we have something much greater to look forward to. He said, “for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18). The destination is definitely worth the drive!
3. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). There are times that we get lost as we try to find a certain destination. We may take a wrong turn or listen to some bad directions. The same applies to our Christian life. There may be times when we take a bad spiritual turn away from the Lord. John tells us in the verse above that God has given us a way to get back to the right road and direction. We can confess our sins to God, and He will forgive us. He has made it possible for us to get back on the correct route to make it to our destination. God is the ultimate “GPS” system, and He has given us the greatest road map ever in the Bible. -Ed

We live in a day and time when a big part of our money, time, and energy is devoted to preparing for the security of our futures. Just spend a little time watching television and you will see countless commercials prodding us to get the right 401(k) or IRA, so our “nest egg” will be nice and plump by the time we reach our golden years. It’s always good to be prepared for the future, and we would be irresponsible if we did not. If we do not make plans to support ourselves in the future, someone else will have to. However, just like with everything else in this world, we can go to extremes. We must be careful not to neglect the duties of the present because of anxiety about a future that may never come. It’s easy in today’s society to want to lay up treasures in all the wrong places.
Jesus taught about this very thing in the parable of the rich fool. The fool was apparently obsessed with storing up great possessions for his future. The rich fool said, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry” (Luke 12:19). The fool had stored up his treasures in the wrong place, because God was going to require his soul that very night. Jesus stated in the parable that “God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:20,21). We learn an important lesson from the parable. There is nothing wrong with preparing for the future, but we must have our priorities straight. Is it more important to lay up treasures on earth or in heaven? The fool was only concerned about here on earth. Are we spending more time preparing for our temporal future here on earth, or our eternal future in heaven with the Father?
We must also remember that we are not promised another day on this earth. James gave a warning to those who would say “today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit” (James 4:13). He went on to say, “Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil” (James 4:14,15). Are we laying up spiritual treasures or worldly possessions? Let’s consider some questions we can ask ourselves to examine what our true motives are for our future.
1. Am I seeking to accomplish God’s will, or my will in the way I am preparing for my future? We must consider our true motives for the assets we set aside for the future. We should ask, “Am I keeping back from God now, so I can enjoy it on myself down the road?”
2. Am I seeking first the “kingdom of God” (Matt. 6:33), or am I seeking first the kingdom of ___________________ (insert your name here)? We must remember the context Jesus was speaking of when He told us to seek first the kingdom of God. Jesus told us that by doing so, God would provide those essential things we need in life. It’s a matter of trust in God! When we neglect the work of the kingdom in the present, by going overboard on preparing for the future, we are showing a lack of faith in God’s providential care. -Ed

One of the most important things a Christian must do is study God’s Word, and a failure to do so will lead to a lack of spiritual growth and a weaker faith. Paul told the Christians in Rome that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). Our faith becomes stronger as we study the Bible. Paul knew the importance of study. He told Timothy to “continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from who you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation” (2 Tim. 3:14,15). Notice that Paul told Timothy to “continue in the things which you have learned.” Paul understood that it takes continual study of God’s Word to remain faithful and grow. That is why he also told Timothy to “study to show thyself approved unto God” (2 Tim. 2:15).
We place ourselves in spiritual danger when we stop studying the Bible. God condemned Israel through the voice of Hosea when He said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee” (Hosea 4:6). Many of the Jews in the first century also had a problem due to their failure to study. They were sincere in their religion, but they were sincerely wrong. Paul described them as having “a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge” (Rom. 10:2). We must be diligent in our studies to avoid repeating the same mistakes.
Let’s examine some different ways we can study the Bible. First, we must understand that there is a difference between reading the Bible and studying the Bible. Regular Bible reading is important, but it is not the same as in-depth study. Here are some different options to consider.
1. Get involved in the congregation’s Bible classes. Many of us limit our study to the time we spend in our Sunday and Wednesday night Bible classes. Study the material you are learning in class at home before you go. You will also retain much more of the material if you review what you have learned during the class later at home. Take good notes and organize them in a notebook for later reference.
2. Conduct your own expository Bible study. Decide on a certain text that you would like to study in-depth. It could be a few verses or a whole chapter. Go through the text verse by verse and write down several key points you learn from each verse. You can then search for other scriptures that elaborate on the points you wrote down.
3. Conduct your own topical Bible study. Decide on a specific topic that you would like to study about. Use a topical Bible, concordance, or commentary to locate all the other passages in the Bible that are related to your topic. This is very effective way to study, because it teaches us to harmonize the Scriptures.
4. Get organized and equipped. Purchase some three ring binders, and get dividers so you can make space in them for information on specific Bible books or Biblical topics. Keep track of your notes and handouts from Bible classes by filing them in the binders. You may also consider buying a good concordance and Bible dictionary. Commentaries are good to have as well, but remember that not all commentaries are written by members of the Lord’s church and some of them can be misleading. -Ed