Discipleship #1 Bro. Bryan Boatman CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

Discipleship Lesson #1

Why is the Bible unique?

It is the truth, John 17:17

• Where would you find truth if you didn’t have this book?  Newspapers, magazines, TV?
• All experiences and doctrines should be laid to the plumbline of God’s words (Galatians 1:6-9, 2 Peter 1:13-21)

It is the eyewitness account of the Beginning and the End

• Revelation 1:8
• Bible believers have this advantage in life; we know where we came from, we know where we are going, and we know what to do while we are here.

It is the words of Eternal Life

• John 5:39-40, John 6:68, 1 Peter 1:23, James 1:18
• Eternal life begins now, the words of God show what that looks like – Psalm 73:24-28, 1 Timothy 6:12

 It is Incorruptible

• John 10:35, Isaiah 40:8, Matthew 24:35
• God’s words are not bound (2 Timothy 2:9); there is no copyright on the text of the King James Bible

 It is Prophecy

• Deuteronomy 18:21-22 & Isaiah 41:21-29, Revelation 19:10
• The amount of prophecy already fulfilled in Jesus Christ’s 1^st coming is literally astronomical – 50 prophecies = odds better for a blind man to pull one red electron out of a universe filled with black electrons: 1×10^157^th mathematically miraculous (Peter Stoner & Robert Newman. Science Speaks).
• As Stoner concludes, ‘Any man who rejects Christ as the Son of God is rejecting a fact, proved perhaps more absolutely than any other fact in the world (Stoner, p.112).’

The Author is Present with His words

• Inspiration – 2 Timothy 3:16-17 & Job 32:8 – God breathed into Adam the breath of life and that spirit was his connection to God.  Proverbs 20:27 spirit in man is his candle
• Hebrews 4:12-13 – living words
• Revelation 5:3 – He’s the only one that can open the book (Daniel 12 he seals the book)

 It is Divine

• Impossible to have a human author (See chart comparison)
• 1 Thessalonians 2:13
  • The philosophy behind modern versions is that we do not have God’s words with us today so we have to settle for whatever is best, or whatever helps us most, or whatever we deem easiest to understand.
  • Generally stated in terms of “the original manuscripts” in doctrinal statements.  Such as: “We believe the Bible is the inspired word of God in the original manuscripts.”
  • Seminary story of Greek professor – not allowed to bring my KJV to class anymore, shortly after that I quit spending my money there

What is the Bible?

It is Your Sufficiency

• Creation occurred
  by the words of God and continues to exist by the words of God (Hebrews 1:3); therefore God likens his words to things we look to sustain us like food and water

Milk – 1 Peter 2:2

Honey – Psalm 119:103

Bread – Luke 4:4

Water – Ephesians 5:26

Meat – Hebrews 5:12-14

It is an opportunity to exercise faith and please God – Romans 10:17

It is your mirror for self examination – James 1:23-25

It is your offensive weapon: how you mount an attack on a spiritual stronghold.

• Ephesians 6:17, Hebrews 4:12 & Revelation 19:15
• When God speaks of the Bible in terms of the devil and his work, he speaks of it as a sword.

It is the seed you are to scatter

• Mark 4:14 & 2 Corinthians 9:10
• When God speaks of the Bible in terms of others and our relation to them, he speaks of the Bible as seed (NOT A SWORD)

It is your final judge

• John 12:44-50 – God’s words are your judge
• Luke 16:19-31 – what you do with the words of God will determine what God will do with you
• Romans 1:12 – you fall into the category of the one with the law

Where is the Bible?  Or why the KJV and not others?

First of all, why not the KJV?

• Good for 300 years before it was questioned
• God blessed book in every genuine English speaking revival in history (Whitefield, Wesley, Finney, Spurgeon, Sam Jones, Bob Jones, Moody, Frank Norris, Roloff, Sunday, Talmage, Booth, etc)
• Not owned by anyone, no royalties.
• Manuscript evidence vindicates the KJV
• So what was the turning point in 1881?

Great resource material on this subject by Peter Ruckman, Sam Gipp, Gail Riplinger, John William Burgon, and William Grady.

Primary corrupt manuscripts were Siniaticus, Vaticanus, Alexandrinus received into the Jerusalem Council.

2 Corinthians 2:17 – Corrupting by:

• Addition to God’s words – Mark 7:13 (Pharisees – Roman Catholicism)
• Subtraction from God’s words – Acts 23:8 (Saducces – Secular, non religious types)
• Wresting God’s words – Psalm 56:5, 2 Peter 3:16 (Islam)

The enemy of the Bible is the Devil

• Matthew 4:1-8
• First attack was on the words of God, Genesis 3:1
• Wherever God is working you will find the devil right beside Him—Christianity is nearly been blinded to this work of the devil here in Bible translation (Col. 1:14, Jn 3:16, Mk 1:2-3, Lk 2:33, Acts 8:37, Matt 18:11, Isa. 14:12 with Rev. 22:16)
• The devil’s devices are
  • Counterfeiting – false identity – 2 Corinthians 11:14-15
  • Camouflaging – camouflage breaks up the contours – Genesis 3:1
  • Corrupting – poison – Mark 8:15

Handling this subject with others

• Charitable, gently with Christians, 2 Timothy 2:25 (23-26 good advice)
• Show them missing verses in their version.  Generally if that doesn’t get their attention, you probably won’t get their attention.

How should I study the Bible?

Get your PhD in Bible study. Study it Prayerfully (Psalms 119:18), Humbly (Isaiah 28:9) and, Diligently (Isaiah 50:4)

2 Timothy 2:15 rightly dividing… workman approved of God… not ashamed

• Divisions in God’s words:
  • Testaments and obviously, books, chapters and verses
  • Covenants (Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Christ)
  • Transitions (Matthew, Acts, Hebrews)
  • Who is the audience? (Jews, Gentiles, Church)
• What you love, you study
• God won’t approve someone who doesn’t study and you will be ashamed for not studying

Where do I begin?

• You can start at the beginning since its in the order God wants it
• John has much about a good relationship with Jesus Christ.
• Romans is the first book in the Bible directed to Gentiles.

God teaches by:

• Fear of the Lord – Proverbs 1:7, 9:10, 15:33
• Isaiah 28:9-13 – simple to complex, come as children
• Hosea 12:10 – Similitudes – Types, associations, comparisons.  Comparing scripture
• John 7:16-17 – obedience
• Colossians 3:16 – Music

Bible can be studied

• By Book (One of the best ways to begin because you’re getting the context and it will be more difficult to misinterpret things in light of context.)
• By Topic (word study like “Justification”)
• By characters (Hebrews 11)
• By events (Acts 7)