Course Requirements
1. Your hard work and faithfulness to consistently read the Bible.
I want to encourage you to commit to this course of study for the next few weeks. You must be willing to lay aside preconceived notions, denominational distinctives, and favorite interpretations.
2. A Hungry Heart.
Are you hungry to hear from God? Is there a craving to have Him teach and mold you and give you the truths that will set you free? Is your spirit not satisfied unless it has been satisfied by the spiritual food of God’s Word?
“you can give a Christian a sermon and they’ll feed from the Word of God for a day. If you teach them to feed themselves from the Word of God, they’ll feed for a lifetime.” Author Unknown
3. A Disciplined Heart.
Be willing to work hard. The more you put into it, the more you get out of it!
4. An Obedient Heart.
Apply and obey what you learn in Scripture. We can know what the Bible says but it is a whole other thing to do what it says.
5. An Open Mind and Love for Truth.
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” (2 Tim 2:15 ESV)
6. A Proper Attitude
The right methods of study must begin with the right attitudes. The scribe and priest Ezra "prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord" (Ezra 7:10). Diligent study requires motivation.
Bible Study Tools
We will be using the English Standard Bible (ESV) as the primary reference Bible. In addition, we will be referring to an Online tool that you can utilize for your study:
- Bible Hub App - https://biblehub.com/app.htm
COURSE CONTENT
I. INTRODUCTION
II. IMPORTANCE OF THE
BIBLE
III. HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE
IV. BENEFITS OF BIBLE STUDY
V. STRUCTURE OF THE BIBLE
VI. PRINCIPLES OF BIBLE.
AUTHORITY
VII. FOUNDATIONAL RULES OF
BIBLE INTERPRETATION
VIII. METHODS OF BIBLE STUDY
ATTACHMENTS
# 1 - Theology Test
# 2 - Essential Doctrines of Christianity
# 3 - Earthly Schools of Theological Thought
# 4 - The Feynman Technique to Learn Anything
# 5 - Does God Make Good All Bad Life Experiences?
# 6 - Does the Bible Contradict Itself?
# 7 - Definition of Terms
I. INTRODUCTION
For as long as I can remember I have had an unquenchable hunger and thirst to know God. When I chose to become a follower of Jesus I had a voracious appetite for knowledge about Him, as well as a deep desire to grow in intimacy with Him. I would read everything about Jesus I could get my hands on, no matter who, or what, the source was, and I would listen to anyone who spoke His name. Unknowingly, that led me to digest a toxic stew of Occult and cultic beliefs, mixed with traditional and orthodox church teaching, along with some serious heresy thrown in for a little seasoning.
As I grew older in the faith, I surrounded myself with those who longed for the same intimate relationship that I desired with Jesus. The pastor of the church I was attending was a great preacher, but he was not a teacher, and his sermons were often mixed with personal conjecture and various scattered verses combined to help him prove his point of view about what he thought the Bible passages meant to fulfill his agenda.
A couple years after graduating from high school I entered into intense formal Bible study and training. I began to learn that much of what I had read, and been taught about God in the past, was way off base. That really, really upset me, to say the least! I felt I had been betrayed, abused, deceived, and intentionally misled by my spiritual elders.
The one significant thing I took from all my years of training was how to study the Bible and to spot spiritual deception. As a result of my experiences, I desired to become a “watchman on the wall” and made a commitment to diligently study the subjects of the Bible backward and forwards, making every attempt to never teach it based upon a self-centered agenda, or by twisting the Scriptures (pretzel preaching) as a means to an end.
The Bible warns of a time that “will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lust shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears, and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned to fables." (2 Tim 4:3-4; see also 1 Tim 1:10; Titus 1:9; 2:1)
Within the Church there is a growing emphasis on experienced-based theology that validates belief rather than the Word of God validating the experience. Too little emphasis is given to the Bible and too much emphasis is given to personal experience, personal revelation, and speculation that have no biblical precedence or historical foundation. Christians tend to blame things on the demonic and neglect normal Christian growth and maturity which requires personal acknowledgment and repentance of sin from the neglect of studying the Bible and living a life of repentance and personal holiness.
God’s Word is absolute truth but we must maintain humility concerning our “knowledge” of it because no human mind is capable of comprehending God absolutely. To be on the safe side, you should rely on what the Scriptures teach to understand your experience rather than your experiences shaping or adding to your perceptions of the Scriptures.
It is of utmost importance to seek greater knowledge and understanding of God, but knowledge in and if itself, without the experience of touching Him and being touched by Him in a very intimate and personal way, will fail to satisfy human reasoning because the hidden things of God are only found deep within the spirit.
Spending all your time learning about Jesus and not spending time with Him will lead to spiritual barrenness. You must consider experience, but you should also note the limits of the knowledge which God has revealed.
Human logic, opinion, emotions, feelings, dreams, visions, experiences, clinical “evidence”, church dogma, or the teachings of “spiritual” leaders can never be the basis for sound doctrine. The Born-again Christian must learn to “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7 KJV). The Christian walk can’t be established upon sensory spirituality or experiential exegesis that is based upon the belief in the abstract and subjective “I hear - I see - I feel - therefore it must be real” feelings, emotions, and experiences. The five senses: taste - feel - hearing - sight - and smell - are all rooted in the fallen flesh of mankind. It must be God's written Word which is the cognitive concrete foundation, to base all decisions and belief. The Bible must be studied from God’s perspective, not ours.
The relating of experiences or “divine revelation” outside of the Word of God is what Paul calls “fables.” The minute you open the door and teach from the basis of experience you lose authority and introduce confusion. You should consider experience, but also note the limits of the knowledge which God has revealed. Experience does not add to the truth of Scripture. Born-Again Christians are not to be "tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine" (Eph 4:14).
The infinite God is transcendent above and beyond anything we could ever understand or experience, and that is the ultimate reality. No human mind is capable of totally comprehending Him. Human Beings can only perceive God as He is manifested in His creation. In this life, we can only know partially so active trusting-faith is required moment by moment (see 1 Cor 13:12).
”For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Eph 3:14-19 ESV)
What we can genuinely understand is only what we objectively experience. Everything else is speculation. The only validated and authentic objective evidence of Christianity the world can see and experience is by daily observing the transformed life and behavior of each Born-Again Christian. Walking daily in humility is the key that unlocks divine truth for others to see because:
“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14 ESV).
The Bible is the primary source of illumination into the heart of God. Personal experience with God is not the most important part of the Gospel message. The Bible must be the most important source of authority in a person's spiritual life. However, the world observes a person’s experience with God which can then be compared with the historical experience of other Born-Again Christians and validated as true (See Matt 7:16-20).
“If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (1 John 4:20 ESV)
When pilots are trained to fly they are taught that they must totally trust the instruments of the aircraft. If they rely only on sensory input they could get into a situation they may not be able to get out of. The five senses are reliable only to a certain point. But the ultimate proof is checking the instruments to verify their feelings. A pilot could have a “gut” feeling that something is wrong but they must confirm it by checking the instruments. While flying through clouds it could “feel” as if they are flying straight and level when in actuality they may be in a slow-turning spiral or even totally inverted, not even realizing it because everything “feels” ok. But by looking at the instruments they will know for certain if they are flying straight and level or upside down. You should never interpret the Bible in the light of your experiences but rather interpret your experiences in the authority of the Bible.
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit exist together and for each other as infinite love that defies human description, understanding, or comprehension. Because they are love they trust one another without hesitation and will do whatever the other asks. They desire to find those who will love and trust Them just as They love and trust each other. We must learn to walk by faith and not by sight, placing our trust in our Creator with every breath we take (See 2 Corinthians 5:7).
The purpose of this class is to present basic Bible principles and fundamentals about the proper study and biblical interpretation and is not intended to be exhaustive.
In one sense the entire Bible is a textbook, not just of history or ancient styles of writing, but of God. In the Bible, we are studying God. It is a textbook of His own design and is ultimately reliable.
Each page of the Bible is a lesson and we will do ourselves an injustice if we read the Bible without attempting to apply its lessons to our lives.
The Bible is the primary means of apprehending the reality of God’s love for people and it is essential that it be properly understood so that its message may be taught undiluted.
When a person repents of their sin and receives Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, they are to get baptized and be taught to observe all things Jesus commanded (Matt 28:18-20). Learning God's will is just as essential after baptism as before. Conversion should be the beginning of a lifetime of study. However, in order to benefit from Bible study, we must know how to study it properly.
Cultural historians of the West place the Bible at the foundation of Western thought and morality. Until recently the moral teachings of the Bible have been almost universally embodied in the laws of the Western world and even in this present age, with biblical morality under increasing attack, the teaching of the Bible still forms the foundation of the Western judicial system.
Educators study the Bible as an example of the highest forms of human expression; as a source for information on ancient civilizations; and as a historical document of unparalleled accuracy and depth.
The Bible has been described as literature, history, poetry, drama, logic and myth (both in the sense of a traditional story accepted as truth - and in the sense of an untrue tale of an unknowable past) to name only some of the responses to it.
Those who are Born-Again believe that the Bible may include each of those in part, it is also more than them as a whole, and that it is certainly not a myth in the sense of an untrue tale of an unknowable past.
The Bible is Truth as revealed by God to us over centuries of time. The Bible does contain history and it is used extensively to date other historical events. It also contains poetry, some of the most beautiful ever written as well as logic and irrefutable proofs to the validity of its teaching. It is even literature, giving great insight into the literary methodology of cultures long vanished.
But, most importantly the Bible is the one document that relates the story of God’s interaction with us and His vast and magnificent plan to fulfill His purpose within His created order and redeem us from our sinful condition.
The Bible does not present itself as an exhaustive text on any one subject; but since it has been written under the guidance of God, the Creator of all that is, what is mentioned on any subject it teaches the absolute and unalterable truth. The way it is studied is critical.
Memory Compared to Method Learning
We learn:
1. 10% of what we read
2. 20% of what we hear
3. 30% by watching a demonstration
4. 50% combining #2 and #3
5. 70% combining #4 with writing out what you learn
6. 90% all of the above plus application or practice
The Foundation of Christianity
Our foundation is the Word of God, the Bible. It is the only dependable source for us to know God’s voice. It has the answers to all eternal questions. The focus of all Scripture is ultimately on Jesus. The Bible in its original text is the all-inclusive, inerrant, divinely inspired Word of God.
The Bible is your primary resource for getting through this life. You should read and study it like a letter from the one who loves you, because it is! Let the Author of the Bible speak directly, personally, and powerfully to your mind and heart through its pages.
Many Christians are sitting UNDER the Word of God but they are not IN the Word for themselves. Having Bible knowledge is great but we are admonished to GROW "in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18 ESV). Studying the Bible is not just to fill our heads with Biblical facts but to transform our lives to become more like Jesus.
“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV)
Sola Scriptura
Sola Scriptura means that God’s Word, the Bible, is solely authoritative for the faith and practice of Christianity because it is complete, authoritative, and trustworthy. The principle of Sola Scriptura is strongly indicated in the Bible because it stands against unbiblical, extra-biblical, and/or anti-biblical doctrines (Acts 17:11; 1 Corinthians 4:6).
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).
Sola Scriptura does not nullify the concept of fallen man-made church traditions even though they are not superior in authority to the Bible and have resulted in contradictory practices in numerous churches (See Mark 7:6-9). Sola Scriptura gives the solid foundation on which to base traditions because they play an essential role in clarifying and organizing Christian practices. Traditions are valid only when they conform with Scripture. Traditions that contradict the Bible are not of God and are not a valid aspect of the Christian faith. The Word of God is the ultimate and only infallible authority and must be studied and prioritized to be a well-trained disciple of Jesus rather than the esoteric ramblings of fallen humans. Sola Scriptura is the only basis for faith and practice because it is the only way to avoid personal confirmation bias and opinion from taking authority over what the Bible says.
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15 also 4:2)
The Bible alone points us to what God has revealed because He proves Himself to be dependable, always speaks the truth, and never changes His mind or contradicts Himself. The only way to know for sure what God expects of us is to stay faithful to what He has revealed in the Bible alone.
[See ATTACHMENT # 1 - hand out and have the class answer the questions - use as a baseline for knowing the knowledge of the audience - then go over the correct answers ]
ATTACHMENT # 1 Theology Test
1. How many Gods are there in the universe?
A. One B. Two C. Three D. Many
_____________________________________________________________________
2. The Trinity is . . .
A. Three separate Gods B. One God who took 3 consecutive forms C. One God in three persons D. A completely false doctrine
______________________________________________________________________
3. Jesus is . . .
A. God in flesh B. An angel who became a man C. A good man D. A great prophet
______________________________________________________________________
4. How many natures does Jesus have?
A. One B. Two C. Three D. More
______________________________________________________________________
5. The Holy Spirit is . . .
A. An invisible force like radar B. A divine spark in all of us C. Third person in the Trinity
D. A god
______________________________________________________________________
6. Sin is . . .
A. There is no sin B. A misinterpretation of reality C. A state of mind
D. Breaking God's Law
______________________________________________________________________
7. Human nature is basically. . .
A. Good B. Sinful C. Neutral D. Divine
______________________________________________________________________
8. In what manner did Jesus rise from the dead?
A. As a spirit B. In the same body he died in C. He did not rise from the dead
D. The disciples made up the resurrection story
______________________________________________________________________
9. Hell is . . .
A. Right here on earth B. A state of mind C. A place of eternal fire and torment
D. There is no hell
______________________________________________________________________
10. Heaven is . . .
A. Right here on earth B. A state of mind C. A place of eternal joy and peace with God
D. There is no heaven
______________________________________________________________________
11. Salvation is . . .
A. A condition of mental awareness B. Within our own essence C. Universal resurrection
D. Deliverance from the eternal consequence of sin: damnation
________________________________________________________________________
12. Salvation is attained by . . .
A. Grace through faith after all you can do B. Grace through faith C. A state of your mind
D. Obeying all of God's laws
________________________________________________________________________
13. The Devil is . . .
A. An equal and opposing force to God B. Not real C. A figment of people's minds
D. An angel who rebelled against God
________________________________________________________________________
14. The Bible is . . .
A. The inspired word of God B. A nice history book C. Full of contradictions and errors
D. A story book of metaphors
________________________________________________________________________
15. The Rapture is . . .
A. A serious head rush B. A New Age meditation philosophy
C. The catching up of God's people into the sky at Jesus' return. D. An Old Testament Jewish feast
________________________________________________________________________
16. Adam and Eve . . .
A. Were the first man and woman created by God B. Were evolutionary representatives of homo sapiens C. Are mythological figures D. Never existed
________________________________________________________________________
17. How many ways are there to God?
A. Just one. Through Jesus B. Many ways C. As many ways as there are people
D. It depends on the religion
________________________________________________________________________
18. When you die . . .
A. You go to purgatory
B. You go to heaven or hell C. You don't exist anymore
D. You are reincarnated
________________________________________________________________________
19. Evolution . . .
A. Is how we got here B. Is not a viable option for Christians C. God used evolution to bring man into existence D. Proves there is no God
________________________________________________________________________
20. Why did God create us? . . .
A. As an experiment B. He was bored C. To save us, love us, and have us love Him
D. For pawns in his cosmic game
Answers to the Theological Test
1. How many gods are there in the universe? A. One
The Bible clearly teaches that there is only one God in existence, anywhere, any time, any place.
• Isaiah 44:6 and 8 say, "Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. . . 9Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any."
• See also Isaiah 45:6; 14, 18, 21-22.
2. The Trinity is . . . C. One God in three persons
God is a trinity. God is three simultaneous persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Though there is no single verse that establishes the trinity, it is derived from many.
• There is only one God. Yet, the Father is called God (Phil. 1:2); Jesus is called God (John 1:1, 14; 8:58; Heb. 1:8); and the Holy Spirit is called God (Acts 5:3-4).
3. Jesus is. . . A. God in flesh
Jesus is the second person of the Trinity. He became a man in order to die on the cross.
• Col. 2:9, "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
• John 1:1, 14, "In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. . . And the word became flesh and dwelt among us. . ."
• See also, Heb. 1:8; Phil. 2;5-8; John 8:58 with Exodus 3:14; Zech. 12:10.
4. How many natures does Jesus have? B. Two
Jesus has two natures. He is both God and human.
• Col. 2:9 "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
• See also Phil. 2:5-8; John 8:58 with Exodus 3:14; Heb. 1:8 and Jesus' Two Natures
5. The Holy Spirit is . . . C. The third person in the Trinity
The Holy Spirit is a person like the Father and the Son. He is not a force like radar. He is not merely an energy presence. He is, like the Father and the Son, God.
• Acts 5:3-4"But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? 4 While it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God."
6. Sin is . . . D. Breaking God's law
God has revealed His character and will in the Law. To sin is to offend God; it is to break His law.
• 1 John 3:4, Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.
• See also Rom 3:20, 4:15, 7:7-13; James 2:9; 1 John 5:17
7. Human nature is basically . . . B. Sinful
The Bible reveals that we are sinners. Because Adam fell, we fell with him. We inherited his sinful nature. All of what we are, body, soul, spirit, mind, emotions, etc. is touched by sin.
• According to God's word, the sinner (the unsaved), cannot understand spiritual things (1 Cor 2:14); is full of evil (Mark 7:21-23); does not seek for God (Rom 3:11); is lawless, rebellious, unholy, and profane (1 Tim 1:9), etc.
8. In what manner did Jesus rise from the dead? B. In the same body he died in.
Jesus rose from the dead in the same body that he died in. It retained His scars. Though His body was resurrected and glorified, but it was the same body.
• John 2:19-21 "Jesus answered them, 'Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.' The Jews replied, 'It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?' But the temple he had spoken of was his body."
• Luke 24:39 "Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have."
9. Hell is . . . C. A place of eternal fire and torment
Many think hell is a state of mind, right here on earth, or that it simply doesn't exist. It does. The Bible tells us about it.
• Mark 9:43 "43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out."
• Rev 14:11 "And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name."
• See also Luke 16:19-31; 2 Peter 2:4; Matt 22:13; Jude 6, 23; Rev 21:8.
10. Heaven is . . . C. A place of eternal joy and peace with God.
Heaven is the dwelling place of God and of those who are saved through Jesus.
• Psalm 20:6 "Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand."
• John 14:2 "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. "
• See also Psalm 102:19; 123:1; Matt 5:34; 2 Cor 12:3-4
11. Salvation is . . .
D. Deliverance from the eternal consequence of sin: Damnation
Salvation is the act where God, through the atonement of Jesus, forgives a person of his sins. He is justified before God and saved from damnation.
• Rom 5:1 "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
• Rom 8:1, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
• See also Matt 1:21; Heb 2:14, 15; Rom 5:9; John 3:17.
12. Salvation is attained by. . . B. Grace through faith
Forgiveness of sins is not conditioned by anything that we do, but it is all a gift of God's grace through faith
• Eph 2:8 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God."
• Rom 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
• See also John 3:14-18.
13. The Devil is . . . D. An angel who rebelled against God
The devil, also called Satan, was an angel who lifted himself in pride and rebelled against God. He is evil, wicked, a deceiver, and powerful.
• 2 Cor 11:14, ". . . Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light . . ."
• John 8:44 "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies."
• See also Isaiah 14:12-20; Ezekiel 28:14-19
14. The Bible is . . . A. The inspired word of God.
The Bible is authored by God, through men. They were inspired. The original documents were without error or contradiction.
• 2 Tim 3:16, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. . . "
• See also Rev 22:19; Acts 17:11
15. The Rapture is . . . C. The catching up of God's people into the sky.
It may sound odd. But the rapture is when Jesus returns to gather His people. Those who are alive when this happens will not see death, but will be changed.
• 1 Thess 4:16-17, "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever."
See also 1 Cor 15:51-53.
16. Adam and Eve . . . A. Were the first man and woman created by God
They lived in the Garden of Eden, and are our ancient parents.
• Gen 2:20-21, "So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. 22Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man."
• See also Gen 1:26-27, 2:7; Rom 5:12-14
17. How many ways are there to God? A. Just one. Through Jesus
Unlike other men who have existed, Jesus was God in flesh. He said He was the only way to God. there are no other ways other than Jesus.
• John 14:6, "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'"
• John 10:1, ""I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber."
• See also Acts 4:12; Titus 3:5.
18. When you die . . . B. You go to heaven or hell
Death brings us face to face with eternity. For those in Christ, heaven is the destiny. For those who reject Him, eternal damnation is the result.
• Phil 1:21-23, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far."
• 2 Cor 5:8, "We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord."
• See also Isaiah 59:2; 2 Thess 1:9; Gen 3:19; 1 Cor 13:12
19. Evolution . . . B. Is not a viable option for Christians
Evolution is not the fact it is told to be. It is not consistent with the Bible. God created man; man did not evolve.
• Gen 1:26, "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.'"
• Heb 11:3, "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible."
• See also, Col 1:16,17; Psalm 104:30; Gen 1-2
20. Why did God create us? C. To save us, love us, and have us love Him.
God's creation and our salvation were not just so we could live with Him. God desires fellowship and intimacy in a loving relationship with His people.
• 1 John 1:3, "We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ."
• Rev 21:3, "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.'"
• See also, John 10:27-28; John 3:16; Phil 2:1-2.
