FIRST TIME

BIBLE STUDY SERIES

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Bible Study You Can Handle!

  

 

All you need is a hungry heart, a Bible, and a pen, and you can get God’s Word into your life!

  

By:

Pastor Craig Ledbetter

Bible Baptist Church

c/o 29 Westcourt Heights

Ballincollig, Cork

(021) 4871234, or (022) 51044

E-Mail:

(c) 1996-2000 Craig Ledbetter

Published in Cork, Ireland  (220598C-EA5)

 

 

Dear Reader,

This study booklet has been written to help you to learn what is contained in the pages of the most widely read Book in the world - the Bible! There is no easier way than just setting yourself down with an open Bible, a hungry heart, and a simple and direct Bible study course like this one to work through.

With this Bible study course in hand, you will be able to sample the pages of the eternal word of God, and come away with some sure facts about yourself, others, and most importantly, about the God who so freely gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, to die in our place on the cross. That death brought life, and that life is only experienced by those who search for it in the pages of the Bible. No church has the corner on the market of heaven - that belongs only to Jesus Christ Himself, and is freely revealed in the Bible!

So let me welcome you to a grand opportunity - a new chance to fill that hunger in your heart to know the God who loved you, and proved it 2,000 years ago. Beware; getting to know Jesus can mean that you will never be the same! He has a habit of transforming the lives of those He touches!

To complete this lesson, you will need to look up each Bible verse listed (for example, “John 18:37” is found in the New Testament right after the books Matthew, Mark, and Luke), and fill in each blank line in the study. If you have trouble locating a book in the Bible, you can open the front of your Bible, find the Table of Contents, and find the page number of the start of the Book instead, and work from there. Take your time, and learn well what God has commanded us. It will make all the difference in your life as it did mine.

 

 

Sincerely Yours,

 

Pastor Craig Ledbetter

2 Timothy 2:15

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God…”

 

BIBLE STUDY OUTLINE

The Bible, and Salvation

 

I.    Introduction to This Study

 

1. Read John chapter 18, verses 37 and 38, and then John 17:17

 

1.       In John chapter 18, the Lord Jesus is standing before Pilate, accused of being a King. Jesus tells Pilate He IS a King, but not of this world, and that He came not to set up a physical kingdom, but to declare the _________.

2.       Pilate responds, “What is _______?” But notice what Pilate does next. He does not wait around for the answer. He does not believe there is any such thing as “truth.” It is the same with most people. They have been lied to so many times about Santa, the tooth fairy, and Easter bunnies they think God and truth are only lies as well.

3.       In John 17:17, Jesus Himself says God’s ______ is truth! Now, either Jesus was a liar, or crazy, or telling the truth. Which is it?

 

2. Let's first agree on three things:

 

1.       There must be something, somewhere, that is true. Without truth, there is no way of knowing what is really true or false, good or bad, right or wrong; and any guess becomes as good as another's.

2.       Only God can be the Author of truth. He cannot lie (Titus 1:2) or He is not God, and cannot be trusted!

3.       God has revealed truth through the Bible alone (John 17:17).

 

 

II.  The Purpose of the Bible

 

1. It was written that we may “________” that Jesus was who He said He was (John 20:31) - the Messiah, the promised Son of God, who came to pay our sin-debt. People are entitled to their own opinions about who Jesus was, but the Bible was written to prove beyond any doubt that He, and He alone is God come down in flesh to save us from our sin (Luke 5:31,32; Matthew 1:21). We discover this only in the Bible (John 5:39).
2. The theme of the Bible from start to finish is all about the payment necessary for our sins through the blood of a lamb. Starting in Genesis 3:7,21, with the sin of Adam and Eve, God substitutes a lamb in their place so they can be forgiven. Jesus is “the ______ of God” (John 1:29).
3. It was also written, so that we may “________” that we have eternal life (1 John 5:13), not just “hope” for it! Not everyone has eternal life - as a matter of fact, no one starts off with eternal life. We start off separate from God because of sin, and in need of a Saviour.

III.  Biblical Salvation

 

 

 

1. The spiritual condition of every person is described as what? (Romans 3:10, 23) __________________.
2. What does the Bible say “sin” is? (1 John 3:4) ___________________________. To “trans-gress” is to “cross a line” that God laid-out to show what is right and wrong. When we cross His laws, we sin.
3. To be a sinner does not mean that a person is a murderer, or a thief, but someone that does ANY sin (James 2:9,10; like stealing, cursing, rebelling, hating, etc.). Anyone who sins at all, is a sinner in God’s eyes.
4. What is the penalty God places on our sin? (Romans 6:23) ________. “Wages” are what we earn - they are the result of our actions. Wages are the opposite of the “_____ of God” which cannot be earned!
5. Is it possible for a sinner to save himself or herself from the penalty of their sin through good works?  (Ephesians 2:8,9; Titus 3:5)  Yes or No?

 

1.       Notice that it is “not of _________, lest any man should boast.”

2.       Notice that it is “not by works of ______________…”

 

6. What did God provide for us when His Son died?

 

1.        “____________ life” (John 3:16,17).

2.       But to get it, we must be “born _______” (John 3:3,7).

 

7. Let's explore the two births the Bible talks about

 

1.       The first birth is your PHYSICAL birth (John 3:1-7):

 

a.       This is a water birth (John 3:5). It is not baptism. We start in water. Every human is born out of a water sack in the womb.

b.       Your first birth comes from your physical parents. Their “flesh” produced your _________ (John 3:6).

 

The above diagram shows the tri-part nature of a person - the main part being the soul! The body allows the real you to relate and interact with the world. The spirit is given to you to enable you to relate to, and interract with God. Everybody is born with their spirit DEAD (Ephesians 2:1).

 

2.       The second birth is your SPIRITUAL birth (John 3:5,6):

 

a.       This birth can only come from God. John 4:24 says that “God is a __________.” He is not flesh like we humans are. According to John 3:6, His Spirit will produce _________ in the life of a sinner if they would just fully believe on His Son, Jesus Christ!

b.       The second birth involves trusting God’s ________ (1 Peter 1:23) to be true. You can fully and completely trust the death of Jesus Christ to be your payment for your sin, because God said in His word you could, and that He would give you as a free gift, eternal salvation - eternal life!

 

3.       A person desperately needs Jesus Christ, because without Him, there is no other way to God (John 14:6).

 

a.       Sin _____________ all of humanity from God (Isaiah 59:2).

b.       If a person dies without having their sin paid-off by faith in Jesus Christ, there is only one other destiny for them (John 3:36; Matthew 23:33; Matthew 25:41).

 

1)      What is that destiny? _____________________________

2)      There is no such thing as “purgatory,” or limbo.

 

8. Salvation is NOT a "process" - it is instantly given upon request when we have the right attitude towards God and our sins (Luke 18:9-14)!
9. So, what must a person do in order to be saved?

 

1.       ___________ (Acts 20:20,21; 2Peter 3:9). Repentance is a determined choice to turn away FROM sin, and turn TO Jesus Christ for salvation. It is being very sorry for your sin, and hating it! This is different from “penance” which is you trying to PAY for your sins. You cannot do anything to pay for sins - only Jesus can!

2.       ___________ (John 1:11,12; John 5:24).

 

a.       What does it mean to “believe on Jesus?”

 

1)      Not to just agree with the Bible with our head (even the devils ‘believe’; James 2:19)

2)      But to understand from the heart that the only payment that God will accept for your sins is the death of Jesus Christ in your place (1 John 2:2; and 4:10).

 

b.       The word “propitiation” means “full payment.” God had to do more than just “forgive” sins, He had to pay-off all the broken laws that had mounted up against us, and that is what Jesus’ death did - it paid in full all our sin debt!

 

10. How can we be sure Christ will save us if we ask him to do so? (Read carefully Romans 10:13,17) __________________________________.

 

1.       God said it, that should settle it.

2.       Faith is “confidence” in God’s promise, that He will never lie to you! He promises in His word over and over that He can save you.

 

IV. Conclusions and Personal Notes - Fill in from memory.

 

1. The Bible was written for us to know how to be _________, and how that as sinners we needed God to reach down to us (not for us to reach up), and to save us from a real place called ________.
2. The theme of the Bible from start to finish is all about something called, “the _________” of God.
3. God has revealed truth through the _________ alone.
4. Our salvation depends only upon whether we are willing by faith to let the _______ of Jesus Christ be sufficient to pay off all our sin-debt to God, instead of trying to pay it off ourselves with our own good works.
5. The term “born again” refers to what? An external birth, or an internal birth? (Circle one).
6. When Jesus died, whose place was He taking? _______________
7. Have you let Him take your place? Yes or No

 

V.   Scoring

 

It's time to check your answers.  Send this study back to the address below, and within a week, you will be notified of your score and this study returned to you to keep.

 

VI. What’s Next?

 

You are now well into the study of God’s written word! The process continues in a booklet called The First Principles of Christian Growth. That booklet contains 19 more vital lessons from the Bible that you can master. Obtain a copy from the address below, and it will help you become the mature disciple that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ calls you to be!

 

Go on… You CAN Do It!

 

Write to:

Postal Bible Studies

29 Westcourt Heights

Ballincollig, Cork

 

Or Ring:

(021) 4871234

 

Or E-Mail Us 

 

BIBLE STUDY OUTLINE

Our Security in Christ

 

 

I.         Introduction - "Now that I am saved, can I ever LOSE my salvation?"

 

Once a person has settled the question of salvation as the Bible declares it - by grace through faith in the Saviour Jesus Christ - it is imperative that he understands the security of that new relationship with God.

 

II.       What Jesus Said About Your Salvation

 

A.      In John 6:37, Jesus promises that "...him that cometh to me I will in no wise ___________________." To “cast out” would be to reject, or cast away a sinner who comes to Christ for salvation. Jesus promises never to do that!

B.       John 10:27-29 makes it clear that no man can cause you to lose your salvation. It is God that saves, and He is greater than man. Notice that Jesus gives a person ___________ life, and that they shall _______ perish!

C.       Your salvation is completely by God’s grace through your simple child-like faith, and not by works. It is a gift from God. No one can lose his salvation because no one can earn it! It is freely given on the merit of Christ's righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:8,9), not on the basis of our own goodness (Isaiah 64:6). Either Christ paid for ALL your sins, or He didn’t (Hebrews 10:17), and if He did, then when you accepted His salvation, your eternity was settled forever (see again 1 John 5:11-13)!

 

III.     Is There Anything That Can Separate Us From God?

 

Romans 8:38,39 says that NONE of the following can separate us from God!