Introduction · Web viewLots of people want to study the Bible, but don’t know where to start. This brief series is designed to help you discover God’s Word for yourself. Tips:

What does the Bible say?

Personal Bible Study

What does the Bible say… About where to find the truth? (p. 2) About being saved? (p. 6) About the local churches? (p. 11) About our history and future? (p. 15)

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Introduction

Lots of people want to study the Bible, but don’t know where to start. This brief series is designed to help you discover God’s Word for yourself.

Tips: Dive into the text yourself. That’s the only way to develop your own

faith (Romans 10:17). These lessons are simply guides that will direct you to Bible passages for you to read, study, draw logical conclusions from, and then apply in your life. Instead of just reading what someone says about the Bible, go straight to the Bible itself.

Start reading your Bible. In addition to reading single verses or passages referenced in these lessons, try reading whole books of the Bible, such as the gospel of Mark or the book of Acts. That’s the best way to understand the context and get the full picture of God’s Word.o Bible apps/websites: YouVersion.com, OliveTree.com,

Dwellapp.io, WordOfPromiseApp.com, BlueLetterBible.org, Biblegateway.com

o Recommended translations: NASB, NKJV, ESV, KJV, ASV

Say “Yes” to a study partner. A member of the Benchley church is ready and willing to study this material with you. Let’s find a nice place to meet and open up God’s Word together! Contact us…o Facebook: Benchley church of Christo Contact form: www.Benchley.org

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What does the Bible say…about where to find the truth?

Nearly everyone has some ideas about what is true spiritually. Have you ever stopped to think, “Why do I believe what I believe?” That’s what this lesson is about. It’s good for us to evaluate our own beliefs. Do I believe things because I’ve studied them in the Bible, or for some other reason?

I) Why are there so many churches and religions?A) Jesus prayed for spiritual unity, “that they may all be ____” (John 17:20-21).

But the only proper way to unite is to do so upon God’s word, which is the truth (v. 17).

B) Jesus has all authority (Matthew 28:18-20), and we ought to follow Him by reading, studying, and obeying the Bible (II Timothy 3:16-4:5).

C) There is “____ faith” (Ephesians 4:4-6). There is also “one body.” What does the word “body” mean in this context? (See Ephesians 1:22-23.)

D) But hundreds of different religious groups exist today, each teaching something different. Even the ones that claim to be Christian teach different doctrines, even on basic questions such as how to worship and how to be saved. Why is this? It all stems from following false standards of authority. One way or another, people stray from God’s truth revealed in the Bible. Let’s do some honest self-examination and avoid those mistakes.

II) Mistake: We trust our consciences without training them.A) Saul of Tarsus (who converted to Christ in Acts 9 and became an apostle known

as “Paul”) is a prime example of how one’s conscience can be completely wrong. At first, how was Paul treating Christians and the cause of Christ (Acts 7:58-8:3, 26:9-11)?

B) And yet, he later said that had lived his life with a perfectly “good __________” (Acts 23:1)! Even though he had been sincere, zealous, and deeply religious, he had still been wrong.

C) The conscience is a valuable tool, but in order to work right it has to be trained and informed correctly. It is not an authority itself. We need to train it by the correct authority: the Word of God.

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III) Mistake: We invent doctrines God has not authorized.A) Sometimes we just make things up! Some Pharisees accused Jesus of not

washing His hands as if He had broken God’s law, but their custom was not part of the Old Covenant (Mark 7:1-13). Somewhere along the line, someone had just made it up!

B) Usually this mistake involves starting with some truth, but then distorting that truth or adding things on top of it (Galatians 1:6-10). Our responsibility is to stay within what God authorizes (Proverbs 14:12, Jeremiah 10:23, II John 9, Colossians 3:17). Do you see anything to learn in these passages?

C) Just because some invented doctrine has been around long enough to become a tradition doesn’t make it right (Colossians 2:8).

IV) Mistake: We go back and pick things out of the Old Covenant.A) In the Old Testament, God made a special set of laws for one particular nation.

Read Exodus 19:1-8, Deuteronomy 4:1-10, and 5:1-5. Can you find the name of the nation to whom these laws were given?

B) That old law (or “old covenant”) served its purpose and was in place for about 1,500 years. But when Jesus came to earth, He fulfilled the old law (Matthew 5:17-18) and began a transition to a new set of laws that would apply to everyone, not just one nation. What can we learn about this from Hebrews 8:6-13 and 10:9-10?

C) While the Biblical events and laws prior to the New Covenant are helpful by giving us examples and encouragement (Romans 15:4, I Corinthians 10:6-11), we are not under those old laws, and it is a mistake to believe that God’s laws for Israel prior to Christ are still in effect today (Galatians 3:24-25).

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V) Mistake: We just believe what our families believe.A) It is hard to give up what we learned in our youths, but the fact is that our families

may not have correctly understood or applied God’s word.B) Was Jesus more concerned with people agreeing with their families or agreeing

with Him (Matthew 10:32-38)?

C) For what had Paul been “extremely zealous” (Galatians 1:13-14)?

D) But had that made him right and Jesus wrong?

E) Perhaps our parents and other relatives taught us the best they knew how, but our personal responsibility under God is to search out His truth in the Bible.

VI) Mistake: We go along with the supposed experts.A) In the gospels, Jesus repeatedly condemns the so-called experts of the day, such

as the Pharisees, scribes, and Sadducees, and He warns people about their teaching (Matthew 16:6, 12, 23:1-3, 15). The Jewish leaders tried to stop the apostles from preaching Christ (Acts 4:19-20, 5:29). Paul had been “educated under Gamaliel” (Acts 22:3), who was a well-respected teacher among the Pharisees (Acts 5:34), but he had been taught error.

B) We make the same mistake today if we assume preachers, or people with theological degrees, or church leaders, have accurately understood the Bible. Maybe they do and maybe they don’t—but the Bible is the standard.

C) Is there a difference between the wisdom of people and the wisdom of God(I Corinthians 1:20, 2:4-5)?

VII) Mistake: We follow whatever is acceptable to modern society.A) Society is constantly changing. Just think of what was considered acceptable

behavior 100 years ago compared to today and think of how different it might be 100 years in the future.

B) What can we learn from John 12:48 and Romans 2:16 about the standard of judgment that will be used at the end?

C) According to Jesus, will most people be saved or lost (Matthew 7:13-14)?

D) Given that fact, is following the majority a safe strategy?

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VIII) Mistake: We believe the Holy Spirit will miraculously move us or inform us of truths not revealed in the Bible.A) Be careful not to take promises Jesus made to His apostles as if they were

promises to us. Examples: John 14:16-17, 25-26, 15:26-27, 16:13.1) Comparing John 13:1 (“His own”) with the other accounts shows us who

Jesus was talking to: the “twelve disciples” (Matthew 26:20), “the twelve” (Mark 14:17), or “the apostles” (Luke 22:14).

2) In John 13-18, Jesus was talking to His apostles.B) Since the Holy Spirit inspired the speaking and writing of God’s word, the Bible

often uses “Spirit” when talking about the person or the writing He inspired.1) Acts 1:15-16: “Scripture…Holy Spirit…David”2) Hebrews 3:7…4:7: “Holy Spirit…David”3) Hebrews 10:15: “Holy Spirit…[cites Jeremiah]”

C) When we read about the Holy Spirit, we have to carefully discern if it’s saying He does something directly/miraculously, or simply through the word He inspired.1) Example: II Thessalonians 2:13—“sanctification by the Spirit”2) II Thessalonians 2:14-15, I Thessalonians 2:13, Acts 17:1-4. The record

states that Paul “reasoned with them from the Scriptures” and some “were persuaded.” The Spirit sanctified them by inspiring the words Paul preached.

D) The gospel was fully revealed in the 1st century (Galatians 1:6-9, Jude 3).

As we study the Bible and learn God’s truth, let’s try to notice when we’re mistakenly drawing conclusions from one of these false standards of authority.

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What does the Bible say…about being saved?

The bad news is that people are lost and in need of salvation (Romans 3:23). The good news is, God has provided the path to salvation by sending His Son (Luke 19:10). Let’s look at the details of how souls are saved under the New Covenant.

I) Learn the truth.A) Jesus is the answer to the universal tragedy of sin, which causes souls to be lost

(Isaiah 59:2). He instructed the apostles: “Go therefore and make _________ of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, __________ them to observe all that I commanded you…”(Matthew 28:19–20).

B) Throughout the New Testament, we read of a strong emphasis on teaching. The apostles and others who knew the truth went out teaching people the good news about Jesus—that He was the Son of God, and that He had sacrificed Himself for our sins (Acts 2:14, 42, 4:1-2, 10-20, 33, 5:20, 25-32, 42, 6:7-10, 7:51-53, 8:3-4, etc.).

C) Despite fierce persecution, the soul-saving message about Jesus’ sacrifice spread like wildfire. The book of Acts covers about 30 years of the beginning of this message. Many inspired letters were written to further teach and preserve these Divine truths.1) What did Paul say “is the power of God for salvation” (Romans 1:16)?

2) “So faith comes from _________, and hearing by the word of Christ”(Romans 10:17).

D) So, the first step toward salvation is to learn what the Bible says. The people in the New Testament listened to the apostles preach, reason, persuade, and give evidence about Christ. They examined that teaching critically (Acts 17:2-4, 11). We should do the same thing—read the Bible and examine its truths for ourselves.

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II) Believe and confess that Jesus is Lord and Christ, the Son of God.A) Our faith should never be a blind faith. We should only believe things that are

reasonable to believe based on evidence. That’s why when the apostles preached, they appealed to evidence and objective reasoning as they built the case for Christ.

B) For example, in Acts 2, Peter pointed out that:1) the events of that day had been prophesied by Joel (2:16-21)2) Jesus had done miracles in their midst (2:22)3) the recent events matched David’s prophecy about the Christ (2:24-35)4) the tomb of Jesus was empty (2:32).

C) These arguments were convincing enough to cause 3,000 people to be baptized that very day (2:40-41).

D) Read through Acts 8:35, 9:22, 17:2-4, 11-12, and 18:28. What do you notice about how people came to understand and believe in Jesus?

E) In Romans 10:9-10, we learn that one must not only believe the truth about Jesus, but be willing to confess it. Notice that this is a confession of “Jesus as Lord.” The Bible talks about confession of sins in other places (James 5:16, I John 1:9), but here it’s talking about a confession of faith. This is the willingness to acknowledge before others that you believe Jesus is who He claimed to be: Lord and Christ, the Son of God (Matthew 26:63-64, Acts 2:36, I John 4:15).

F) What caused some of the people to NOT confess Him (John 12:42-43)?

G) What message did Saul (also called Paul) begin preaching to the people after he was baptized (Acts 9:20)?

III) Repent.A) In Acts 2, once the audience understood they were guilty of sin, and accepted

what Peter had preached about Jesus being the Christ, they asked “Brethren, what shall we do?” (37). Peter replied, “Repent, and each of you be baptized…” (38). God calls all people to repent (Acts 17:30).

B) The word repent simply means “to change the mind.” In Hebrews 6:1, we find the phrase “repentance from dead works” and in Acts 20:21 we find the phrase “repentance toward God.” Repentance means we’re deciding to turn from sin and toward God. A person who is repenting is deciding, “From now on I’m going to do my best not to sin, but to honor God by how I live!”

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C) Jesus said that the Ninevites had “repented at the preaching of Jonah” (Matthew 12:41). Read Jonah 3:4-10. What can we learn about repentance from their example?

D) Most people are sorry after they do something wrong (especially if they get caught and punished or embarrassed), but repentance is more than just being sorry (II Corinthians 7:8-10).1) For example, Judas “felt remorse” after betraying Jesus, but he didn’t repent

and decide to start serving Jesus. Tragically, he went out and hanged himself (Matthew 27:3-5).

2) On the other hand, Saul of Tarsus was deeply convicted when he learned he was guilty of sin, and he turned his life around and started serving God (Acts 9:3-6, 11, 18-20). He spent the rest of his life trying to persuade others to do what he had done, preaching “that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance” (Acts 26:20).

IV) Be baptized.A) In the New Testament, the Greek word for “baptism” simply meant to be

immersed or submerged. Jesus commissioned His apostles to go out teaching and baptizing people (Matthew 28:18-20), saying, “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned” (Mark 16:15–16).

B) The apostles began their work in earnest starting in Acts 2: “Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’…So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:38, 41). According to Peter, baptism was “for the forgiveness of your sins.” Peter later learned that Gentiles (non-Jews) are able to be saved through Jesus as well, and he called for the baptism of the Gentile household of Cornelius (Acts 10:47–48).

C) Acts contains numerous examples of baptisms (8:12, 38; 16:15, 33).1) Saul (Paul) was baptized and also became an apostle (9:18, 22:16). Note that

Paul definitely believed in Jesus before he was baptized, as Jesus had miraculously appeared to him (9:3-6), and yet he still had to be baptized to be forgiven of his sins.

2) Twelve men who had only undergone John’s baptism (a baptism administered temporarily by John the Baptist, which was no longer relevant), so he baptized them in the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 19:1-5). There is only “one baptism” in effect today (Ephesians 4:5).

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D) Did any of these passages teach that baptism is a ceremony or public ritual that commemorates salvation which has already occurred (an “outward sign of an inward grace”)?

E) When one has learned the good news about Jesus, believed and confessed their faith in Jesus as the Christ, and truly repented, he/she is ready to be baptized!

F) Baptism is the moment when God washes away one’s sins with the power of Jesus’ blood. It’s no surprise, then, that when people in the Bible learned that their souls were lost, they hurried to get baptized (Acts 2:41, 8:36, 9:18, 16:33), and rejoiced after they were baptized (Acts 8:39, 16:34).

V) Are you ready to be a new person?

What is said about baptism?

Mark 16:16

Acts 2:38

Acts 22:16

Romans 6:3-4

I Corinthians 12:13

Galatians 3:27

Colossians 2:12

I Peter 3:21

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A) Notice the language from Romans 6 again, especially v. 4 (“walk in newness of life”) and v. 6 (“our old self was crucified with Him”). The same truth is taught in Ephesians 4:22-ff and Colossians 3:3-ff.

B) Baptism marks the beginning of one’s life as a Christian. We are to put away our old lifestyle of sin and adopt a new life of righteousness. That means quitting any habits which detract from walking in the light (I John 1:6-7). We’ll probably change our routines (Acts 2:42). Sometimes we may even end or limit relationships with people who draw us away from God (I Corinthians 15:33). Paul implemented a major overhaul of his life but considered it well worth it (Philippians 3:4-11)!

C) Before you are baptized, make sure you understand that you are not only washing away the sins of the past by the blood of Jesus, but you are committing to a life of following Christ in the future. It’s the best decision one can make, but it should not be taken lightly.

D) No Christian is going to live perfectly without sin after baptism (I John 1:8-2:2), but we can repent and pray for forgiveness when we sin (Acts 8:22).

What a blessing! God has sent His Son as the sacrifice for our sins, so that we can glorify Him in our lives and join Him in eternity!

“Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25)

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What does the Bible say…about local churches?

I) The Bible uses the word “church” in more than one sense.A) Before we begin, we can avoid some confusion by noticing that the Bible uses the

word “church” in more than one way.B) The Bible often uses church to refer to all saved people everywhere (Ephesians

5:22-27, Hebrews 12:22-23). This is a universal, catch-all term for all people who are saved in Christ. Therefore, some passages refer to the singularity of Christ’s church/body:1) Ephesians 4:4: “There is _____ body…”2) Matthew 16:18: Jesus—“I will build My _________”

C) The other primary use of church refers to those same saved people, but in a local sense. When Christians in the New Testament banded together in a certain location to work and worship as a spiritual team, they were called a “church”—such as “the church of God which is at Corinth (I Corinthians 1:2). This explains why, even though there is only one church in the universal sense, the Bible also speaks of pluralities of (local) churches:1) Acts 16:5: “So the ____________ were being strengthened”2) Romans 16:16: “the ____________ of Christ greet you”

D)

The Bible nowhere describes the universal church as being composed of local churches. It is simply composed of individual Christians. For example, the Ethiopian of Acts 8:25-40 was baptized into the body/church of Christ(I Corinthians 12:13), even though he had not yet joined a local church (Acts 9:26-28). It is still important to join a local church in order to share in the responsibilities and enjoy the benefits as described in this lesson.

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II) In the N.T., local churches assembled to worship God and edify each other.A) The early Christians would gather routinely for spiritual purposes (Acts 2:42,

11:26, 20:7).B) What types of worship do we read about?

1) Colossians 3:16—

2) Acts 12:5, 12—

3) I Corinthians 11:18-34—

4) II Timothy 4:1-5—

5) I Corinthians 16:1-2—

C) Those five acts would not only glorify God, but would serve to build each Christian up in the faith (Hebrews 10:23-25). Read I Corinthians 14:12, 26, and 40. In this chapter, Paul is correcting some things they were doing wrong, including mishandling some miraculous spiritual gifts that are no longer in existence today. But the rest of the example still pertains to us. They were assembling to worship God, and a key part of that was to edify each other.

III) In the N.T., local churches sounded forth the Word.A) I Thessalonians 1:8: “For the _____ ___ ____ _____ has sounded forth from

you…” Active churches in the New Testament were spreading the gospel and leading by example!

B) How had the church in Philippi supported preaching (Philippians 4:15-16)?

C) See also I Corinthians 9:1-18 and II Corinthians 11:7-9.

D) New Testament churches were not offering merchandise to the public. They were simply groups of forgiven sinners saying, “Hey everybody—come see what saved us! It’ll help you too!” Churches today need to stay focused on that mission because God’s Word is the greatest gift that can be shared with others (Romans 1:16, 10:17).

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IV) In the N.T., local churches used resources to care for needy Christians.A) The early churches would pool their money together and use it to help needy

Christians (Acts 2:44-45, 4:32-35, 6:1-3, 11:27-30, Romans 15:25-26, I Corinthians 16:1-3, II Corinthians 8-9, I Timothy 5:3-16).

B) Family members were told to take care of their own before churches stepped in(I Timothy 5:16). But when Christians were truly destitute, churches took care of them.

C) As individuals, Christians are to exercise generosity with their own money as well (Luke 10:30-37, Ephesians 4:28, I Timothy 6:18, James 1:27).

V) In the N.T., local churches appointed men to work as elders and deacons.A) The qualifications for elders are listed in I Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. Elders

are experienced Christians who keep watch over souls and work against false doctrine and temptations. What does I Peter 5:1-3 teach us about the work of elders?

B) See also Acts 14:23, 20:28, Titus 1:9-11, and Hebrews 13:17.C) The New Testament uses three Greek words to refer to those who watch over the

souls in a local church, which are translated into six English words: elder/presbyter, overseer/bishop, and pastor/shepherd. Notice that those three word families are used interchangeably:1) Acts 20:17, 28: “From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of

the church… Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God”

2) I Peter 5:1-2: “Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight…”

D) The qualifications for deacons are listed in I Timothy 3:8-13. The word for deacon just means servant, and even though all of us are to be servants to one another, the fact that there are qualifications for these servants in I Timothy 3 shows that God has a special role of service in mind within local churches. Deacons take care of tasks to keep the church functioning.

E) The Bible also refers to preachers or evangelists (II Timothy 4:5), but preachers are not appointed or described with criteria the way elders and deacons are. (It’s a common inaccuracy today for preachers to be called “pastors.”) Their job is simply to “preach the word.”

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VI) In the N.T., local churches dealt with sin among members.A) Read I Corinthians 5:6-7 and James 5:19-20. Why is important to help each

other with sin?

B) Christians are instructed to help their brethren who fall into sin (Matthew 18:15-17, Galatians 6:1-10). Through expressions of love, teaching, encouraging, and longsuffering, we should be able to help each other repent and pray for forgiveness. However, when people persist in sin, passages such as I Corinthians 5 and II Thessalonians 3 show us how churches were told to deal with these precious souls.

C) Paul rebukes the church in Corinth for failing to deal with a member who was persisting in sin (I Corinthians 5:1-13). He was openly living in sin, but instead of rebuking him and trying to get him to repent, the church was arrogant about it. If this man would not repent, they had no choice but to remove him and let him follow Satan—which is always going to be self-defeating. Hopefully he would see that he’s ruining himself and decide to finally conquer his fleshly appetite, so that his spirit would be saved. Former brothers and sisters in Christ could help hurry him along to that conclusion by no longer pretending everything was okay (compare II Thessalonians 3:6, 10-15). There is a section in the next letter to Corinth that appears to indicate that this man had repented, and the process had worked (II Corinthians 2:6-8)!

It’s important for local churches today to stay within what the New Testament authorizes as their work, as we have just studied (II John 9, Colossians 3:17). When New Testament churches began to fall from the glorious work they were supposed to be doing, they were warned sternly to repent (I Corinthians 5:2, 11:22, Revelation 2:5, 16, 20, 3:3, 19). Quite simply, we should stick to the Bible pattern and glorify God!

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What does the Bible say…about our history & future?

Creation, and People Begin to Sin (Genesis 1-11) God creates the universe in 6 days, including Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, who are the first to sin. When people sin, it causes spiritual death (separation from God—Romans 5:12; Isaiah 59:2). At one point, so many people are so sinful, God destroys the whole world with a global flood, except for righteous Noah and his family of 8 people who repopulate the earth. Sin is the greatest problem for humanity, but God has already planned for a Savior.Scripture Focus: Genesis 1:1. Contrary to the claims of some, science has not disproven the Bible. In fact, the Big Bang and evolutionary theories are facing increasing criticism in the academic world. Investigate the evidence for the historical and scientific truthfulness of the Bible, including these chapters of Genesis. Try ApologeticsPress.org.

Abraham and 3 Promises (Genesis 12-50) God makes 3 promises to this faithful man: “I will make you a great nation” (12:2); “in you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (12:3), and “To your descendants I will give this land” (12:7). The rest of the Bible tells the story of these 3 promises being fulfilled. Abraham fathers Isaac, who fathers Jacob (“Israel”), who fathers 12 sons whose families become the 12 tribes of Israel. One of those

sons, Joseph, brings the family to Egypt.Scripture Focus: Genesis 22:1-18. God gave Abraham one of the most emotional, heart-wrenching commands of all time! What did Abraham’s response demonstrate about his character and faith?

Deliverance from Egypt, Law of Moses, Canaan(Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua)Centuries later, the people have multiplied into a nation (fulfilling God’s “nation” promise), but they are enslaved in Egypt. God appoints Moses

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to lead the people out as God displays His power in the 10 plagues and the crossing of the Red Sea. God leads them to Mt. Sinai (Horeb) where He makes a covenant with the Israelite nation, communicated through Moses. It involves a detailed national law, including the 10 Commandments. The Israelites spend 40 years in the wilderness before Moses dies and Joshua leads them as God helps them conquer the land of Canaan and live there (fulfilling God’s “land” promise).Scripture Focus: God had promised Abraham that he would be the father of “a great nation.” Had that come true (Exodus 1:7, 12:37)?

God had also promised: “to your descendants I will give this land.” Had that come true (Joshua 21:43-45)?

United and Divided Kingdoms (Judges, I & II Samuel, I & II Kings, I & II Chronicles) After centuries of being ruled by judges, the Israelites call for a king. God appoints Saul, then David and Solomon. Each rules for 40 years, so there is a united kingdom for 120 years. David establishes Jerusalem as the capital, Solomon builds a glorious Temple, and much wisdom literature is produced (Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon). Then the kingdom divides into the North (“Israel”) and South (“Judah”). This is a sad period as each kingdom spirals downward in idolatry and sin, despite God’s prophets warning and pleading for repentance. Israel has 20 kings over 200 years, but none are righteous, so God allows them to be conquered by Assyria and taken into captivity. Judah is slightly better: out of 19 kings and 1 queen, a handful are righteous, but they finally reach the end of God’s patience after 350 years and are taken into Babylonian captivity.Scripture Focus: II Kings 17:7-14. Why did God allow His own people to be conquered?

Captivity, Return, and Rebuilding (Ezra, Nehemiah) The land of Israel, including Jerusalem and the Temple, lie in ruins. The people are enslaved in foreign lands. The stories of

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Daniel and Esther illustrate the difficulty of this time period. But God is preparing a restoration, and He allows His people to return and begin serving Him properly again, as well as rebuilding Jerusalem and the Temple under the leadership of men such as Ezra and Nehemiah. This brings the story of the Old Testament to a close, followed by 400 years of silence before the events of the New Testament begin. God had foretold, “I will make a new covenant” and “I will forgive their iniquity” (Jeremiah 31:31, 34). With God, there is always something to

look forward to. Scripture Focus: Ezra 7:10. Ezra was trying to get the nation back on the right path. What three things had he set his heart to do?

Jesus and the Good News! (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) The four gospels tell the story of the Savior leaving Heaven and being born into the body of a human on Earth. He is called the Son of God, Jesus the Christ (“anointed one” or “Messiah”). Jesus performs miracles to prove who He is, and He reveals a new message to the world—that people from all nations will soon be able to unite as God’s saved people under the New Covenant, forgiven by His sacrifice! This will be the culmination of God’s wisdom and love and the ultimate solution to our sin problem. God has fulfilled the final promise to Abraham (Acts 3:25-26). Jesus’ ministry lasts about three years as He teaches and exemplifies the proper attitude and behavior that pleases God, as well as strictly condemning sin and warning of God’s wrath. As a result, His Jewish enemies pressure the Romans to crucify Him. After living a perfectly sinless life, Jesus’ death serves as an unblemished sacrifice for sins, available to all people for all time (I Peter 1:17-19). He is buried, but on the third day He is resurrected, appears to many, and then ascends to Heaven where He reigns as King today.Scripture Focus: John 1:29. What did John the baptist mean by describing Jesus in this way?

The New Covenant Begins (Acts)The book of Acts records about 30 years of events after the death of Jesus. The apostles of Jesus spread the good news about Him (1:8) in Jerusalem (chapters 1-7), in

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the regions of Judea and Samaria (chapters 8-12), and to the remotest part of the earth (chapters 13-28). This begins in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, when thousands of travelers are present in the city to hear Peter and the other apostles teach people that Jesus is Christ and Lord, and that they should all repent and be baptized in His name for the forgiveness of sins (2:38). People who obey the gospel of Christ are referred to as “Christians” (11:26), and collectively as the “church” (5:11). Three apostles (Paul, Peter, and John), and other inspired men (James and Jude) write letters revealing valuable teaching, completing the New Covenant.Scripture Focus: Romans 6:1-23. According to this chapter, what is involved in coming to Christ?

The Judgment Day is coming!There is a day coming when every soul will stand before God and answer “for his deeds in the body, whether good or bad” (II Corinthians 5:10; Romans 14:10-12). Jesus described that day as a gathering of all the nations, “and He will separate them one from another” (Matthew 25:32). Knowing that day is coming, we should prepare ourselves and take advantage of God’s loving forgiveness before it is too late (II Peter 3:3-14).Scripture Focus: I Thessalonians 4:13-5:11. What do we learn about the “day of the Lord” from this passage?

The Bible as a whole tells the story of sin, our greatest problem, and how God worked His plan over thousands of years to bring a Savior to the world. Now we can all unite and obey that Savior so that we can glorify God and go to Heaven in the end!

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Would you like to study more?

More studies are available!The Bible’s Inspiration

Deity: The Father, Son, and Holy SpiritThe True Grace of God

Heaven and Hell…and more!

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