Bible Studies

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31. "A GOOD PLAN:" Jeremiah 29:11 by linzy bruno  
    In the NIV--
    "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."
    
    
32. THE UNIQUENESS OF THE JEWS by linzy bruno  
    "....Christianity, the only true 'religion,' has come through the Jews!....."
    
    
33. "FILTHY RAGS" Isaiah 64:6 by linzy bruno  
    "But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;" (Isaiah 64:6a)
    
    
34. 5 WAYS TO SIDE-STEP PERSONAL INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE by linzy bruno  
    "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you." (John 14:26)
    
    
35. THE UPSIDE TO TROUBLE by linzy bruno  
    "looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2)
    
    
36. My Heart Christ's Home Bible Study by John Owens  
    Designed to accompany popular devotional booklet, My Heart Christ's Home. Scripture references and group discussion questions.
    
    
37. PUNISHMENT VS CONSEQUENCE by linzy bruno  
    ".......Punishment is always a consequence, but consequence isn't always a punishment......"
    
    
38. SACRIFICIAL LIFE by linzy bruno  
    "Has the Lord is great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice." (1Samuel 15:22)
    
    
39. OBEDIENCE OVER LEGALISM by linzy bruno  
    "It should be concerning to us when others appear overly impressed by......."
    
    
40. Behind the Veil of HUman History by ralph jackson  
    We are not alone in the universe. There are millions of other planets out there, but this is the only planet where there is death. Aliens cannot visit our planet because they would be contaminated with our sinfullness. Satan would have us believe we have been visited in the past and he continues to fool us all with his hologram images and some real spacecraft with fallen angels dressed up as big eyed aliens from another planet. Soon is final act of deception will be to come drssed as the hollywood Christ making us all believe he is Jesus. He works stealthfully behind the veil manipulating humanity and creating dissention and wars. His final goal to keep this fallen planet for himslef and get us all to bow to him as a god. Will it happen? No. God is still in control and prophecy will be fulfilled with this world being recreated and repoppulated with sinnless humans who will never die.
    
    
41. STUDY: John's First Epistle, BLAMELESSNESS by linzy bruno  
    "You shall be blameless before the Lord your God." (Deuteronomy 18:13)
    
    
42. JUDGMENT VS DISCERNMENT by linzy bruno  
    "Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." (Proverbs 31:9)
    
    
43. STUDY MATTHEW 11:28-30: The Law of Liberty Part 2 by linzy bruno  
    "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, For I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)
    
    
44. STUDY HEBREWS 6:1-3: The Fundamentals Of Christianity by linzy bruno  
    "Therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and faith toward God, of the doctrines of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits." (Hebrews 6:1-3, kjv)
    
    
45. THE LAW OF LIBERTY: Freedom Study Part 1 by linzy bruno  
    "So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty." (James 2:12)
    
    
46. SEEK HIM, FOR HE IS LORD! by linzy bruno  
    "God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." (1Corinthians 1:9)
    
    
47. Dealing with Offenses by Jon von Ernst  
    Offenses happen. Because even born-again Christians still have a fallen sinful nature (the flesh), and sometimes choose to live according to the flesh instead of according to the Spirit, they do things that are not nice. Whether intentional or not they can cause us pain, discomfort, and sorrow; especially if we see a brother or sister living in sin. It offends us.
    Sometimes we are offended because we look down on others because they are different then ourselves. Perhaps they look different, or they talk different, or they act different. Sometimes when we think more highly of ourselves than we ought to, in our minds we set ourselves up as the gold standard, and we become critical of anyone that does not measure up to what we think we are.
    Maybe we are not as awesome as we think we are. Maybe our perception of things is skewed because of our sins. Perhaps we need to remove the log from our own eye, before we attempt to remove the splinter from our brother?s eye.
    Perhaps we should occasionally look away unto Jesus, viewing Him as our gold standard, and reflect on how far short we come of measuring up to the fullness of God that is in Him. Perhaps the humility that would result from making a regular practice of looking away to Jesus would enable us to look at our brothers and sisters in Christ in a more understanding way, and maybe be a little less critical of them.
    
    Whatever the cause, we have many opportunities to be offended. The important thing is how we react when we are offended.
    
    
48. POOR IN SPIRIT, But RICH in The LORD by linzy bruno  
    "Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:3)
    
    
49. Bowing the Knee by Jon von Ernst  
    Your eternal destiny, as well as your daily living, depends on when you bow the knee and confess Jesus as Lord. As to the time at which you choose to do it, the choice is yours.
    
    You can do it now in this life and enjoy all the blessings that go with being a child of God, both now and throughout eternity, or you can wait and do it at the coming judgment, before the Judgment Seat of Christ.
    
    One thing is certain. Everyone will eventually bow the knee and confess Jesus as Lord. That I can guarantee.
    
    The only question that remains is, ?When will you??
    
    
50. Test Yourself by Jon von Ernst  
    There are certain requirements to gain entrance into the kingdom of heaven. One of these requirements is that we do the will of His Father. Another is that Jesus knows us. It is also clear that doing all manner of great works for the Lord will not be sufficient to qualify us to gain entrance into the kingdom of heaven.
    
    What does it mean to do the will of His Father? Each of us has a choice. We can do what we want, or we can do what someone else wants. If someone of greater authority than ourselves asks us to do something, we can choose to do what they ask, that is obedience; or we can refuse to do what they ask and do what we want, that is rebellion. To do the will of His Father, then, is simply to obey Him.
    You might have been raised as a Christian. You might be a member of a church. You might even be in fulltime Christian ministry. However, Scripture makes it very clear, it does not matter what you have done for the Lord, if His Spirit is not in you, you are not in the faith and you fail the test, you are not a genuine Christian.
    I urge you not to rely on any assurance that any other person has ever given to you that you are a Christian. No one can know your heart, not your parents, not your pastor, not your Sunday-school teacher, or any evangelist. No other person can know for sure if you are saved. Only you and God can know for sure. And remember, God wants you to know. He has provided several ways for you to know for sure. He has even provided a simple test to see if you are indeed in the faith.
    I urge you not to rely on any assurance that any other person has ever given to you that you are a Christian. No one can know your heart, not your parents, not your pastor, not your Sunday-school teacher, or any evangelist. No other person can know for sure if you are saved. Only you and God can know for sure. And remember, God wants you to know. He has provided several ways for you to know for sure. He has even provided a simple test to see if you are indeed in the faith.
    
    
51. The Great White Throne Judgment by Jon von Ernst  
    We can never please God in our own strength, working according to our own understanding and our own wisdom. Only Jesus Christ, by the power of His Spirit that indwells every true believer, can please God. He does this by strengthening us and enabling us to live lives of obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit. If we have the Spirit of Christ, we must allow that Spirit to lead us and empower us to live a life of total submission to Jesus Christ as Lord. Only a life of loving God and loving others as ourselves will please Him. Only these works, done by the equipping and empowering of the indwelling Spirit of Christ, will stand and receive a reward.
    
    How is it with you? Do you have confidence to stand in that inevitable day of the coming judgment at the great white throne?
    
    
52. The Lake of Fire by Jon von Ernst  
    As we have already seen, there are three different Greek words that are translated as ?hell? in the King James Version of the New Testament. The first of these Greek words is ?Hades.?
    
    Hades is a very real place where the souls of the dead are held awaiting final judgment. Hades is a temporary place of torment for the unrighteous, and a temporary place of comfort for the righteous. At the judgment seat, Hades is emptied out and then it is thrown into the lake of fire. Its usefulness has been completed.
    The next word translated as ?hell? is ?Gehenna.? In Mathew 10:28 Jesus used the term Gehenna to refer to the place where God is able to destroy both the body and soul.
    Notice that here Jesus does not talk about the soul being in torment as in Hades. Here Jesus talks about the soul being destroyed, along with the body. In Hades the soul of the unrighteous is tormented after the natural physical body has died. In Gehenna, the soul and the resurrected spiritual body are destroyed.
    
    
    
53. Life After Death by Jon von Ernst  
    Our goal in this study is to determine, from the divinely-inspired words of Scripture, what God has revealed concerning life after death, concerning any judgment that may await us, and concerning how to prepare for that coming judgment. Knowledge is power. An understanding of what, if anything, awaits us after we die will help to equip us to be prepared for it.
    
    With this knowledge, this understanding of what awaits us after death, we will be given the opportunity to be prepared for the coming judgment and to confront it with boldness and confidence. This coming judgment need not be a time of fear and dread. In this study, we shall see that if we are properly prepared, this coming judgment will be a time of rejoicing!
    
    
54. Come Out of Her My People by Jon von Ernst  
    We need to be encouraged by this, knowing that God wants us to understand the mystery. In fact, to be obedient to Him, we must understand this mystery.
    
    In verses 8-18, the angel explains the meaning of each of these things. The seven heads are seven mountains. These mountains represent seven kings. The beast was one of these seven, and is not, and will be the eighth, and will go into destruction. The ten horns are ten kings that will receive power for one hour with the beast. These ten kings will hate the woman and attack her and destroy her because God will put it in their heart to do it. Then the ten kings will give their authority to the beast until the words of God should be fulfilled. The woman is that great city or community that rules over the kings of the earth.
    This is a community that has ruled over the kings of the earth throughout the ages. Yet, in the last days this community will be destroyed by the ten kings, who will give their authority over to the beast. Identifying this community is essential, because if we cannot identify it, we cannot come out of it, as God has commanded us to do.
    
    In solving a mystery, the trick is to discern between the clues that lead to a proper conclusion based on the facts, and those that simply distract our focus from our objective. Remember, our objective is to determine the identity of the woman who has been referred to as ?Babylon the Great? and the community that she represents.
    
    
55. The Antichrists by Jon von Ernst  
    Certain persons had crept in unnoticed into the fellowship of the believers, denying the Lordship of our Master and Lord, Jesus Christ, setting themselves up above and apart from the other believers, in the place reserved for Christ alone. Jude charges the believers to withstand them openly. The brothers were urged to do battle with them publicly and not to sit idly by and allow these persons to steal away the faith once delivered to the saints.
    
    In verse 11 Jude refers to these people as having ?gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.? The ?way of Cain? refers to Genesis chapter 4 where Cain attempts to worship God in his own way, disregarding the way that God had set forth. These false teachers set up their own form of worship, focused on the leadership of man, rather than the Lordship of Christ.
    These are the ones that despise God?s authority, Jesus Christ, the head of the body. They are willing to divide the body of Christ, so they might have their own little kingdom to rule over. Their desire for power is so great that they care more for that, than for the oneness of the body for which Christ died.
    
    These false teachers, that Jude urges the brothers to contend with, are those that have crept into the church unnoticed. They have turned the grace of God into an opportunity to fulfill the lusts of the flesh, lusting after position, honor, money, and power. They speak arrogantly, flattering people, in order to gain an advantage over them. They are willing to do anything in order to have a little kingdom of their own, even to the destruction of the body of Christ.
    
    
56. Counterfeit Churches by Jon von Ernst  
    Throughout His time on earth, Jesus continually taught His disciples. One of the lessons He stressed to them repeatedly was that of His unique place as head of the assembly, the church. He stressed that no one should exalt themselves over any other person in the church.
    This is why these Christians, assembling together as the true church, tolerate no person usurping the headship that is reserved only for the Lord, Jesus the Christ. Jesus said in Matthew 18:20: ?Where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there among them.? Christ leads during the assembly, and the believers follow. This body, thus, is living and vibrant, every member ministering one to another, freely giving and freely receiving from one another, as their Lord, Jesus, has freely given to them.
    
    By this ministering of every member, this prophesying, this speaking the truth to one another in love, the body is built up, edified, made strong in the strength of the Lord by that which every joint supplies (1 Corinthians 14:26-33). Ephesians 4:15-16 says, ?Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.? This is the church as seen in the Bible.
    
    Some organizations that call themselves churches are really just a part of the world system. They are a part of the world's religious system of ceremonial worship. If they claim Christ as head, but in reality their head is man himself, they are counterfeit churches. If they are devoid of the Spirit of God, but are full of the spirit of this world, they are counterfeit churches. If they only give lip service to the Scriptures, but embrace the philosophy and doctrines of men, they are counterfeit churches.
    
    
57. Trusting the Holy Spirit by Jon von Ernst  
    The Holy Spirit which indwells every truly born-again believer will lead us to glorify God and to build up the body of Christ. In short, the Holy Spirit will lead us to love God and to love the brothers.
    God has given us His Holy Spirit to equip us and to empower us to live holy lives in obedience to Him. His desire is that we would be holy as He is holy. His expectation is for every believer to walk as Jesus walked, in full and complete obedience to the will of the Father (I John 2:6). Peter tells us that God has given us everything necessary for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).
    
    1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 exhorts us to walk in a way that is pleasing to God. He commands each believer to possess their own vessel in sanctification and honor, and not in lustful passions like those that do not know God. This is God?s will for us, our sanctification, that we would be holy as He is holy. The salvation process that God is working out in the believer?s life is being accomplished through sanctification by the Holy Spirit (2 Thessalonians 2:13).
    
    In every aspect of our lives, God expects us to be holy, set apart for Him, for His glory. God is glorified when we walk in humble obedience to Him whether we are at home, at school, or at work. When we are led by the Holy Spirit, we are holy.
    
    
58. The Unity of the Spirit by Jon von Ernst  
    As believers, we do not need to try to become one body. We do not need to try to create a unity or oneness within the body of Christ. If we have been born of the Spirit, and the Spirit of Christ dwells in us, then we already have been given this unity. We only need to be concerned about keeping it, not about creating it. It is the Spirit that has made us one in Christ.
    It becomes apparent that the way to keep the unity of the Spirit is to be led by the Spirit. All of the things that make for peace with God and with others are provided to us richly in the Spirit. All of these things, love, peace, forbearance, gentleness, humility, patience, produce an environment that enables us to be at peace. When we are walking by the Spirit, we will be making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit. In fact, we can only keep the unity of the Spirit by walking in the Spirit.
    
    It is the flesh that seeks to destroy this unity. Whenever we cease to be led by the Spirit, and begin to walk according to the flesh, this unity is damaged. Galatians 5:19-21 states: ?Now the deeds of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit God?s Kingdom.?
    
    The works of the flesh produce the very picture of the lack of peace: hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, and orgies. This is what is produced in our lives when we are not being led by the Spirit. Galatians 5:16-18 promises: ?walk by the Spirit, and you won?t fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law? (WEB).
    
    The flesh and the Spirit are contrary to each other. You cannot be led by the Spirit and gratify the desires of the flesh at the same time. You will either be walking by the Spirit and manifest the fruit of the Spirit, or you will be walking by the flesh and manifest the works of the flesh in your life. The flesh and the Spirit are mutually exclusive.
    If you believe that you are walking by the Spirit, all you need to do is to take account of what is being produced in your life. Sit down and honestly take account of your actions, your words, and your thoughts. Consider what fruit is being produced in your life. Is it adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, and orgies, or is it love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control?
    
    
59. God's Eternal Purpose in Christ by Jon von Ernst  
    This is something that every believer, Jew and Gentile alike, needs to be keenly aware of. Jesus accomplished God?s eternal purpose on the cross by making the two groups into one new man in Himself. God?s eternal purpose is to have one body, prepared as a bride, without spot or wrinkle. It is for this bride that Christ is returning. God?s eternal purpose is that of a loving father longing to have a spotless bride to present to His son. This is the ultimate expression of God?s love.
    In Christ, we are all one. It is in this oneness that we are both reconciled to God. We are reconciled to God in one body through the cross. It is through the cross that this hostility has been put to death. When we died with Christ, the hostility between believers according to our flesh died also. It is by the death of this hostility that we are made one in Christ, resulting in peace.
    
    When we see the necessity of this oneness between the Jewish believers and the Gentile believers for the accomplishment of God?s eternal purpose, it is very troubling to hear so-called believers teach that there is a difference between the Jews and the Gentiles. Some teach that there are different rewards, different manifestations of the kingdom. Some teach that some Scriptures apply only to the Jews and that some Scriptures apply only to the Gentiles. Some have even divided the body based on whether the believer is by natural birth a Jew or a Gentile.
    
    Perhaps they teach these destructive, divisive things because, being devoid of the Spirit, they can only see things according to the flesh. Having no understanding of spiritual things, they cannot understand the mysteries hidden for ages of God?s eternal purpose in Christ. They see things according to physical descent and not according to faith.
    
    
60. Love and Forgiveness by Jon von Ernst  
    There are some, who claim to be Christians, who believe you must forgive anyone for anything they do to you, whether or not they repent. However, we must not cheapen forgiveness. That would be the same as saying that because Jesus died for the sins of the world, everyone?s sins are forgiven. We know from the Scriptures above that this is not true. Only those that have repented and believed in Jesus have forgiveness of sins.
    
    Paul demonstrates the importance of not forgiving someone that has not seen the error of their way and has not repented. In 1 Corinthians 5:9-11, Paul instructs the believers concerning an unrepentant sinful brother.
    
    The idea of not even associating with a so-called believer that is living in sin is intended to bring about in that person a godly sorrow that leads to repentance. The sinning brother will thereby be encouraged to examine his behavior anew, and then, seeing the error of his way, he will be brought to godly sorrow and repentance.
    
    The desire is that through this difficult and unpleasant way of dealing with a sinful brother, two things will be accomplished. One is that the brother will be restored to the Lord and to fellowship with all believers as soon as he repents.
    
    The second and even more important purpose is to preserve the purity of the assembly. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5:6, ?Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?? And in verse thirteen he says, ?Put away the wicked man from among yourselves? (WEB).
    
    By failing to understand the basic principles of forgiveness, we jeopardize the eventual well-being of the sinning brother, and we compromise the purity of the assembly and the testimony of the Lord. Also, when we choose to do things according to our own understanding and not according to God?s way and God?s word, we are in rebellion and are jeopardizing our own relationship with the Lord and with His people.
    
    

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