How Should I Study The Bible?

Q How Should I study the Bible?

A. The first priority of all believers should be to know God in person. Let us use 1Timothy 3:16 as a basis for this. “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

With this as our objective, we should then proceed to read the bible with the goal of discovering and knowing God. Its not a book where you should read from beginning to end rather its a revelation of Jesus the God man. The Old Testament reveals him in the lives of the prophets and what he said to them. The New Testament reveals God in the flesh and his name Jesus. The Old Testament reveals him coming or appearing to the prophets and others. In the New Testament he is revealed in the flesh as the SAVIOR. Where in Genesis he is revealed as Creator. Its in the understanding of the God/man that the bible becomes most interesting.

Will the bible show us how to become Christians? My answer No! It will show us God and how to be a follower of Jesus. Don’t confuse Christianity with those who followed Jesus. Today’s Christianity is totally unlike the Jesus or the Bible. You don’t want religion, you want truth and truth is a person called Jesus!

To discover the church read Acts
To discover The God who became man read John
To discover why we should be saved read The Gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
To discover How to be saved read ACTS
To discover how to stay saved read the Epistles. Paul’s letters to the New Testament church
To discover how God is “one” read Isaiah chapters 44-47.
To discover JESUS read the law and the prophets yes the law and the prophets

Here's why..

You may know Jesus as a Son but do you know him as your GOD?... the disciples didn't recognize him when he appeared to them after the resurrection. yet they had spend years with him prior to this... How come?

And they said one to another, didn’t our Hearts burn within us while he talked to us by the way…   and beginning with Moses and all the prophets he explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself (Read Luke 24:13-43).


The disciples walking to Emmaeus, Jesus drew near and walked with them. They took him to be a stranger and asked if he knew anything of the events that had taken place, the crucifixion of Jesus.  Friend, are you reading God's word and don't know Jesus as your God? Are you walking with Jesus yet don’t know who he is? Until we see him as the God of the Old and the Lord of the New we cannot really say we’ve “walked with him!” Do you desire to have a burning heart? Then take a walk through the old and new and see the one God of both.

Jesus what a God God what a man available from Amazon for your desktop and kindle device
available on Paul's page on Amazon here

Death Bed Conversion

1. Is there such a thing as death bed conversion. by that I mean a man can say a prayer and ask Jesus into his heart and go to heaven.
   
2. A. There is no example of anyone being called “saved” through a death bed conversion in the bible. The thief on the cross was told by Jesus that he would be in paradise that day. The thief on the cross was the other side of Calvary and therefore under the Old Covenant where folks were saved or had a righteousness according to faith. Abraham you remember was made righteous because of his faith.

Paul tells us about this in Romans 10:4 where Christ is the end of the law of righteousness to every one that believeth. He then goes on to tell us of the righteousness that is given us by Christ by faith (v4). Baptism has an essential part in this, where even Jesus himself was baptized to “fulfill all righteousness” and told us that we had to too (Matt 3:15) “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark16:16).

The new birth where a man has to be “born of water and Spirit” is for all this side of Calvary. (John 3:5) Salvation is through Jesus and his Way. The way of salvation as we know it first given by Jesus then taught by the apostles.

There can be no resurrection without the Spirit. How can the dead arise without the Holy Ghost? The Body without the Spirit can not live again neither can it be resurrected.

Man may be alive but he is dead in trespasses and sins and as a dead man (without God) it is impossible for him to rise again. Only those who have the spirit of life will be alive “in” Christ Jesus.
Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.… (1 Cor 13:12-14).

But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his (Romans 8:9).
And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. (v10)

But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you (v11)
Could a man live like the devil and say a prayer of repentance and be born again at his deathbed? Really! Would not that make the words of Jesus of no avail!

Should we not stick to things that are written?

A man must be born of water and Spirit. (John 3:5 Acts 2:38 Acts 10:44-47). I wouldn’t want to take the chance with my eternity. Would you! I wouldn’t want to be live a lie. Would you?