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January 24 Bible Study

Mid Week Bible Study- Adapted from "Life Principles from the Prophets of the Old Testament"

Samuel

- Read Judges 21:25
What was the Spiritual Climate around the time of Samuel’s birth?
What is the Spiritual Climate in our time?
-Become familiar with the events that surrounded the birth of Samuel by reading 1 Samuel 1-2
How did Samuel’s mother handle her sorrow of not having a child? 1 Samuel 1:9-18
Contrast the home of Samuel with the climate around the tabernacle- 1 Samuel 2:12-16
Look closely at the actions and attitudes of Samuel in 1 Samuel 2:11, 18-21, 26
- The Place that God’s Word played in Samuel’s life
Become familiar with 1 Samuel 3
What do you think that it means that the Word of the Lord was rare in those days? (1 Samuel 3:1b)
What life lessons can we learn from the call of Samuel in 1 Samuel 1:1-10, 15-20?
Samuels’s faithfulness is seen in 3:19. The Lord was with him and let none of his words fail.
Read 1 Samuel 3:21- 4:1
What was the result of Samuel’s faithfulness?
What hope does that give us for today?
- Samuel helped teach the people that knowing the Word of God meant they needed to follow the will of God
Become familiar with 1 Samuel 4:1-10, 7:1-12
In 1 Samuel 4:11-6:21 we read that pestilence and trouble plagued the Philistines because they had captured the ark of the Lord.
Why is that in 1 Samuel 4:1 we read that the word of the Lord came to Israel and yet a few verses later Israel was defeated and the ark captured?
What is the message Samuel gave to the people in 1 Samuel 7:4?
- Following the will of Lord the way that God desires
Become familiar with 1 Samuel 8:4-22; 10:2-8; 13:8-14; 15-16:13
The people of Israel decided that they wanted to have a king. Samuel’s boys did not follow the Lord and the people decided that they wanted a king to rule them like the other nations. The Lord instructs Samuel to listen to their desires and appoint a king. The first king in Israel was Saul.
Although Samuel felt the people had rejected him notice his heart for them in 1 Samuel 12:22-23.
After Saul was anointed king Samuel gave him instructions from the Lord. He was supposed to go to Gilgal and wait for Samuel. When Samuel arrived he would offer burnt offerings and peace offerings and give Saul further instructions from the Lord.
What did Saul do (1 Samuel 13:8-14) and what were the consequences of his actions?
What central truth did God teach Samuel in the events of anointing David as king (1 Samuel 16:1-13)?
- The example of Samuel in following God
What did you learn from the life of Samuel that you could apply to your life in following God?

Weekly Devotional Subject: Prayer
Weekly Devotional Text: 1 Thessalonians 5:17 “pray without ceasing;”
Weekly Devotional Thought: Our understanding of prayer will greatly influence how we understand this passage and how viable it truly is in our lives. If we view prayer as simply a religious duty we will fail to reap the benefits of this passage. As a religious duty some see prayer as a reciting of the Lord’s Prayer; asking God to do something in their lives; listening to another read a well articulated prayer! Prayer is NOT a religious duty; it is an awesome opportunity for the believer to fellowship with their Creator. Prayer is our means of communication with the Great & Awesome God! It is our means of fellowship with God! Bringing our needs to the Father in the name of Jesus is just the tip of the iceberg to all that God intends prayer to be! As we come we see prayer as a blessing to have fellowship with the Triune God (Revelation 3:20 & 2 Corinthians 13:14). We begin to see how exciting & relevant praying without ceasing really is. Prayer becomes a 24/7 privilege to talk with the Lord, listen to the Lord and allow the Spirit of God to take the things of God & reveal them to His precious children (1 Corinthians 2:10-13).
A few thoughts to ponder:
- How often do I converse with the Lord throughout the day!
- What is my view of prayer?
- How can I make prayer a regular habit in my thought life?
- How can I keep prayer a regular habit in my life?


For more on how to Develop a Biblical Prayer Life see Pastor.
Free Book Available & Possibility to set up personal Bible study through book if interested.

Weekly Devotional Subject: Voice of Hope
Weekly Devotional Text: Ephesians 2:11-13 “Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by the so-called Circumcision, {which is} performed in the flesh by human hands-- {remember} that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
Weekly Devotional Thought:
This passage reminds us what a great hope that we have been given! We were once without hope. Without hope because we were without God! So now our hope is grounded in our relationship with the living God because of the blood of Christ through the fellowship of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14). Not only is this hope that we have been given a source of overflowing joy, but we are the voice of hope to the world! We are the voice of hope crying in the wilderness! We are the voice of hope pleading with a world that does not know Christ!
A great question would be how can we have a continual overflowing hope? Our hope within is linked with our passion to be this voice of hope to others. As we follow the Lord’s desire to be His ambassador (2 Corinthians 5:20) our hope is increased! Our hope is strengthened! And as a result our hope will not be silenced! It has been my experience that the most joyous & hope filled experiences as a believer have been the times I am the most active in being a voice of hope. In short we can say that we have been given a great hope and we are the voice of hope!
Meditative thoughts to take with you this week:
- Thank God for the hope that is ours because of His Son!
- Meditate on why you can have such hope in Christ!
- Ask the Lord to show you how often throughout the day you are filled with hope!
- Ask the Lord to reveal the people around you that are without hope!
- How can you help those around you to find hope in Christ!

The Role of Conviction in Salvation

Galatians 3:23 says "But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed."
In preparing for a weekly Men's Bible study I was contemplating how we were kept under custody as well as the role of the law in being our tutor to lead us to Christ. One of the things that became apparent in this time of study was that the law kept us in custody or condemned us that we might be saved. Sounds strange, but it works like this: the law shines a flood light on our sinfulness and contrasts that with God’s holiness. The contrast shows our complete helplessness and poverty in spiritual matters (morally bankrupt) and shuts out every avenue of justification by our own goodness, effort or obedience to the law. That leaves us in a place where our conviction of sin then points to the only One able to save. The only One able to give true freedom. "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! " Romans 11:33
God is great! He brings conviction through the work of the Holy Spirit that shows us His great love for us in providing the very thing that we had no hope of attaining.

A few weeks ago I sent out an e-mail to prayer partners about a discussion I had with an individual that heard another Pastor say that it was not important to remember the event of our salvation. I took exception to that. I believe it is absolutely essential to know when we came to Christ. We may not remember the exact date, time etc. But we need to remember the event. We need to remember a time we came under conviction and turned (repented) from our sin. As Jesus said, except you repent you will perish.
I did receive a few e-mails back from brothers in Christ questioning my understanding. It was good to be challenged and I am thankful for their questions, although in the end we are at different areas in our understanding of salvation.
One of my questions for those that would say I have always been a Christian or I do not remember a time that I did not love Christ would be where is conviction in your salvation? If a person has always loved Christ, then at what point in their life did they humble themselves and place thier life in the hands of thier Saviour?
My understanding of conviction and repentance leads me to this strong believe that we cannot just say I have always been a Christian or I do not remember a time that I did not love Christ.
Conviction of sin is vital to our salvation! Although people respond differently to conviction (some more emotional then others), conviction of sin that leads to faith in Christ is an essential element of the Holy Spirit's work of salvation in our lives.

So this leads to any comments you may have about what role conviction plays in salvation?

Below is an abbreviated version of a message that will be preached on Sunday evening October 8, 2006. Some things have been changed and questions asked for thought provoking discussion. Feel free to answer any question or comment in general.
The Sufficiency of Christ, Part Two
Colossians 2:13-15
“When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” NASB
As we look at this passage let us remember that Paul is writing Colossians because of a threat that to the sufficiency of Christ.
Two important phrases listed in Verse 13. We were dead! God made us alive in Christ. From a spiritual standpoint without Christ we have no life. Without Christ we are spiritually bankrupt. I like the term spiritually bankrupt. Imagine a huge bank has been built. It is the most beautiful building in town. Everything looks great. You go to see about opening an account and to your surprise you find out that the bank has no money. They are essentially bankrupt. You have driven by this bank numerous times and thought now they know how to do business. Only to go in and find out they have nothing. We can have everything going for us, money, health, fit all those things and yet inside still be spiritually bankrupt. Still have nothing from a spiritual standpoint. This is a good reminder to remember that we have life in Christ. God made us alive in Him. Spiritually we have been raised from the dead and given a new life.
If we have spiritual life in Christ that is a big blow to those that were trying to say that Christ alone is not sufficient. But praise God Christ alone is sufficient. Two things that we notice from this text about the life that God gives us. 1. It is a shared life with Christ. Do you notice that the text says that we were made alive together with Him? The great thing about God is that when we come to Christ He sees in us what is true in Jesus. Jesus died and was brought back to life. As believers we died and were given new life. 2. This new life has nothing to do with the past. Do you see the awesome teaching? We were dead, but now we are alive. Our life in the past is exactly that. In the past! Sometimes people allow their past to keep coming back to haunt them, to control them, to depress them. Past sins and failures should have no bearing on our present and future relationship with Christ. He doesn’t remember them; therefore we should put them behind us. Dwelling on past sins and mistakes that have been washed in the blood of Christ has only one purpose: to hinder our walk with Christ. It is a tool of the world, flesh and the devil to keep us from growing in Christ. In Christ we have a new life. The old life is gone. All things have become new.
Question: What does that mean for your personal life that in Christ you have a shared life with Him and that this new life has nothing to do with the past? For further study look up Galatians 2:20 & 2 Corinthians 5:17
This life in Christ is radical, it is awesome, it is great, and as we go through this text we also see that this life brings with it freedom.
We could spend a lot time celebrating the truth of Verse 13 and 14. You notice that first it mentions that we have been forgiven of our sins. Part of being made alive means that we have been forgiven. Our sins are no longer a barrier to fellowship with God. With that forgiveness we have been given freedom. We needed freedom because of our bondage to sin and the law. As Galatians 3:13 says “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us--for it is written, CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE.” Do you notice the terminology in which we were forgiven and set free? He took away the certificate of debt, which had decrees against us and was hostile against us. What this means is that the law has a rightful claim over us. In order for the law not to be a barrier we have to be obedient in every aspect of the law. Since we are not the law is against us, we have violated God’s holy law and therefore cannot be in fellowship with Him. But all that is taken care of in Christ. Or as the text says it was taken out of the way.
The text says here that our sins were nailed to the cross. They were not just taken out of the way, but they were nailed to the cross. Here is the great picture for us. An ancient way of canceling a debt was to strike a nail though the writing. Wow! What a great picture for us! Christ took the law, our offences that were keeping us from fellowship with God and drove a nail through it signifying that our sin debt was canceled. It was forever nailed to the cross. The pictures in the Bible of what Christ has done with our sins are absolutely fantastic. He plunged them to the bottom of the sea. He removed them as far as the east is from the west. He nailed them to His cross. As I said this forgiveness brings freedom from the law; freedom from the bondage of the law.
Question: What does freedom in Christ really mean?
So we have been given life and we have been set free. What else? Jesus also gives us victory.
What we have seen so far is that Jesus has dealt with sin and the law on the cross. Sin is forgiven and we are free. That is great and our sufficiency in Christ is complete as now we will see that Jesus also dealt with Satan at Calvary as well. This passage shows us three great victories on the cross for Jesus over the devil. 1. He Disarmed! You notice the Bible says that Jesus disarmed the rulers and the authorities. This would be the rulers and authorities from a spiritual perspective. The Bible mentions Satan as the ruler of this world and Jesus mentioned before the crucifixion that the prince of this world will be cast out. The idea of disarming carried with it the idea of stripping off. At the cross Jesus stripped Satan and his army from any weapons and power that they had. That is a great victory for God’s people. Satan has been defeated, disarmed and has no power to control our lives, unless of course we give him that power.
2. He Exposed! The enemy has been exposed for the person that he really is. He has been exposed for his deceitfulness and vileness. Along this lines of exposing we can also see that by exposing him for who he really is Jesus has brought open shame and ridicule to the devil. This will tie in with our next point, but I picture Jesus not only disarming and exposing the devil, but dragging him through the streets so to speak in a victory parade to show everyone that he has been defeated. 3. He Triumphed! In the Roman Empire when a general won a great victory in another country he would return with prisoners, spoil and sometimes if the leader was still alive he would bring him back. If this victory was a complete victory, the general killed at least 5,000 people and won new territory for the emperor then he was entitled to a parade. This victorious parade was known as the Roman Triumph. You notice that Paul mentions that God triumphed over them through Christ. Look at this other passage in 2 Corinthians 2:14 “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.”
Question: What are some responses as believers that we can have because of what Jesus did at the cross?

Thomas Allen Dollar

Here is a picture of Thomas Allen Dollar.

Thomas was born early Friday morning, September 29, at 3:24 AM. He was 8 lbs 12oz and 20 inches long.

Thomas and mommy are doing fine and the girls are really excited about their new baby brother.

Galatians 1:6-10

A few brief comments about this passage before we answer some questions about the text.

The Apostle Paul typically enters into a time of praise and thanksgiving, but the seriousness of the matter and his amazement lead him to jump right in and address the issue. They were in danger of a complete abandonment of the faith. This is not like moving from one church to another that may have some differences in doctrine. It was a wholesale deserting of the Gospel they had come to believe in. For us today the Gospel must be evaluated- not by human standards, but the Word of God
Here is the seriousness of this passage: If the Gospel Paul preached (the gospel we have recorded in the Bible) is true then the glory of Christ and the salvation of people are at stake. The thing is that if people are taught a false Gospel they are being led away from the one thing that can save them to something that will destroy them.

Galatians 1:6-10
“I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is {really} not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.”
Answer the following Questions:
What does this passage say?
About what Paul’s amazement? Vv. 6
About what the false teachers were doing? Vv. 7
About the warning against perverting the Gospel? Vv. 8-9
About Paul’s motivation? Vv. 10
How can meaning of this passage apply to my life?
What are some ways that we can help guard against deserting the Gospel?
What do you not understand about this passage?
What phrase or sentence from this passage would you like to think about this week?

The Sufficiency of Christ, Part One Colossians 2:11-12
Below is an abbreviated version of a message preached on Sunday September 24, 2006. Some things have been changed and questions asked for thought provoking discussion. Feel free to answer any question or comment in general.
“and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.” NASB

One of the threats that led to Paul writing Colossians was an issue with the sufficiency of Christ. Was Christ alone sufficient for salvation or was something else needed.

Circumcision in the Old Testament was a sign of God’s covenant with His people. On several occasions God instructed the people to circumcise their hearts. Two of these instances are in Deuteronomy 10:16 “So circumcise your heart, and stiffen your neck no longer.” and Deuteronomy 30:6 “Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.”
In the New Testament we see the reality symbolized by the Old Testament symbol. This spiritual circumcision in Christ is described as a removal of a person’s sinful nature. Other translations say putting off. The idea of putting off is one of discarding. Stripping off and casting away. Here is a good picture of what takes place. Imagine yourself getting caught in the rain and mud. Unfortunately it is slippery and you fall several times. You are just covered in mud. Every inch of your clothing is covered. What would you do? As soon as you got home you strip those clothes off and cast them away, in the dirty clothes. That is the picture of Spiritual circumcision. It is a casting off of that part of our nature that is sinful. By casting off our sinful nature it is rendered inoperative. Our sinful nature is rendered inoperative and we are given a new nature with the power and presence of the Holy Spirit to help us pursue a growing relationship with Christ.
Question: What are some struggles that you have in growing in Christ? What have you found helpful in growing in Christ?

As you go through verse 12 it mentions the word baptism. In the New Testament the word baptism has a literal and figurative meaning. The literal is more a picture of the figurative. The figurative meaning is that in baptism we are identified with Christ. This baptism takes place at the time of conversion and elsewhere it is mentioned as the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is a one time act at the time we place our faith and trust in Christ. A good passage of Scripture that shows this more clearly is 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 “For even as the body is one and {yet} has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” The Holy Spirit places us in the body of Christ and we are identified with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection.
Our spiritual baptism is explained in more detail in Romans 6:4-11 “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with {Him} in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be {in the likeness} of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with {Him,} in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
Question: What are some blessings associated with our identification with Christ in spiritual baptism?

There are two important words at the end of verse 12. All this takes place through faith. Faith! Nothing else, nothing more, simple faith. Faith is simple, but it is life changing. This faith of course is in Christ alone. We come to Him and trust in His work on the cross, His substitutionary death as the payment for our sins. We accept it by faith. We receive it by faith. God accomplished everything for us and He now says come and receive what I have done for you! Another great thing is that God even goes a step further. God draws us to the cross. When a person is searching, hungering and longing in their heart for something else, many times it is the Holy Spirit drawing them to Christ.
Just briefly we can see why Christ alone is sufficient. Our spiritual circumcision & spiritual baptism received by faith does not need anything else added to it.
Question: How can be more sensitive to those around us that maybe God is working on?

A moment ago I mentioned that baptism was both something that was literal and figurative. Let’s talk for a moment about the literal understanding and practice of baptism. Baptism is not a special rite that becomes a means for our salvation. Our personal relationship with Christ is based on our response of faith in what He has already done. So baptism does not save a person. A person should not and cannot trust in anything but faith alone. The mode for baptism that we believe in is believer’s baptism by immersion. Believer’s baptism means that it is important for a person to be baptized after they have made a decision to follow Christ. So we do not believe that it is the biblical model to baptize infants because they are not at a place where they can make a decision to follow Christ. We believe also that this baptism needs to be by immersion. That means a person needs to be completely submerged in the water.
Five reasons why we practice believer’s baptism by immersion: 1. Every NT command and instance is preceded by faith. The book of Acts is a great place to see this. Baptism always takes place after a person responds in faith. 2. No explicit instance of infant baptism in NT. 3. The word baptism means literally to immerse. When a person in the first century was reading the book of Acts, specifically in Acts 2:41 they would have understood it this way: “So then those who had received his word were immersed in water.” 4. It was the mode that Jesus was baptized. 5. It best represents our faith in Christ! We have died with Christ, were buried and raised to walk with a new life.
Question: Do you have any questions about believer’s baptism by immersion?

Galatians
Below are some questions about a passage in Galatians? Answer them to on your own or post your thoughts. Feel free to answer any question or comment in general.

Briefly let’s set the background for Galatians. Galatians was written to the churches of Galatia that Paul established on his first missionary journey. Although we do not know that exact time that it was written it is very reasonable to place the date of Galatians after the first missionary journey (Acts 13-14) and before the Jerusalem council in Acts 15.

Paul is addressing an issue that had arisen about the relationship of the Jewish Law (specifically circumcision) and the non Jewish believers. Some Judean Christians had settled in the area and began teaching these new churches that they must be circumcised and follow the law. In essence they wanted them to become culturally Jewish before becoming Christian. Paul rightly saw this as an issue that would destroy the basic tenants of Christianity.

Question to Ponder:
Do we as Christians run the same danger today?

Below is the test to Galatians 1:1-5 (NASB)
“Paul, an apostle (not {sent} from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead), and all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom {be} the glory forevermore. Amen.”

What are your general impressions of this passage?
What does this passage say about Paul?
What does this passage say about God?
What does this passage say about Christ?
How can the meaning of this passage apply to my life?
Is there anything in this passage that you do not understand?
What phrase or sentence from this passage would you like to think about this week?

Maturity is Threatened by Worldviews Colossians 2:8-10

Below is an abbreviated version of a message preached on Sunday September 17, 2006. Some things have been changed and questions asked for thought provoking discussion. Feel free to answer any question or comment in general.
“See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;” NASB

See to it or beware, be on your guard. Take captive literally speaks about being carried off as a captive. They would become slaves to this system. That is the danger in false teaching. That is the danger in the prevailing worldviews that are not according to Christ.
The danger as we can see was becoming captive to a specific philosophy. This is not a condemnation of all philosophy. Paul had a specific philosophy in mind. The literal meaning of philosophy is love of wisdom. So philosophy of and in itself is not bad. But this particular philosophy as you can see from the text had no substance. It was empty deception. I like the way the NIV translates this verse: “through hollow and deceptive philosophy.” This philosophy had nothing of any value on the one hand and it was deceptive on the other. At the foundation of this hallow worldview was human tradition combined with a spiritual element.
At issue was the sufficiency of Christ. Was Christ alone sufficient or did they need to add something else. Of course the answer is that Christ alone is sufficient. Why would someone leave the all sufficient Christ for something vain and something that provided no purpose or real meaning to life? Their danger was similar to the Jews in the days of Jeremiah. In Jeremiah 2:13 we read “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, To hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns That can hold no water.” Obviously none of us would forsake clear, fresh drinking water for a mud puddle! That was the spiritual equivalent if the Colossians forsook Christ for this other worldview.
I think that this verse has significant implications and applications for the body of Christ today.
Question: What worldviews are prevalent today and what dangers do they pose to a Christian worldview?

Some may say what’s the big deal? Is this really something we should think about or even worry about? Here is the thing: Everyone has a worldview. Whether or not we realize it, we all have certain presuppositions and biases that affect the way we view all of life and reality. These presuppositions alter the way we perceive the world around us. A person’s worldview is usually absorbed from the influences around them: education, family, culture etc. A person’s worldview becomes very practical. It guides our decisions and actions.
It is easy to understand that our beliefs will guide our actions, but why can’t Christianity co-exist with these other prevailing worldviews. Paul answers this in a few simple words: It was not “according to Christ.” This new worldview conflicted with the Christ they had believed and been taught. Jesus Christ is the standard by which all doctrine, all beliefs are to be measured. Any system, regardless of its claims, must be rejected if it fails to conform to the revelation God has given us in Christ.
Question: What can Christians do to strengthen their worldview according to Christ?

Verses 9-10 highlight at least two things that reminded them about the sufficiency of Christ. 1. The Deity of Christ! Christ is God! He did not become god, He is not a lesser god, He is God! In Him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form. He is the personal revelation of the Father and the One Mediator between humanity and the Father. 2. The Supremacy of Christ! If Jesus is God, then we must acknowledge the supremacy of Christ. He is the head over all rule and authority. To sum up we could say that God has revealed Himself in the person of His Son Jesus Christ and Christ reigns supreme over His creation.
The future of our mission to share the Good News of Jesus Christ rests in part by our ability as Christians to share our worldview with those around us; showing that Christianity is a viable worldview. A key text or doing this is 1 Peter 3:15 says “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always {being} ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.” We can share the hope we have and show them that Christianity as a worldview is a viable, intelligent and truthful option. Of course a big emphasis in doing this is found at the end of the verse: “with gentleness and reverence.”
Question: What are some ways that Christians can share their worldview with gentleness and reverence?