A Study in the Truths of the Christian Faith

Jon D. Buchholz

NORTHWESTERN PUBLISHING HOUSE Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Basic Bible Christianity

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONALVERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. Allrights reserved worldwide.

All rights reserved. This publication may not be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated, or convertedto any electronic or machine-readable form in whole or in part, except for brief quotations, without priorwritten approval from the publisher.

Northwestern Publishing House1250 N. 113th St., Milwaukee, WI 53226-3284

www.nph.net© 2010 by Northwestern Publishing House

Published 2010Printed in the United States of America

ISBN 978-0-8100-2292-8

Contents

Introduction -------------------------------------------------------- 11v

1. God’s Plan of Salvation ------------------------------------------- 111

2. God Created a Beautiful Universe ------------------------------ 117

3. Why Is the World So Crazy? ------------------------------------- 113

4. How Did Jesus Save the World? -------------------------------- 118

5. The End Is Coming! ----------------------------------------------- 123

6. Why Do We Need the Bible? ------------------------------------- 128

7. God Works Through Holy Baptism ----------------------------- 135

8. God Works Through Holy Communion ------------------------ 142

9. God Gathers His Church----------------------------------------- 149

10. A Conversation With God ---------------------------------------- 155

11. Our Spiritual Heartbeat ------------------------------------------ 164

12. Love the Lord Your God ------------------------------------------ 170

13. Love Your Neighbor—Part 1-------------------------------------- 177

14. Love Your Neighbor—Part 2-------------------------------------- 184

15. Take Good Care---------------------------------------------------- 193

Appendix 1. Good Bible Reasons for Baptizing Infants --------------------- 197

Appendix 2. The Feast of Holy Communion ---------------------------------- 101

Appendix 3. False Teachings About Conversion ----------------------------- 107

Appendix 4. Understanding the Human Will --------------------------------- 109

Appendix 5. Bible Reading and Devotional Resources---------------------- 112

Appendix 6. Time to Talk With God-------------------------------------------- 114

Appendix 7. Identifying and Using Your Talents----------------------------- 117

Appendix 8. Managing God’s Gift of Time ------------------------------------ 119

Appendix 9. Christian Giving --------------------------------------------------- 122

Appendix 10. Managing Your Finances ----------------------------------------- 124

= v =

Introduction

Getting the most out of your studyThere is nothing more powerful in this world than the living and active Word of God.It has the power to change lives, to transform character, and most important, torescue human beings from death and eternal destruction by giving the gift offorgiveness and free salvation through Jesus. You are about to participate in a life-changing experience!

As you participate in this Bible study, you are free to invest as much or as little timeand effort as you desire. But since this is such a special opportunity to study God’sWord, why not begin by asking the Lord to help you commit to faithful attendance,preparation, and study? The following suggestions can help you get the most out ofyour experience with God’s Word:

Be active in discussion and participation. Some people like to read every passageand answer every question—and sometimes it seems they have an opinion on justabout everything. Others are more reserved and thoughtful; they like to contemplatethings and turn them over and over in their minds before they speak. One of thefascinating things about our human experience is that we are all different. We learnand approach things differently. We engage at different levels.

Come to your study eager to learn. Be prepared to share your thoughts. Do youhave a question that you’ve always wondered about? Don’t be afraid to ask! Listenpatiently to others when they speak. This is an opportunity to learn and growtogether as we are taught by God’s Word. It’s not a time for arguments.

Get to know your Bible. As you go through the lessons, you’ll be looking uppassages in your Bible. The Holy Bible is divided into two sections: the OldTestament makes up about the first three-fourths of the Bible; the New Testamentis the remaining one-fourth. The Bible is further divided into books (Genesis,Exodus, etc.), and the books are divided into chapters and verses.

At first, looking up passages may seem intimidating. Don’t worry, your group leaderwill help you find Bible references—and before you know it, with practice you’ll bepaging your way around Scripture very quickly.

Study and work at home. While your group discussions are valuable, there areseveral activities that you’ll want to be sure to complete at home. At the conclusionof each lesson there is a series of exercises to finish. Make the commitment tocomplete your homework faithfully, because each portion of the homework has aspecific purpose and brings a special benefit:

= Search the Scriptures. You’ll study a portion of Scripture on your own andanswer questions directly from the Bible. You’ll be able to answer some of thequestions word-for-word from what you read. Other questions will require somethought.

= Worksheet. The True or False section invites you to evaluate statementsto determine whether they are correct or not. Be attentive, because somequestions require some careful thought! The Questions for Discussion sectionasks you to evaluate questions pertaining to the lesson material. Spend sometime with each question, considering different possible angles and using theScripture references to develop a thoughtful answer. Be prepared to shareyour answers with the group at your next class.

= Scripture memorization. Take God’s Word with you in your heartwherever you are. The practice of committing God’s Word to memorybrings tremendous blessings as you meditate. The best way to memorizea passage is to begin by reading the passage out loud. Repeat it a fewtimes. Use your fingers or a piece of paper to cover up portions of thepassage, and repeat the passage without looking. When you can say thepassage fluently from memory, make sure you also memorize the Scripturereference so that you know where to find it in the Bible. While you’re at it,why not take a moment to look up the passage using the reference you’vememorized so that you can see the passage in its biblical context?

= Books of the Bible memorization. Your group leader will go through thepronunciations of the Bible books with you before the end of each class.When you do your home study, work at memorizing the books in order. Startby saying them out loud. Take them in chunks of three or four books at atime. Say them back to yourself (out loud), and little by little you’ll be able toput the chunks together and say them all in order. To wrap it all up, use yourBible and challenge yourself to find a passage in, say, Romans or Philippians.Jump around among the books you’ve learned, and see how quickly you canfind your way. Have fun learning!

= Daily Bible reading. God’s Word is like refreshing water or food for the soul.It’s wonderful and edifying when we make a steady diet of Scripture part ofour schedule. Included with your weekly homework is a list of severalsections to read from the Bible during the week. Usually there is a list ofthree readings to be read on the first day after class (Day One), the third dayafter class (Day Three), and the fifth day (Day Five). Each reading is usually afew chapters. As you do the supplemental Bible reading, you might comeupon passages that you find difficult to understand. Jot down your

= vi =

questions, bring them to class, and the group leader will discuss them withyou. If you come across Bible passages that you find especially interestingor instructive, take note of them and share your insights with your group atthe next class.

= vii =

Lesson One

God’s Plan of Salvation

Welcome and introductionPlease take a moment and introduce yourself to others in the group. Share yourname and perhaps a word or two about yourself.

Welcome to this Bible study! Our goals over the next several weeks are to becomebetter acquainted with God’s Word, the Bible, and to grow in our relationship withJesus Christ.

This is not intended to be an advanced study of Scripture. Instead, we’ll beconcentrating on the basics. After you complete this study, there will be otheropportunities to continue learning about God and his Word.

Are there any specific personal goals that you would like to achieve by participatingin this study? any general questions you would like answered? any topics you wouldlike to see covered? Please take a moment and write down your thoughts:

Why study the Bible? What’s the point?There are three questions that we human beings must grapple with in our lives:(1) Where did I come from? (2) Why am I here? (3) Where am I going? The Biblegives us the answers to these three questions. First the Bible exposes the problemwe all have as human beings. Then it offers us the solution we need.

Read Romans 5:12. What serious problem do we as human beings face?

__________________________________________________________________________________

Read 2 Corinthians 5:10. What appointment awaits each of us?

__________________________________________________________________________________

Discuss: What is the point of “religion”?

= 1 =

God wants us to be victorious in life and deathIf you were to die tonight and tonight you were to stand before God in judgment,would God receive you into heaven?

I Yes No hope

so

(Circle one)

When God asks you, “Why should I let you into heaven?” what will you respond?

What does God demand from us?Read Matthew 5:48. What does God demand from us? ____________________________

Read Hebrews 12:14. How does God require us to be? ____________________________

Read Luke 10:25-28. How must we love God and our neighbor?

__________________________________________________________________________________

God demands:

+ Perfection

+ Holiness

+ No sin (no imperfection)

=

What does God see in us?Read Romans 3:10-12. What does God see instead of perfection?__________________

Read Revelation 21:8. What is the destiny of all who stand imperfect before God?

__________________________________________________________________________________

God sees:

+ No perfection

+ No holiness

+ Much sin (imperfection)

=

Why can’t we save ourselves?Human religions and philosophies have come up with all kinds of schemes thatpropose to fix the broken relationship with God and humankind. Perhaps you’veheard some of these schemes—or perhaps you’ve used some of them yourself.

= 2 =

What man-made solutions do people offer to deal with the problems of their sin andpending judgment?

God’s solution to our problemGod recognized that we human beings cannot make ourselves right with him, so heearned our salvation for us through Jesus, our substitute.

Read Hebrews 4:15. This passage is talking about Jesus. What was he like?

__________________________________________________________________________________

Read Galatians 4:4,5. Why did God send Jesus into the world? ___________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Read 2 Corinthians 5:21. Use the images below to depict God’s great exchange:

How does God’s solution become ours?Read Mark 1:15. What does Jesus invite us to do? ________________________________

Read 1 Timothy 1:15. This was written by an apostle named Paul. How did he

consider himself? ________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Read Acts 16:30,31. What did the apostles tell the jailer? _________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Read John 3:16-21. What change takes place in believers?________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

In a believer God sees:

+ The perfection of Jesus

+ Sins that have been washed away

=

= 3 =

What blessings come from trusting Christ?Read Ephesians 1:7. In Christ we have __________________________________________ .

Read Galatians 5:22,23. God’s Spirit produces in us _____________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________ .

Has your answer changed from earlier? Are you certain that if you died tonight, youwould go to heaven?

I Yes No hope

so

How would you respond to God’s question, “Why should I let you into heaven?”

For study at homeFind God’s blessings by studying and growing throughout the week!

1. Complete the Search the Scriptures assignment.

2. Complete the Lesson One Worksheet, including the Questionsfor Discussion.

3. Memorizing portions of Scripture lets you take God’s Word with you in yourheart wherever you are and offers tremendous blessings as you meditate.Learn the following passages by heart:

John 3:16—God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, thatwhoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

1 Timothy 1:15—Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.

4. Memorize the following books of the New Testament in order:

Matthew Acts GalatiansMark Romans EphesiansLuke 1 & 2 Corinthians PhilippiansJohn Colossians

5. Read the following selections from Scripture, and be prepared to discussthem with the group. You may have questions you wish to ask, or you maywish to talk about points that you found interesting in the readings.

Day One (the day after our class): Romans chapters 1 and 2Day Three (the third day after our class): Romans chapters 3 and 4Day Five: Romans chapters 5 and 6

= 4 =

Search the ScripturesStudy Romans 3:19-26.

1. What is the world’s relationship with God? (v. 19)_______________________________

2. By “the law” is meant the commandments of God. How is it impossible to bedeclared righteous before God? (v. 20)

______________________________________________________________________________ .

3. To be successful on judgment day we need righteousness, and we’ve seen that

righteousness cannot be achieved by the law. Where does the righteousness we

need come from? (v. 22)________________________________________________________

4. What is the common plight of all human beings? (v. 23)_________________________

5. How does God justify us (declare us “not guilty”)? (v. 24) ________________________

6. Who took our place under God’s punishment? (v. 25) ___________________________

Consider: How did Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross satisfy the requirements of God’sjustice and illustrate his mercy?

Lesson One WorksheetTrue or False

Place a “T” or an “F” in front of each statement to indicate whether it is true or false.

1. ______ God’s justice requires that he punish sin—otherwise, he would not be ajust God.

2. ______ God can forgive the sins of people who have never heard about Jesus,as long as they try to obey him.

3. ______ Without faith, it is impossible to please God.

4. ______ A believer despairs of his or her own righteousness and trusts only therighteousness of Jesus.

5. ______ People who trust in Jesus are holy and perfect in God’s sight.

6. ______ A person who loves and trusts in Jesus wants to obey him.

7. ______ God punished Jesus in our place, so we don’t have to be punished forour sins.

8. ______ Christians who live good lives are less sinful than criminals, prosti-tutes, drug dealers, and dictators.

9. ______ The “good news” of the Bible is that Jesus came to be an example wecan now follow to win eternal life.

10. ______ God takes wicked people and declares them righteous in Christ.

= 5 =

Questions for DiscussionWrite your thoughts about the following questions in the spaces provided. We willdiscuss your answers in class. Please note that the questions can be examined froma number of different angles, so think of possible answers and explore themthoroughly. Use the Scripture references provided.

If I am saved by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and salvation is a free gift from God,then I can do anything I want, trusting that God will always forgive my sins forJesus’ sake. (See Galatians 5:16-18; Romans 6:1-4; John 14:15.)

If only repentance and faith in Jesus are required for eternal life, then even theworst sinners—such as Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, and Jeffrey Dahmer (serial killerand cannibal)—can be saved simply by trusting in Jesus. (See 1 Timothy 1:15;Romans 3:23,24.)

God demands that for us to enter heaven we must be entirely perfect, holy, andwithout sin—yet we know that it is impossible for us to be perfect as God demands.Is God unfair in demanding the impossible of us? (See Psalm 5:4-6; Romans 3:21.)

= 6 =