going to be coming through handing out the green booklets.
If you need a large print version, they have a few of those and just request that of them and they will give that to you.
uh We're going to be going through the Back to the Bible uh material in our sermons over the next few weeks with a portion of each uh lesson being uh
each book, we're going to take a couple of weeks to go through each book just because we recognize the time constraints that we have within the sermon period and the things that
need to be discussed.
Typically, this study is about an hour to an hour and a half long with each booklet, depends on some of the questions that are asked and some of the discussion that is had.
But we're going to go through it.
You're gonna see the slides up on the screen and you'll be able to
fill in your booklet as we go along.
When you're sitting down and studying with someone, just for the sake of the visitors, we're going through and doing some training on how to study the Bible with people
utilizing this material, but just in general.
Helping people to do what most people will never do with them.
Allow them to sit down and open the Bible and read it for themselves.
And so if some of the people in the room have sat down and gone through this study with me, ah if there's two or three people at the table, we'll all take turns reading the
passages.
If it's just me and somebody else and they want to read all of it, I'll let them read all of it.
If they're terribly uncomfortable reading in public, I'll do the reading or even amongst others.
But the fact of the matter is I'm not going to answer any of the questions.
When you sit down and you study with
And when you go through back to the Bible with someone, do not answer the questions.
It's their job.
Because your role is to allow them to open the Bible and read it for themselves.
And to not give them your view, your understanding, your belief, your opinion about what the Bible says.
simply to let them read it for themselves.
We consider this one of the things that I always begin with when I do one of the studies, and now I don't have, up until now, haven't had a fancy survey.
On the evangelism table in the back in the foyer, you'll find these little handouts.
They have a simple survey on the back, and we're gonna begin there because there are some things that I always ask people uh before the study starts.
And for those of you who were here during Rob's training,
you know why, but they usually don't.
But these are the questions that we ask before we get into booklet one.
Number one, do you know God exists, yes or no?
Or you're unsure?
As you go through and they answer this, you're not trying to judge them as to what they think or what they know, you're trying to understand where they are.
Someone calls you up.
And they say, I'm headed to Collierville.
How do I get there?
What's the first question you ask?
Where are you?
Because if you don't know where they are, you can't answer the question of how to get where they want to go.
So this questionnaire is about finding out where they are.
If someone who you're sitting down to study the Bible with does not know for sure that there is a God, don't start with this booklet.
Okay?
There's a different booklet you should start with.
There's other material you should go through, but you should first help them come to an understanding as to why they should believe that there is a God.
Because otherwise, you're asking them, or they're asking you, how do I get to heaven?
And you say, well, let me start you.
And they're like, but I'm not at that point.
How do I get to that point?
Okay?
You've got to begin where they are.
If you sit down with someone and they say, I firmly believe there's a God, I'm just not sure that truth exists, you need to start at a different point.
because you must meet people where they are.
So the first question is, do you know that God exists?
If yes, why?
Just simply an understanding, just picking their brain.
Why do you believe God exists?
Some people will have a solid answer.
Some people will have, well, just always believe that He does.
I look at the world around me and I think there must be a God.
Do you know who the Holy Spirit is?
that you're trying to, through these questions, get an evaluation of what's their knowledge level of the Bible?
What have they heard about?
What do they know about?
What have they read?
Yes, no, unsure.
Don't spend a great deal of time on these.
Just ask the question.
Let them answer it.
Do you believe the Holy Spirit is God?
One of the reasons why this is important in these particular questions, the next one is, do you know who Jesus
is, do you believe Jesus is God?
Even among those individuals who might claim to be Christians by way of how they describe themselves, they may come from a Jehovah's Witness background.
They may come from a Mormonism background where the beliefs about the Holy Spirit and about Jesus are entirely different based upon Mormon doctrine and Jehovah's Witness
doctrine and even other doctrines as well.
And so you may need to begin in a different discussion.
If they say, well, I'm quite certain that Jesus was real and I think he was a prophet, but I don't believe he was God.
Okay?
You're going to begin in a different point.
Do you believe the entire Bible is God's Word?
If you're studying with a Jew, that's going to be a different answer than if you're studying with someone who perhaps comes from a Christian background.
Do you believe the Bible contains contradictions, mistakes, and or false statements?
And if they say, yes, it's okay, just keep studying.
Everything will be okay.
But you want an idea of what's their understanding of the Bible.
Do you believe God will do everything He has stated in His Word?
They may believe that God exists, but how sure are they about what God has said?
And maybe if you go back to some individuals in American history, you might have uh read concerning Thomas Jefferson and his general belief that God existed.
but was pretty much a hands-off God.
It wasn't a God that interacted with the world.
Next question, are you saved?
Yes or no?
Unsure.
If yes, at what point were you saved?
What did you do to become saved?
Those are important questions to get them to answer before the study starts.
Because they already have a firm belief on it.
Find out why.
Find out what they believe.
They may believe that they're not saved and they may be certain as to why.
They may believe that they are saved and they may be certain as to why.
They may be uncertain about all of it.
Find out.
Get them to write it down.
How old were you when you were saved?
If they say, yes, I'm saved, how old were you when you were saved?
Have you been baptized?
Yes, no, or unsure.
How old were you when you were baptized?
Circle the word that best describes your baptism.
Sprinkling, pouring, immersion.
A lot of different doctrines out there concerning baptism and what it is.
If you have been baptized, were you saved before or after baptism?
if you allow people to answer these things for themselves.
and they will tell you the truth.
If you were to die tonight, do you know where you would go for eternity?
And they may answer one way in the top of the chart.
They may get down to this question and answer a different way.
A lot of conviction about whether or not they're saved, not a whole lot of conviction about where they'd go if they died tonight.
Or maybe the other way around.
Either way, you give them an opportunity, fill out the survey.
Having done that.
Depending upon how they answer, do they believe God exists?
Yes.
Do they know who the Holy Spirit is?
Yes.
Do they believe that Jesus is God?
Yes.
Then it's a good time to start.
Back to the Bible, lesson one.
As we go through this, as I mentioned, we're going to read the verses, we're going to answer the questions, and when you sit down and study with someone, that's exactly what
you're going to do.
You are not going to give them a doctoral dissertation on every passage that you come to.
You're not going to explain every passage that you come to.
I do advise, and we'll demonstrate this as we go along, that you help them, especially if they're unfamiliar with the Bible, that you help them understand who's
in a passage where maybe you're jumping into the middle of an event.
So you help them understand who's talking, who they're talking to.
We'll demonstrate that as we go.
The instructions are read the scripture aloud, then answer the questions under the scripture.
These are the sections.
We're only gonna cover the first three in our lesson this morning.
Our authority in religion.
One of the things that you have on the backside of this little booklet that is also on page 60
66 of the evangelism visualized uh book that we have back there that everybody got a copy of during Rob's training.
Page 66 has this chart and it's the map of Revelation.
Not the book of Revelation, the map of Revelation.
How does...
God's revelation come to us today?
And how did God tell us it comes to us?
Because this is important for us to understand.
So we'll go through and highlight those things as we go along.
We're going to begin in John chapter 8 verse 32, and I encourage you, all of you take your Bible out and turn to these passages with me.
We're not going to go so fast that you can't get there.
Don't worry so much about filling out the booklet as we go along.
You can always
do that at home, the answer is right there in the text where we read it.
Okay?
So you're going home with the answers, they're all in here.
All you gotta do is write them out in the paper.
John chapter 8 verse 32.
And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.
So if you were studying with me, here's what I would do.
Now, Jesus is the one talking and he's talking to the Jews.
And he says, and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.
Jesus says blank.
The blank will make you free.
Just write what's in the text.
It's the word truth.
John chapter 4 verse 24.
And I did realize after I said turn in your Bible that all of them are up on the screen, but it's by the way, when you're studying with someone, if you have someone you're
studying with who's very unfamiliar with the layout of the Bible, it's very helpful to have another person with you who will help turn to the passages for them.
And basically have two Bibles, just keep swapping it out to where they don't have to spend a lot of time trying to figure out where that book is, where that chapter is, or how to
navigate the text.
eats up a lot of your time in the study, but it's okay if you do, as long as you're patient and they're patient.
John chapter 4 verse 24, Jesus says to the woman of the well in Samaria, God is a spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Write the answer in the blank.
Jesus tells us we must worship God in spirit and in truth.
John chapter 17, verse 17.
As you go through this first booklet, you're going to find out you're in John a lot.
And there's a reason for that.
John, actually, here in John chapter 17, gives you all the things really that are in this first booklet.
He gives almost all of them to you right here in John chapter 17, but that's another study for another time.
John chapter 17, verse 17, Jesus, praying to the Father on the night of his betrayal, said, sanctify them, the ones he's talking about are the disciples.
Sanctify them by your Father's truth, your
word is truth.
You see how it does help if you'll help them identify who's being talked about.
Whose truth is it?
Well, whose word is it?
It's the Father's word because Jesus is praying to the Father.
Go back to chapter 17 verse 1 if you want certainty of that.
John chapter 14, earlier in the same evening as Jesus is talking with the disciples,
We read in John chapter 14 and in verse 23, Jesus answered and said to them, If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my father will love him, and we will come to him and
make our home with him.
He who does not love me does not keep my words.
And the word which you hear is not mine, but the Father's who sent me.
The teaching of Jesus was from who?
the Father.
Write it in the blank.
So, as you're understanding what Jesus has said, all these passages have identified that the Word of the Father, God, is truth.
That it is that which sanctifies us, and that all truth originates with God the Father.
But then we also see that God the Father is delivering it to His Son.
Turn to Hebrews chapter 1.
Hebrews chapter 1.
Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 1, God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom
He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
Today, God speaks to us through His Son.
So, Revelation has gone from the Father to the Son.
Turn to John chapter three.
John chapter three, and as I mentioned, you might want to just put your finger over there in John.
You're gonna be back to it a lot.
John chapter three, verse 35.
Now,
This text, it is not Jesus who is speaking, but rather it is discussions concerning the things that were going on.
In John chapter 3 and verse 35, the Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand.
John the Baptist is describing what God the Father is going to do through the Messiah, His Son, who is coming.
John the Baptist says the Father is going to deliver all things into the hand of Jesus.
Matthew chapter 28.
Matthew chapter 28, Jesus is preparing to ascend back into heaven.
And he speaks to the disciples as he's there preparing to go and return back to the Father.
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying to them as the disciples, all power or all authority, your text may say, is given to me in heaven and in earth.
Jesus has all blank in heaven and earth.
What does he have?
all power.
There is nothing withheld from His hand.
John chapter 17.
once again in that prayer that Jesus prayed to the Father in the upper room before He goes to the Garden of Gethsemane.
John chapter 17 verse 2, as you He's praying to the Father so that you is the Father, Jesus is speaking – as you have given Him
Now that may cause some confusion with some folks.
You go, wait a minute, I thought Jesus was speaking.
Who's this third person?
He's referring to himself in the third person.
You just gotta go read verse one to get it.
He's talking about the son, okay?
As you have given him, the son, Jesus, all authority over, or given him authority over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as you have given him.
Jesus has authority over
all flesh.
Now sometimes it's helpful
Draw a circle.
Put all flesh in there.
Ask the question, how many people are outside of that?
Nobody gets it wrong.
If it's all that are inside of that, then there's nobody outside of that.
eh Little doodles can sometimes help people visualize the impact.
There's nobody outside the authority of Christ.
Ephesians chapter one.
Ephesians chapter one, verse 22.
And he, now the he here, is God the Father.
And he put all things under his God the Son, Jesus Christ.
He, God the Father, put all things under his Jesus' feet and gave him, Jesus, to be head over all things to the church.
God has made Jesus head over all things to the church.
Question, does this mean Jesus has all authority over the church?
Yes, if He's got authority over all flesh and if He's head over the church, then He also has all authority over the church.
John chapter 12.
Verse 48, Jesus is speaking to the Jews, and He says, He who rejects Me does not receive My words.
Has that which judges him the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day?
At judgment, we will be judged by the words of Jesus.
Revelation has gone from God the Father through Jesus Christ, and we will be held accountable for it.
John chapter 6 verse 68.
John chapter 6 verse 68, little bit of background here, Jesus has just delivered some teaching that a lot of people when they heard it they said this is too hard and they left
and departed from Him and followed Him no more.
And Jesus asks the 12, verse 67, Jesus said to the 12, do you also want to go away?
But Simon answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.
Who has the words of eternal life?
Jesus does.
Should we go to anyone else, parents, preachers, relatives, friends for eternal life?
You don't have to dwell on this one, but there may come a point in the study where someone says, well, but my grandmother was the dearest, most righteous person I've ever known, and
that's not what she believes.
Don't die on the hill of talking about their grandmother.
Don't talk about their grandmother.
If they want to talk about their grandmother, let them.
But do not miss this point.
Peter said, there's no one else we could go to who has the words of eternal life.
And Jesus did not say that we would be judged by the words of Aaron Kozor, the preacher at the Collierville Church of Christ, or that we will be judged by the words...
of Joe Smith, or by the words of anyone else, or by the words of your grandmother, as dear as she may have been.
But rather on the last day you will be judged by the words of Jesus Christ.
map of Revelation.
Revelation begins with God the Father, and it was handed from the authority of God the Father down to Jesus Christ.
But the text isn't done telling us about Revelation.
The Holy Spirit guided the apostles into all truth.
Turn to John chapter 14.
John chapter 14, again, the last week of Jesus' is speaking with His disciples.
Let's go to verse 25 and read that one as well.
them, the disciples, all things and bring all things that Jesus said to their remembrance." Yes or no?
Yes.
When the Apostles taught by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, were they teaching their own words or the words of Jesus?
The words of Jesus.
Some will say, and I'm giving you some background as to why some of these passages are important.
Some will say, I'll obey the words in red, but I don't have to obey all the rest of those words that are in that Bible.
Jesus had something else to say about it.
Jesus said, everything that's given to the apostles came through the Holy Spirit from me, because He sent the Holy Spirit.
And the Holy Spirit is the one who inspired the remainder of the writing.
John chapter 16.
Verse 13, again, same context, same discussion.
Does that mean that we needed to wait about 1700 years for Joseph Smith to get a revelation from an angel in a dark room?
No, it means we didn't need to.
And that Mormon doctrine and the Book of Mormon is completely unnecessary for salvation.
Who has the words of eternal life?
Jesus.
Who did Jesus deliver those words through?
the Holy Spirit to the apostles.
So, revelation.
We see revelation going from God the Father to God the Son through the authority of Christ from God the Son through the Holy Spirit.
But then consider that the Holy Spirit guided the apostles into all truth, just exactly as Jesus said He would turn to Jude.
There's only one chapter.
So if you breeze by it, it's kind of like a small town in Kentucky.
You blink once, you miss it.
Jude verse 3.
By the way, Jude is believed to be the half-brother of Jesus, the physical brother of Jesus through Mary.
Jude will write, "'Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly
for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.'"
Jude says that the faith was delivered in the lifetime of the apostles.
He says it's been delivered once for all time, by the way, that's what the Greek actually means.
Once for all time.
Since the apostles were guided into all religious truth in their lifetime, should we expect to receive any new revelations today?
Simple questions help people understand the Bible in its simplicity.
It does not matter what someone heard in a small voice in the middle of the night because all truth concerning religion has been delivered and was delivered in the lifetime of the
apostles in the first century.
Everything that's come after it was unnecessary for your salvation.
Revelation came from God the Father to Jesus.
But it didn't stop with Jesus.
Jesus delivered it to the Holy Spirit so that the Holy Spirit might deliver it to the apostles and the prophets in the first century.
The inspired word is our only guide in religion.
John chapter 20.
John writes concerning his record of Jesus' life,
Believe.
Does that mean that you can open this book?
m
and you can read it for yourself, and you can have faith and belief based upon nothing more than this book.
Yes, it does.
You don't need a miraculous working of the Holy Spirit on your heart.
You don't need a religious experience.
You need to open the book and read what it has to say.
And as a result of that belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, you may have what?
Life through His name.
A word of caution.
Don't try and explain everything they don't know yet because they haven't read it yet.
You know more about what that passage means than they might.
You know more about what is involved in belief than they might.
Don't explain it now.
Just let them read it, write the answer in the blank.
One of the things that was observed, no offense to school preaching students, but one of the things that was observed by one of my instructors when they would go on campaigns is
that the Bible studies would have a better result with the first year students than the second year students.
If the second year student was conducting the study, they tended to have less progress with the person than if the first year student was.
started thinking about it and he realized why.
The second year student was trying to tell the person everything they knew, and the first year student didn't know anything, so he didn't try.
You are not responsible for conv...conv...get that right.
You are not responsible for convincing someone about what the Bible says.
You're just there to help them find what it says and let them read it for themselves.
1 John chapter 5, these things have been written, or I have written unto you, that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that ye have eternal life and that you
may believe on the name of the Son of God.
The things written...
are written that you may know that you have eternal life.
You know, if someone fills out this form...
It says, you were to die tonight, do you know where you'd go for eternity?
And they put, no or unsure.
This verse right here is a very consoling passage because pretty soon they'll be able to know.
Pretty soon they'll have assurance because they'll be able to measure their life against…
revelation and against what God actually said.
Turn to Romans chapter 10.
Romans chapter 10.
Paul is writing to the church at Rome, and he writes, then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
How does faith come?
By hearing.
James chapter 1.
James chapter one.
James writes to the Christians, he says, lay aside all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted Word which is able to save your souls.
Now here's another one of those verses where the Word in the New King James, the Word in the Old King James doesn't match.
The Word in the King James is engrafted.
The idea here of implanted is that this is like you would have a tree and someone takes a limb from another tree and grafts it into the tree.
God says, I'm taking my word and I'm putting it inside of you and it's going to produce fruit.
What is able to save your soul?
The implanted word, the engrafted word.
James is helping us understand you will not be saved without the revelation of God.
And there's only one thing that will save you, the revelation of God.
Having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.
How is one born again according to the verse?
Be careful.
Only write down what's in the verse.
Don't let them write down something that's not in the verse either.
How is one born again by the Word of God?
Should you go to any other source to learn how to be saved?
No.
People won't always know the repercussions of the answer.
But they'll know the answer.
One of the things that I love about this study
is I've studied with a lot of people, some of them very astute, very knowledgeable, very scholarly in their knowledge, and some people who could barely read.
I've never met anyone who misunderstood the study.
It's too easy.
It's too simple.
2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 16 and 17.
Paul, as he is writing to young preacher Timothy...
writes in 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 16, all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness
that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Does the Bible thoroughly furnish or equip us for every good work?
Yes.
Do we need additional revelations to make us complete before God?
No.
Do we need the Book of Mormon to make us complete spiritually?
No.
Do we need church traditions, manuals, grade books, confessions of faith to make us complete spiritually?
No.
Does that mean that we can't learn anything from anyone else?
I hope not.
I'd be out of a job.
But if I ever disagree with the book, you better stick with the book.
If a church creed, tradition, or manual ever disagrees with the book...
Who should you hold to?
The book.
2 Peter chapter 1 verse 3, according as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain into life and godliness through the knowledge of Him that has called us to
glory and virtue, Peter writes.
Has God given us all things that pertain to life and godliness?
Yes or no?
Since God has us all things that pertain to life and godliness in the Bible, should any other source be used as our religious authority?
No.
If all the people who claim to be Christians actually believed and practiced everything we've said up until this point right here,
There wouldn't be thousands upon thousands upon thousands of different groups all claiming to be Christians, all believing different things.
The difference between the church that belongs to Jesus and a church that doesn't is what we've just gone through.
They either believe in the authority of the Scriptures or they don't.
They either believe in the authority of Revelation as delivered from God the Father to Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit to the Apostles or they don't.
and everything they believe after that stems from that.
You're studying with someone.
And they look at this and they go through this and they say, well, I understand that's what it says, but that's not what I believe.
You don't need to go to book two.
Because here's what I know.
You'll be talking about the same thing and you'll be saying something that neither person understands what the other one's saying.
until you are on the same page about authority in the Scripture.
All the discussion of Scripture doesn't matter.
Because if we can't agree about the standard, if we can't agree that we will be held to the standard and that we will be judged by the standard because we read it and we answered
it,
We can't agree on that.
There's no reason to continue any further.
because on that hangs everything.
And if someone won't be honest with the Word of God that they could so easily open and read and answer the questions to.
then there is no reason to study the Bible.
If you're outside the body of Christ this morning and you maybe filled this out, went through these questions and thought, I've never been taught that.
then maybe it's a good opportunity to sit down and have a Bible study.
Because we'll pick up right there in page five, and we'll continue.
If you're outside the body of Christ this morning, if you're not sure if you were to die tonight, whether or not you would go to heaven or hell, or if there is even an eternity.
Why leave here unsure?
Why not ask for help?
Because I can give you this assurance, you won't be told anything that doesn't come right out of the Bible that you can't read for yourself.
If you have need of the invitation to put Christ on in baptism or to restore your walk with God, why not come forward now as we stand and as we sing?