Fundamentals of the Faith: 13 Lessons to Grow in the Grace & Knowledge of Jesus Christ

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INTRODUCTION TO THE BIBLE

Prepare for Your Assignment

1. Along with this workbook, you will need a Bible and a journal or notebook for personal notes from the message you will hear.

2. Download message #1, "Our God-Breathed Bible," from www.gty.org/fof.

3. Using your Bible, fill in the answers on the following pages.

Memorize 2 Timothy 3:16

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.

* I hope you have an appreciation for the Scripture. I hope you have an appreciation for it not as a fetish but because it is the greatest treasure, apart from God Himself, that we have. It is His very word, His very self-revelation. When people ask me why it is that I systematically teach through book after book, why it is that I pay so much attention to detail and to every verse and every phrase and touch all the words, I tell them it's because I understand them to be the words of God revealed to us from Him. And I would not second-guess the necessity of those words being then presented, taught and understood by all of us. John MacArthur

The Bible is the Word of God. It claims to be the truth, the message from God to man. Second Peter 1:21 says that "men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God."

* The Scriptures were written by approximately 40 different men. * These men lived in several different countries and cultures. * They lived in different eras (1400 B.C. through A.D. 90). * They wrote in three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.

Despite these differences, God moved the writers to focus on His glory in man's redemption through one central figure-Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

I. The Old Testament (39 books)

A. The Pentateuch (5 books)

The first five books of the Old Testament were written by Moses around 1400 B.C. They often are referred to as the "Five Books of Moses" or the "Pentateuch."

List the books of the Pentateuch in the order you find them in your Bible. 1. _________________________ The book of beginnings: Creation, man, sin, redemption, God's nation 2. _________________________ God delivers His people from Egypt 3. _________________________ Atonement, holiness, and worship through sacrifice and purification 4. _________________________ God's people continually disobey and wander in the wilderness for 40 years 5. _________________________ Moses' great discourses to prepare Israel to enter the Promised Land

B. History (12 books)

The historical books were written between 1400 and 450 B.C. and describe God's dealings with His chosen people, Israel, the Hebrew nation. List these books in order. 1. ___________________ 5. ___________________ 9. __________________

2. ___________________ 6. ___________________ 10. __________________

3. ___________________ 7. ___________________ 11. __________________

4. ___________________ 8. ___________________ 12. __________________

C. Poetry (5 books)

The following five books are poetic, describing in poetry and song God's greatness and His dealings with men. List these books in order. 1. _____________________The suffering and loyal trust of a man who loved God 2. _____________________Songs of praise and instruction 3. _____________________God's practical wisdom for daily life 4. _____________________The emptiness of an earthly life without God 5. _____________________A celebration of marital joy

D. Major Prophets (5 books)

A prophet was a person commissioned by God to deliver His message to men. These books are called "Major Prophets" because they generally are longer than the writings of the "Minor Prophets." The Major Prophets were written approximately between 750 and 550 B.C. List these books in order. 1. ___________________ 3. ___________________ 5. _________________

2. ___________________ 4. ___________________

E. Minor Prophets (12 books)

The last 12 books of the Old Testament were written approximately between 840 and 400 B.C.

List these books in order.

1. _________________ 5. _________________ 9. _________________

2. _________________ 6. _________________ 10. _________________

3. _________________ 7. _________________ 11. _________________

4. _________________ 8. _________________ 12. _________________

II. The New Testament (27 books)

The New Testament, or New Covenant, reveals Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of men. In it we find:

* The life of Christ * The way of salvation * The beginning of Christianity * Instruction for Christian living * God's plan for the future

A. History (5 books)

1. The Gospels (first 4 books)

a. _______________________ The life of Christ, written especially for the Jews, revealing Jesus Christ as their long-awaited Messiah b. _______________________ The life of Christ, revealing Jesus as the obedient Servant of God; written especially to the Roman world c. _______________________ The life of Christ, revealing Jesus as the perfect man, emphasizing His humanity; written by Luke, a Greek, to the Greek world d. _______________________ The life of Christ, revealing Jesus as the Son of God, stressing His deity; very evangelistic

What two reasons are given for the writing of John's Gospel (John 20:31)?

1. ____________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________

2. ____________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________

2. History of the Early Church (1 book)

_____________________ The beginning and spread of the Christian church; it could be called the "Acts of the Holy Spirit," and was written as an evangelistic tool

B. Letters or Epistles (21 books)

These books were written to individuals, to churches, or to believers in general. The letters deal with every aspect of Christian faith and responsibility.

List them in order.

1. Paul's Letters (13 books)

a. _________________ h. __________________

b. _________________ i. __________________

c. _________________ j. __________________

d. _________________ k. __________________

e. _________________ 1. __________________

f. _________________ m. __________________

g. _________________

2. General Letters (8 books)

a. _________________ e. __________________

b. _________________ f. __________________

c. _________________ g. __________________

d. _________________ h. __________________

C. Prophecy (1 book)

The last book of the New Testament tells of future events. * Return of Christ * Reign of Jesus Christ * Glory of Jesus Christ * Future state of believers and unbelievers

This book is called ________________

III. Christ in the Bible

A. The Old and New Testaments should be seen together, as both portray Jesus Christ as the central figure.

Read the following verses and fill in the blanks. 1. Luke 24:27. Christ is seen in __________________________________________. 2. John 5:39. Jesus said the Scriptures "bear witness of __________."

B. The key is Jesus.

5 12 5 17 4 1 21 1 Law History Poetry Prophecy Gospels History Letters Prophecy

Promises Anticipation of Christ: Manifestation The Church Coronation of Christ Types, Experiences, and Prophecies of Christ of Christ of Christ

IV. Why Is the Bible Important?

When tempted by Satan, Jesus alluded to Deuteronomy 8:3: "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4).

A. What does 2 Timothy 3:16 say about the Bible? (Choose the correct answer.)

Some of the Bible is inspired by God.

There are a few parts that are not inspired.

The entire Bible is inspired by God.

Only those parts that speak to us in a personal way are inspired by God.

* The Old Testament is the revelation of God to show man what God is like, who God is, what God tolerates and does not tolerate, and how God desires holiness and punishes sin. The New Testament is God revealed by His Son in the life of His Son, in the message of His Son, in the understanding of the work of His Son, and in the culmination and the coming of His Son to establish His eternal kingdom. But in either case, Old Testament, New Testament, God spoke. And what we have is indeed the word of God. This is not the word of man.

So, men were not inspired but Scripture is. God breathed into them and they wrote it down, word by word what God breathed into them. It was more than dictation. They weren't just listening to some voice and writing mechanically every word; it was flowing through their heart and their soul and their mind and their emotions and their experiences. But it came out every word the Word of God. As God breathed into them the message and they were carried along by the Holy Spirit, they said it and some of them wrote it down. Miraculous, supernatural, inexplicable process that yields to us the Word of God. John MacArthur

B. How do the following verses show the importance of God's Word?

1. 2 Timothy 3:15 _______________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 2. Hebrews 4:12 __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

C. What four things does God's Word do?

1. Psalm 19:7a ___________________________________________________________ 2. Psalm 19:7b ___________________________________________________________ 3. Psalm 19:8a ___________________________________________________________ 4. Psalm 19:8b ___________________________________________________________

V. Application

Based on what you have learned about the Bible, what should your response be?

__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

* When it comes to godly living and godly service, to growing in "the discipline and instruction of the Lord" (Eph. 6:4), God-breathed Scripture provides for us the comprehensive and complete body of divine truth necessary to live as our heavenly Father desires for us to live. The wisdom and guidance for fulfilling everything He commands us to believe, think, say and do is found in His inerrant, authoritative, comprehensive, and complete Word.

It goes without saying that it is impossible to believe, understand, and follow what you do not even know. It is completely futile, as well as foolish, to expect to live a spiritual life without knowing spiritual truth. Biblically untaught believers, especially those in biblically untaught churches, are easy prey for false teachers. They are spiritual "children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming" (Eph. 4:14). Throughout most of redemptive history, God could have said what He said in Hosea's day: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hos. 4:6). It is for that reason, as well as for the even greater reason of honoring the Lord, that regular, systematic, and thorough study of the doctrine in God's Word is imperative for God's people. John MacArthur The MacArthur New Testament Commentary series, 2 Timothy (Moody), 1987 by John MacArthur. 154-155.

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Excerpted from FUNDAMENTALS OF THE FAITH by John MacArthur Copyright © 2009 by Grace Community Church. Excerpted by permission.
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