Studying God's Word

On the first blog I concentrated on the attributes of God I thought were most important to understanding God’s salvation plan for mankind. On this blog I’ll focus on the more awe inspiring attributes of God. We can only scratch the surface of who God is by contemplating the attributes He has chosen to reveal to us. We’ll have all eternity to plumb the depths of God and even then we’ll never come close to knowing all there is to know about God.

8. Omnipotent – God is all-powerful. Scripture says nothing is impossible for the Lord.

9. Omnipresent – God is everywhere. God is a Spirit and is in every inch of his creation at the same time. I have a hard time wrapping my mind around this attribute of God.

10. Omniscient – God is all-knowing. God knows everything that has happened in the past, is happening now and what will happen in the future along with all possible outcomes that could have been. Just imagine the brain power it must take to keep up with this for every person who has ever lived.

11. Infinite – God has no limitations.

12. Eternal – God is not bound by time.

13. Self-sufficient – God has no needs not provided by himself.

14. Self-existent – God exists because he exists.

15. Immutable – God is constant, never changing.

16. Inscrutable – God is mysterious, inexplicable.

17. Incomprehensible – God is beyond understanding or comprehension.

18. Faithful – God is self-loyal and loyal to us.

19. Wise – God is wise, using infinite knowledge to the best end.

20. True – God’s divine nature is the definition of truth.

21. Light – God is the source and strength of all illumination.

Familiarity breeds contempt. It’s human nature. However, we must never become complacent with God. God is our Father in heaven and we’re his beloved children with 24/7 access to Him through prayer. He is still Almighty God and we must approach the throne of grace humbly and with fear. By fear I mean we are to always approach God with the awe, reverence and respect he deserves. One way to always be humble and fearful before God is to take time to meditate about God on a regular basis. I keep a list of the 21 attributes of God referenced in the Bible. Take time to reflect on a particular attribute of God. What evidence of this attribute of God can you see in creation? What evidence of it do you see in how God treated nations and individuals in the Bible? How has that particular attribute of God been reflected in your life? It’s impossible to meditate about God without seeing how small and unimportant we are in comparison to Father God. If that won’t make you humble nothing will. It’s impossible to meditate about God without getting a sense of God’s glory and majesty. If that won’t generate fear in your heart nothing will.

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD:

1. Holy – Absolute purity and goodness; God’s most prominent attribute. You can see why God cannot allow sin to enter heaven.

2. Love – Unselfish concern; seeking our highest good. I list love second because Scripture says God is love. God made us and dearly loves us.

3. Merciful – Grants forgiveness and salvation. God delights in showing mercy.

4. Righteous – This means the same as justice. This means God dispenses moral equity. You reap what you sow; you get what you deserve. No favoritism. No exceptions. This is why Jesus had to shed his blood on the cross. Man sowed sin and God, in his mercy and grace, reaped the consequence in our place to keep us out of hell while still being a righteous God.

5. Gracious – Unmerited favor. Because we have a giving God who abounds in love and mercy he dispenses grace abundantly without our asking and without us doing anything to deserve it.

6. Good. God is kind, cordial, benevolent, friendly, sympathetic and full of grace. This attribute tells us we have a friend in God and it makes me want to keep close to God for protection.

7. Sovereign – God is the absolute ruler of the universe and what he says goes. God is our King, our Lord, our Savior and our Master.

It’s normal for the unbeliever to initially see Jesus from their own perspective. In their world view a son comes after their father, is made by their father, and is always subordinate to their father. You have to shake up this paradigm and give them the perspective from the spiritual world. Jesus has always existed and so was not made by anyone. Jesus is divine just like the Father and is equal to the Father in every way. Jesus is subordinate to the Father within the Trinity only as it relates to office or function and then only by mutual consent. Think of it as a business partnership where the co-owners own equal shares of the business and by mutual agreement one becomes CEO and the other President of the company.

Once the unbeliever realizes the Jesus he’s dealing with is the one and only God of creation, the decision maker as far as the fate of his eternal soul, he can then give Jesus the awe, reverence and respect he deserves along with the glory Jesus deserves. Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed One, the Messiah and the Son of God. Christianity is Jesus. Christianity means “Christ’s men”. The Bible’s laser focus is on Jesus and his redemptive work on the cross which was the most important day in human history. Jesus died a terrible death on the cross for all men, past, present and future, and that includes each of us personally. Just think of the intense physical pain and suffering Jesus went through.

Think of the spiritual anguish Jesus went through taking on the sins of all of humanity and that includes our personal sins past, present and future. Imagine the anguish of having the wrath of God fall on you and then having to endure separation from God for the first time in your life. Think of the shame Jesus endured because of us. All these things Jesus did willingly for us because of his great love for us. Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross is complete. God’s half of the salvation plan for man is done. The other half of our salvation unto eternal life is up to us to complete. The path to our salvation runs through Jesus and only Jesus. For those who believe in Jesus Christ and by faith accept him as their Lord and Savior God will give to them eternal life. For those who repent and ask for the forgiveness of their sins God will be merciful and forgive you. Because of the shed blood of Jesus on the cross a gracious God will impute the righteousness of Christ Jesus onto all who believe on his name and give them eternal life in heaven as children of God.

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 1:14 – And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…full of grace and truth.

John 1:3 – All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

John 16:28 (Jesus speaking) – I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.

John 8:32 – And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

When discussing Jesus with unbelievers we can use the Bible to confirm the deity of Christ. If the unbeliever doesn’t believe the Bible is the inerrant Word of God start there. God is evident in the unity, wisdom and consistent message of the Bible. 40 writers over a span of 1500 years created God’s Word as they were led by the Holy Spirit. The Bible contains over 1000 prophecies, over 500 of which have been fulfilled and documented. God gives us prophecy to reveal Jesus to us and to prove he is God. The remaining prophecies will be fulfilled at their appointed time. Over 60 prophecies specific to Jesus have been fulfilled and verified as fact.

In my very early blogs I listed the 36 fulfilled prophecies of Jesus I thought were most important. Once we have established that the Bible is God’s Word we can go to the Scriptures and see that Jesus, the Son of God, is mentioned in virtually every book of the Bible. Jesus is the constant thread woven throughout the entire Bible. Without Jesus there would be no Bible. The Bible is God’s revelation to man of the coming of Jesus Christ to the earth to redeem fallen mankind. God wants us to know Jesus personally.

Matthew 1:22-23 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

Matthew 26:28 (Jesus speaking) – For this is the blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Luke 19:10 (Jesus speaking) – For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Acts 4:12 – Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

The four gospels record the life of Jesus and his three and a half year ministry on earth. In the gospel of John the Apostle focuses primarily on the divinity of Jesus Christ. The following Scriptures containing the actual words of Jesus are meant to prove Jesus is God, who came into the world to die in our place as our only way to salvation and eternal life:

John 10:30 (Jesus speaking) – I and My Father are one.

John 14:10 (Jesus speaking) – He who has seen Me has seen the Father.

John 14:6 (Jesus speaking) – I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

John 11:25-26 (Jesus speaking) – I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.

John 10:10 (Jesus speaking) – I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

When witnessing for Christ you first must introduce unbelievers to Jesus. There is only one God, who exists in three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The truth of the triune Godhead is a difficult concept, even for believers, but it’s clear from the Scriptures. Who is Jesus? First of all, he is fully God! All three persons of the Godhead are co-equal, co-eternal and co-divine, which means they are comprised of the same divine substance. All three persons of the Godhead have always existed in perfect fellowship and love for each other. Each person of the Godhead knows everything about each other and are always in perfect agreement. Where they differ is in function and position within the Godhead. One is not superior to the other. All three persons of the Godhead were involved in creation. According to Scripture it was Jesus who actually created us and the universe we live in. All are God!

The world God created was perfect but when Satan caused Adam to disobey God in the garden of Eden death and sin came into the world. It’s a spiritual law that the wages of sin is death. God cannot abide sin, sin has a consequence and sin cannot enter heaven. God made Adam and Eve as eternal beings that he could fellowship with. There is also a spiritual law known as imputation whereby the actions of one person is attributed to someone else. The sin of Adam has been imputed to all men who came after him. The fellowship between man and God was broken and the destiny of man then became death and separation from God in hell where man would be in torment for eternity. The many attributes of God are inclusive, they all exist together, and they can’t be infringed upon. God is love, which is why he created us in the first place. God is also a just God and because of his perfect justice our blood had to be shed because of our sin.

Because of the spiritual law of imputation the sins of all men could only be forgiven with the blood sacrifice of a man without blemish, a man without sin. Since all men after Adam were born with a sin nature nobody qualified as the perfect sacrificial lamb. God the Father, in collaboration with the other persons of the Godhead, came up with a plan of salvation for his special creation that met both his perfect justice and his eternal love for us. God Himself was the only person who could qualify as the perfect sacrifice to redeem a fallen mankind. God loved us so much he sacrificed his only begotten Son that we might have eternal life in heaven in fellowship with him.

Jesus, who had always existed as an invisible Spirit, came down from his throne and set aside his divine attributes, emptied himself, and came to earth in the flesh as a normal man. God had to be conceived in the womb, be born as a normal child and grow to manhood in order to qualify as the perfect man to redeem us from our sins. Jesus had to be fully man in order to qualify for the blood sacrifice needed to redeem us from our sins. However, Jesus was also fully God at the same time. Jesus was the only person who ever lived who was both man and God and the attributes of one did not infringe on the other.

6. Don’t condemn

When witnessing you never want to come off as holier than thou. We are all sinners equally in need of God’s grace. People easily spot someone talking down to them and it’s a turnoff. We all have good points and bad points. Find the other person’s good points and offer a sincere compliment if you can. Make the person feel good about themselves. You need to have empathy with the person you are witnessing to.

7. Stick with the main issue

When witnessing, always keep in the forefront of your mind the central message of reconciliation between God and man through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Without the cross and the resurrection Christianity wouldn’t exist. Jesus is Christianity. Don’t let yourself be sidetracked by questions about denominational doctrine. Always bring the conversation back to the need to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior of their life. In Scripture Jesus said the only way to the Father is through him. The only way to heaven and eternal life is through Jesus and you need to emphasize that point. I know a person who witnesses for Christ by initially saying, “God has great plans for your life!” Since everyone’s favorite topic is themselves it’s a good way to get a positive response and break the ice.

8. Confront the person directly

As an ambassador for Christ your job is to close the deal. A lot of people can bring the case for Jesus to someone but for some reason they can’t take that last step and make the sale. They can’t ask for a commitment. Your whole reason for witnessing is to make the person reach a point where they understand the importance of deciding to trust Jesus for their salvation right then and there before it’s too late. Remind them they’re only a heartbeat away from their eternal destiny. Try not to ask yes or no questions. You might ask, “Have you ever personally trusted Jesus Christ or are you still on the way?” This lets them know clearly what a Christian is and gives them a face-saving way to tell you they aren’t where they need to be. Their answer, whatever it is, will allow you to ask the follow up question, “That’s interesting. How far along the way are you?”

This question will draw the person out in a non-threatening way and often works to get them to tell you exactly where they are in their faith. Once they do respond you can then fill in all the gaps and tailor your message to address their concerns. As you move the person along the road to salvation ask the third question, “Would you like to become a real Christian and be sure of it?” There are many people out there who are seeking spiritual certainty in their lives and they’re just waiting to be asked. There are many people who don’t know how to find God and our mission is to be that bridge by giving them the information they need and asking them to make a decision. God is graciously allowing us to participate in his salvation plan for man.

Remember, to be saved God must first draw them and the Holy Spirit must convict them of their sin. The Holy Spirit actually saves the person by changing their eternal destiny from hell to heaven based on their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. There is no pressure on us. We are simply the messenger. God does the heavy lifting and we are rewarded as long as we sow the gospel message of Christ. We need to always pray for God to bring people across our path who need a witness and we need to ask God’s help in making us better at witnessing the more we do it. It will get easier. Witnessing for Christ is the number one job of every Christian and the thing that will determine our rewards once we get to heaven. If you’ve never sown the gospel seed to an unbeliever or reaped a soul for the kingdom of God you can fully expect your works to be consumed by fire before the bema judgement seat of Jesus. Once saved you’re always saved but any potential rewards will be lost if you don’t witness for Christ.

4. Get the ball rolling.

When we talk to people about God we can either make a statement that makes them want to respond or we can ask them a leading question hoping they will respond. In my case it’s easy for me to talk about how excited I am doing my Christian blog and my Bible study. If they don’t respond to what I’m saying on their own I can innocently ask my first leading question. 1) By the way, are you interested in spiritual things? If they say yes you’re in business. Even if they say no you’ve learned a little bit about where they are spiritually. People like being asked their opinions and whatever they tell you will give you a lot of information about where they are spiritually. You learn more from listening than from talking. Never ask if they’re a Christian because that means different things to different folks and a yes or no answer leaves you at a dead end with no more information than you had to start with. If they are interested in spiritual things let them talk as long as they want and only ask questions for clarification.

Then ask them this question: 2) What do you think a real Christian is? Since they’re interested in spiritual things more than likely they’ll answer this question. They’ll feel obligated to respond since you asked their opinion. It’s just human nature. If you’ve listened to them they’ll be inclined to listen to you. After you’ve listened to them let them know real Christians relate to Jesus as a person by accepting him as their Lord and Savior. You’ve asked two leading questions that, if answered affirmatively, will have opened them up a little. Now ask the third question. 3) Would you like to become a real Christian now? Some people who go to church know Jesus personally and some do not and it’s the same in all denominations. Church membership by itself does not guarantee really knowing God. It takes a personal decision of the will to turn from sin and toward God.

If they say yes to your third question you can then walk them through the four or five Scriptures that build on each other and leads them to the decision to make a commitment to Jesus. Each person who witnesses has their favorite Scriptural progression. I like to share the Scriptures in this order, explaining each verse: John 3:16, Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Romans 5:8, and Romans 10:9, before asking for a commitment. There’s no limit to the ways you can win souls to the kingdom of God by sharing your faith in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Do what works for you.

5. Don’t go to far too fast.

Give people only as much of the message as they are ready for. Some people need to chew on the gospel awhile and let the truth of God settle in their spirit slowly. Some people see the truth clearly early on and quickly give their life to Jesus. You just have to learn to watch for que’s and adjust on the fly. People you talk to will generally fall into one of two groups. Either they lack information about Jesus and don’t know how to become a Christian or they have all the information they need to know but haven’t acted on it. The first group are more than likely to believe in Jesus fairly quickly while the second group are much more reticent and some may never become saved Christians because they have some personal issues they haven’t resolved.

Our job is to sow the seed of the gospel and reap the harvest if it’s there. If a person isn’t ready to commit to Christ they may later. You’ve done all God asks you to do. Move on to greener pastures. Always remember it’s the Holy Spirit who convicts a person’s heart of their sin and only the Holy Spirit can translate a person from spiritual death to the kingdom of God. Our job is to set the table for their salvation if we can. God is blessing us by letting us be a part of his salvation plan for fallen mankind.

The focus of my blogs is on witnessing for Christ through the study of God’s Word. You can’t “do” until you “know”. The first book I found on witnessing was “Personal Soul Winning” by the late evangelist John R. Rice, published in 1961. I’ve blogged about that book previously. I recently found a second book I’m in the process of reading that also discusses witnessing. The late evangelist Paul E. Little wrote a book entitled “How to Give Away your Faith”, published in 1988. I recommend the book to all Christians who desire to witness for Christ. I’m going to summarize the contents of the book here so you can add it to your notes in your witness Bible. There are eight principles of witnessing for Christ: meet and know non-Christians personally; establish a mutual interest in conversation; arouse a person’s interest by life and word; gear explanations to people’s receptiveness and readiness for more; accept and even compliment rather than condemn; stay on track; and persevere to the destination.

1. Contact others socially.

You could be the greatest witness for Christ who ever lived but that’ll get you nowhere until you get out among the unbelievers. Go seek the lost souls! That’s why Jesus associated with publicans, tax collectors and prostitutes. One of the reasons I volunteer at a local hospital is to meet people, with an eye toward witnessing for Christ should the opportunity present itself. Pray always for God to send someone your way. Jesus said he came to save sinners and he has given the job to us as his disciples.

2. Establish common ground.

It’s the rare person who can just jump straight into witnessing for Christ the first time they meet someone. I certainly can’t do it. Most of us need to get to know someone a little bit and establish a certain level of trust before discussing spiritual things. Most people need to know you care about them and are willing to listen to them before they’ll be receptive to your message. You can meet people at gyms or belong to the same clubs or have the same areas of interest and over time become friends. Start off by talking about world events and move on spiritual things over time. You don’t have to be in a hurry but don’t miss out on an opportunity to share your love for Jesus.

3. Arouse interest.

I’m passionate about my Bible study so I talk about it at the hospital where I volunteer. People can feel my passion for the Lord. If I’m working on a blog series I’ll tell them my current focus. I’ll sometimes throw out snippets of information that are proofs of God to see who bites and wants to know more. I have a tee shirt I wear in public places that says on the front, “Ask me about Jesus”. and on the back it says “Jesus is Lord”. It’s a way to break the ice and start a conversation. It’s always easier when someone approaches you first.

Four guidelines for relating to other people:

A. Establish good eye contact
B. Develop good listening skills
C. Foster an attitude of encouragement
D. Make yourself interesting to others

The Jews have their annual Passover meal to commemorate God delivering them from bondage in Egypt. God sent his death angel to kill the first born of every family in Egypt. The Jews were told to slaughter a lamb and smear the blood on the posts and lintels of their doors so that the death angel would “pass over” their house and not kill their first born. God commanded the Passover feast of the Jewish people was to be a solemn observance for all the children of Israel for all generations. I’m no expert on the Passover meal but I know it contains lamb, bitter herbs and unleavened bread. Jesus shared his last Passover meal, known as the Last Supper, with his disciples just before his arrest and crucifixion. During the meal Jesus blessed the food and broke bread for each disciple to eat. Jesus said the bread represents his body which is broken “for you” (on the cross). Jesus then passed the wine cup around for each disciple to take a sip. Jesus said the wine represents his blood shed “for you” (on the cross).

Jesus said his blood establishes a new covenant whereby the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us through faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Jesus said we are to partake of the bread and wine in remembrance of him which tells me it’s to be an annual occurrence to commemorate our salvation through the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus. God wanted the Jews to commemorate their deliverance from the bondage of slavery by the Egyptians. In the new covenant God wants all Christians to commemorate their deliverance by Jesus from the bondage of death and Satan. Christian denominations have different views on the Last Supper. Catholics believe when they take the consecrated bread and wine (Eucharist) the bread and wine actually becomes the body and blood of Jesus. This is known as the doctrine of transubstantiation.

Protestants have several different views. The Lutherans believe in consubstantiation where Christ penetrates and permeates the bread and wine. The body and blood of Jesus are present in addition to the bread and wine. In the dynamic view, espoused by Reformed and Presbyterian churches, Christ is not literally present in the bread and wine but is spiritually present. The memorial view, held by most Baptist and independent churches, holds that the Communion service is mainly a commemoration of Christ’s death on the cross, though Christ is not physically or spiritually present. The bread and cup are a figurative memorial to Christ’s death.

I’m a Baptist but I’ve never taken part in a commemoration of the Last Supper even though Scripture commands it. I can understand why the Eucharist is so important to Catholics if they think they are partaking of the actual body and blood of Christ but I think they are mistaken. When I read the Scriptures about bread and wine being Jesus’ body I don’t take it literally. Jesus is using the bread and wine as a metaphor for his body and blood. Jesus uses metaphors repeatedly throughout the Bible.

1 Corinthians 11:24-25 – And when He had given thanks , He broke it (bread) and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me”. In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me”.

1 Corinthians 11:28 – But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

In the first two verses the term remembrance means “in memory of”. If the bread and wine were the actual body and blood of Jesus God would not have neglected to leave out so important a point. If you were partaking of the actual body and blood of Christ you wouldn’t need to keep doing it over and over every year. In the second Scripture we find the same thing. God is telling us to look inward when we take Communion. Again, if the bread and wine were the body and blood of God’s dear Son He would have not have neglected to tell us something so important. The reference is obviously a metaphor. While different Christian denominations may not always agree on all aspects of our faith, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus and when we get to heaven all will be revealed.

I’ve spent 17 blogs going over the 127 commands from God in the Bible as listed in my Willmington’s Bible Guide. I would be remiss if I did not list the original ten commandments God gave to Israel at Mount Sinai after the exodus from Egypt. We should keep all of God’s commandments at the forefront of our minds and especially the original ten commandments.

1. You shall have no other gods before me.

Exodus 20:3 – You shall have no other gods before me.

2. You shall not make any graven image.

Exodus 20:4 – You shall not make for yourself a carved image – any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the sea.

All of the people of ancient times engaged in polytheism, the worship of many gods. To represent these gods people made idols of wood, metal and stone to worship. Monotheism, the worship of one god, came about when the true God made Himself known to Abram, who He chose to be the father of God’s people, who would later be known as Israel. Our God is a jealous God, not wishing to share His glory with fake gods made of wood, metal or stone.

3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

Exodus 20: 7 – You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

This doesn’t mean just cursing God. It means being disrespectful to the Lord in any way in your speech, thoughts or deeds. This is just the opposite of what we refer to as the “fear of the Lord” which means to look upon God with awe and reverence and respect. If you slip up immediately ask God to forgive you.

4. Remember the sabbath, to keep it holy.

Exodus 20:8 – Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

The Jews celebrate their sabbath on Saturday, the seventh day of creation when God rested. Christians celebrate their sabbath on Sunday, the first day of the week because Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday. The resurrection is our blessed hope because it means we too will one day be resurrected in like manner to be with the Lord forever in heaven. Jews and Christians both worship the Lord on their respective sabbaths. Man was not made for the sabbath, the sabbath was made for man. Either designated day of worship is pleasing to God.

5. Honor your father and mother.

Exodus 20:12 – Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long.

6. You shall not kill.

Exodus 13 – You shall not murder.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

Exodus 20:14 – You shall not commit adultery.

8. You shall not steal.

Exodus 20:15 – You shall not steal.

9. You shall not bear false witness.

Exodus 20:16 – You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10. You shall not covet.

Exodus 20:17 – You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.

Adultery is such a grievous sin in God’s eyes it’s mentioned twice in God’s original ten commandments. In the commandment “you shall not covet” God specifically mentions adultery with another man’s wife as one of the things we are not to covet. God also makes adultery a separate commandment by itself so we get the message. There are large sections of the Bible that specifically address the sin of adultery, primarily in the Psalms.