Bible Studies

This is a verse by verse study series on the book of Amos.

These studies look at Amos' message to Israel in the context of the Sinai Covenant with its requirement of faithfulness to God, and in the context of Israel's history with its repeated demonstration of unfaithfulness to God.We will see that though Israel was unfaithful to God and to the Covenant, God remained faithful, that even the impending judgement was an expression of his faithfulness.

These studies also raise the question: How is this relevant to Christians? Is our continuance as God's people conditional? Do we who believe in Jesus Christ stand under the same terrible threat of God's judgement? Or is there another factor in play that existed prior to the Sinai Covenant, and of which the Sinai Covenant was a servant?

Can a person be assured of salvation? Can genuine believers be lost? Is our salvation totally in the hands of Christ, and therefore secure? Or is it partly in our own hands, and therefore fragile and uncertain? If our salvation is secure, what is the significance of the New Testament warnings against falling away? This extensive study is in a table format, presenting New Testament passages relative to assurance along with comments on their meaning and significance. Technically this is not a series of studies, but one long and comprehensive study.

This powerful study series presents a comprehensive biblical perspective on marriage. Biblical teaching on marriage is presented from the perspective of creation, from the perspective of the fall, from the perspective of the incarnation, from the perspective of redemption, regeneration and reconciliation, from the perspective of the imperfect, interim age in which we live as Christians, and from the perspective of celebration. Even if you have a good marriage these studies will provide a new dimension to your understanding of marriage and your commitment to glorify God in your marriage.

This brief series of studies on Paul's Letter to the Colossian Christians focuses on the key teachings that Paul gave them to counteract the destructive false teaching that was taking hold in the church. Because many churches today have been penetrated by similar false and destructive doctrines, this brief but powerful letter is acutely relevant to contemporary Christianity. These studies attempt to reaffirm those same foundational perspectives that Paul identified as he attacked the false teaching head-on.

These expanded studies on Colossians take you through this amazing and impactive letter verse by verse. They unpack the highly relevant truths and exhortations that Paul wrote to rescue the Christians at Colosse from the terrible reductions of Jesus Christ and salvation that were infiltrating the church.

The church today urgently needs to take the letter to the Colossians to heart. It sounds a strong warning to us all to make sure we are holding on to the real Jesus, not a Jesus watered down by false or careless teaching, and that we are resting in the real salvation obtained by the death of Jesus, not wallowing in a guilt-ridden weak salvation peddled by people who have not understood the completeness of what God achieved by the cross.

These studies include separate Worksheets to go with each study. The study content can be used for personal study, or by study group members, or just as a leader's guide to accompany the Worksheets.

A series of verse-by-verse studies on First Corinthians suitable for personal or group study.

Developing Christian Community brings together a series of Bible Studies applying biblical perspectives on the way we as Christians are to live with each other, both individually in our interpersonal relationships and also in the context of the body of Christ meeting together as the Church.

To study the role of Worship in the Christian Community click on this link. The second and third studies listed are the most relevant.

This series on Ephesians contains nine studies which take you progressively through Paul's impactive letter to the church at Ephesus. Here you will learn about the sheer greatness and wonder of your salvation, of God's immeasurable grace, of Christian unity in Christ, of the lifestyle appropriate for those who are God's well-loved children, and of the total adequacy of Christ to protect believers from the accusations and deceptions of the evil one.

Genesis is a book of beginnings and foundations - a book into which one can continue to dig and continue to find unexpected treasures of truth. It seems impossible to exhaust the layers of truth in this book. In Genesis, if we persevere with seeking and believing hearts, we find the bottom-line answers to many of our puzzled human questions.

But, it is also a controversial book, with Christians divided on the nature and integrity of the first eleven chapters.

Because these eleven chapters lay the foundations both of human history and of several highly significant biblical doctrines these studies focus on these chapters. Indeed, about half of the studies are set in Genesis 1 to 3. Only five studies focus on Abraham and his descendants. Also included are three appendicies about the theory of evolution.

The studies are of varying lengths. If you are using them in a group study setting it is suggested that some studies be spread over more than one session.

Note that it is hoped, when time permits, to upload a series of shorter, simpler studies.

These studies in the Gospel of Mark are being developed over a period of time. Each new study will be added as it is completed.

The Letter to the Hebrews was written to snatch people back from the brink of giving up on Jesus. This study series challenges us to embrace such a high view of Jesus Christ, such a high view of his mediation between themselves and God, and such a high view of the complete, final, once-for-all manner in which his death deals with our sin and guilt that we will never again be tempted to doubt, and never again be tempted to fall into the ultimate sin - that sin of unbelief in which we turn our backs on Jesus Christ, despising both him and his cross.

These Bible studies in Isaiah seek to present significant truths from the book of Isaiah. Additional studies will be added from time to time.

These expanded and updated studies on the book of Job replace the studies on Job that were previously part of the studies on Suffering.

The man Job is an amazing example of true faith. The persistence of his faith, the tenacity of his confidence in God in the context of his suffering and confusion, and in the face of the accusations of his friends is a challenge, even a rebuke, to all of us who claim to be people of faith.

He has no idea what God is doing, but he is very sure, and rightly so, that God is not doing what the three friends say he is doing.

We, the readers, are given inside information. We, the readers, know that Job is a man of true faith, affirmed and acquitted by God at both the beginning and end of the book. So we know that what Satan says is not true. We know that what the three friends and Elihu say is not true. We know that Job is right in refusing to kowtow to the traditional theology of suffering. Job himself wasn't given this information that we are given.

But, and this is amazing, there is something that Job did know: he knew that there is a Mediator, one to stand between him and God, and lay his hand upon both. He knew that there is a Redeemer. He knew, because he knew God, that God himself provides the payment that his justice demands. He knew, because of all of this, that he himself would see God.

And we, who live on the other side of the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we who think we know about the cross and its saving impacts, do we have this same confidence in God that we refuse to give in to the legalistic perceptions of those around us? Do we have such confidence in his grace and his love?

True faith endures because God makes sure that it does. Despite the suffering. Indeed, suffering is the context in which true faith is demonstrated.

As you read through these studies, may God impact you with the wonder of his grace and the power of the salvation he has given to you in Christ Jesus. And may your faith, like Job's, be enriched and expanded.

This series of studies on the Gospel of John will challenge you with John's high view of Christ and confront you, possibly even offend you, with John's presentation of the exclusive and absolute claims made by Jesus Christ about his real identity and about his essential and indispensible role in spiritual life and salvation. As far as John is concerned, as far as Jesus Christ is concerned, not only is there no other way to God but Jesus Christ, but also there is no other true truth about God but that knowledge of God that stands before us here in his Son, Jesus Christ. He, Jesus Christ, is 'the Light'; everything else is 'the darkness'.

John's Gospel puts before us the ultimate spiritual challenge, the ultimate spiritual choice: if we do not see God here, in Jesus Christ, we will not find the real God anywhere. If we reject Jesus Christ we are rejecting God. If we receive Jesus Christ we are receiving God.

John presents Jesus Christ as God's final self-revelation, God's final word. Here God says to us: this is who I am; look at me; believe in me, here in human flesh, here in this man, my eternal Son, Jesus Christ.

There is no other way. There is no other God. 

John's letters, especially his first letter, contain some very strong and potentially unsettling statements. Some of the things he says are so unsettling that they can leave his readers wondering whether or not they are truly saved, or if their salvation is secure.

These studies endeavour to understand John's letters from the perspective of their original setting, where a certin kind of false teaching, along with its proponents and adherents, had entered the church.

It is important to remember that all that John says has some connection to the presence of this false teaching. His purpose in writing is not to unsettle genuine believers, but rather to encourage them to be persistent in their faith in Jesus Christ and consistent in the way they live their lives. His purpose is to expose false belief and false practice and in doing so confirm right belief and right practice. His purpose is not to make those who believe in Christ afraid they can lose their salvation, but rather to point out that the false teachers and their adherents had never had salvation, because they had never truly believed in the real Jesus Christ who was proclaimed by the apostles.

Where there is difficulty in knowing exactly what John means, or where there is disagreement among Bible teachers about what he means, these studies seek to understand what he wrote by looking at other things that he wrote in his letters or in his gospel, and by looking at the teaching of the New Testament generally.

This study series focuses on the perfect and final revelation of God in his Son, Jesus Christ. As you work through these nine studies and the associated worksheets you will be impacted by the sheer power of the claims Jesus made about himself. In seeing him you will see God. In knowing him, you will know God. You will realise that the age-long question 'What is God like?' is answered when we look at Jesus.

In these studies we look at the multi-faceted Biblical concept of God. These studies are barely an introduction to this topic, for here we endeavour to speak of him who is eternal and infinite. Here we seek to understand something of him who is beyond human understanding.

Yet we can look and speak and understand, because the God whom we are studying is the God who speaks. As Francis Schaeffer has indicated in the title of one of his books, ‘He is there and he is not silent’.

We can know God because he has revealed himself in creation.

We can know God because he has revealed himself in and through the history of Israel.

We can know God because he has come to us and dwelt among us and talked to us in his Son, Jesus Christ.

We can know God because he has given us his written word, the Bible, which affirms each of the above, and which is confirmed by each of the above.

We can know God, through the totality of these four ways, because he, in an act of indescribable mercy and compassion, has regenerated us by his Spirit, giving us spiritual life where once there was spiritual death, giving us sight where once there was spiritual blindness, giving us understanding where once there was ignorance, giving us a teachable heart where once there was the hardness of stone. Not only this, but this awesome God also comes to us and makes us his dwelling place.

So here we stand, here we study, here we think and question, knowing that the quest to know and understand God is not a pointless quest but a quest with an attainable goal, for we are not alone. We come to this study totally dependent on God: Father, Son and Spirit to teach us of himself.

These Studies in Matthew progress more or less chapter by chapter through the Gospel of Matthew, but with some interruption to that natural progression from time to time. For example, parables with similar messages are grouped together.

The studies are enhanced by reference to other Scripture passages or verses that provide the background for Matthew's content or deal affirm similar truths to those presented by Matthew.

There are two dominant elements in these studies: the focus on Jesus Christ as the King of the Kingdom of God, and the focus on the radical discipleship commanded of those who by God's grace are members of his Kingdom.

If you are using these studies in a group context you will find that some individual studies will take longer than others, and may need to be spread over two or more study sessions. Note that studies 1, 2, 3, 4, 14, 19, 21, 23 and 28 are very short studies.

It is possible to break these studies up into distinct groupings: For example Studies 5 to 10 could be extracted as Studies on the Sermon on the Mount; and Studies 14-16,18,20 & 25 as Studies on the Parables.

The six studies in Old Testament Overview provide a summary of each of the Old Testament books, including authorship, approximate dates of historical events, and the significant theological truths found in these books. It also briefly mentions  anticipations of Christ and his saving work where applicable.

These studies are a blend of Bible study and devotional meditation. They attempt to bring the reader close to Peter's heart as he teaches us about the Lord Jesus Christ and the sure salvation he gained for us through his substitutionary, sin-bearing death, and encourages us to live for Christ's glory on earth, assured that we will share his glory at his return.

These verse by verse studies take you through Paul's letter to the Philippian Christians. As you study this letter you will learn of the amazing incarnation of Christ and the immeasurable gift of his righteousness that by grace is the possession of every true believer. From Paul's insights into the person of Christ you will be challenged by his humility. From Paul's insights into the righteousness of Christ you will be challenged to rejoice only in him, and never in your own perceived credentials. And with this amazing Lord, and this amazing salvation, you will be challenged to contentment - to such an awareness of the all-sufficient God that, regardless of your circumstances, you are content - you can cope, you can live, you can do it - because he, not your circumstances, is the source of your joy and the source of your peace.

These extensive studies on Romans take you right into the heart of St Paul as he struggles to unite the Jewish and Gentile believers in Rome. As they progress through this letter they expose the gross sinfulness of man that necessitated a salvation that is totally disconnected from law-based, performance-based merit. They take you deep into the amazing meaning of justification by faith alone, into the sheer perfection of the salvation we have in Christ Jesus. They liberate you from guilt and condemnation, explaining the extreme siginficance of the believer's identification with Christ in his death. They lift you up to serve the Lord with freedom, peace and joy.

Have you ever wondered what words like incarnation, justification, redemption, and substitutionary atonement mean? This series on Salvation contains brief studies explaining the meaning and significance of these and other concepts used in the Bible in relation to salvation. In understanding these concepts your appreciation of Christ and your confidence in what he did for you will be enhanced.

This study series is an expansion of the simpler 'Salvation' studies on this website. It is not for the faint hearted! It takes you deep into the biblical concepts of salvation in both the Old and New Testaments. It meets historic debates about the nature of salvation head on. It is very much aware that far too many Christians have such a weak, watery understanding of salvation that they live their Christian lives with a heavy burden of guilt and a fear of God's judgement - as if Jesus Christ had not carried all the guilt and taken all the judgement, as if 'grace' did not exist.

These studies are constantly aware that the angel's message to the shepherds in Luke 2 was one of grand assurance: fear not ... good news ... great joy ... glory to God ... peace to men. This is what Jesus Christ came for. This is what Jesus Christ died for. It is towards this peace and joy, it is towards this absence of fear of judgement, that these studies seek to take you. And it is when we live each moment with this peace, this joy in God, this trust and confidence in the finished work of Jesus Christ, that God is glorified.

This series of seven studies on Paul's letter to the Galatians takes a deep look at the issue of legalism in the church which was current then and which still troubles and enslaves many contemporary Christians. These studies, like the letter they are focused on, challenge you to trust solely in the salvation provided by Christ, and live before God free from guilt and condemnation.

These additional studies on prayer are designed to cover biblical aspects of prayer not contained in the studies on the Lord's Prayer. They include a section on biblical boundaries in prayer, and a section dealing with difficult questions about prayer.

SUFFERING

If you read through the Bible with the concept of suffering in mind, you will notice that suffering is everywhere from Genesis 3 to Revelation 20. The message of the Bible is given to us in the context of suffering. Both its commands and its promises are spoken in the context of suffering. It explains when suffering originated and why suffering is here. And this on-going context of suffering is where God bids us believe in him, to trust him.

God is not untouched by our suffering. He is not immune from pain. He feels our grief. He agonizes with us in our agony. He weeps with those who weep. His heart of compassion goes out to those who are suffering. He intervenes to limit or reverse individual suffering. Jesus, the Son of God, showed us that.

But he also showed us something else. When Jesus, the eternal Son of God, came to earth as one of us, he actually experienced our suffering. He is called ‘a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering’.

He knows what it feels like to be despised and rejected.
He knows what it feels like to be oppressed and afflicted.
He knows what it feels like to be accused and condemned.
He knows what it feels like to be tired and hungry and poor.
He knows what it feels like to be homeless.
He knows what it feels like to be hurt by the people he loves.

And, over and above all of this, he knows what it feels like to be rejected by God. So great is his compassion for us, so great is his love for us, that even while we were his enemies, even when we were sinners, he put himself in our place. He himself bore the full judgement of God deserved by us. All of our sin and guilt, and all of God’s wrath, condemnation and punishment, was laid upon him. So that we, who believe in him, are set free forever from sin, guilt and condemnation.

Yes. God knows what it feels like to suffer.

Jesus also showed us that God has the power and authority to end human suffering. His miracles were a micro demonstration of that, and assure us that God could at any time, break into human history and end the suffering. And one day he will. That is his promise. What holds him back? Why does he not stop the suffering now?

Only because of his grace.

Because of his great mercy and grace, he delays that day, because that day is also the day of the final judgement, beyond which there is no salvation. God delays ending the suffering because he is giving us time to repent and believe in him. In his great patience and love he lets us live on in this suffering world, allowing himself to be maligned as powerless and unloving, because he wants us also to be saved.

Beyond the suffering, after the day of judgement, after everything that entered the world in Genesis 3 is terminated, all things will be made new. No more death. No more pain. No more crying. No more sin.

Only immeasurable joy. Only indescribable glory. God and humans together, forever. At peace.

These studies expand and replace the previous studies on Suffering.

The Old Testament assures us of the goodness of God. It contains statements like 'Good and upright is the LORD' - Psalm 25:8, and commands us to 'Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good' -1Chronicles 16:34. It urges us to 'Taste and see that the LORD is good' because 'blessed is the man who takes refuge in him' - Psalm 34:8.

But ever since Satan's first deceptive lies in Genesis 3, humans have doubted the goodness of God. Modern humans are no exception. Indeed, modern humans increasingly question the existence of God, of any 'god' at all. And, of those who still leave room for some 'god' to actually exist, many, many doubt his goodness. Even within the churches, the goodness of God, although it may be outwardly acknowledged is often inwardly doubted.

This series of studies seeks to present a comprehensive, biblical picture of the goodness of God. It does not look only at verses that refer specifically to God as 'good' or to God's 'goodness'.Rather it looks at a wide range of the Bible's teaching from both the Old and New Testaments that communicates in one way or another the absolute goodness of God.

When complete, this series will contain over twenty individual studies.

Note: I have set myself a limit of not more than four A4 pages per study in my MSWord file. Because of this, some study topics are spread over two studies. It also means that there is much, much more to say on some topics than what is inlcuded in the study. I hope that was is included will whet your appetite and motivate you to study further what the Bible has to say.

This is an extensive series of studies on the Lords Prayer. Each part of the prayer is studied in depth and filled with powerful significance by the study of related Old and New Testament texts.

This study series is the result of a detailed analysis of the occurrence of the miraculous in the ministry of Jesus and the New Testament apostles, and in the life of the New Testament church. 

These studies were written, and posted on this site, to identify the role of the miraculous in the New Testament era, and to determine on the basis of New Testament teaching what role can be validly given to the miraculous today, and what biblical boundaries are in place to define what our expectations and understanding of the miraculous ought to be.

This is a series of nine short studies on Paul's two letters to the Thessalonians, including a background study on Paul's mission in Thessalonica in Acts 17.

This is a series of studies on the person of Christ as he is presented by the various New Testament writers. To those writers the critical question which determined a person's eternal destiny was the question Jesus asked his disciples: Who do you say that I am? This same questions challenges us from the pages of these studies, which can be used for personal or study group use over a period of weeks or months.

The apostle Paul said: ‘ … whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God’ [1 Corinthians 10:31]

Jesus Christ taught that it is the Father’s will ‘ … that all should honour the Son just as they honour the Father. He who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent him’ [John 5:23]

God defined his purpose for us: 'I created you for my glory' [Isaiah 43:7].

At the very beginning God said 'Let us make man in our own image' [Genesis 1:26].

To live for the glory of God, to image him by our thoughts, our words, our actions: this is what it means to worship God. It is when we are doing this that we are most truly human.

May this life attitude and action of worship be true of each one of us!

These studies seek to bring together the Biblical foundations of worship.