A Book of Bible Study Written By Joseph F. Harwood

A Book of Bible Study

 

 

 

Written By

Joseph F. Harwood 

A Book of Bible Study

Copyright 2014 by Joseph F. Harwood

 

 

 

www.abookofbiblestudy.net

 

joseph.f.harwood@gmail.com

 

 

 

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible^®,

Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation  Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org) 

A Book of Bible Study

 

Contents 

 

Introduction

 

1.      God’s Forgiveness and Restoration

2.      Our Forgiveness of Others

3.      The Imperative of Obedience

4.      God Will Help His People

5.      The Battle Is Not Yours, But God’s

6.      God’s Provision for Our Lives

7.      For Those Who Show Mercy

8.      Christian Giving

9.      Suffering in the Life of a Believer – Part 1

10.  Suffering in the Life of a Believer – Part 2

11.  A Share in the Sufferings of Christ – Part 1

12.  A Share in the Sufferings of Christ – Part 2

13.  Two Lives, Two Destinies

14.  The Righteous and the Wicked

15.  A Place of Honor in the Kingdom of God

16.  The Testing of Our Faith

17.  The Trial of Job

18.  A Lesson from the Life of Joseph

19.  A Lesson from the Life of Moses

20.  Predestination – Part 1

21.  Predestination – Part 2 22. Predestination – Part 3

23.  Predestination – Part 4

24.  The Eternal Security of the Believer – Part 1

25.  The Eternal Security of the Believer – Part 2

26.  The Eternal Security of the Believer – Part 3

27.  Sharing Our Faith

28.  The Sovereignty of God in the Lives of Men

29.  God’s Answers to Our Prayers

30.  When the Race Has Been Run 

 

 

Introduction

 

 

 

           Jesus Christ is called the “Word of God”, and He is also called “Faithful and True” (John 1:1, 14, Revelation 19:11-13). The Bible itself is the word of God revealed to man, and it contains all that God intended to communicate of His plan for the salvation of men through His Son Jesus Christ, and through Him alone. The word of God as revealed to us in the Scriptures is faithful and true, and every prophecy, teaching, precept, and promise contained therein will be made to come to pass in the lives of believers, and in God’s creation as a whole. 

 

“A Book of Bible Study” provides answers to many of the most common questions believers have as they seek to understand the Bible. Great care has been taken to provide Scripture references for every teaching that is given, and there are also many direct Scripture quotations included to enhance the understanding of each lesson. 

 

The Apostle Paul exhorted Timothy to be diligent in correctly handling the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). In order to correctly handle God’s word, we must interpret the Bible considering not only the words in the verse or verses under consideration, but we must also consider the context of the passage in which the verses appear. And we must also interpret the verses considering the teachings of all the rest of the Scriptures as a whole. In addition, we must consider who is being addressed in a particular passage. When we interpret the Bible in this way, by letting “Scripture interpret Scripture” in such a way that our interpretation is not The Apostle Paul exhorted Timothy to be diligent in correctly handling the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). In order to correctly handle God’s word, we must interpret the Bible considering not only the words in the verse or verses under consideration, but we must also consider the context of the passage in which the verses appear. And we must also interpret the verses considering the teachings of all the rest of the Scriptures as a whole. In addition, we must consider who is being addressed in a particular passage. When we interpret the Bible in this way, by letting “Scripture interpret Scripture” in such a way that our interpretation is not contradicted by other teachings in the Bible, then we can have confidence that we have correctly handled the word of God.

 

Many skeptics, and indeed many believers, will say that there are contradictions in the Bible. However, when the word of God is correctly handled or interpreted by letting the Scriptures themselves interpret the meaning of other Scriptures, we will find that passages in the Bible which once seemed to be contradicted by other passages can be demonstrated to be in agreement with one another. Within the pages of this book the reader will see a number of these apparent contradictions resolved as we study several difficult biblical doctrines that have given rise to differences of opinion, even among genuine believers endeavoring to understand the truth of God’s word with all diligence and to the best of their ability. 

 

We will consider numerous biblical teachings, including many of

God’s promises of mercy, forgiveness, restoration, and help for His people.

We will also consider the difficult issue of suffering in the life of a believer. We will grapple with the question of why our loving, sovereign, and omnipotent God, for whom nothing is impossible, would allow suffering to touch the lives of His people, even when we are walking in obedience to His word. 

 

Later in the book we will consider subjects such as predestination and the eternal security of the believer, and we will come to definite conclusions about these doctrines, conclusions based squarely upon the word of God. We will also consider biblical teachings that reveal the sovereignty of God in the events that transpire in the lives of all men. And we will study events in the lives of several of God’s servants as recorded in the Bible, in order to see how He worked in their lives to accomplish His will through them. As we do so, we will gain insight into some of the ways in which He may work in our lives as well, as He fulfills His plan and purpose for each of us.  

1.

God’s Forgiveness and Restoration

 

 

 

Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, died on Calvary’s cross and became the atoning sacrifice for the sins of men. Jesus testified of Himself saying, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6). The Apostle Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, addressed the Sanhedrin and the Jewish leaders who had arrested him. He spoke of God’s salvation through Jesus Christ and through Him alone saying: “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12). 

 

Jesus Christ, the spotless, blameless Lamb of God laid down His life for all of those “who are beloved of God” and “called as saints” (Romans 1:7). And then on the third day, He rose again according to the Scriptures, and He is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Luke 24:46-47, Hebrews 8:1). 

 

Jesus Christ became righteousness for us, as Paul taught saying: “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested…. even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe…. for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood…” (Romans 3:21-25). 

 

In another passage in his letter to the Romans, Paul again taught about the forgiveness of our sins and reconciliation to God being accomplished for us through the blood of Jesus Christ. Paul wrote: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” (Romans 5:8-10).

 

The Bible teaches that it is only through the blood of Jesus Christ shed on Calvary’s cross that our reconciliation to God has been accomplished. There is no other way to God the Father, no other way into the kingdom of Heaven. This is the crux and the essence of our Christian faith.

 

           In his first letter, the Apostle John also taught about the forgiveness of our sins coming through the blood of Christ. John wrote: “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:5-9).

 

Continuing in chapter 2, John wrote: “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” (1 John 2:1-2). 

 

Everyone who comes to faith in Christ, whether Jew or Gentile, regardless of nation or race, obtains the forgiveness of their sins through His shed blood. And we find this same teaching again in Revelation 5:9 where we John wrote: “…You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.” 

 

 

Set Free from Sin

 

Sin is disobedience to God’s commands as they are set forth in the Holy Bible, which is God’s word. In Romans 6, we learn that when we were called to faith in Christ, a transformation occurred in our lives. Paul taught that when we were still unbelievers, we were slaves to sin, but when we came to believe in Christ, we became slaves of God and His righteousness. In other words, the believer is not enslaved to sin and powerless to be freed from it as unbelievers are. As slaves of God, we have been set free from sin (Romans 6:22), and by God’s grace and power we have been given the means to rid ourselves of it. Paul also wrote in this passage: “For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:14).

 

Even though we are no longer slaves of sin, we can see from the Scriptures that many times we will find ourselves struggling against sin. Paul taught about the ongoing struggle against sin that every believer will experience as he revealed his own struggle in Romans 7:7-25. 

 

James also understood the believer’s struggle against temptation and sin, and he gave us this exhortation: “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7-10, emphasis added). Teaching along these same lines, the Apostle Peter also wrote of the believer’s struggle against temptation and sin when he gave us this exhortation: “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.” (1 Peter 5:8-9, emphasis added). So both James and Peter exhorted believers to continue to resist the temptations of the devil.

 

Though God does allow both believers and unbelievers to be tempted, He Himself tempts no one. James made this clear when he wrote: “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.” (James 1:13-15). 

 

Within these verses James taught that lust, or unlawful desire, when acted upon gives birth to sin, and sin results in death when it has run its’ course. The end result of sin is death: eternal death and separation from God for the unbeliever, and according to 1 John 5:16-17, sin could even result in physical death for the believer. Paul also taught that “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

 

There are many Scriptures that speak of the painful and damaging consequences of sin. But we also see from the Scriptures that God has given every believer the power to overcome sin in his life: “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” (1 John 5:4). 

 

 

God’s Discipline in the Lives of His People

 

In another teaching from Romans, speaking of the saints of God, Paul wrote: “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29). It is God’s will that every believer is to be conformed to the image of His Son Jesus Christ, who led a life separated from sin. Therefore when we do sin, God sends His disciplines into our lives in order to separate us from our sins. God’s discipline is itself a sign that we belong to Him, as we learn from Hebrews 12. The writer of Hebrews quoted a passage from Proverbs 3:11-12 when he wrote: 

 

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

Nor faint when you are reproved by Him,

For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines,

And He scourges every son whom He receives.” (Hebrews 12:5b-6)  

Sin always brings God’s rod of correction into the lives of His people. On those 

occasions when we know that we are experiencing the consequences of our own 

sin, let us confess our sin before God, repent of it and forsake it, being fully 

determined to root it out of our lives. 

 

  

God’s promise of forgiveness is ours as believers, but we must understand that He will not allow sin to persist in the lives of His people. He will surely separate us from our sin, and we will not like the means that He uses to do so. The writer of Hebrews instructed us again when he wrote: “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Hebrews 12:11). 

 

While God may allow sin to continue for some time in the lives of unbelievers with no apparent consequences to themselves, He will not allow it in the lives of His people. Sin in the life of a believer always brings about God’s discipline, which serves to restore us to obedience. 

 

 

God’s Promises of Restoration

 

God’s warnings about the consequences of sin are clearly stated in the Bible, and His will that believers live a life separated from sin is also clearly taught. But what if we have participated in sin, bringing the painful discipline of God’s judgment into our lives? For such times, believers have not only God’s promise of His forgiveness, but we also have His promises of restoration when we return to Him in obedience.

 

In Joel 2:18-19 we read of the Lord’s promise to restore His blessings to His people after His judgment had been realized in their lives, and after their repentance. Later in this same chapter we again read of God’s promise of mercy and restoration for His people who have forsaken their sin and returned to Him. God spoke through the prophet, saying: 

 

“Then I will make up to you for the years

That the swarming locust has eaten,

The creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust,

 My great army which I sent among you.

“You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied

And praise the name of the Lord your God,

Who has dealt wondrously with you;

Then My people will never be put to shame.” (Joel 2:25-26)

 

After we have heeded God’s call to return to Him, having forsaken our sin and having resolved to move forward living our lives in obedience to His word, let us not dwell on the failings of the past. Instead, let us have the same mindset as the Apostle Paul had in his own life: “…forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:1314).

 

In the book of Micah we again read of God’s forgiveness, mercy and restoration for His people. Micah wrote:

 

Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity

And passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession?

He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in unchanging love. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot.

Yes, You will cast all their sins

Into the depths of the sea. (Micah 7:18-19)

 

Surely God will tread our sins underfoot. He will not allow sin to continue or have dominion in the life of one of His children. With sin in the life of one of God’s people comes the rod of correction. If anyone can continue in his sin without being disciplined by God, then he is illegitimate and not a true son of God (Hebrews 12:5-8).

 

In Zephaniah 3:14-20, we see that God promised restoration to His people after the consequences of their sins had come upon them. In these verses Zephaniah encouraged Israel, telling them to rejoice and be glad. He said that God would take away their punishment and the harm that they feared. He also told them that God would take delight in them and once again quiet them with His love. Speaking through the prophet, God promised His people that He would deal with those who had oppressed them, He would restore their lost dignity and honor, and He would restore the fortunes they had lost because of their sins. 

 

In the book of Zechariah, we find more of God’s promises of restoration as He calls His people to return to Him. God spoke through the prophet saying: 

 

“Return to the stronghold, O prisoners who have the hope; 

This very day I am declaring that I will restore double to you.” (Zechariah 9:12). 

 

In the book of Jeremiah there are more promises of restoration for God’s people. In Jeremiah 31:3-5, God spoke to His people saying that He has drawn them to Himself with an everlasting love. He promised that He would restore them and build them up again. He said that they would again be joyful and plant vineyards, enjoying the fruit from them. God spoke through the prophet again saying: 

 

“I have surely heard Ephraim grieving,

‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised,

Like an untrained calf;

Bring me back that I may be restored, For You are the LORD my God.

‘For after I turned back, I repented;

And after I was instructed, I smote on my thigh;

I was ashamed and also humiliated Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’ “Is Ephraim My dear son?

Is he a delightful child?

Indeed, as often as I have spoken against him,

I certainly still remember him;

Therefore My heart yearns for him;

I will surely have mercy on him,” declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 31:18-20)

 

God also spoke through the prophet Isaiah of His forgiveness, and He called for His sinning people to return to Him as we read in the following passages: 

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