Welcome!

Welcome to our Mailbox Bible Study Course. We trust you will enjoy these lessons as much as we did composing them. We are glad to be able to serve the Lord and you in this way. Many are being saved and helped through these simple Bible lessons. We suggest that you try to do one lesson each week; this will keep your interest in them active. This particular course contains thirty three lessons on The Christian Bible Studies. Read through this lesson carefully and complete the answers to the lesson by clicking on this word here "LESSON AND TEST IN MICROSOFT WORD FORMAT" or "TEST IN TEXT FILE FORMAT"; to do the questions to this lesson and then save it to a file on your computer. Once you have answered all the questions in the test, attach the test questions or copy and paste them into an email addressed to biblelessons@uniserve.com with your name and email address and send it to us. We will then evaluate and return any corrections to you with your next lesson. On completion of the full course you will receive a beautifully presented certificate. If you would like to print out the Lesson for later use, here is a PDF VERSION" that you can print. (Click on the word "PDF" in blue). Should you have difficulty opening these files or sending the email please let us know by return email. We suggest that you print these lessons and put them in a binder for future studies.

May God richly bless you as you proceed.
Your Instructor
Harold Smith

All Courses are copyright and may not be used as Courses without permission

---

LESSON 1 – THE CHRISTIAN BIBLE STUDY

 

A Scriptural Study THE CHRISTIAN By Alfred  P. Gibbs.

 

HIS DEFINITION: HIS HISTORY:  HIS TITLES.

 

CONTENTS

 

1.	The definition of the Christian	1. Some of man's definitions of a Christian	(1) The voice of Christendom
			(2) The voice of the moralist.
			(3) The voice of modernism.
			(4) The voice of cultism.
		2. God's definition of a Christian	(1) The Christian defined
			(2)  The Christian defied.
			(3)  The Christian despised.

 

2.	The Christian's history	His past condition
		His present position
		The procuring cause

3.	His titles	1. Christians. He belongs to Christ by -	(1)   Presentation
			(2)   Purchase
			(3)   Personal acceptance
			(4)   Power of deliverance
			(5)   Preservation
			(6)   Indwelling presence
			(7)   Position
		2.   Believers
		3.   Saints
		4.   Children of God
		5.   Brethren
		6.   Disciples
		7.   Servants

          
INTRODUCTION

This Course attempts to set forth, simply, briefly and clearly, some Scriptural truths regarding the Christian. They have designedly been cast into condensed form, and only those who are prepared to follow out, by personal study of the Bible, the suggestions made, will find them to be of any permanent spiritual profit. There is no royal road to learning the truth of God. It can only come through prayerful,   painstaking, and persistent study of the holy Scriptures, plus prompt and wholehearted obedience to what is revealed therein. These pages therefore should be read with the Bible at one's side, and all the Scripture passages, to which reference is made, should be looked up, "read, marked, and inwardly  digested." Though the price of knowledge is admittedly high, it is well worth all the time, money, and energy used to acquire it. The book of Proverbs, aptly called: "Laws of heaven for life on  earth," is devoted to the extolling of the many excellences of knowledge and wisdom, and to  describing the penalties, which await those who are guilty of wilful ignorance. Read Proverbs 1:1-9, 20-23; 2:1-9; 3:1-26; 4:1-13. Someone has given four good rules for effective Bible study. These rules are summarized  by four little words: admit, submit, commit, and transmit. By this is meant that the student must first  admit the truth of God into his mind by carefully reading what God has to say  about the subject in question. Secondly, he must submit to whatever truth it reveals, and obey it, cost what it may. Thirdly, he must seek to commit what he has read and learned to memory, and by this fasten it indelibly upon his mind. This is not easy, but will prove to be a valuable investment, that will yield profitable dividends in the years to come. Finally, he  should transmit this knowledge to others for, in so doing, it will not only become a blessing  to others, but he himself shall be blessed in the doing of it. The Divine order is: "I will bless  thee . . . and thou shalt be a blessing." (Genesis 12:1-3). With these things in mind, may it be yours and mine to pay good heed to the words of a  great preacher and teacher of long ago who said: "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of God" (2 Timothy 2:15). We shall consider our subject under three main headings. First, The definition of the Christian, or what he is. Second, The history of the Christian, or how he became one. Third, The titles of the Christian, or how God describes him in His word.

 

LESSON 1 :  THE CHRISTIAN

IT IS always wise, when discussing any subject, to define the meaning of the terms that  are used. In this way, there will be no confusion of thought in the mind of the reader as to just exactly what the writer means when he uses certain expressions. Hence, we shall proceed at once to consider

 

1. THE DEFINITION OF THE CHRISTIAN, or what is meant by the term, as found in the holy Scriptures. We shall think of two things  under this heading: First, some of man's definitions of what the word "Christian" implies; and  second, what God has to say about it in His word.

 

SOME OF MAN'S DEFINITIONS OF A CHRISTIAN.

It is hardly necessary to say that there is a wide divergence of opinion as to what a  Christian really is. In response to the question: "What is a Christian?" there will be a  multitude of different answers, each person sincerely believing his own answer to be correct. A perusal of the current literature of Christendom will only serve to add to the confusion. Amidst this babble of contradictory voices, which combine to "darken counsel by words  without knowledge" (Job 38: 2), the man in the street may be pardoned when he declares that  he does not know what a Christian is! Let us listen to four different voices, each of which has its own explanation of what  constitutes a Christian.

 

(1) THE VOICE OF CHRISTENDOM.

By Christendom is meant the sum total of all those systems of religion that name the name of Christ, whether they be good, bad, or indifferent. This voice loudly affirms that a Christian is one who has given his assent to the  beliefs, or the creed, of his particular  religious denomination, and has consequently submitted himself to the various rites, forms, and ceremonies connected with its membership. In other words, he has given a mental assent to the creed; he has been baptized, confirmed, joined the Church, takes communion regularly, and attends divine service faithfully contributes his money to the cause, and is  consequently termed: "a church member in good standing." There are literally hundreds of thousands who come under this category. They honestly  believe themselves to be Christians, merely because they have assented to certain doctrines, and passed through various ordinances. They know absolutely nothing of the regenerating  power of the Spirit of God, which the Lord Jesus declared to be essential to either seeing or  entering the kingdom of God. (John 3:3). They have never been led to see, and to take their place as lost and guilty sinners and, as such, to trust in the finished work of Christ, receive  Him as their own personal Saviour, and confess Him as the Lord of their life. They are  tragically ignorant of God's free, full, and eternal salvation, which Christ secured for sinners  on the cross, and which alone fits a sinner for the presence and favour of a holy and sin-hating  God.

 

(2) THE VOICE OF THE MORALIST.

This voice assures humanity that a Christian is one who endeavours honestly, sincerely and consistently, to do the best he can, to all the people he can, in all the ways he can, and as  often as ever he can, and thus attempts to keep "the golden rule," which consists of doing   unto others what he would like them to do to him. There are very many such individuals, whose exemplary lives would put many professing Christians to shame by their morality of life, honesty of conduct, sincerity of aim, and  consistency in well doing. But these, alas, are seeking to be Christians without Christ! They fit the description given by Paul of those who: "Being ignorant of God's righteousness, and  going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God" (Romans 10:3). These people, well meaning as they are, have utterly failed to realize that man cannot  save himself by any efforts of his own. They seem unaware of the fact that, by seeking to  merit God's favour on the basis of their own merits, they are virtually denying the necessity for the substitution sacrifice of the Son of God, and treating His work of redemption as a totally unnecessary thing, as far as they are concerned. This really represents an insult to God's wisdom, and to the whole Divine plan of salvation, purchased at such infinite cost. As well may a man lift himself by his own shoe straps, as a sinner, by his own merits, can lift  himself into God's favour.

 

(3) THE VOICE OF MODERNISM.

This voice categorically denies the lost and ruined state of humanity by nature, and the consequent  necessity for Christ's redeeming blood to make salvation possible for the sinner. Modernism asserts that all people are, by nature, the children of God, and that each person  has within him a germ of divine life, which only requires self-cultivation to bring to fruition. Thus, the Christian life is viewed as an evolutionary process, in which each individual attains to a divine life by developing the forces, which are within himself. According to this theory, each person becomes his own saviour. Needless to say, Modernism both denies and ridicules the Divine inspiration and integrity of the holy Scriptures. In its place, it loudly proclaims the  theory of: "The universal Fatherhood of God, and the universal brotherhood of man." There are thousands of such modernists today, and the tragedy is that many of them occupy  supposedly Christian pulpits. From behind them they deny the very truths they promised to uphold and which they are paid to preach! These men fit the description given by our Lord to the religious leaders of His day, for they are but "Blind leaders of the blind"(Matthews 15:14).

 

(4) THE VOICE OF CULTISM.

 The past century has witnessed the rise of dozens of false cults, all claiming to be of Divine origin, and each appealing to the Scriptures for verification of its peculiar doctrines. Each of these cults will therefore define a Christian as one who accepts its own particular  teachings, and seeks to spread its theories. These cults are usually well organized, their doctrines cleverly stated and attractively  propagated, and their adherents often more enthusiastic in spreading their errors than Christians are in preaching the gospel of the grace of God! Thousands of people have been  led astray by their "cunningly devised fables," and thus, deceived and blinded by "the god of this age," they sincerely but mistakenly imagine themselves to be Christians! In the multitude of man-conceived theories and miss-interpreted Scriptures, God's statement in 1 Corinthians 2:14 is verified: "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are  spiritually discerned."

---

MICROSOFT WORD FORMAT OF LESSON AND TEST FOR - LESSON 1 – (Click on the "Microsoft Word" word in blue to choose this option)

OR

TEXT DOC OF TEST FOR - LESSON 1 - (Click on the "Text Doc" word in blue to choose this option)

---

TEST 1: THE CHRISTIAN LESSON 1

 

 Please read carefully and fill in the blanks on the lines provided.

 

1. There are four good rules of Bible Study. Can you name two of them? .................. ..................

2. A divine principle of bless is "I will bless thee and .................. .................. .................. .................. BLESSING

3. The key verse for Bible Study is in 1st ..................

4. There are four voices that define what a Christian is. Can you name them?
1. ..................
2. ..................
3. ..................
4. ..................

5. The Moralist says, "live by .................. .................. Rule

6. Who says we are "all children of God? ..................

7. The Bible teaches that all people are children of God - True .................. False ..................

8. A church member in good standing is a born again Christian - True .................. False ..................

9. Modernists are .................. .................. of the blind Matthew 15:14

10. Jesus said "Ye .................. be born .................. "

---

PLEASE FILL IN YOUR DETAILS:

Your name:
.......................................................................................................................................

Email Address:
.......................................................................................................................................

Postal Address:
.......................................................................................................................................

Questions and Comments:

Once you have completed this lesson and filled in the questions please email it to us. If you have done the lesson in this HTML format then copy this test page and paste it into an email addressed to us. If you have done it in MS WORD or PDF format then send the document to us as an attachment in an email. We will then check it, send through any corrections and the next lesson. If there is something that you do not understand or are not sure how to send the lesson back to us, please send us an email and we will help you. If you do not hear from us within two days of emailing us, please re-send it. Do you have a friend that would like to do these lessons? If so,email us their details and we will send them the list. Thank you.

To Email us Click here.
To Return to main Email Bible Lessons Page, Click here.
Created by Harold Smith
Updated January 2010 by Shelly Allen