Bible Study

Bible study is the 2nd and 3rd Sundays of each month instead of a regular service.

This is when we delve deeper in the scriptures, like the Bereans, to better understand what we are reading. Some people think we should not question God, but there are times when those hard questions nag at you like “why did God let the satan attack Job” or when a hard saying of Jesus like “if you call someone a fool you are liable to the fire of gehenna” just gets in the way of your faith. All over the Bible the Psalmists and prophets were constantly asking God some tough questions when they don’t understand what’s happening to them. And so, we, like them should not shy away from asking too. We might not get all the answers we are looking for, but we come away with a better understanding of the passages we are studying and knowing that our God is a big and does not feel threatened by our questioning.

Week 2 – Living out Your Christian Faith

September 27, 2015

Study
Questions

Study

The First Letter of Peter: Holy Living in the Midst of Fiery Trials.

These verses assure us that even though we have to endure many trials, because at some point in our lives we have gone through trials, are currently going through trials, or will experience trials in the future, BUT there is wonderful joy awaiting us and our reward for trusting in Jesus - the salvation of our souls. It is through the mercy of God the Father that we are born again and he can keep us strong at such times. We are commended for putting our faith in the Lord Jesus and loving him though we have not seen Him. It is through our faith in the resurrected Christ that we can live with great expectation and look forward to a rich and priceless inheritance that is kept in heaven for each of us. So through our trials we can either grow and press on or become bitter and fall away.

Questions

What has God done for the Believer?
Describe the “Living Hope” or (inheritance) the Believer possesses.
What assurance do we have?
What does Peter say is the purpose of the sufferings and trials of the Believer?
What is the reward for standing strong in your faith?

Answers

God, according to his great mercy, has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
This “Living Hope” or “inheritance” is sure and certain, imperishable, unspoiled, permanent and reserved in heaven for us.
The assurance we have is the certainty that by the power of God we are being preserved or guarded through our faith in our salvation.
Though it might not seem so at the time, but these trials are tests from God to purify us and to test the genuineness of our faith. And this testing is “more precious than gold that perishes” to God.
Our reward is “praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ”

Selected Scripture Verses

I Peter 1:3-9

(3) Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (4) and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, (5) who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. (6) In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. (7) These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. (8) Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, (9) for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Bible Study

Open Hands Church