Living by the Book
Lesson Three
Benefits of this Study

Why should you continue in this study?
1. This is a simple process to learn and its value grows as our ability does.
(a) “The process presented in this book is one that anyone can use, no matter your level of spiritual maturity or education. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve been in the faith five weeks or five decades…As long as you can read, you can study the Bible.”
(b) “Another plus for this process is that it can expand as the ability of the student expands. [It functions] like a set of tools that increase in their usefulness as the sill of the craftsman increases.
2. You’ll gain a valuable sense of self-confidence in your ability to handle Scripture.
(a) “There’s nothing like the self-assurance that comes from firsthand knowledge of the Bible. It gives you confidence to think for yourself. Most people don’t think…but it’s altogether different when you what know what the Bible says, where it says it, and what it means. That kind…of spiritual truth cuts you free from the leash of popular opinion.
(b) “…first hand Bible study enables you to evaluate the thoughts of others.
3. You’ll experience the joy of personal discovery.
(a) “…there is no joy comparable to that which comes from firsthand study of Scripture.”
4. You’ll deepen your relationship with God.
(a) “The ultimate benefit of firsthand Bible study is that you will fall in love with the Author. If you want to know God directly, you need to encounter His Word directly. God has prepared incredible things for you. The Scriptures are His appointed means for bringing them to you.”
5. You’ll Be Come More Spiritually Useful to Others
(a) The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) assumes that we will be able to disseminate the faith through teaching. This assumption includes all believers, not just those specifically gifted as teachers.
(b) Hebrews 5:12 indicates that a mark of spiritual maturation is a growing ability to teach.

No doubt there is value in being a shoulder on which someone can cry. There is also no doubt that being able to explain God’s Word to others and show them how it applies to their situations is just as, if not more, valuable as sympathy.

The Bible does indeed indicate that God uniquely gifts certain people to function as teachers in the church. However, there is no reason that an individual who knows the Lord should not be able to instruct another in the Christian faith.

What is required to get the most from this study?
1. Effort
“Scripture does not yield its fruit to the lazy. Like any other discipline of life, Bible study pays in proportion to how much o fan investment you make. The greater the investment, the greater the reward.”
In terms of effort it also wouldn’t be a bad idea to bring a notebook and take notes, particularly if you aren’t buying the book to study at home.
2. Attendance
For the purposes of our study you need to be here week by week. As each week’s lesson builds on the previous lessons you will be increasingly behind and/or lost as you miss services.
3. Openness to God
4. Openness to Change
Read Romans 8:29 – you have to commit to a willingness to be conformed to Christ’s image. Some times practices have to go, sometimes beliefs. Sometimes they have to be added. Either way, you must commit to God, under the Lordship of Christ, to obey what you learn through the grace of God.