Bible Studies

---

 Post (after) salvation discipleship is a 24/7 lifestyle. It’s not something to be turned on and off at will.

By definition, discipleship calls for the ongoing study (1) and application (2) of the Word of God. Initially, discipleship is for one’s own edification and spiritual growth, but with the long term objective of participating in the Great Commission (3).

Obviously, one can not spend 24 hrs. a day STUDYING the Word of God, but an advancing disciple will be on the alert 24 hours a day, prepared, and willing to respond to a 1Pet. 3: 15 opportunity.

“But s-a-n-c-t-i-f-y (set aside a time and place for) Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, but with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15 NASB2020 parenthesis mine).”

There are practical responsibilities, and every day activities, that demand our attention and participation. It is when and where we are in the midst of our daily activities, be it at home, work, school, or play, that the advancing disciple serves as an ambassador of the Kingdom of God.

There is something wrong when a born-again believer manages to find the time to do just about everything else he or she wants to do on any given day, but not having sanctified time for God, or the things of God.

Q. How important is studying the Word of God?

A. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge... (Hosea 4:6 NASB2020).”

It is the lack of accurate doctrine and or the lack of its application that places one on the Matt. 7: 14 broad road that leads to destruction.

Not having or losing one’s natural appetite is an indication that something is amiss in one’s physical or mental health. The same can be said of one’s spiritual well-being when there is the lack of desire to feed one’s soul with the nourishment that can only come from the Word of God.

The fact is, if the average “Christian” were to invest just an equal amount of daily time in the things of God that they spend listening to secular media, weather reports, and the latest gossip, the impact of the end time apostasy (4) WITHIN the Christian Community would be greatly reduced.

The appetite for his or her next spiritual feeding increases in the life of an advancing disciple, keeping pace with his or her level of spiritual advancement along the road to spiritual maturity.

There are two major causes of spiritual starvation. They are adressed in such passages as Amos 8: 11 – 12 and in James 1: 22. One takes place in the pulpit, the other takes place in the pew.

During spiritual famines, solid teaching can be a hard find (5), but not impossible (6). It may, however, require a change in location or in the means of receiving one’s edification.

“… Not a famine of bread or a thirst for water, But rather for hearing the words of the Lord. “People will stagger from sea to sea And from the north even to the east; They will roam about (from Church to Church) to seek the word of the Lord, But they will not find it (Amos 8: 11‭-‬12 NASB2020).”

‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ “And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13 NASB2020).”

In the Amos 8 scenario, the pulpit is not providing the congregation with what they need to hear in order to build, and to maintain, an edified soul structure (7).

In Amos 8 situations, even advancing disciples will concede that although they continue to attend, they are getting nothing (of an edifying nature) out of going to Church.
. . .

Church attendance had been on the decline before Covid, but one of the long-term side effects of the Covid Pandemic was that many Church-goers found that they could “get by” without what their chosen local assembly had to offer. They found out that they had not been fed much all along, or that they had lost their appetite for spiritual food (accurate Bible doctrine). Covid merely provided them with a convenient excuse, not having the opportunity to attend.

It is true that one can exist without receiving a daily feeding of the Word, but one will not move forward in the plan of God with a soul that is in need of daily spiritual food and exercise.

Jesus taught that, “…Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4 NASB2020).”

End of Part One
____

(1) 2Pet. 3: 18 (2) James 1: 22 (3) Matt. 28: 19, 20 (4) 1Tim. 4: 1 (5) Amos 8: 11-12 (6) Jer. 29: 13 (7) Matt. 7: 24-27)

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE