We need to know the Bible!

Welcome again to my blog. I am so happy you can visit. 

 

Teleios has shown Christian belief can improve personal wellbeing! Therefore, we are examining the Christian life in more detail to see if we can uncover in the Bible some of the underlying causes of the improved wellbeing. 

 

We are currently discussing the practice of Christianity for which we are using Acts 2:42-47 as a basis. These dynamic verses describe the activities involved in the Christian lifestyle within the early church. These descriptions are repeated throughout the Epistles and so are vital to us today.  I call them the ‘5 tools to maturity’ and can be summarized conveniently as: prayer, fellowship/community, outreach, Bible study and praise. Last week we discussed outreach. Today’s tool for overview is Bible study.

 

We need to know the Bible! Why? Can we just not memorize the most important verses and follow the style of Christianity we learned in our college group or Sunday school and live a good Christian social life? Social Christianity brings some good things to us and our culture, no doubt. However, it is like settling for crackers when you could be enjoying steak. Let's examine what the Bible says.

 

The Bible is an authoritative source as it comes from God through the Holy Spirit by way of the apostles (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21, 3:16). We are told to know and understand God's word (Ephesians 1:15). There are several reasons for this:

●      It is a command (Colossians 1:9)

●      We cannot bear fruit or know what to do without first knowing and understanding the Bible (Colossians 1:10). Accordingly, to function as a Christian, like anything in life, we need to follow the manual.

●      When we know the manual and know what to do, then the process bears much fruit in our lives. We have better wellbeing from a confident relationship with God. Teleios research has actually shown that those who have more knowledge have better well-being and less guilt than those who don't!

 

It takes a little work and time, but the benefits are huge. We can have the joy of:

●      Bearing fruit in our lives such as: joy and peace, etc. (Galatians 5:22).

●      Seeing God work through us in others’ lives (Colossians 1:10).

●      Proving His Word and knowing Him better (Romans 12:1-2, Colossians 1:10).

●      Loving others in a more accurate and useful fashion (Philippians 1:9, 1 John 5:1-3).

●      Judging (i.e., assessing) what's good and bad in situations and people very quickly (Hebrews 5:14) thus keeping ourselves out of life’s difficult situations. 

●      Not having to rely on our emotions so our life becomes more stable and predictable (Hebrews 5:9-14). The Bible does not state that we have a religion based in emotions and actually warns against it (Ephesians 4:12-16, James 1:5-8).

 

You may be thinking ‘But isn't listening to my pastor’s great sermons and watching an effective video enough?’ As good as these learning experiences may be, we need to study the Bible itself in some detail to fully understand and receive its benefits.

 

How then do we effectively study scripture? There are plenty of Bible study resources on Amazon.com or online that might be effective. Make sure they are Bible and Christian based. In addition, someone in your church also may be able to help you. You can start with these basic steps:

●      Download a web-based Bible study tool such as e-Sword. It's free and has multiple exciting resources to help understand scripture (e-Sword: Free Bible Study for the PC).

●      Start with a power-packed epistle such as Ephesians or Colossians that will give you essential information about Christ and our Christian life in a concise manner. 

●      Slow down! Take your time and follow these four basic study steps:

o   Observation - Ask questions about the verse.

o   Interpretation - Use resources on e-Sword to answer your questions.

o   Application - How should the first specifically change your life? 

o   Integration - What are other verses that support your interpretation so you can confidently build what you know about the topic discussed in the verse (e.g. salvation, the Spirit, etc.)?

 

That's all for today. The Bible is so rich and exciting! Join us next week as we discuss praise!

 

William C. Stewart, MD

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Email – info@teleiosresearch.com

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Disclaimer – This blog and its content are provided only as information and are intended for visitors 18 and older. No content on the website should be taken as advice or recommendation to any personal or institutional situation. The views expressed are those of the author alone and not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Teleios. Both the blog and the contents are subject to change at any time without notice. Although I endeavor to ensure that the blog and the content are current and accurate, it may contain errors. I do not represent that the blog or the content is current, accurate or complete, or appropriate for your specific requirements. I do not accept any liability from any person for the blog, the content or any other information (or the use of such information) I provide. I do not have a seminary degree, but I have trained myself in the scriptures to teach and provide this information. For any specific question, I suggest you contact experts in that field and/or do your own research into the scriptures.

 

 

Where do we begin?

 

Welcome to my blog. I am delighted you have taken the time to visit.

 

This week starts a series on the Christian life and the wonderful promises of scripture and the benefits to us. Teleios and other authors have shown Christian belief can improve personal wellbeing. This is great! How do we get it?

 

Well, the answer is neatly outlined in scripture in 1 Thessalonians 1:5-7. Let us spend this series of blogs following and expanding on this great passage, the basis of the Christian life, and good wellbeing. Here is the passage! 

 

1 Thessalonians 1:5-7

 

For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost. So that ye were examples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.

 

In these verses the Apostle Paul reflects warmly on the acceptance of the gospel by the Thessalonians that he presented to them and their progression through the Christian life. The verses are neatly outlined by the following:

·       Becoming a Christian - Verse 5

·       Security of salvation - Verse 5

·       Accepting God's Word in daily life - Verse 6

·       Becoming imitators of Paul - Verse 6

·       Becoming examples to others - Verse 7

 

Let us start today with salvation. This is the obvious starting point for the Christian life as Christ said to enter through the narrow gate to life and to avoid the wide gate to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14). To those who proceed through this narrow gate all the benefits of Christianity are available, but one must first enter! How do we do this?

 

The basis of salvation is to understand (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 10:9-10, and Romans 3:21-26):

·       Man sinned.

·       God is just, requiring a punishment for sin.

·       But out of love God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, who by dying on the cross, provided forgiveness of sins in taking man’s deserved punishment.

·       Therefore, by faith alone in Christ’s sacrifice for our sins and belief in His resurrection, man can gain eternal life.

 

This forgiveness is by faith alone. No work is required. When you believe, confess it to somebody else so you're able to articulate it. A person generally does not really know something until they can tell another person.

 

So, there you have it; it’s that simple! If you have not believed in Christ as your Savior, please do so now. Please tell us about it and we will be happy, if you desire, to help you in your beginning journey as a Christian.

 

What is the next step? Simply to believe it! We will talk about this more next week.

 

William C. Stewart, MD

 

Email – info@teleiosresearch.com

Website – http://teleiosresearch.com

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Disclaimer – This blog and its content are provided only as information and are intended for visitors 18 and older. No content on the website should be taken as advice or recommendation to any personal or institutional situation. The views expressed are those of the author alone and not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Teleios. Both the blog and the contents are subject to change at any time without notice. Although I endeavor to ensure that the blog and the content are current and accurate, it may contain errors. I do not represent that the blog or the content is current, accurate or complete, or appropriate for your specific requirements. I do not accept any liability from any person for the blog, the content or any other information (or the use of such information) I provide. I do not have a seminary degree, but I have trained myself in the scriptures to teach and provide this information. For any specific question, I suggest you contact experts in that field and/or do your own research into the scriptures.

Does Bible study really help?

 

Welcome again to the Teleios blog! We have been exploring together practical ways by which the Bible improves our lives. 

 

Studying the Bible offers numerous benefits that can positively impact various aspects of your life. Here are some key benefits:

• Growth: Studying the Bible can help deepen your understanding of your faith and strengthen your relationship with God.
• Community: Bible studies often bring people together, fostering a sense of community and support.
• Guidance: The Bible offers wisdom and guidance for life’s challenges and decisions.
• Knowledge: It provides historical and cultural insights that can enrich your understanding of the world.

 

“Oh, do I have to study the Bible every day?” Many people consider Bible study a time-consuming chore that they must endure to prove their faithfulness to God. We consider Bible study a wonderful life-enhancing activity that is part of our vital relationship with God. Does Bible study really help?

 

We decided to evaluate the effect of Bible study on the wellbeing of 46 healthy young adults from a Christian community environment. This was a “proof of concept” study since we don’t know of any prior research about this topic. The design was a prospective, randomized, active-controlled, single-blind interventional trial (more details http://teleiosresearch.com/index.php/bible-study-methods-summary/).   

 

Subjects were randomized to either an active (detailed bible study program) or a control (minimally detailed bible study program) group in a 3:1 ratio. Ephesians Chapter 1 was chosen as the study text since it details many wonderful characteristics of our great salvation.

 

The results showed no differences between the active and control groups for any general or specific wellbeing measure. However, when the active group was compared to its own baseline data significant differences were observed in overall wellbeing.

 

It is unclear from our results why there was an increase of overall wellbeing in the active group. We speculate that the gain in knowledge about the security of their relationship with God, by faith alone, allowed for less guilt and greater confidence.

 

Interestingly, increased wellbeing was also observed in the control group, but did not quite reach significance, possibly because of the smaller sample size. This group also studied scripture, but about events surrounding the creation of man in Genesis Chapters 1-4 that did not contain the salvation information from Ephesians provided to the active-intervention group. 

 

Consequently, with a larger sample size it could be that greater wellbeing would have been statistically significant in both groups. If true, it might be that studying any scripture, regardless of the specific content, could have a positive effect on wellbeing. 

 

This proof-of-concept study suggests that increases in short-term well-being potentially can be achieved by a Scripture study program over the course of 4-weeks in young Christian adults. These benefits highlight the profound impact that regular Bible study can have on your spiritual, emotional, and practical life. More research is needed to better understand the effect of improved wellbeing associated with scripture study both in the short and long term.

 

Thanks for joining us today! Stay tuned next Wednesday for another interesting blog.

 

William C. Stewart, MD

 

Email – info@teleiosresearch.com

Website – http://teleiosresearch.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/TeleiosResearch

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/TeleiosResearch

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/c/TeleiosVideos/

 

Disclaimer – This blog and its content are provided only as information and are intended for visitors 18 and older. No content on the website should be taken as advice or recommendation to any personal or institutional situation. The views expressed are those of the author alone and not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Teleios. Both the blog and the contents are subject to change at any time without notice. Although I endeavor to ensure that the blog and the content are current and accurate, it may contain errors. I do not represent that the blog or the content is current, accurate or complete, or appropriate for your specific requirements. I do not accept any liability from any person for the blog, the content or any other information (or the use of such information) I provide. I do not have a seminary degree, but I have trained myself in the scriptures to teach and provide this information. For any specific question, I suggest you contact experts in that field and or do your own research into the scriptures.