SELF-HELP BIBLE STUDY SERIES
Charles Uken, December 2019
Faith comes from hearing.
“Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” (Romans 10:17). A woman visited church with her children. She had been taking Bible studies with the Jehovah’s Witnesses for about two years but had not been baptized. I gave her a self-teaching guide to the Gospel. When I corrected it, I noticed that she left unanswered the question that dealt with the story of Jesus calming the storm on the lake. The question was, “Does Jesus have control over the forces of nature? ____ Yes ____ No” I asked her why she left it unanswered. She said, “I thought only Jehovah had power over nature.” Then all of a sudden her eyes widened in amazement. She said, “After reading the Gospel from beginning to end, Jesus can do anything!” In an instant she understood that Jesus was the Divine Son who took on human flesh for our salvation.
On another occasion a woman finished her study. After I corrected it, I felt that I should present the gospel using one of the common outlines (Sin-Salvation-Service, for example.). As I was about to begin, this woman said, “You don’t have to explain anything. I know who Jesus is. What do I do to receive him?” So I led her in a prayer to receive Christ into her life. Not only this, she wanted to be baptized as soon as possible and also have a task in the church. This way she could say to her unbelieving husband, “I need to go to church. I’m needed there to do….”
Through experiences like these I came to realize that any of the four Gospels are the oldest and best evangelistic tools given by the Apostles to the church. This was the Good News preached by the early church that called people to repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ; and it was highly effective in changing lives and in changing the world of that time.
Designed for first-time readers of the Bible
This Self-Help Bible study series is designed for first-time readers of the Bible, who may have little or no church background. There are no open-ended questions for discussion and debate. After reading a paragraph the student answers a question that rephrases the central idea of the passage. The student must choose whether a true-false statement conforms to the text. Or, in a multiple-choice question, he or she must choose the right answer or answers from a list of possible meanings.
Checking the answers.
This format makes the Bible study easy to correct. If the student fails to answer a question or if a wrong answer is checked, the teacher can explore that topic with the student to remove doubt. Often, a second reading is sufficient for the student to realize his or her error. Sometimes, the student understands the message of the Bible, but did not understand the question. Sometimes, the student was tired and inattentive at the time. Other times the student understands the question but does not understand the meaning of the passage. This format helps the teacher direct his or her attention to the place of need in the student’s life.
Follows the order of the Biblical text.
The Self-Help Bible study series follows the order of the Biblical text. Its themes and topics are determined by the teaching and order of the biblical authors. The main purpose of the study is to help the student read the text of Scripture; that is, to read the text of one of the books of the Bible from beginning to end in order, and to read it with understanding.
These are not topical Bible studies that draw upon the teaching of passages scattered throughout the whole Bible. I believe that these types of Bible study presuppose a background knowledge of Biblical history in both the Old and New Testament. To gain this background knowledge, the student, if he or she is a parent, can be encouraged to read stories to the children from a Bible story book.
Uses a modern translation of the Bible.
The Self-Help Bible study series uses the text of the New International Readers Version. Many unchurched people do not have a mastery of the English language. This version breaks long sentences into short ones and it uses vocabulary at a fourth-grade reading level. For this reason this Bible study series does not devote questions to the meaning of theological terminology. Rather the questions deal with the main purpose and thought of a Biblical passage. By answering the questions, the student is reading and then reviewing the theme of the passage. This helps understanding and it also helps the student to answer correctly a high percentage of the questions. This gives the student a sense of accomplishment instead of a sense of defeat.
An aid for disciples to teach others.
Students who get their Bible study corrected have in their hands the answer sheet by which they are able to correct someone else’s Bible study. If they are on a spiritual quest together, both husband and wife can discuss and answer the questions together.
If God uses these studies to open the heart of readers, they should be awakened to the need to share the word with family and friends. What they experienced is readily transferable to others through them. The disciple becomes a maker of disciples, thus fulfilling the command of Jesus in Matthew 28:19.
A suggested order of study.
Students should start their reading with the Gospel of Luke. Let the reader learn about what Jesus did and taught. Jesus calls people to trust and follow him. The second study is Romans. This letter of Paul explains the basic components of faith: a knowledge of sin and its consequences, a knowledge of faith in Christ who delivers from the curse of sin, and a knowledge of dedicating ourselves to Christ’s service. The third study is Acts that gives the reader a sense of the dynamic power of Christ that continues to work through the church. Other studies in this series are John, Ephesians, James, 1 and 2 Peter, and 1 John.
Both teacher and student submit to Christ’s authority.
A disciple is one who submits and obeys the word of God. Jesus, who has received all authority in heaven and earth, commanded his followers to go and make disciples . . . and teach them to obey all the things that he has commanded (Matthew 28:18-20). By reading a book of the Bible, filling out a study guide and allowing you to correct it the student is submitting to discipleship. They are following your lead as you are following Jesus Christ. Both teacher and student are submitting to the authority of Christ.
On several occasions a person has showed genuine interest and started the study. They completed about half of the reading and then quit. At that point they came to realize that the did not want to make the changes that Jesus was asking him to do. At times an adolescent may want to be baptized. If she reads the Scripture and does the study, she is beginning to show that she is serious about her desire to follow Christ.
Who can profit from these studies?
Offer the Luke study to someone with an unchurched background who visits church. If they do the reading and study, they will be building themselves up and not be dependent upon your guessing what their needs are and your trying to feed them from the Word.
Offer it to inmates if you are involved in a jail ministry. Inmates have a lot of time on their hands. And they have a lot of time to think about their life.
Offer it door to door in most any neighborhood. Many readily accept the offer of doing this Bible study, but few complete the study. However, when a person does read, that person begins to show the working of the Spirit in his or her life.
If you have questions, or if you would like a copy formatted in Microsoft Word for a 5.5 by 8-inch sheet, please contact me. I can send you that as an attachment.
Chuck Uken. chuckuken@aim.com