Reuben

Q2. (1 John 5:11-12) What is the difference between saying "this life is in the Christian Church" and "this life is in his Son"? What should we be doing differently so that we teach a faith relationship rather than a religion? What is the difference between "faith" and "faith in Jesus"? The difference is who you have your relationship with. Do you follow the church and do what the others do and feel you are included as a Christian by pleasing them, and looking like you are the part , getting there approval now, and not assured of eternity? Or are you living your life in a true relationship with the Son of God, Jesus, and doing what pleases Him, and having fellowship with Him daily in prayer, reading, praising , and witnessing. Living with the blessing now and continue hereafter as the Bible says, to eternity. Having true assurance that you will get what you are promised if you have Him. We need to know our Bibles and not be following a religious tradition because we were lead to it in some way. As the study indicates rightfully that the church points us to Jesus, we need to do our part in this relationship, like it is with family to grow this relationship and experience the blessings , rather than doing the same rituals every time we are in church or elsewhere , and have no fulfilment from these man made religious traditions. I see religion as going to work and do my job in a set way, opposed to a faithful relationship , is like going to family and friends, and having pleasure in sharing , communicating, enjoying one another's presence and do what is loving and pleasing for each other. Faith can mean having faith in anything. I have faith that when I go to bed that the sun will be shining tomorrow morning. That is all fine, BUT it will not be my assurance of a blessed life with promise of eternal life and a relationship of peace, love and rest because of the forgiveness I find in Jesus , only by having the faith that He truly is the Son of God and He pain the ultimate price for me. Thank you Jesus.

Q1. (1 John 5:4-5) How does a defeatist mentality differ from a belief that in Christ we have overcome the world? What part does faith have in this overcoming? What part does unbelief have in a defeatist mentality A defeatist accepts failure, and gives up. He loses hope. He sees no purpose. He stops trying and resigns to defeat. He sees the end of he line. He lets the world rule his thinking and guide his reality. As a Christian we are walking with God and all the promises and belief in these promises that makes us a people apart, and being in this world but not ruled by this world. We have the joy of living with real hope of a great future, here and now walking with God, and later , everlasting, when we depart from this world to go to our new home with our Father. You can not look forward to something and overcome the present, if you did not believe that your future is guaranteed. Having faith and believing with no doubt will make you rise above the world, and overcome the world, and endure longsuffering to reach the end of the line with your reward waiting. Unbelief will prevent a person from accepting the promises and truths that we have as Christians. It will allow a defeatist to mentally fall in a spiral of doubt, fear, worries, anxiety, depression, negativity, and more darkness exactly as the enemy wants it. All these issues go away as soon as Jesus enters our lives and we make him the lamp to our paths.

Q4. (1 John 4:11-18) What kind of fear should we have towards God? What kind of fear is extinguished by his love perfected in us? What kind of attitude should we have towards future judgment? Our fear towards God should be the fear of respect, amazement, and awe. When you admire and love somebody you can only have this kind of fear, not fear of dread. The fear of condemnation, punishment, and wrath are extinguished by His love perfected in us. He bring peace, comfort. and confidence in our hearts when we have a loving relationship with Him. This is achieved by accepting Jesus Christ as your " rescuer" and being drawn to God through Him, and having the Comforter , Holy Spirit within us. We should have an attitude of living our lives according to how we are told to and expected to as Christians, and walk in the light , having the knowledge we are saved by grace, praise Jesus for this .

Q3. (1 John 4:7-8) Why is the statement, "God is love," so important? What does it say about God's nature? How does love being the essence of God's nature affect us? If we were created in God's image of love, but fell, what does this say about the road to healing in our lives? Why does love demand a willingness to forgive? The love of God is what everything, EVERYTHING , revolves around! As it states God is love, that tells you the nature of God is all about love. Love being the essence of Gods nature , means we are created in Gods image and that means we have love in us. We must apply this love in our lives every day. God gave us the freedom to to choose, and that is the essence of how we live, and apply ourselves. We choose between right and wrong every day, and how we love. Love can not be forced, hence the freedom of choice, but to love builds loving relationships, and that is what we want as humans, and that is what God desires from us. That is the beauty of His creation. When we fall God picks us up, and he through his unlimited love have sent His Son to pay the ultimate sacrifice for us, and there is no bigger love than this. This allows us to walk in His light and continue to build a loving relationship with God. We are forgiven because of love and Jesus paying the ultimate price for our forgiveness if we believe in Him. Therefore we must apply the same love and forgiveness to one another to keep healthy relationships, and grow in them, and keep forgiving as the Bible says.

Q2. (1 John 4:4) What in us is greater than false prophets and even Satan? In what sense have we overcome them? In what way will we overcome them in the future? How should this truth affect fear in our lives? As we are children of God, it means that the Spirit of God is within us and this is greater than the false prophets, and Satan. We have overcome them because of the Spirit of Truth that guides us and will show us when false prophets and Satan is at work to derail us from the truth of the Bible. Test all things as the Bible says and see if it holds up with the Bible or are we dealing with false doctrine. We know that victory is ours from the day Jesus died , and rose again. It says in the Bible that victory will be ours at the final moments , at the end of time as well, so we have overcome them in the future, if we stay within the truth, and be guided by the Holy Spirit. How can we have fear if we know we are assured of victory! The truth shall set you free, that removes doubt and fear, and is replaced by assurance and confidence. How great is this peace we have. Hallelujah!

Q1. (1 John 4:1-3) Why is believing that Jesus was God in the flesh so important? Why doesn't Satan want us to believe that? What are the implications of the fact that Jesus could live out his divine life in a human body like ours? What significance does it bring to the crucifixion and to the resurrection? What is the significance for your Christian life? Having the knowledge that God was in human form, flesh and blood, just like us , BUT completely faultless, and pure and holy, unlike any other human on earth makes it very important to understand that it can only be God who can accomplish this in a fleshly body. Satan would always want us to believe everything but the truth, and if he knows we doubt that God, through his Son Jesus, was in human form, or even not the same and one person he will win because it is fundamental to our belief that Jesus was resurrected in 3 days, and death was defeated. The significance is that Jesus had all the similar environment, challenges, and temptations, we have on earth, BUT he overcome every single one of them. This means that when Jesus was crucified he died because of the trauma to his human body, as it should happen, BUT then the miracle, and awesome reality of Him rising again makes us understand that not one but God alone can do this. This gives every Christian the reassurance and hope, and knowledge of what is waiting for us at the end of the line. Jesus was the firstborn of the dead and we as believers will follow in this resurrection as it is a promise to us who accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, and are born again in Him. Thank you Jesus!

Q4. (1 John 3:22) We know that God doesn't "owe" us anything. So what is the relationship between obedience and answered prayer? Do we "earn" God's favour through obedience? God knows out hearts and actions. He is like any parent would be , and that is you want to give more to the child that does things as they should and are told to do. God has a closer relationship with His children that walk in His light and can pray with a heart full of love, faith and a clear conscience. Is it not true that we always feel less likely to give when we know we are only important to some when they want something?? If the relationship is open, true and honest, we give, and I think this is how God feels and responds in our prayers and relationship to him. We don't "earn" favour, it is by Grace that we are saved through acceptance of His Son, Jesus Christ as our Saviour, and we do not stack up points with God to get His favour. It is only natural when you walk in the light that your relationship, and love , will grow , and this will lead to obedience and keeping His commandments. God has no favouritism but looks at everybody with the same love, only wanting each of us to have a deeply loving relationship in our Christian walk.

Q3. (1 John 3:16-18) What does it mean to "lay down your life for your brothers"? What are some concrete examples of this kind of love in action within the Christian community? If you are in a large congregation, how can you get to know other members so you'll be able to lay down your life for them -- and they for you? Laying down your life for your brother is sacrificial and unconditional. That is giving your all, your time, your space, your stuff, your money, your caring, to your brother. It also means loving them not as yourself but more than yourself. That is big. Examples would be in all the help that we give fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, the attitude of caring , giving, supporting, and service to the church and fellow members. I have encountered pastors in several churches in our town that are well educated in other professional areas, but gave it all up to preach and sacrifice all their time to the flock. Giving up their lives as such. I know I can call any one of them at any time and I will be helped or supported without any hesitation in whatever situation. How good is that. In large congregations it is best to join small home study groups, and grow your friendships like this. Here you get to know people and their needs and it is easier to get involved and assist others , whether it is pure encouragement, or physical help with other things, and show your true love by putting it in to action.

Q2. (1 John 3:15) How can anger turn into hatred in our hearts? In what ways do anger and hatred relate to murder? How can we get rid of stored-up anger in our hearts so that we may love those who have offended us? Anger is a response that we have as it is one of many emotions God has given us. We respond with anger in many ways but we need to be controlled, and just as laughter settles when we are happy , we need to settle when we are angry and move on. It is when we harbour the anger day after day , week after week, or year after year that we develop hatred, and this is exactly what the enemy want. Don't allow this. In the case of Cain his anger out of control, the emotion of anger developed into an action of murder. Jesus made it clear and John referred to it as well, that even if you are angry and can not move on and leave it behind , or solve it, the attitude of anger is far from love if it keeps eating away at you. This then means you are guilty of murder although it was not literally murder but in your heart. Getting rid of stored up anger is essential for a continued growth in your spiritual life as well as physical life. Your relationship with God and your relationship with other people. The Bible makes it clear there are many actions we should keep in mind to prevent us from getting to the stage where anger , becomes hatred, becomes murder. We can start by looking at things like, turning the other cheek, if someone takes your clothing give him your coat as well, forgive continually , 70 x 7, if you brother has offended you speak to him or her in a loving way and resolve the issue, and off course ask God to help you release this anger and flush it out of your being so that it does not eat away at you like a cancer, and show genuine love to those around you.

Why did Cain resent Abel? Why did Cain kill Abel? How does the story of Cain and Abel illustrate Jesus' explanation of why the world hates us? Cain was jealous of Abel because God was not satisfied with his offering , because he was not doing it out of love and wanting. The Bible says that he was angry, and his face was downcast, and there had to be wrong in his life as God ask him why he does not do what is right. It was not about what was offered but the heart of the person doing so. Cain killed him because the opposite of love is hate, and the spirit of hate extends to murder. He hated his brother because he could not stand that his brother lived a righteous life , and that God favoured Abel more because of this. How sad. Today we see exactly the same in our daily lives. People who do not know God, or choose NOT to know Him, despise anything Godly, as it reveals and exposes their lawlessness. "After all, nobody can tell me I am wrong! I am a law unto myself! Who gives you the right! This is the world ." Like Cain they do not love the righteous and hate those living in a relationship with God. This is why love is so crucial and will allow us to live to please the Father as we love Him, and automatically will love one another. I may not like some people but that is not hating them, it still means I love them enough to tolerate at pray for them. Jesus also reminds us that the student is not better than the master, therefore as much as they hated our Master, that is how they will hate us.

Q5. (1 John 3:3-10) How does John's teaching on sin and righteousness in this passage relate to combating the false teachers? What did they seem to be teaching about sin and righteous living? John is explaining that we are supposed to be different in our way of living and it should be seen by others as a light shining in darkness to others. If we want to be called children of God we should live up to it and strive to meet the expectations of being called a Christian. In fact I have heard people say on occasions when they come to know you are a Christian things like " ..I thought you are a bit different..", taking it as a compliment of course?. We strive to live a perfectly sinless life but only One could do this and through Him we become righteous with God as he died for our sins past present and future. BUT this does not mean job done!. This means we must continue to do what God tells us to do , or the opposite will happen , and lawlessness and sin will increase and the shadow of darkness will choke you again. False teaches are present today as they were in the past teaching their flock we are all good because grace and faith is all we need, don't try to hard because it might be seen as "works", and we don't want to see that. This is happy go lucky, go with the flow teaching and very dangerous. As we will be accountable for every action , SO MUCH MORE THE FALSE TEACHERS CAUSING THE FLOCK TO ERR.

Q4. (1 John 3:6, 9) How does the presence of God's seed in us keep us from habitual lawlessness and sin? How does the Holy Spirit sanctify us and make us like Jesus? Being anointed with the Holy Spirit gives every born again Christian the Spiritual resistance , and conviction of their actions if it is lawless, and deliberate sin. It will also keep reminding you when you are in the wrong and that you need to stop whatever transgressions you are doing deliberately. We are children of God so we naturally also want to please our Father in heaven, just as we did when we were little children wanting to please our parents. The Holy Spirit dwells in us and continues to salt us in the ways of God, and making us grow closer to and more like Jesus. This is done daily as we allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us when we read the Bible, do these Bible studies, pray to God, and have fellowship.

Q3. (1 John 3:4) How does lawlessness show up in a person's attitude and actions? In what sense is an attitude of lawlessness the cause of sin in our lives? A person that is lawless, shows it in their attitude by the way they go about in their daily lives , being blatantly sinful and not seeing anything wrong with their doings. They will wilfully transgress Gods law and keep doing so without seeing how wrong they are in breaking Gods law. You may even have some knowing how wrong their actions are but could not care. It is the attitude of self will being more important than Gods will. This will make us disregard what God tells us to do and actively rebel against this, or passively be indifferent to it. This is when we are lawless, and sin dominates in our lives.

Q2. (1 John 2:28; 3:2-3) In what way does our expectation of Christ's Second Coming motivate us to purify ourselves from sin? How does purifying ourselves from sin relate to God's grace? When Jesus comes again we need to be as the Bible says, confident and not afraid, and unashamed, not ashamed. This will motivate us to purify ourselves, and look forward to the appearance of our King. We can purify ourselves only by making ourselves righteous with Goad, in repenting our sins, accepting Jesus as our Saviour and being baptised and receiving the Holy Spirit as our guide to continue in this purification process. It is through His grace that we are given a chance to get right with God, being in right standing, and not to be used as an excuse and say, grace and faith alone is ALL we need, removing any requirements from me?

Q1. (1 John 2:29-3:2) In what sense are we "children of God"? What does the Holy Spirit have to do with this "new birth"? How does the new birth change us? We are His children if we carry His family name, meaning Christian. It is in a spiritual form when we become children of God, the day we accept His Son Jesus as our best friend and saviour. We are anointed with the Holy Spirit , and it is this within us that changes us day by day as we hear the voice of the Holy Spirit instructing us, convicting us, guiding us, and revealing to us. We become children by being born again , as Jesus said, we need to born of water AND the Spirit, and this means putting away the old me and being born again, a new me. The new birth is what salts us as we continue to walk with this changed spirit walking in the light . It is this obedience to the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit teaching us the ways and truths of Jesus that will continue let us grow in HIM.

Q5. (1 John 2:26-27) If we have the Holy Spirit, why do we need teachers in the church? How does the role of the anointing differ from the Holy Spirit's spiritual gift of teaching? Teachers are needed to help guide the flock in the right path. They are gifted with the ability to teach, and if true to the word of God they are essential to keep adding to our growth as Christians with an in depth understanding of the Bible and the expression of such understanding . It is our duty as Christians to test such teachings continuously with what scripture says, and The Holy Spirit reveals to us. Being anointed is being set apart, and the role of this anointing is what changes inside me to be set apart, and be called a Christian. It is an internal spiritual awakening and growth process. The gift of teaching from the Holy Spirit has to do with the external application of the growth process through the teaching of the Holy scriptures and the understanding of these truths to teach others. Despite these understandings it is still very common to see so many denominations, and each with their own "angle" to the path of salvation that you do wonder how can so many teachers have so many different opinions if we all read the same Bible, and would be guided by the same Spirit of Truth?

Q4. (1 John 2:24-28) What does it mean to abide/remain/continue in Jesus? Give an example of what a Christian might be doing who is "abiding" in Jesus. What are symptoms in a Christian who is not "abiding" in Jesus? Abiding in Jesus to me means being with Him every day of my life. It means to dwell in Jesus, having the Holy Spirit working in you at all times and keeping close, to the Lord, remaining in Him. Doing this will keep fuelling our engines to want to continue in abiding with Jesus, and a continued hunger to have more. Christians abiding in Jesus show this by their actions, reading the Bible daily, praying daily, enjoying fellowship, using opportunity to talk about their faith, worshipping Jesus when they can, going to church. Christians not abiding loose the intimacy they should have, and myself and many other Christians fall in to this at times when work and the world starts to take over. The above mentioned actions get less and we don not feel that closeness to Goad as we should. Like a family member not keeping up with visits and communications. The love is still there but the relationship is colder. It changes when you realise this and work at fixing this, by working at it daily, abiding in Him.

Q3. (1 John 2:20, 27) In what ways is the Holy Spirit an internal Guide for us? In what ways does he teach us? In what ways does he point us to Jesus' teaching? The Holy Spirit is a guide to us in that it is also the Spirit of truth and it teaches us the truth. It teaches us to understand the scriptures and gives us insight to discern from error. The Holy Spirit teaches us in all aspects of our Christianity. It is that feeling, and voice that gives you insight , shows you the gems, and removes the scales, giving you guidance, giving you courage, and giving you the words, helping you and comforting you. Thank you Jesus! In John 14:26 is says that the Holy Spirit will remind us about everything Jesus have said. That is the assurance we have that through the Spirit we will be guided back to what stands as the truth in the Bible.

Q2. (1 John 2:20-21) What is the "anointing" that John is talking about? In what way is anointing connected to the Holy Spirit in the Bible? Do you think that each Christian has received this anointing? John is talking about anointing with reference to the old Testament, when people etc, were anointed as a sign of being set apart, but also to the individual as a means of empowerment, as it happened with David. When David was anointed by the prophet Samual, the Bible says, from that day the Spirit of the Lord was with David. It was Jesus who read it in the synagogue in Nazareth from the book of Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor." (Luke 4:18, quoting Isaiah 61:1). This anointing occurred at the baptism of Jesus when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him. In Acts 10:38 it also talks of how Jesus was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit. John also refers to the anointing of the believer with the Holy Spirit as receiving the Spirit of Truth, and this is all we need to teach us the word of God as it is written, and will teach, and show us clearly how to discern the truth from those standing at the front teaching false doctrine. I think each born again Christian has received this anointing, and like David, we have this empowerment, and guide of Truth in us, and when we stumble we are reminded within that we are set apart and are doing wrong, rebuked if you may by the Holy Spirit, and like David the Spirit of God never left him and he repented and turned back to God, only because he did not ignore the burning conviction in his heart by the Spirit of God.

Q1. (1 John 2:18) What is this antichrist that John expects to come? What is the difference between the antichrist and antichrists in the church John is writing to? In what ways do we see the spirit of antichrist at work in our day? John refers to the antichrist that Daniel prophesied about, that is still to come and rule, and deceive the world and persecute Christians. The abomination that causes desolation in the temple of God. This antichrist is a person that is yet to reveal himself, the beast from the sea as described in Revelation, but the antichrists in the church are those who are in the church but walk in darkness. They are the ones that teach a happy go lucky, lets apply this and that text as we see fit to suit us. The false teachers. I am still frustrated by churches I attend ,and each one has its own little identity that makes them " the right one", and good people accepting the man made rituals and traditions in these churches as gospel. What astonishes me is that the teachers/pastors/priests, in these churches should know very clearly what scripture says, and warns us about, but they still cling to doctrine from Bible college of this and that church, and then sign oaths to stick to the program.? It is in these ways from the days of John writing to the churches that we already see the spirit of the antichrist at work in the world, and if we look in almost every country in the world how the moral compass, and Biblical principles have been watered down, or abolished it is clear that the prince of this world is at work, and working hard because his time is running out. Stay strong, uphold the truth.

Q4. (1 John 2:15-17) What kinds of sins are covered by the three examples of worldliness that John gives? Why are these sometimes so difficult for us to discern in ourselves? Why is worldliness so harmful to our future? The three sins John gives , **** of flesh( all that we have in our primal human nature), **** of eyes ( unmoral as well as greed, coveting), and boasting and pride ( loving the self, all about I ). We all have our flaws, shortcomings, and are here in the flesh, so we fail at times and act according to the flesh, and when we transgress we are the last ones to admit to our mistakes, faults, and shortcomings. We find it very difficult to admit that "we were wrong". Living in this worldly realm and not recognizing when we are drawn deeper in to it will pull us deeper in to darkness , and we will loose the light shining on our paths and stumble. The future in the world is short, but the spiritual future in the Kingdom of God is forever and this is what we do not want to harm by falling to the world.

Q3. (1 John 2:15-16) What is "the world" in verses 15-16? What kind of love of "the world" keeps us from loving the Father? "The world" is all the earthly things that we face in our every day lives. Some of it may not even be opposed to God, like keeping a job, doing sport, practice a hobby. We are surrounded by "the world", at home ,at work, in our car, on that holiday, etc. It will distract us from God, as it is always there to entertain, please, fulfil or satisfy our human nature, and desires. " It becomes a problem when "The world" can consume us , our time, our thinking and our actions, or if we part take in it when it opposes God. It is then when we get distant from God, and it could keep us from loving God as dearly as we should.

Q2. (1 John 2:12-14) John encourages "children," "young men," and "fathers." Why do you think he takes time to encourage them? In what ways does he encourage them? John takes the time to encourage them each, at the level they are at in their walk in the Christian faith, first as children, then young men, and finally seasoned fathers. This is fundamentally what we need to do as Christians as John set out to do as early as this already. We have to encourage fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, just as we appreciate their encouragement towards us. It is part and parcel of what happens, or should happen when we fellowship. He encourages them by reminding them where they are in their spiritual relationship with God, and what they have gained through this relationship so far. He also encourages them by giving them promise of what can further develop as this relationship keeps growing and developing. The Holy Spirit is continuously edifying us to grow in the ways of the Lord.

Q1. (1 John 2:7-11) How does hate and unforgiveness blind us spiritually? If we have been darkened by hurt and hate, how do we come into the light? Hate and unforgiveness clutters our mind and darkens our thinking, and removes us from the light, because we have this dark cloud following us every day. This removes us , and hinders us from having a spiritual walk in the light , loving, as it should be, and God wants us to have this. We can get this fixed if we ask God to give us the strength to humble ourselves and forgive those we begrudge, and ask God for forgiveness. Remember we are reminded that we can only receive forgiveness, if we forgive others.

Q5. (1 John 2:3-6) How can we be serious about obeying Christ without become legalistic and judgmental, with the self-righteous attitude that the Pharisees had? How do love and legalism differ? How can we be serious about obedience and make love our center? We can be serious about following Christ by walking with Him in a true relationship as our loving Father, rather than a person making rules and forcing us to abide by them or else, or counting our rules kept tally and thinking we are better than the next fellow because of this. We love in relationships, and in this case relationship with Jesus, but if we focus on legalism we do not have that relationship, but rather act as slaves to legalities. As soon as love is the centre of the relationship, obedience comes natural, and you will be serious about it without being legalistic.