Sinclair

Q5. What has this study on 2 Peter and Jude meant to you? How has it enriched your life? How could it be improved? This study has meant a great deal to me in that it was informative, enriching and good material to do a series of sermons on this book. It has enriched my life in many ways. I think one significant thing that has happen; it has renewed my interest in apostasy and knowing the Word of God. It is so easy to overlook false teaching in the church, but I am convinced even more now that it needs to be addressed and eradicated. I think the Bible study can be improved by giving us some feedback on our answers so that we will know whether or not we are on track or distorted in our understanding. I have already sign up for the next course on Abraham. I am looking forward to studying with you and others on the life of this great Old Testament character of the Bible. I am greatful to you Pastor Ralph for all your work and preparation, especially providing us with all the Greek words realated to the passages and their meanings. Blessings and prayers Sinclair

Q4. (Jude 24) What does it mean to you that God is guarding you from falling? How can you explain God's exultant joy towards you? How will God manage to present you to himself "blameless"? How does that work? As the letter begins, so it ends with the assurance that God will keep us from falling prey to false teachers. Although false teachers are so prevalent in today

Q3. (Jude 21a) What does it mean to "keep yourself in God's love"? What are you doing to strengthen your love relationship with God? What more could you do that might help? "Keep yourselves in God Love" means to live close to God and his people and not to listen to the false teachers who attempt to pull us away from God and minimize our faith (John 15:9, 10). Some of the things I am doing to strengthen my relationship with God are by being more intimate with Him, by reading His Word inductively, meditating, reflecting on His love for me, and fervent in my prayers. I want God to continue to flood my heart with His love and to continue to grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ through His Word so that the false teachings of today that are so prevalent in the Church will be easily recognized and I will be able to speak out against error. My desire is to be more like Christ in all my interpersonal relationships with people especially my immediate family. I do not want to be ineffective and unproductive in my knowledge of Christ (2 Peter 1:9). My goal is to glorify God and enjoy His fellowship forever.

Q2. (Jude 20a) Why does God make you responsible to "build up" your own Christian faith? What are you doing on a regular basis to obey this command? What should you begin to do that will help you be built up better? Our salvation is a free gift from God through His Son Jesus Christ. However, if do not make any effort to grow by reading the Bible and do not make any effort to build upon our faith then we will never be mature in our relationship with Christ. I am presently doing and inductive study of the books of 1 and 2 Peter because this method of study allows the Holy Spirit to interpret Scripture to me personally through divine revelation. Observation, interpretation and application are the key components to Inductive Bible Study. To build myself up in the most holy faith means that I have to study the Bible and read it entirely through deductive and inductive strategies of learning that is proven to bring outstanding results and growth. Also, a daily quiet time each day so that I allow myself to hear from God and speak to Him.

Q1. (Jude 1) Which of these three privileges catches your attention more than the others? Why is it so special to you? How does it encourage your faith? All three privileges play a significant impact on my life. First of all I feel that I am truly called to the ministry of Jesus Christ. It has been my divine calling that has kept me not only focused, but also on the things of the Lord. If it were not for the Love of the Father for His children were would I be and what would be the ultimate outcome of my life. [Lost] Jesus is the one who makes intersession for me in heaven and without his sacrificial atonement death and resurrection I would have no hope of life beyond the grave. What is so special to me is that I can grow in the knowledge of God the Father through His Son and live a victorious life because my calling is sure in Christ. When Jesus comes for His followers I will be ready to meet Him because my calling and service to Him has been guided by His Spirit. Thanks be to God for His indescrible gift. (Amen)

Q5. (2 Peter 3:11-12, 14-16) What effect should a belief in Christ's return and coming judgment have on your life? What effect does an underemphasis on Christ's return have on a Christian's life? Christ second coming will be sudden and terrible for those who do not believe in Him. But if we are morally clean and spiritually alert, it will not come as a surprise. Therefore, it is imperative for us to live holy and godly lives, lives that anticipate and look forward to Christ's return. If we underemphasize Christ's return we may find ourselves being unprepared and have to give an account for our sins of commission and sins of omission. Also, we may just make it in by the skin of our teeth or we will be amongst the ranks of the lost. It is not God desire that anyone should be lost. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[ 3:16 Or his only begotten Son] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life

Q4. (2 Peter 3:9) Why does our culture resist the ideas of sin and repentance? Can there be salvation without repentance? Can you think of a time in your own life when repentance was difficult for you? Why was it difficult? Sin poses some difficulty to our modern culture because both sin and forgiveness have lost their meaning in the secular and superficial age in which we live. For the modern man, the concept of sin is indeed an offence to reason because it injures his pride and sense of greatness. We have therefore invented a number of very clever euphemisms to replace the word sin: weakness, habit, orientation, tendency, and fixation. Our culture resist the ideas of sin and repentance because that means that they will have to make some significant changes in there lifestyle and the word sin and repentance does not appear in their vocabulary. Also, some denominations do not use the words

Q3. (2 Peter 3:9) According to Peter, why has Christ's coming been delayed? What does this teach us about God? Christ coming has been delayed so as to give more sinners time to repent and turn to Him. God may seem slow to some believers, but that is not true. He is just not on the same timetable. Psalm 90:4:

Q2. (2 Peter 3:7-13). Why is it important for us to understand what it means to "perish"? Why are these truths underemphasized in our day? What effect does that have on us? How can we get an understanding of judgment into proper balance in our churches and teaching? It is so important for us to understand what it means to

Q1. (2 Peter 3:1-2) Why are reminders so important for Christians? How do you remind yourself of God's promises? How do you remind others? Reminders are so important for the Christian as it helps us to stay on course and not fall in to sin. We will not be influenced by false teacher who deny that there is a hell and that we need to be saved in order to escape it. We remind ourselves of God's promises daily by reading the Bible and memorizing Scripture for future use. 2 Timothy 2:15-16 So when we are tempted to sin or fall away from the faith we can call on these promises. We can remind others by witnessing and prolaiming the Word of God by our talk and by our walk. Why? Becuse we must do the work to which God has called us and beleive that he will return to claim His own as promised and we are to be ready for His appearing.

Q4. (2 Peter 2:20-22) If open sin is so spiritually dangerous, why have we churches stopped talking about it so much? Churches have stopped talking about sin because many preachers have fallen into the trap of giving people exactly what their itchy ears want to hear and it certainly not addressing the problem of sin and its consequences. Some peachers also have a problem believing that the Bible is the Inspired Inerrant Word of God. So they only touch on those things that they are comfortable with and that does not cause their followers to ask questions about eternal purnishment for the wicked.

Q3. (2 Peter 2:19) In what way can flagrant, defiant sin enslave a person? Is there any way out of these sins? If so, what is the path? How can we truly love the sinner and hate the sin? How can we steer clear of a quick judgmental attitude toward those who sin? A flagrant defiant sin can enslave a person when it is allowed to take full control of that person mind , soul body and spirit. The only way out of committing sin is to submit our lives fully over to Christ and he will free us from sin. Christ frees us from from sin so that we can fully serve Him and ultimately do good. Leave the the judging to God who will be to ultimate judge on the day of of His appearing.

Q2. (Jude 4) In what way does sexual sin deny Christ? If Paul is right in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, that persistent sexual sin is incompatible with salvation, why have we Christians become so complacent about it in our culture? To be involved in sexual sin we are outright denying the Lordship of Christ and truth of the Bible as it relates the sexual immorality. We are giving ourselves a license to practice sin without worrying about the consequences. However, what a person believes will show up in how they act. Their immoral behavior will eventually be exposed. Christians have become so complacent about persistent sexual sin in our culture because many denominations do not believe the Bible is the inspired inerrant word of God. Thus, they only take from the Bible what suits there immoral ways and dismiss the others part as irrelevant. However, those to say they are Christian but still persist in immoral practices sighted in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 need to reevaluate their lives to see if they really believe in Christ and His redemptive power.

Q1. (Jude 3) Why must we "contend for the faith"? What is the danger in not challenging the doctrines of false teachers? What is the danger inherent in challenging them? How can we keep the correct balance? We must contend for the faith because the truth of the Bible must never be compromised. If we do not challenge the doctrines of falsh teachers people will lose sight of the only path that leads to etenal life. The danger inherent in challenging them is not an easy task, since many who fall in this catergory refuse to study for themselves and learn the truth for themselves from God Word. We can keep correct balance by embracing true doctrine and right cunduct in our Christian walk with Christ. Make sure we avoid leaders and teachers who distort the truth of the Bible to suit their own purposes. Make sure we have a inherent desire to know the truth and to work dilegently to bring others on-line. Romans 3:23 tell us that: "for all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God." Don't let any one tell you that you can get into to heaven without being saved. Jesus said: " I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the father but by me." John 14:6

Q4. (2 Timothy 3:16) If Scripture is "breathed" by God, how can it help us draw close to God? Why do you think God's Spirit (pneuma, "breath, wind") so important in helping us understand Scripture? The Bible is not a story book or a collection of ideas for us to read and to digest. It is the inspired Word of God written by men through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Because the whole Bible is inspired it becomes the first text book to seek the divine will of God for our lives. Through the Holy Spirit God revealed to certain belivers who wrote down his message for his people (2 Peter 1:20,21) and to us today. Thus, the Scriptures are totally trustworthy because God was in control of the writings. So when we read and obey the Scriptures we become partakers of His divine nature 2 Peter 1:4 and thus, escape the corruption of this world. Holiness 1 Peter 1: 15 becomes a way of life and we live according to God's will and not our will. Obedience to God and His word is better than any sacrifice. As we understand the trustworthyness of God's Word we will be more open to reading it and appropriating it in our lives.

Q3. (2 Peter 1:20-21) How can a person be speaking and God be speaking, too? How does the image of a ship being moved by the wind help you understand this? (Greek pneuma means "spirit" and "wind.") Human beings speak on God behalf , but it is God who takes the initiative. Hence, anything prophet that God gives to men can be considered authentic even in this present age. This means that God through the His divine inspiration still speaks through the avenue of prophesy given to men by Himself. Even though not all prophesy cannot be consider authoritive it still is useful and profitable to spiritual growth. We are the ship and God is the wind who moves us into the direction he wants us to go. It is our responsiblity to be obedient by raising our sails and allowing the mighty rushing wind of the Holy Spirit to move us in the right direction.

Q2. (2 Peter 1:19). In what ways do the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments act for you as "a light shining in a dark place"? What does the darkness represent? What does the light represent? The Scriptures of the Old and New Testament act for us as " a light shining in a dark place" by calling on us to recognize the spiritual darknes that is around us and causes us to wake us and pay attention. The illumination or light that the Scripture brings will be a centrifugal force . As the sun gives out light on the earth so the Word of God sends out light to a world that is full of darkness. The Word of God is centrifugal force going throughout the world and drawing men away from the world system into the arms for Christ. Darkness represents the forces of evil led by Satan and his helpers who are working hard to get every person they can in their camp. Light represent Jesus Christ who came to transform us from the power of darkness in the His marvelous light. The illuminating presence of the Holy Spirit in our Christian walk with Christ will be like a "morning star" bringing tranformation into our hearts.

Q1. (2 Peter 1:13-15) Why does our culture avoid talking about death? How is describing your earthly body as a "tent" freeing and motivating? What is the significance of Peter referring to his death as a "departure" or "exodus"? Our culture avoids taking about death because for many the fear of the unknown. Even though they think about it they find it difficult to discuss its implications and their final destiny. Our earthly body is like a tent. It is a temporary place to live and rest for a while. There is more to life then just living in a tent when you are a truly born again Christian you have the promise of eternal life in heaven that will be forever and that should be a strong motivator to persevere in the faith. The significance of Peter referring to his death as a "departure" or "exodus" he is saying that death does not end it all. He is telling us just like the children of Israel were told in the Old Testatment that there is a promise land in the future base on the authority of the Bible.

Q4. (2 Peter 1:10) Why is Christian character an essential indicator of being saved or rescued by Christ? What Biblical assurance of salvation can you offer the fruitless, barren "believer"? Our Christian character is an essential indicator of being rescued by Christ. Why? Our faith must be more than just Christian facts is must translate into a Christian experience with the results being a practice of moral discipline and spiritual growth. We do not want to be labled as "baren" and find ourselves having no drive or vision. Thus, seen by God and others as unproductive and fruitless. To a fruitless baren believer I Peter tells us in verse 9 : " that we are blind and nearsighted, and they we have fogotten that Jesus has cleansed us from our sins". We need to leave the old nature behind and let Holy Spirit transform us into an effective fruitful Christian. However, we have to be connected to the vine (Christ Jesus) in order to experience real maturity and spiritual growith. In verse 10 Peter is speaking to the complacent believer who can easy fall pray to false teaching, because of their immaturity. He says if we are not working to develop the virtues mention in verses 5-7, maybe we don't belong to Him at all. Therefore, we are in need of salvation. If we are assured of our salvation then we will work hard to make our calling and election sure in Christ. By doing this, we will not be easily swade by every wind and doctrine and being led astray by the deceptive galmour that sin can provide. We will be fruitful instead of fruitless and we will see ourselves develping in Christ and souls be added to the body of Christ by our witness.

Q3. (2 Peter 1:7) Why do we imagine that "agape love" is easier than loving church members? If we avoid church because of our hurts at the hands of church members, can we mature fully in Christ? Why or why not? Agape is loving church members unconditionally. When God's imparts His Agape love to the Christian they will look at and treat church members different. The old nature tell us not to forgive and to hold onto a grudge. Jesus gave us in Matthew 5: 43-48 these conditions for loving church members. If we always have the other person best interest at heart we will not find ourselves hating or avoiding any brother or sister in Chirst. The sinfulful nature tells us not to forgive and to hold grudges, but Jesus tells us to model after Him and walk in Hiis ways. If we avoid church because someone had brused us or rob us the wrong way we will never mature unless we deal with the hurts and forgive the person who wronged us. It takes a mature Christian to go to the other church member and tell them how they have hurt you and in agape love make matters right and move on in the faith. As Jesus said in the model prayer in Luke 11: 4-5 we must forgive if we expect God to forgive us our wrong doings. If we have goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverence, goliness, brotherly kindness but no agape love I Coninthians 13 it will not do us any good because God is not in control of our actions. God's kind of love is directed outward not inward toward ourselves. It is uncondition love that leads to maturity.

Q2. (2 Peter 1:6) Why is a disciplined devotional life important to you? What happens when you forget or don't have time? What Christian disciplines do you employ to help you open your spirit to God's Spirit? A discipline devotional life is so important for me because without it my prayer life would be hit and miss. God wants me to be persistant in my prayers to Him. When Jesus' disciple ask Him to teach the disciples how to pray he told them the parable of the friend at midnight who was persistant in asking until he got what he wanted. Luke 11: 5-8. To often we give us when we don't get and answer or we don't get the answer we want to hear. When we forget or don't have time to pray it affects every area of our Christian walk with Christ and eventually we will fall into to sin. If we truly want to hear from God and to live a victorious life in Christ we must schedule time each day to listen and talk to God. It may take the form of reading God's Word, prayer, meditation, fasting and devotional helps. What ever method we choose it must be consistant.

Q1. (2 Peter 1:5-6) Which of these virtues so far has been the easiest for you to move into. Which has been the hardest for you? Why? To be honest, I think all of these virtues require considerable effort, because you have to work hard on them altogether, not one at a time. That is why the apostle Peter tells us "make every effort to add" to our Christian walk all of these necessary virtues so that we will not be unproductive and ineffective. However, if I were to single out the hardest ones for me, it would be self-control and godliness. Why? Because, godliness and self-control go hand in hand and this is an area were I have to work hard since temptation has been an area of testing for me. Moral discipline is necessary in the church of Christ, and if I fall in this area, it will lead to moral decline and the body of Christ will be tarnished. That is why this passsage has challege to me so much. I do not want to be label as stumling block to the body of Christ.

Q4. (2 Peter 1:4) How can strong desires erode our faith and corrupt our lives? What strong desires can build our faith? What does a strong desire for God have to do with the "knowledge" of God, or "knowing" God? How are God's promises and evil desires at odds with each other? How does one build and the other erode our faith? Strong desires erode our faith and corrupt our lives when we remove God as fisrt place and replace him with something that will eventually lead to coruption and sin. They eat away at our moral character bit by bit until we find ourselves out of control and needing God's help to overcome that evil desire. "Love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all you mind" ( Matthew 22:37). If we have a strong desire for God it with translate into a knowlege of God because we will then really want to know Him intimately, and to learn everything about him. (2 Timithy 2: 15)., God promises are pure and true and does not make room for coruption; therefore, they cannot work together they are at odds. These strong desires can nibble away at our relation with God and eventually cause us to stumble. However, if we feed ourselves with the the precious promises of God and carry them out in our Chirstian walk with Christ, will be "partakers of His Divine Nature" and we will experience victory each day.

Q3. (2 Peter 1:3) What does it mean for you personally to be called "by his own glory and goodness"? How does God's glory and awesome Presence affect you? How does his goodness and moral excellence affect you? To personally be called "by his glory and goodness " means that as "partakers of God's Divne nature" through conversion we have a standard of Holiness to live out in our Christian walk with Christ. This awsame presence tranforms our mind and our heart so that we will daily be able to combat sin and temptation and to experience victory. God goodness and moral excellence will change us by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit and our lives will never be the same again because of our faith in Christ.

Q2. (2 Peter 1:3) Meditate on this verse for a few minutes. It is a verse about provision. What is the scope and extent and boundaries of "everything we need for life and godliness"? What does "knowledge" or "knowing God" have to do with this promise? The power to grow does not come from within us but from God's divine provision. God divine power give us everyithing we need to live a life of Godliness. If we try to live a goldly life in our own strength we would continually sin and always feel defeated. But God's allow us to particfipate in His Divine Nature so that we will be able to have victory of sin and lead a godly life. When we are born again the Holy Spirit come in an empowers us so that we will know the difference between good and evil. However, to enjoy this privilege we have to come into a relationship with God. through His Son Jesus Christ by faith and continue to grow in knowledge by studying and living out God's Word daily.