Ever Had to Choose a Bible Study Guide?

Some Helps on How to Choose a Study Guide

Here’s my take; admittedly, I give focus to the guide’s content:

1. Each guide or help or commentary will have strengths and weaknesses.

2. Picking through the strengths and the weaknesses becomes a task.

3. It is work having to evaluate everything we read or hear. We wish we could relax about this.


4. It is a worthy goal to learn from brothers and sisters with whom we do not share every word and point of doctrine.

5. Maybe these are the top areas and questions to keep in mind (as I write these, I assume the author of the guide believes the Bible is the inerrant, inspired Word of God):

a) Does the Bible Study guide or commentary show a fairly consistent approach to appreciating the unity of the Old and New Testaments? Does it show that the New fulfills the Old? The New builds off of the Old?


b) Does this appreciation for the unity of the Bible give a focus to the person and work of Jesus Christ? Does it work with the themes of God’s redemption? These themes are: God is at the center glorifying Himself—Father to Son, Son to Father, Spirit to Father and Son—by His power, wisdom and love in and with His creation and all His creatures; That His covenant and Kingdom show His rule and grace; That His Word calls for faith and trust in Him through an appointed leader, a representative (mediator); That Christ is being presented more and more from Genesis moving into the New Testament as the One who is the fulfillment of promises, hope and joy as the believer’s Mediator; That we, as believers, are bound together in Christ with privileges and responsibilities—to worship and serve as the Church; That God is the Judge over all; That the Gospel triumphs over sin, death, hell and the devil. Themes. Does the study guide help you to see themes?


c) Is there a consistent message that Jesus Christ is the way of salvation for sinners? That faith alone in Christ alone has focus? Is the study material following the doctrines of God’s grace—T.U.L.I.P.?


d) Is there a consistent reminder that believers are to live out of their spiritual union—their spiritual oneness—with Christ? Do you read or hear, “Christian, be who you are in Christ…….obey God’s commandments motivated by and supplied by the grace of God in Jesus Christ—that He is your life and strength and confidence”?

e) Is there an appreciation for the church being central as the primary form and example of God’s way of i) ruling, ii) providing for, and iii) being involved in the world? We know He is Lord over all men and things. One important way that we learn of this is through His dealings with His church. When we approach things this way, we grow in our appreciation for the local church. This is what is meant when we say that the church provides cues for the world. When the church is showing proper, faithful leadership, then the world has an example to follow. When the church is providing for and caring for one another, the world learns about providing for and caring for others. The church is a model of God’s kingdom. The church’s centrality is upheld.

f) Ethical application issues in a study guide—where am I weak? Proud? Troubled? Rebellious? Poor example? Making gains? Where is the church weak? Proud? Troubled? Rebellious? A Poor example? Making gains? Etc.

Studies and commentaries will move in and out of these points. We, as teachers and leaders, should aim to see these things in a Bible passage. When we use a study guide keeping these points in mind, we’ll be seeing more of a well-rounded approach to opening and using God’s Word.

G. Mark Sumpter

Why Was Jesus Baptized?

At the Jordan River, John baptized Jesus—It seems a little odd at first

Some reasons why Jesus was baptized:

1. He showed His humanity and humility. He is One, who like us, took part in life under God. He’s truly man, fully flesh. He wore the sandals, and perspired as He walked north and south on the dusty pathways of Old Palestine. He would enter in and be a part of the work of God on earth. What is to be man’s life-shaping, fundamental identity? It’s to be a man, woman or child under God, as servant. It’s life given to God—100%! In this respect, at baptism, His humanity, along with His servant hood, is being emphasized. He’s like us; when we're baptized, we receive the sign of being identified as a God-follower, a disciple, a member of the covenant, a part of God’s program. Jesus entered into the same way of discipleship. He humbled Himself to be under God's authority, under God [the Father's] appointed mission for Him. Are you a baptized member of Christ’s fold? Are you submissive to Him? Are you delighting in God’s mission, direction and service? Men, women and children are baptized to be included in God's plan, to belong to God and His way and mission. We are to give the whole of life over to Him for life-long faith and faithfulness.

“All the way my Savior leads me.”

Let’s keep going, there are several more reasons why Jesus was baptized at the Jordan. See Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-13; Luke 3: 20-21; John 1:24-34.

G. Mark Sumpter

1 Samuel 18-19-20-21: Why All the Lies?

How Should we See the Lying on the Part of Several in 1 Samuel?

Find a Bible and turn to 1 Samuel. Read the opening scenes, chapters 18-21, where Saul and David begin the cat and mouse episodes. These stories are loaded with lying, deception, tricky antics and excuses.

Is telling a lie morally admissible?

1. The Bible is silent on all of these lies found in 1 Samuel, chapters 18-21. We're left holding the bag on the morality of each of these. So, where does that leave us? Puzzled, perplexed, frustrated and wanting to know answers.

2. The focus is on God, not these men. Keep that in mind as you read these stories. God's hand is at work providentially time and time again.

3. We ARE to have a sufficient focus on the men, to see their actions. But in what way? That God mysteriously uses every detailed aspect of these twists and turns to usher in more and more of His Kingly rule and to make Himself known to His people and the Philistine nations around. God is the Living God—He is active, providentially in charge; He is not the dead, false god of the Philistines, i.e. Dagon, etc.

4. The context of 1 Samuel 18-ff (virtually most of the chapters leading up to the end of the book) is a combination of warfare to enemies outside of Israel---the Philistines---and warfare against the enemies within Israel, within the covenant---primarily with Saul. Warfare is huge in these chapters. Even the reference of David gathering together with 400 men in 1 Sam 22:1-2 makes clear that men are drawing lines and choosing sides, sides about waring; there's an allegiance to David now growing: from the one man Jonathan to 400 men in 1 Sam 22:1-2.

5. Because of the warfare context, there's deception, trickery, feigning madness before Achish, Jonathan's bluffing, David's own excusing making in lying to Saul in 1 Sam 20, and on and on. Conclusion: We have to say that we see more lying in the Bible in seeking protection of life, generally, and in seeking protection of God's anointed, specifically, in times of warfare. The warfare context is key, I think. That has to give weight to admissibility to tell a lie, to deceive. But again, I stress, the Bible leaves us without commentary on this lying in 1 Samuel. We are told, interestingly----as a summary in Acts 13:22, David was a man after God's heart.

6. But there has to be more help on the morality issue. There has to be. The Ten Commandments, of course are abundantly clear, when the ninth commandment forbids lying. The question comes: does it forbid lying in ALL circumstances? James 2 and Heb 11 both mention Rahab. The James 2:25 text commends Rahab's faith for protecting the spies against the king of Jericho, in Joshua 2.

OPC Minister and Professor John Murray—I think I remember correctly—takes the position of seeing her life as praiseworthy, but condemns this one act of lying. Overall, her life is a life of faith (Heb. 11:31). But he says at that one point of lying, she became double-minded, something which James condemns in his letter in chapter 1. This position has been criticized, “how can we on one hand praise her, and yet on the other, withhold praise due to this act of lying in Joshua 2?” I do not take Murray's position. The very matter of the defense of her faith, the point of the James 2:25 text, is that she demonstrated faith at this precise place of protecting the spies by lying about them. She's praised for the faith that acted in godliness by sparing, preserving life. We note that it’s a warfare scene in Josh 2.

Look at RJ Rushdoony’s take: “Rahab clearly lied, but her life represented a moral choice as against sending two godly men to death, and for this she became an ancestress of Jesus Christ (see Matt. 1:5). For the moralist, it is important that he stand in his own righteousness, and Rahab's alternative is intolerable, because it makes some kind of sin inescapable at times. For the godly man, who stands, not in his own righteousness but the righteousness of Christ, his own purity is not the essence of the matter but that God's will be done. And God, in this situation, certainly willed that the lives of the spies be saved, not that the individual come forth able to say, I never tell a lie.”

That sounds pretty reasonable to me. I like what Rushdoony says: she stood in Christ's righteousness, and thereby, she gave her allegiance to Christ's will to preserve life, NOT to her own purity. To say it again, we must keep in mind the protection of the two spies.

CONCLUSION: Deception, when circumstances dictate no other choice regarding the preservation and promotion of life, is admissible. Deception, most clear as we see in the Bible, in circumstances of preserving life in times of warfare, is admissible. We are talking about times of being at gunpoint, knifepoint>>>>>dangerous kidnapp, theft, etc. The Corrie ten Boom acts of her hiding the Jews during the Second World War comes to mind. Saul had thrown the spear at David, and at Jonathan, and many had seen this. Michal knew that David would die if Saul's men apprehended him, etc. He, David, is the Lord's anointed. Here is a foretaste of the Lord Jesus, the Lord's Anointed being protected.

Rahab's life is the model for this----Scripture is clear on her moral choice. The Samuel narratives are less clear in my view, and that is because we do not have commentary on the scenes of David, Jonathan, Michal, etc. like we do the James passage with Rahab.

Again, I do not think the 1 Samuel narratives are aiming predominantly to teach us lessons about admissibility of lying to authorities. The scenes of the lying are important scenes but they are back story to God's living hand of providence to make Saul the fool, ultimately, to make Israel the fool, and God the One to whom men must turn, etc, etc.

G. Mark Sumpter

Elect Lose Salvation?

From a Christian inquirer: Paul said in one of his books that a fellow evangelist left the church, seeking after his own ways not Christ’s, doesn't that imply that he left the faith and lost his salvation?

Answer: I think you’re referring to 2 Timothy 4: 9-10---- “Be diligent to come to me quickly; for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica—Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia.”

You specifically ask: “…doesn’t that imply that he left the faith and lost his salvation?”

Yes, it does. And then we extrapolate to another question, then, how do we explain, “once saved, always saved”—has grace been interrupted or withdrawn by man’s disobedience?

The Bible speaks plainly and with urgent appeals to members of the visible church that they not presume on God, nor rest with irresponsible ease with things pertaining to their salvation. Listen to Hebrews 2:1 “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away…”

The Bible doesn’t hold back from warning the elect about drifting or losing their salvation. Does this mean that in fact the elect can lose their salvation?

Let me make a distinction. The Bible holds two truths together—we’re back to the twin truths found in the Word of God, about 1) His sovereign plan and purpose, and 2) man’s responsibility. Again, see Deuteronomy 29:29-----there are the unrevealed ways of God (His eternal plan are things known only to Him), and the revealed ways of God (His plan is revealed in the Word and in history): His promises, wondrous works and commands.

1. God has His eternally elect, the saved, only known to Him (unrevealed) 2 Tim. 2:19.
2. God has His in-history people known as the elect, the church (revealed). Eph. 1:1-5.

The Bible presents these two truths side by side; they fit like one circle overlapping the other. There’s the eternally elect of God right alongside of the historically elect. Bible teachers will sometimes refer to the invisible church and visible church. They are so closely matched, really and truly indistinguishable from our viewpoint.

Only God Himself, as the Divine One, knows the hearts of all men. From the human side, we see things outwardly: men say they love the Lord, His Word, and they work at following him, and so we walk together as the church. We worship and serve together, and we mutually trust the Lord’s work in us all. This is the life and work of the church.

But the heart can be deceitful. God is the searcher and watcher of the heart. He proves our hearts, and various tests prove-out motives, desires and the deeds of men (see the parable of the sower and the soils in Mark 4).

Demas was a member of the visible church, the elect of God, and even was a worker in the things of God with the great apostle Paul. Paul treated him as the elect of God. He’s named among the beloved stalwarts, brothers, in gospel-work at Paul’s side: Mark, Barnabas and Luke (Col. 4:10, 14). But, from 2 Timothy 2:9, as Demas showed a love for the world’s ways, and then showed that he was unrepentant, ultimately then, a heart of unbelief began to surface. Such unbelief, along with the lack of repentance, is inconsistent with being a member of the invisible church, the eternally elect of God. This drifting and this hardening, with no repentance, means there’s a departure from the living God taking place; there’s a forsaking of God’s promise (Hebrews 3:12, see verse 19 too). Demas left the Lord; he left the church for he was not of the church, eternally (please see, 1 John 2:19).

With the non-heeding, non-repentant, the visible church is to make a human judgment about them (Jesus said, “…treat them as a heathen and a tax collector” Matthew 18:17-18). God will have the final say on the last day about this; with the unrepentant, even those who are presumably followers of the Lord, they are to be put out of the visible church, because they no longer are listening to the counsel of the Word.

This area of Bible teaching turns us back again and again to the Lord Jesus Christ. God always, always holds hope to the repentant. Our hope of salvation is not in our faith, or in our doing, etc. We are frail and weak, and we do fail. But He is our hope.

This teaching also reminds us that the Christian faith is a promise-believing faith! We’re always directed from Scripture to believe the promises of God—to continually believe the promises. Jesus said that the mark of discipleship in His kingdom is faith and repentance (Mark 1:15). Turning to Him—making that our practice is the day by day practice of the Christian faith. Our rest is Jesus, the God-Man! He can and does carry us through to the end.

While we trust His ability to carry us, we always put our trust to work: we must heed the call from Scripture, “He who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matt. 24:13). And those who hold fast to the Lord are doing so assured that He is holding fast to them!

One last thing. The Bible clearly establishes the point that a man or woman can have assurance of salvation in this earthly life. How? Our Lord Jesus said: Truly, truly, I say to you, He who believes in Me has everlasting life—John 6:47. Also, 1 John 5:12-13: He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. Believe the promises! Live them out—daily!

Our assurance of salvation rests on the Promise-Giver, the Lord. His Word, the Bible, is the promise-Book. Yes, He has His eternal plan of sovereign election of His own children—and He will carry His elect all the way home; and Yes, the Bible holds out the sure mother-promise: “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13). Our daily trust in Christ does not, and will not, ever disappoint. We’re to rest in Him, but not with an irresponsible rest.

G. Mark Sumpter

Free Will

Christian inquirer asks: “I don't understand predestination when Jesus said ‘Jerusalem…How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen…. but you were not willing,’ doesn't that imply we have free will?”

Answer: Two important Bible doctrines as backdrop to your question must be kept in mind. The Bible teaches both of these truths.

First, the Bible teaches God's Sovereignty. God is in complete control of every action and reaction of men and things; His will unfolds according to His pleasure and plan (Ephesians 1:11). He grants salvation to all whom He chooses, on the basis of His good pleasure, not because of the exercise of man’s faith or good deeds foreseen (Ephesians 1:4-5). Also, importantly, the Bible teaches that God is a personal being, not a force or impersonal power. He's named Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Second, the Bible teaches man's responsibility. Man has the responsibility to believe in Jesus Christ, to repent and serve the Lord. (“Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13.) Man must call on the Lord. That's his responsibility, this includes repentance from sin and to turn in faith to Jesus Christ to love Him, and in that turning to Christ, man then follows in discipleship living out His commandments. Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep my command-ments” (John 14:15). This faith and repentance is God’s gracious gift (Eph. 2:8-9).

Both of these doctrines are taught in the Bible. They must be taught with equal weight, with equal proportion. If we neglect one, we damage both. If we try to present halvs-ies of each, (God’s part and man’s part), we lose both. The Bible holds these two truths as mates, as parallel points, and equal in importance. They are set in Scripture side by side.

And they work together in such a way, that only God knows their finest, detailed inner-workings; this is mysterious. In this, we're taught that God is big enough, wise enough, to figure out their exact relationship; we cannot. We leave the finer inner-workings of these things to Him (Deut. 29:29).

Now, specifically to answer your question: In the case of Matthew 23:37 as you quoted, Jesus issues His offer to save Jerusalem. The offer is genuine, well-meant, gracious and loving. It's tender. The Lord is seen here as a hen, a mother. This indicates warm-hearted affection. Yet in His offer, He remains the Sovereign Savior, the One in complete control of Jerusalem and the actions of this city's men and women. Some might see our Lord’s offer in light of Jerusalem’s refusal as disingenuous, that He only looks as if He’s desirous of her repentance. But the Bible doesn’t use language in Matthew 23:27 indicating an appearance or surface exhibition of His will to save. Rather, the duplication of Jerusalem, with the sigh, “O Jerusalem,” indicates sincerity. Here, the two important truths from above line up side by side: His Sovereign will desirous to save, man’s responsibility to repent.

Jerusalem's unwillingness to be gathered to the Lord is their choice. The freedom they choose to exercise as an unwilling people is freedom that they themselves express. From this, we learn that men and women have a will, and they have the ability to choose what they desire. Joshua 24:15 says, “…choose for yourselves...”

These ones of Jerusalem, however, are unwilling to be gathered to Him (Matthew 23:37), because they do not have the desire to come to Jesus. They don't have the desire to repent, and that's what the Bible teaches about sinful man being in bondage to his own sin and how he is dead in his sins and trespasses (Ephesians 2:1-2). Unless God makes the sinner alive to Himself, he will never have a desire to come to Christ.

The whole human race, apart from God's work, has no desire for the Lord, and it cannot come to Christ (Romans 8:8). Man is lost, dead and turned away from Him. It's this very desire, interestingly, that shows such freedom and it keeps men and women away from Christ. Sinful man has freedom to choose what he desires and freedom to refuse what he doesn’t; and he is constantly refusing to come to Christ. It’s precisely as Jesus tells the residents of Jerusalem, “but you were not willing.” They were not willing because God had not given them a desire for Christ. Their sinful ways—in this case, their spite and hatred for the prophets—showed their hardness, and God had given them what they wanted: coldness about Jesus.

So, what does God do to bring some to salvation, to bring them to desire salvation? He decides, He determines that for some of the lost He provides His work of predestinating grace. Before the beginning of time, He put His love on those He wills to save. In the course of their human existence, He works in them to change their desire about Christ and His saving love. This is the work of grace. It’s grace at work in the inner man. The Bible teaches that God's way of controlling men and women and their choices, actions, and decisions does not violate their freedom, but it does change their freedom to a freedom that chooses Christ. Their will is not coerced or manipulated or controlled as like a puppet on a string. But it is made free drawing the lost sinner, nurturing the lost sinner to come and take freely of Christ. God must give him a new heart, with new desires, and new choices.

How does God work in the heart and will of a man changing his desire and choice and willingness---without coercion or manipulation? I do not know. The Bible presents the fact that God works this way, but how? I do not know. But what we can say is that the Bible teaches that it’s done in such a way that God remains completely in control, and man's freedom is genuinely his freedom (see for example, Phil. 2:12-13). God works in the heart, man is acted on, and that same man is freely made willing without coercion. This is the mysterious part. God remains God drawing the sinner to Himself (John 6:44); and man freely chooses to come, and freely, he takes of the water of life (Revelation 22:17). Again, a mystery of God's gracious ways!

“...work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12-13). What a verse! It’s the blend of man's responsibility and God's complete, sovereign, work.

Is this sovereign way of God fair? We often wonder about fairness. We must remember to ask, does God owe anyone anything? He's the Sovereign One. He's the Creator. He's the One who is in charge of all things and all men and women. Particularly we wonder, if God is willing to work grace in the hearts of some men and women and change their desire to choose Him, why doesn't He do that for all, for every last human? We have to answer, “We don't know why He's that way; it’s His good pleasure.” And this points us to grace. He gives grace because He wishes to give grace. We must note this: Just because He determines to grant grace to some does not require Him to supply saving grace to all. Grace is grace. Grace is never required; grace is God's good way of giving a new heart to whom He will. Amazing grace! The apostle Paul taught in speaking of God's determination to work in some and not in all: “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy” (Romans 9:15). God answers to no one.

As Jesus cried out to men of Jerusalem in His day, still He cries to all today, “Come.” And the Bible summons all, requiring all to repent and believe in Him. Anyone who calls on Him shall be saved. God so works His will for salvation and in His working, sinful man freely wants it. Come, take of the water of life this day! Amen!

This has been super long. Your question has been seen in Christendom as a crucial one; it’s a question for the ages, and needs thoughtful work from the Bible. I hope this helps.


G. Mark Sumpter