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.