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Q4. (1 Corinthians 3:17) Division and church splits injure people, especially tender new believers. Why do you think there is such a harsh punishment for those involved in hurting Christ's church? What are better ways to deal with differences in the church? As believers, while involved in building up God’s church, we need to be sure that our acts of faith are blessed with the power and grace of God. Our sole motivation must be that the name of Jesus Christ be glorified. I feel that there is an awesome responsibility on those who preach the Word and they are in no way to deviate from it and thereby cause believers, especially tender new Christians, to go astray. Differences in the church can be dealt with in a mature and just way by focusing on our Lord Jesus and putting away our own pride and selfishness. After all it is not about us but it is all about Jesus.

Q3. (1 Corinthians 3:9-13) In terms of building congregations in our day, how would you assess quality vs. slip-shod building materials and methods? How important is improving your ministry skills through training? Prayer? Practice? Diligence? Faithfulness? Doctrinal accuracy? Devotional life? Openness to spiritual gifts? Etc. We can only build on the foundation, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for any other way is of no use and will always fail. He is our Rock! We can improve our ministry through all the training, prayer, practice, diligence, faithfulness, doctrinal accuracy, devotional life, openness to spiritual gifts as much as we want. But if it is based on human wisdom it will fail. It is ultimately only through the Word that we obtain spiritual insight. Remember we are the temple of God and His Spirit dwells in us (v16). We may think that if we are sincere and hard working in our work for the Lord that this is enough, but we cannot build a congregation by human wisdom only; it must be based on solid sound doctrine – the Word of God. This is what is needed today; not the watered down message that is preached today.

Q2. (1 Corinthians 3:4-9) In what ways do denominations encourage Christian unity? In what ways do they foster disunity? Does belonging a "non-denominational" church make any difference regarding unity throughout the body? How can we tear down the barriers that divide us? I’m not sure how denominations encourage Christian unity but I do know that the cure for division is turning away from self and setting our eyes upon our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It is only when our attention is focused on our Lord that we will have less time for thinking of our selves or others in the congregation and getting up to mischief. I doubt whether a ‘non-denominational’ church will experience any greater unity. As Paul states (v3) jealousy and arguing are a sign of immature Christians and as they try to get their own worldly ways in the church there are divisions created. It is this selfishness that is at the heart of sinful behaviour and occurs were ever people congregate – a church or a sport club or whatever. Of course this selfishness is a characteristic behaviour of a child where their only concern is its own comfort and attention. So one of the ways to tear down barriers that divide us is to create mature Christians who are focussed on our Lord. This needs to be done with proper teaching of the Word – not a watered down version of the Word. We have to be more tolerant of our brothers and sisters in Christ who each do things a bit differently than the way we might do it.

Q1. (1 Corinthians 3:1-3) In behavioural terms according to these verses, how would you classify yourself in terms of hunger for the Word? In terms of jealousy and quarrelling? - Infant, child, teenager, adult? What will it take for you to grow to the next stage? I remember the time when I had not grown up spiritually and lacked spiritual discernment. I had been born again and had the Holy Spirit dwelling in me, but I had not grown in grace and in the knowledge of Christ. I read the Bible but had no hunger for the Word. By the grace of God this has all changed for the better. I know I still have a long way to go, and the Lord still has much work to do in me. But I can truly say I have over the years felt and experienced a spiritual growth in myself. I know I have been set free from sin (Romans 6:18) and that I’m dead to sin and alive to God (Romans 6:11). I realise sin still remains in my life because I daily battle with it; fortunately it does not get the upper hand any more. Throughout our Christian life we are all being changed into His likeness from one degree of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18). We are progressively becoming more and more like our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We have a new heart, indwelt by and controlled by the Holy Spirit. By putting our trust in Jesus, His Spirit takes control of our lives and remains in charge until we die. We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). Our stubbornness and disobedience can cause many unnecessary detours, delays, and heartaches, but He will accomplish His work in us. "He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6). It is unfortunate that we still see jealousies, quarrelling, gossiping, strife, and bitterness in the church, but we know that these are not the behaviour of strong spiritual Christians and like the early believers in Corinth they are mere infants in Christ.

Q5. (1 Corinthians 2:9-16). Explain how we can "have the mind of Christ." How does this work, according to these verses? How does having the Holy Spirit "circulating" through our minds explain spiritual gifts working through us? When we become believers we receive the Holy Spirit within us – we are born again and the Holy Spirit comes and resides in our hearts. It is He that empowers within us the mind of Christ, so that we then can understand divine truths. It is only when we receive the mind of Christ that God reveals spiritual things to us. We have seen that to natural man the Cross is foolishness, he cannot discern spiritual things, yet God says His method and His wisdom was to give His Son to die on the Cross that we might be saved and have eternal life. It is not possible for man to discover God’s truths on his own, it is only when the Holy Spirit circulating through his mind that the truths of His Word are revealed. All Scripture is inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16). We might read and study the Bible all day and yet not understand it. We need the Holy Spirit to open our eyes and minds of understanding before we can truly know and even begin to interpret His truths. Martin Luther said, "The Bible cannot be understood simply by study or talent; you must count only on the influence of the Holy Spirit."

Q4. (1 Corinthians 2:1-6) Why didn't Paul conform to the rhetorical standards of his day in order to communicate more clearly? What is the danger of "repackaging" the message? What does it mean that Paul relied on a demonstration of the Spirit's power? Paul had sought to glory God and not himself. He did not want to use big words that would sound wise and show him off as an orator or philosopher. All he wanted was to preach Christ Crucified. We know he must have been a brilliant scholar and could easily have given the Corinthians all sorts of intellectual arguments. But he made a conscious and deliberate decision to abandon any worldly wisdom and rather rely on the power of the Holy Spirit. As we have read before the gospel of God’s wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption cannot be obtained through human wisdom. We see that this decision of Paul ensured that the lives of the new Christians rested securely not in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. This is what happens when there is any repackaging of the message. If a person is brought to faith through the power of God, then his faith rests upon that. We must be careful for we know God’s Word edifies and unites, whereas human opinions only confuse and divide. We see that Paul knew that the unbelievers needed the demonstration of the Spirit and of power and this is what he brought them. Only the God’s and power could deliver them from sin and bring them to Himself.

Q3. (1 Corinthians 1:30-31) In what way does Christ represent God's wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and redemption? How far do these go to lay the basis of a truly Christian philosophical system? God’s wisdom – He is the wisdom of God (v. 24), the One whom God’s wisdom chose as the way of our salvation. When we have Him we have salvation. God’s righteousness – He is our righteousness for through our faith in Him we are reckoned righteous by a holy God and rid of guilt and condemnation. God’s holiness – He is our sanctification, no sin, for in ourselves we have nothing in the way of personal holiness, but by Him we are positionally sanctified. God’s redemption – He is our redemption, released from bondage and slavery when finally He will come and take us home to be with Himself. All we are and all we have comes from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and not from any human philosophical system. So there is no need for anything else – we have it all!

Q2. (1 Corinthians 1:21-25) In what areas do non-Christians in our culture stumble over the basic gospel of Christ? To what degree can we help bridge this gap through careful and creative presentation? To what degree might that be "watering down" the gospel? Why can't we escape the tension between culturally-relevant communication and changing the essence of the message? I feel that unbelievers cannot get to grips with many areas of Christianity. They think the Cross is foolishness, but we know it saves. Our faith is also considered foolish because we believe in what we cannot see, but we say it is rather foolish not to believe. There is the virgin birth, God’s overall plan of salvation, bodily resurrection, and the list goes on and on. We see God’s wisdom shown mainly in the Cross of Jesus, but not everybody understands this. As Christians it is in the Cross that we have found the wisdom and power of God which has transformed our lives and made us new creatures. The gospel message may look like complete nonsense, foolishness, and even stupidity to unbelievers, and therefore it cannot always be received or understood by mere human ways, it needs the input of the Holy Spirit. Being the only absolute truth in the world today, it can never be ‘watered down’ or tampered with. I read once somewhere that God does not need us to defend Him – there are some things we cannot explain or understand this side of eternity.

Q1. Name four value differences between Christian teaching and the values you see pushed to us on television. Example: Sex between consenting adults is okay, vs. sex belongs in marriage. Now name four more. The love of money. Today there is an absolute frenzy in acquiring more and more wealth; no matter how it is obtained. It is a complete ******* after material riches. We read in Hebrews 13:5, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."” As a Christian we should not be putting our trust in uncertain riches but rather in the living God. Disappearing morals and deteriorating values. A few days ago I read a newspaper article about the high rates of infidelity. It stated that over 55% of men from France and Italy admitted to cheating on their partners. Also that one in three women cheated. Other European countries were quoted and they were not much better. I’m sure this type of behaviour cannot only be isolated to this region only but must be occurring worldwide. So we see today a tolerance and acceptance of promiscuity. This reminds me of Galatians 5:19-21, “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God”. There is no more the fear of God. The world is living as if God does not exist. Christians have a reverential fear of God; being completely aware of His awesome power, His holiness, and His glory. We read in Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding”. But today, the world is a turning away from Him and His Word. There are even pressures to remove any mention of Him in nearly all aspects of private life. The use of improper and explicit language. We see all day on the TV or in films the use of our Lord’s name used insultingly. Again we read in Deuteronomy 5:11, “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name”. God says He will not hold guiltless those who take His name in vain. Besides the abuse of our Lord’s name, we hear all day long people with foul mouths; on the TV, in films, ar work, or wherever. This comes across as an overall disrespect for fellow human beings. What the world has become we read in 2 Timothy 3:2-5, “People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God - having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them”.

Q4. (1 Corinthians 1:10-12) What kind of divisions do you see in your congregation or in the Christian community in your area? What is the cause of the divisions in Corinth? What is the case of divisions today? How do we obey the command to "agree with one another" (1:10)? Over the years I have seen fighting, gossiping, criticism, hatred, and bitterness displayed in churches. Others again had elite cliques in the congregation. I would say the same problems we have today in our churches must have occurred in Corinth. Remembering that the church then, comprised of brothers and sisters new to Christianity; a lot of divisions must have been caused also by pure ignorance. Our own self-interest, and selfishness is the root cause of most of the problems in any church - wanting to have our own way. In Corinth they also had the problem of personality cults emerging as well as baptism becoming an issue. They were exalting the names of mere men and this could only lead to divisions. It is only when we exalt the name of the Lord Jesus that there will be unity in the church.

Q3. (1 Corinthians 1:8-9) What gifts does God give us to ensure that we'll continue in faith until the end? Why does each require our active participation to receive its full benefits? Which do you need to enter into more? Since we have been called by God Himself, to share in His Son, Jesus Christ, God will not abandon us or go back on His promises. We have put our trust in Christ, and God has confirmed this fact by giving us the gifts of the Spirit. If we are to make these gifts a reality in our lives we shall need to enter more fully into the richness of His grace. We can be confident God will keep us for Himself until Jesus comes. We know that God has gone to such tremendous cost to keep us, and therefore, He will never let us slip out of His hands. It is up to us, however, to make full use of the grace provided by prayer, fellowship and obedience to the Word.

Q2. (1 Corinthians 1:4-7) How often do you thank God for the blessings of those who don't like you, or of your actual enemies? What does it say about Paul that he thanks God for the gifts of those who are at odds with him? What specifically does he thank God for about the Corinthian believers? I’m sorry to say I have never thanked God for the blessings of those who don’t like me. I have never even given it a thought. But I must add that I fortunately have no enemies or at least any enemies I know of. By always thanking God for the members of the church that have caused him untold grief with their divisions and immorality displays a loving Paul whose heart is filled with gratitude because God chose to call His people out of the immoral and idolatrous environment of Corinth. For Paul, the prospect of reforming a group like these Corinthians was slight indeed. It is for this reason that Paul is so grateful for the work God has done.

Q1. (1 Corinthians 1:2) What does "called to be holy" or "called to be saints" mean? What is a saint according to the Bible? Why is it so comfortable for us to say, "I'm no saint"? What is expected of a person who has been set apart as the personal property of the living God? What kind of behaviour does the world expect of those who claim to be followers of Christ? Called to be “holy” or to be “saints” points to God’s initiative in the call of Christians. God calls each individual by name and if we hear and respond we become members of the elect of God; that is we become saints to enjoy the fellowship of His Son, Jesus. We have been set apart by God, reserved for Jesus Christ. We are called saints not because of what we do, but because of our position in Christ. We are called saints as we are brought into His Kingdom and our sins are removed by the work Jesus did on the Cross. Because of our daily struggle with sin it is difficult for us to think of ourselves as saints but rather as sinners saved by grace. We are expected to obey God’s commands and grow to become more and more like our Saviour Jesus Christ. The world is very critical of our behaviour and look upon us as hypocrites if we err ever so slightly. They expect us to act as saints in a righteous manner all of the time, not realising that we are still sinners working hard to conform. They will however see an improvement as we display the fruit of the Spirit more and more each day.

Q6. (Isaiah 66:22-24). Why do you think eternal punishment is mentioned at the end of such a glorious prophecy as Isaiah? Why is the enduring, eternal kingdom mentioned? Who will be included in this kingdom? Who will be excluded from it? Eternal punishment is mentioned at the end of the book of Isaiah as a serious warning for the unrepentant people to turn to the Lord, and also as a warning to us that sinful rebellion against God will always be with us as long as people have the freedom of choice. We are given a vivid picture of hell where the “worm does not die”, and the “fire is not quenched”. The good news is that if we put our faith in the Saviour, we will escape these eternal fires. All mankind will worship the Lord and bow down before Him.

Q5. (Isaiah 66:1-4) If God prescribed temple worship in the Pentateuch, why does He seem to prohibit it in 66:3? What is missing from their worship? Have you ever had this element missing from your worship? What kind of heart is God looking for (66:2)? God was upset by the sacrifices offered by wicked and hypocritical Jews. We see that the Israelites had fallen into the trap of elevating the temple and all its rituals of worship into substitutes for the true worshipping of our LORD. They needed to come humbly before God, to be honest in spirit, and to tremble with reverential fear at the Word of the Lord. Jesus Himself, challenged the Pharisees who used the symbol of the temple to protect their own spiritual corruption. Even, with us today, without reverence, a humble heart and a contrite spirit, and without trembling at the Word of the Lord, our worship cannot be pleasing to God. Yes, to my shame, I have sometimes come before the Lord in haste, or with other concerns.

Q4. (Isaiah 65:17-25) Why do you think the final state is referred to as the new heavens and the new earth? What is new about them? Which verse talks about the end of pain and sorrow? Which verse mentions instant communication? Which verse illustrates the peace of this Kingdom? The new heavens and the new earth here refer to Christ's Kingdom on earth. The Lord will rejoice in Jerusalem and we will see God create a new life for His people. There will be no pain and sorrow (vv. 19-20); the life span will be a hundred years or more; they will build and own houses for themselves; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit, not for others to eat; labour will be productive; families will be joyful; God's presence will assure instant, two-way communication (v 24); and the symbol of peace will prevail, even animals will live in harmony with each other - into a covenant of reconciliation and peace (vv. 24-25).

Q3. (Isaiah 63:7-64:12) What is the basis of Israel's expectation of salvation according to this prophecy? What does 64:5-7 teach us about the quality of our righteousness? How are we to see our relationship to God according to 63:16 and 64:8-9? What does this passage teach about grace? They had experienced God’s mercy in delivering them from Egypt, leading them through the wilderness, and bringing them to rest in the Promised Land. It is these memories of mercy that convince Isaiah that he has faith in the God who will again save His sinful people. When it comes to the quality of our righteousness - our best deeds are like filthy rags. Sinners saved by grace. God is our Heavenly Father and we have a personal relationship with Him. Our attitude today should be one of complete surrender to Him, as well as acknowledging Him in everything we do. We must humbly come before Him relying upon His mercy without any claim upon our own rights or merits. We can thank Him for His love, kindness, goodness, grace, and mercy, amongst others, that He was shown us in the past.

Q2. (Isaiah 62) The Jewish people have been humbled, scorned, and persecuted through the ages. According this passage, what will be their final state? Will Christians be included in these blessings? (Hint: Romans 11:11-24). If God has purposed to restore his people, why is intercessory prayer called for in 62:6-7? Where in the New Testament are we told to pray for what God has purposed? (Hint: the Lord's Prayer). The final state of the Jewish people as promised by God will be that salvation will come upon them with the brightness of light piercing the darkness. Then there is promise after promise until they will be known as the “Holy People”, and as the “Redeemed of the LORD” – we will see every nation looking up to them. Finally, there is the promise of a glorious future and also the assurance that Israel will never again be looked upon as nation forsaken and desolate, shamed before the world, subject to foreign domination, or despised as unknown and unnamed among the kingdoms of the earth. Yes, Christians will be included in these blessings. God had allowed Israel to reject Jesus Christ as the Messiah to make them turn to the Gentiles to offer them what they had refused. They will eventually see the light. Both prayer and the answer to prayer are powerful and effective. The one does not cancel the other. That is, prayer offered in faith by a forgiven believer is a powerful and effective means to approach the throne of God. And, God “rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6), for his answers to prayer are indeed powerful and effective. In Matthew 6:10 we read, “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.

Q1. (Isaiah 61:1-3) Are words like "captive" and "prisoner" used literally or figuratively? How did Jesus intend them to be understood when he read them and spoke of their fulfilment? How are you personally doing in adopting Jesus' agenda here? How is your congregation doing? I think the words are both meant literally and figuratively, being both physical and spiritual. Jesus stated most clearly that He was the Messiah and that He came to deal with the problems we experience here on earth. It may be poverty, sorrow, bondage, suffering, and or oppression. He is the answer to all the hardships we may experience – they may be problems or troubles in the physical or spiritual sense. Personally and as a congregation we seem to be adopting Jesus’ agenda satisfactory. But I know there is much more I should and can be doing, and my excuses are weak and feeble for not doing them.

Q7. (Isaiah 59:1-2) How do disobedience and lack of repentance prevent our prayers from being answered? According to verse 2, who is causing the separation from God? How can it be corrected? It is our sin that causes separation from God. We are then out of fellowship with Him and our prayers are not heard. God is holy and He cannot ignore, tolerate or excuse sin. Because of our sin we flee from Him instead of running to God. His righteousness and purity compels us to hide from Him. We are the cause of the separation and this can only be corrected if there is a complete and genuine turning away from sin and we truly repent. We have to confess our sin and turn and put our faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.

Q6. (Isaiah 58:13-14) In these verses what positive actions align themselves with a true keeping the Sabbath? What negative actions should be avoided in a true keeping of the Sabbath? The positives: Honour God, to seek what pleases God, love our LORD, worship Him out of love, words that bring glory to God, acknowledge our dependence on Him. The negatives: to do what pleases us, resent our LORD, worship Him out of duty or guilt or even convenience, careless speaking or idle words, doing our own thing without acknowledging Him.

Q5. (Isaiah 58:9b-10a) In what ways are people injured by backbiting, judgmental attitudes, and harsh criticism? How are they injured by false accusations and slander? How can we change our church cultures to banish this kind of behaviour? What would it require of us to really "spend ourselves in behalf of the hungry"? What would this look like for an individual? For a congregation? All these actions can cause immeasurable harm – splitting families, churches, and even being the cause of churches closing. We need to look upon each individual as made in the image of God and to recognise that they are precious in the sight of God – remembering that His Son died for them! This we can only do with the help of the Holy Spirit. We also need the love of God in our hearts. We personally and as a congregation can cut back on many luxuries and this money would then be available to help the hungry.

Q4. (Isaiah 58:6-7) What kinds of injustice does Isaiah condemn in these verses? What excuses do we use to rationalize not being generous to the poor - in our communities or in our families? In what ways is "tough love" important to help people? In what ways could it hurt them? The people were turning their backs on the poor and needy – this they did by oppressing them, and by not feeding them. Also, they failed to provide them with shelter or if needed, clothing. Yet they were fasting and going around with a pious attitude. They didn't have a heart for God; if they did they would have a heart for their neighbours and fellow men as well, and want to help them and be a blessing to them. A legitimate excuse of not getting personally involved in helping the poor, may be that when we live in a high crime area, it is sometimes better not to go into these areas that are very risky. We must then rather give financial aid to organisations that are trained and experienced in offering help to the poor. I know that sometimes one has to apply “tough love”, but this has to be done with a lot of care and even more love. If this is not done they can carry on in their “comfort zone”. They sometimes need to be shaken into action. However, there might be personal reasons or causes beyond their control that have landed them in their situation, and they need nurturing and a lot of prayer and love.

Q4. (Isaiah 58:6-7) What kinds of injustice does Isaiah condemn in these verses? What excuses do we use to rationalize not being generous to the poor - in our communities or in our families? In what ways is "tough love" important to help people? In what ways could it hurt them? The people were turning their backs on the poor and needy – this they did by oppressing them, and by not feeding them. Also, they failed to provide them with shelter or if needed, clothing. Yet they were fasting and going around with a pious attitude. They didn't have a heart for God; if they did they would have a heart for their neighbours and fellow men as well, and want to help them and be a blessing to them. A legitimate excuse of not getting personally involved in helping the poor, may be that when we live in a high crime area, it is sometimes better not to go into these areas that are very risky. We must then rather give financial aid to organisations that are trained and experienced in offering help to the poor. I know that sometimes one has to apply “tough love”, but this has to be done with a lot of care and even more love. If this is not done they can carry on in their “comfort zone”. They sometimes need to be shaken into action. However, there might be personal reasons or causes beyond their control that have landed them in their situation, and they need nurturing and a lot of prayer and love.

Q3. (Isaiah 57:15) What things do we learn about God in this verse? What is the great paradox here? Why does God care so much about the downtrodden and the contrite? Do you and your congregation care for the downtrodden and contrite with the same intensity? The things we learn about God here is that He is the “High and Lofty One”, He is eternal, and His name is Holy. God lives in the highest heavens, the heaven of heavens. Heaven not only being high but the highest place in creation. We cannot even begin to compare this place with anything else, either in its glory or beauty; nor is there any other place as holy as it is. But, He has humbled Himself, and also lives in the hearts of believers who feel their sin and the need of God. This is the great paradox. Our Heavenly Father cares and loves us so much that He had His Son, Jesus Christ, die on the Cross for us and come from the high and holy place to dwell among us. No, we can never have the same intensity of care for the downtrodden and contrite here on earth. We can but only try.