How to Study the Bible - Week 7 Session 1

Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. (Mark 16:15)

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19–20)

From how to study the Scriptures to how to share them—why every believer is commissioned to herald the good news.

A Word From the Philippines

I had a great trip over the last week, getting home late Saturday night from the Philippines. Pastor Lance Ralston, another pastor on their staff, and I spoke at a church leaders conference. It was awesome to see that our church was instrumental in helping launch a number of Calvary Chapel churches in the Philippines in the 1980s and 1990s—there are now about 80 Calvary Chapels there, and around 200 people attended the conference. We went through the book of Philippians in the Philippines, which is actually the second time I've done that; I taught it there in early 2008 at the Bible College extension campus in Dumaguete. Thank you for your prayers. The travel is significant—an 11-hour flight to Japan, a four-hour flight to the Philippines, a five-hour drive, and later a six-hour bus ride into the mountains. There was a typhoon while we were there, but it stayed south of us, and the rain we saw made tonight's drizzle look like nothing.

Where We've Been

You knew this slide was coming. Why this class? So that we might access the Scriptures ourselves in order that we might make them accessible to others. Over the last couple of months we've looked at several methods.

Devotional Bible study uses the acronym TIPS: we look for the Truths to believe and the truths to do—the commands and doctrines—then I examine myself in light of those truths, then Pray and plan to obey, all with the Spirit's help. The temptation is to read the Scriptures and apply them to everybody else. So we must begin with "I examine myself." It's easy to say, "My spouse needs to hear this," but God wants to speak to us and transform us.

Purposeful Bible study reads the text through the lens of a question—what does the Bible teach about salvation, glorification, the Holy Spirit? Word studies look at how a word is used across passages, using free tools like Blue Letter Bible. Inductive Bible study breaks a passage apart for observation (who, what, when, where), interpretation (the why), and application (what we put into practice)—what does the text say, what does it mean, and what does it mean for us? Two weeks ago I dumped Bible arcing upon you, primarily to show how to break apart a passage so that the points you share with someone come logically from the text itself.

From Hermeneutics to Homiletics

This is where, in my Bible College class, I move from hermeneutics to homiletics. Hermeneutics and exegesis—two big words for digging into the text to understand what it says, what it means, and what it means for us—have occupied us for months. Homiletics is how you take that and share it in a message: proclaiming it, preaching it, making it accessible to others. We won't spend five weeks crafting Bible studies here as I would at the college, because our focus has been how to study the Bible. But I've driven home every week that I want you to access the Scriptures so you can make them accessible to others.

Even if you don't feel called to the role of teaching or preaching, I hope you'll see tonight that every single one of you, if you're a Christian, is called to proclaim the Scriptures. It is not just the task of pastors, leaders, clergy, missionaries, or evangelists. If you are going to be an obedient follower of Jesus—which is what a disciple is—then you must proclaim the Scriptures to others.

The Great Commission, Not the Great Suggestion

Jesus commanded it in Mark 16:15: "Go into all the world and preach." That word is the Greek kerusso—to proclaim, announce, herald, tell. This is not a suggestion; it is a commission. As has often been said, this is not the Great Suggestion, this is the Great Commission. In Matthew 28 Jesus says, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations... teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

That last clause is where we take great hope. When I say every one of you is called to share the gospel, some of you feel trepidation. Yet Jesus says, "I am with you always." We have the Spirit of God, who in various places we're told will give us the words to say. Strikingly, the context where Jesus says the Spirit will give us words "in that very hour" is persecution—when you may have to deny the faith to live or die as a martyr. If He will give you words in the face of martyrdom, you can be guaranteed He'll quicken you when your neighbor strikes up a conversation at the mailbox.

The word translated witness in the New Testament is marturus, from which we get martyr. A martyr is a witness. In Acts 1:8 Jesus said, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

What Makes a Church a Church

I teach another class on church planting that begins in these very commissions. How did the disciples work out "go into all the world and make disciples"? Ultimately, they established and planted churches everywhere they went. That raises the question: what is a church? The word translated "church," first used by Jesus in Matthew 16, is the Greek Ecclesia—a community, gathering, assembly, congregation. It is not a building or a 501(c)(3); it is the body of believers.

In Matthew 16, at a very pagan worship center in the north of Israel, Jesus asked, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." There's been 2,000 years of discussion about what "the rock" is. The Roman Catholic Church says it is Peter, and St. Peter's Basilica is built over what they hold to be his tomb. I tend to say the rock is that statement—"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

The Nine Marks of a Healthy Church

But what makes a church a church in the New Testament sense, since Ecclesia was a common word for any assembly? For this I appreciate the work of 9Marks, a ministry out of Washington, D.C., led by Mark Dever, pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church and a great Bible teacher. They describe nine marks of a healthy, biblical church.

Preaching is central and key. Every church mentioned in the New Testament began with people who proclaimed the gospel in fulfillment of Jesus's commission. In Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit came, Peter stood and preached, and the church was established. Acts 2:42 tells us they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, in the breaking of bread (both fellowship and the Eucharist), in fellowship—koinonia, which means sharing, caring, and fulfilling the "one anothers"—and in prayers, daily, from house to house and in the temple. Preaching is what sets the church apart from other assemblies; the word Ecclesia was even used of guilds of coppersmiths and silversmiths.

Biblical theology is the next mark: we ground what we believe about God in the text of Scripture, which is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. They preach the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, for a purpose—conversion, the transformation, turning, and repentance that takes place when someone trusts in Christ.

Because we believe the gospel brings conversion, the church engages in evangelism—Evangelion, declaring the good news to every creature. When people turn in repentance and faith, they become part of the body of Christ, which is membership. Calvary Chapel churches have a casual membership: if you join with the body, commit to this local church in prayer, gathering, service, and contribution, you're a member. You become a member by being a member.

Where there is membership, there is also discipline. Churches in the New Testament exercise church discipline toward those who do not live in line with biblical theology—theology grounded in Scripture, not the opinions of the eldership. When there is public, perpetual, known disobedience, we call to that person privately, then with another, as Jesus instructed; if they refuse to return, there will be church discipline and we may ask them to no longer fellowship here. The challenge today is that people often just drive down the street to another church. There have been times our pastors have called another church to inform them, and they've thanked us.

Discipleship is the eighth mark: the process by which, through the preaching of biblical theology, a person's life is transformed by the word of God through the Spirit of God so they become an obedient follower of Jesus, growing into the image of Christ. The ninth mark is leadership, and here I'll boast a little about my upbringing in the Calvary Chapel movement, which beautifully manifests the priesthood of all believers, a core point of the Reformation. I, Pastor Jason, Pastor Mark, Pastor Garrett, Pastor Nick—we are all products of leaders raised up from within the church. There is no expectation that you must earn a seminary degree to serve, or even to be an elder or pastor, which is distinct among Protestant churches. Ephesians 4:11 says He gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers "for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry." Those roles are less important than their shared task: equipping you, the saints, to do the work of the ministry.

These nine marks are distinctive of a New Testament church. It's common today for people to say, "I hung out with Christians at Starbucks and we had church." No—you had koinonia, but that's not a church in the New Testament sense. And "I have church by myself" is impossible, because the very word church means a gathering or assembly. Unless you have multiple personality disorder, you are not the church individually—and if you are, we need to get you some help.

Proclamation Is Central—and It's Your Calling

Notice that six of those nine marks connect to proclamation. Two-thirds. I think it's biblically accurate to say you cannot have a biblical church without preaching, proclamation, and the public witness of the saints. And every single one of us is called by God to proclaim the good news within whatever sphere of influence God entrusts to us.

I say "entrusts" purposefully. In 23 years of full-time ministry, I've talked with new converts who say, "God has called me to be on the platform." I tell them: when you are faithful in the small thing, He will expand your influence. If you start in Jerusalem—the nearest thing to you—He'll move you to Judea and Samaria. But if you're not faithful in the little interactions with your neighbor, coworker, or family member, do not expect Him to give you more. He is looking for faithfulness in little things.

This trepidation has a remedy. In John 9, when the religious leaders interrogated the man born blind, he said, "I don't know any of those answers; all I know is I was blind and now I see." That is a sufficient message. Share what you know. And I guarantee that if you take the step of faith, what you know will increase, because you'll be driven to study the Scriptures more. That's exactly what happened in my life and, I believe, in the lives of the other pastors and teachers here—the desire to dig deeper came as they began sharing the word with others.

Proclamation Is What Jesus Did and Commanded

Proclamation is what Jesus did. Matthew 4:17: "From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'" Kerusso covers a wide spectrum—one-on-one, like the woman at the well or Nicodemus by night, or to multitudes, like the Sermon on the Mount.

Mark's gospel moves quickly; already in chapter 1 Jesus is healing and multitudes are following. When the disciples find Him praying, they're excited—our shares are going through the roof! But Jesus says in Mark 1:38, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth." Pinned to the top of all the thousands of notes on my phone is a note called "the purpose statements of Jesus." This is one of them. Every business and church has a purpose statement; one of Jesus's earliest is "I have come to preach."

It is also what He instructed His followers to do. In Mark 10 He first sends the Twelve to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, telling them to preach, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand"—the same message John the Baptist preached in Matthew 3 and Jesus preached in Matthew 4. Mark 3:14: He appointed twelve "that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach." When the religious leaders interrogated the apostles, they could tell they had been with Jesus. In Acts 10:42 Peter says, "He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead."

It is what the apostles did. Apostle means "one sent with a message," often to pioneering works—the Marine Corps of the church, first in. A modern picture is a pioneer missionary. Colossians 1:28: "Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus." Notice the warning (exhortation, conviction) and teaching joined together.

It is what the apostles instructed others to do. Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:2, "Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching." And it is what the apostles commissioned their followers to train others to do. 2 Timothy 2:2: "The things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." This is how the church has grown organically for 2,000 years, until today Christianity is the largest religion on the planet—more than 2.3 billion people identify as Christians.

That's why we're doing this class: to fulfill Jesus's commission and what Paul told Timothy. As long as Jesus remains in heaven and has not called us home, the church will be heralding, proclaiming, teaching, and preaching the gospel for the conversion of individuals. It's not just my task; my task is to equip you to do it in your neighborhood, home, workplace, and campus, because you interact with far more people than I ever could. Some of you are already engaged; some aren't. It's time to get into the game.

Therefore Paul says in 1 Corinthians, "When I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach—woe to me if I do not preach the gospel." As I shared a couple weeks ago, "woe" means destruction is certain. Paul took this very seriously, and so should we.

Why We Preach: Five Purposes

We proclaim, first, for conviction. The gospel is good news in contrast to bad news—it is only good news when you also have the bad news of humanity's fallenness and sinfulness. In Acts 2, those who heard Peter "were cut to the heart" and asked, "What shall we do?" In Acts 7, when Stephen preached, his hearers were also "cut to the heart"—but they stopped their ears, gnashed their teeth, and stoned him. Recognize that conviction doesn't always bring the best response. Some will repent; some will revile and persecute. That word "convince" in 2 Timothy 4:2 means to share the message in a way that brings conviction. Titus 1:9 says a leader must "by sound doctrine be able to exhort and convict those who contradict."

Second, we proclaim for conversion. 1 Corinthians 15 gives the simplest formulation of the gospel: "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, He was buried, and He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and He was seen by witnesses." Just before that Paul says, "I declare to you the gospel... by which you are saved." It is by the gospel that we are saved. In Acts 16, the demon-possessed girl cried, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation"—true words, but Paul rebuked her because she wasn't the witness you'd want. Ephesians 1:13 calls the gospel "the gospel of your salvation."

Third, we proclaim for comfort. Romans 15:4: "Whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope." When you turn to Christ, often nothing visible happens in the physical realm. How do you know? Through the comfort of the Scriptures we have hope. Some of you felt a great weight lifted; for many—myself included—there was nothing. I don't even remember praying to receive Christ; I was told I did it by myself at age three or four, after Bible class. So our ultimate comfort comes from the Scriptures, which is why Paul says three times in 1 Thessalonians 4–5, "Comfort one another with these words."

Fourth, we proclaim for edification, building up the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 14:3: the one who proclaims the word speaks edification and exhortation. And fifth, we proclaim for transformation. We are transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2), washed by the water of the word (Ephesians 5:25), and sanctified by the word—"Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth" (John 17:17). There are easily twenty things we could list—equipping and exhortation among them—but conviction, conversion, comfort, edification, and transformation cover the heart of it.

What We Proclaim: Five Things

First, we proclaim the kingdom of God and heaven. There's discussion about whether these differ; they're used synonymously, and I don't think you can make a strong case for a significant difference. Matthew 10:7: "As you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'" Luke 9:60: "He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick." Matthew says "heaven" because he writes to a Hebrew audience; Luke says the kingdom of Theos, God, because his Greek audience understood God but not the Jewish idea of heaven or Paradise.

To preach the kingdom is to preach the resurrection of Jesus, His ascension to the right hand of glory, and His return to establish His eternal and righteous reign—and implicit in that is the coming judgment. Throughout Acts, the preachers constantly speak of the future judgment, and the resurrection is where many would shut off their brains. In Acts 17, Paul gives a beautiful sermon to the intellectuals of Athens, then speaks of the judgment by the One who rose from the dead, and they balk: "Now He commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained... by raising Him from the dead." In our 21st-century Western world, a resurrected Christ sounds absurd—foolishness to those who are perishing, but the power of God to those being saved.

Second, we proclaim the gospel—Christ died for your sins, was buried, rose, was seen by witnesses, ascended, and will return to judge the living and the dead. Often when we think we're sharing the gospel, we're not, if we never get there. Romans 15:20: "I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man's foundation." 1 Corinthians 1:17: "Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect."

Third, we preach Christ crucified. 1 Corinthians 1:22: "Jews request a sign and Greeks seek after wisdom." Do you know people who say, "Show me a miracle and I'll believe," or others who want to argue ideas? Humanity divides into those two camps. "But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."

Fourth, we preach the word. Paul charged Timothy "before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season."

Fifth, we preach Jesus, because there is no other name given among men by which we must be saved. In 2 Corinthians 4:5 Paul says, "We do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake." This is key, because there are plenty of preachers—once televangelists, now YouTube preachers—who preach more of themselves than of Jesus. Colossians 1:28 again: "Him we preach."

Use Words

It's been attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: "Preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary use words." For 35 years that idea has been common among evangelicals—"I'll just live as a good person and they'll know I'm a Christian." That's nice, and people should see the fruit of the Spirit in you. But at some point we have to tell them, and that will involve conviction that may upset them. Maybe they'll reject it like Stephen's hearers; maybe they'll be cut to the heart and repent like those at Pentecost. That is in the Lord's hands. We plant and water the seed of the word; God gives the increase. He's watering right now.

So these are the things we proclaim. After the break we'll talk about how we proclaim and preach. Let's take about a ten-minute break, and if you have questions, text them to the number on the screen—we'll start there when we return.