You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth.
7 I have
fought [agonizomai] a good [kalos] fight, [agon] I have finished [teleo] my
course, [dromos] I have kept [tereo] the faith: [pistis] KJV-Interlinear
7 I have
fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; NASB
Failure in the spiritual life comes because most people do not know what is expected of them. And that is because they do not bother to learn what is expected of them. And that is because they believe that they already know what is expected of them. Thus failure.
And failure results in great disappointment because the rewards and blessings that could have been, just fade away because the person was just too arrogant, or lazy, or indifferent, and did not want to change their ways. After all, study is … well, boring and not doing.
Fought, finished, kept, are three verbs that indicate completed actions. Actions defined by the Bible, not you.
Paul, once he became a believer, dedicated himself to learning first, then teaching second and living the spiritual life.
He did not pretend by making overt comments or present himself to impress others.
He did not fool himself by believing that he could do things his own way, and that his effort would be acceptable to God.
He did not arrogantly believe that he did not need the scriptures, that he could or already knew what he needed to know, in order to live an acceptable life.
Far too many folks ignore the Bible and believe that whatever it is that they do, is sufficient, and that God will somehow be impressed by their efforts. After all they themselves are impressed with themselves.
Far too many folks want to sing the hymns or attend social gatherings, and believe that, that is sufficient to advance them with God.
Far too many folks simply ignore their spiritual obligations and that is the end of it as far as they are concerned.
And not too many folks realize that God has a mandate for each one of us to study and learn, which is the bulk of our spiritual life, and after that, the application comes next. Most folks want the application or the deeds to precede or replace the study, which study, usually gets ignored because they believe that it is not necessary.
Paul endured the hardships of life in this world. Paul continued in his studies even as he wrote most of what we now call the New Testament. Paul maintained his faith and did not waiver or get distracted by worldly opinions or popular views. Paul was not swayed by peer pressures.
Paul did not let others control the course of his life. He was independent in his thinking.
Paul did not invent his own values, but pursued the values that God dictates in the scriptures.
If you have not believed in Christ, then your life will fail miserably.
If you have believed in Christ, then you have placed upon you many expectations and obligations.
The first, of which is to live your life in fellowship. You accomplish this by confession of your sins to God the Father, on a regular basis.
The second, is to engage in a daily Bible study. This presumes that you are interested and want to learn of God, of life, of your meaning and purpose in life.
The third, is to learn that which you study, to have an open mind and not compromise or find excuses, or pick and choose what you will agree or disagree with from the Bible.
The fourth, is to understand by applying what you learn. And that means to live an honest and honorable life. Application follows learning.
The fifth, is to support the study of the Word, and not expect someone else to do what is expected of you.
The sixth, is to do this day after day, year after year, throughout your entire life. There are no holidays, no vacations, no time off from your spiritual life.
The seventh, is the objective, the finishing of the race, advancement to spiritual maturity.
God has waiting for you a blessing package that exceeds your imagination. If pursuing your spiritual life is too difficult for you, then your spiritual blessings are not worth anything to you either.
We will all face Christ one day and on that day, we will receive that which we qualify for. You can either face Christ with honor because you endured, you finished, you maintained your faith, or you can face Christ with embarrassment because you did not see the value in the gift that He has waiting for you.
In either case, you are the only one who will be to blame if you decide against pursuing your spiritual life in accordance with Gods rules. You are the fool if you think you have a better way.
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End Of Lesson
Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth.
