How to Read the Bible — Lesson 1: Start With the Questions

HOW TO READ THE BIBLE — a short course from Dardanelle Missionary Baptist Church • Pastor Chuck Trusty • Lesson 1 of 13 • a new lesson every two weeks

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The Verse

"There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him." — John 3:1-2

The Question

How do we start reading a Bible verse? Not with a commentary. Not with an expert. We start the way a good news reporter starts — by asking five simple questions: WHO? WHAT? WHEN? WHERE? WHY? And around those five runs a fence called CONTEXT — the story the verse lives inside.

Let us try the questions on the verse above. Watch something wonderful: this verse answers every one of them in its own words.

The Tool — walked together

WHO? The verse tells us three times over: a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. We did not have to guess one letter of it.

WHAT? He came to Jesus and spoke to Him. Stated plainly.

WHEN? By night. Two words, right in the verse.

WHERE? To Jesus — wherever Jesus was staying in Jerusalem. (The chapter before tells us He was there for the passover.)

WHY? Nicodemus answers this one with his own mouth: "we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him." He came because the miracles convinced him this Teacher was from God.

Five questions. Five answers. All of them sitting right on the surface of the text. That is how most of the Bible works — the Book wants to be understood.

Now, one small bonus, to show where the questions can lead. Look again at WHEN: by night. A ruler of the Jews — a member of the religious council — coming to Jesus in the dark, when nobody would see him. The verse never says the word "afraid" or "careful." But the question WHEN just introduced us to a man who was curious about Jesus — and cautious about being seen. The questions do not just gather facts. Sometimes they open a window into a man's heart.

And one rule to carry through this whole course: if a question box ever stays empty, that is not failure. That is the Book inviting us to read further. The empty box is the shovel — it shows us where to dig.

ONE WORD

Look at what Nicodemus called Jesus: RABBI. That word means teacher — a title of honor, the word students used for a master of the Scriptures. Now feel the weight of the verse: Nicodemus was himself a ruler and a teacher in Israel — Jesus says so later, in verse 10: "art thou a master of Israel?" So here is a teacher of teachers, coming at night, and calling a carpenter's son from Nazareth "my teacher." One word — and the verse grows a whole size larger.

Try It This Week

Here is your verse. It is one sentence, and it will answer the questions almost by itself:

"And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed." — Mark 1:35

Ask your five questions. WHO is "he"? (Read verse 34, one verse back — the fence called context will tell you.) WHAT did He do? WHEN — the verse says it twice; look for both. WHERE? And WHY — this box may stay partly empty. Good. Read on from verse 35 to verse 39 and see what the quiet morning prayer was getting Him ready for.

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Next lesson, in two weeks: reading the WHOLE verse — and the half of a famous verse most folks never quote.

The Course Index — all lessons  •  Next: Lesson 2 — Read the Whole Verse ›

The Unsteady Soul

Dardanelle Missionary Baptist Church — Dardanelle, Arkansas

Pastor Chuck Trusty — Wednesday evening service, July 22, 2026 Psalm 107 · The Godliness Series (A7) · Between the Fools and the Storm-Tossed

► Watch this lesson on video (50:46)

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The One Point

Foolishness creates instability — and instability is what opens the door to the storm.

Where This Sits in the Psalm

Psalm 107 has walked us through four groups of God’s own people who DRIFTED, and every one of them got there a little at a time . . . the wanderers stopped adding anything to their saving faith . . . and the prisoners simply ignored the watchman, and the watchman is the pastor God set inside the church, so they pushed His warnings aside and let the preaching go in one ear and out the other until the darkness closed in around them. Then the drifting heart, which is the quietest of them all — it does not argue with the correction, it just resists it. Preacher, I KNOW this is wrong, but . . . and that man is not in chains yet, but he is walking toward them with his eyes wide open.

Then come the fools. “Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted” (Psalm 107:17). Transgression (doing the thing we were not supposed to do) is one act — but iniquity is what happens when we stack those transgressions one on top of another until they harden into a HABIT . . . and when a man habitually transgresses, the consequences are already on the horizon whether he sees them or not.

Sunday evening we take up the last group, the storm-tossed, who “reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end” (Psalm 107:27). But NOBODY goes from being a fool straight into a raging storm in one step . . . there is always a season in between — quiet, unassuming, and for that very reason overlooked by nearly everybody who is living in it — and that season is what I want us to look at tonight.

The House That Was Condemned

A few years back a family not far from here had their house condemned. No tornado ever hit it . . . it never flooded . . . the inspector came out over some smaller thing altogether and found that the foundation had been shifting and cracking for YEARS, and nobody had noticed a bit of it — because from the street everything looked absolutely normal, the paint was fresh, the lawn was mowed, the windows were clean.

But underneath, the part that was actually holding that house up had been quietly giving way — board by board and crack by crack — until one day the doors would not open right, and the floors began to bounce in the middle, and a crack ran up the living room wall clear to the ceiling . . . and by the time the problem was VISIBLE it had been growing invisibly for a long, long time.

Now NOTICE what got that house condemned. It was not one bad storm . . . that house had been made vulnerable to the first good wind that came along, because the structure that should have held it together had been compromised — and nobody was aware of it.

That is a description of the unsteady soul, seen from the outside — still showing up, still sitting in the pew, still saying all the right things . . . but underneath, the foundation has been WEAKENING — not gone, mind you, just weakening, quietly and slowly and almost invisibly — and that soul is now vulnerable to a storm it would have ridden out without any trouble at all a short time ago.

What James Calls It

James gives us the picture of what this looks like in a man’s spiritual life. He is describing somebody who keeps asking God for wisdom and never actually takes possession of what he asked for . . . and then he says it in seven words — “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8).

Not unstable in SOME of his ways . . . in ALL of them. When a soul loses its spiritual footing the instability spreads — and it spreads EVERYWHERE . . . if I lose my balance I do not lose it only in this corner of the room and keep it over in that one, and if I am having trouble standing upright, I have that trouble over the whole room.

So foolishness and carelessness and living by impulse are not only a moral problem, though they are certainly that — they are a STRUCTURAL problem, and they weaken the framework that holds a believer’s life together.

The Quiet Signs

Not one of these is dramatic — that is exactly the danger in them. They edge their way in.

Convictions weaken. Things that once felt absolutely SETTLED — preacher, there is no way under the sun I would ever do that — begin to feel negotiable . . . and not because we stopped believing in right and wrong . . . but because carelessness dulls the edge of a conviction the same way it dulls the edge of a knife — that knife used to slice right through, and you dull the edge and it will not slice through ANYTHING anymore.

Priorities shift. The things that used to come FIRST get pushed back to second . . . then to third . . . and now they barely make the list at all.

Habits decay. Prayer, the Word, faithful attendance, owning it when we are wrong — not one of these collapses all at once . . . they SLIP, a little at a time.

Discernment goes. That is nothing but a fancy word for understanding that consequences are REAL, and what happens is that we begin to unplug our behavior from what our behavior costs . . . and that old spiritual instinct that used to say I cannot put my finger on what is wrong with that, but something about it is not right — we simply quit listening to it.

And the footing loosens. When I was younger I used to watch older folks who seemed always frightened of falling, and I could not understand it for the life of me — two or three little steps should be no big deal - just hop down and go on about your business. But you do not get to be EIGHTY overnight . . . and you do not lose that kind of steadiness overnight either. It is a little dab here and a little dab there.

The Gyroscope

I have never really understood how a gyroscope works. But you know what one is — a wheel spinning inside a little frame — and when it is spinning fast you can push on it, you can rotate it, you can do all manner of things to it, and it resists every bit of that and stays upright.

What happens when it slows down? It begins to WOBBLE . . . and eventually it falls over.

The spiritual disciplines are the SPIN. Prayer, the Word, worship, fellowship, obedience — these are what hold a soul upright when the world leans on it and tempts it to compromise . . . and if you take those five out of a life it is only a matter of time before the world pushes and we start to WOBBLE.

The fool is the man who let the spin slow down out of pure carelessness. The unsteady soul is the believer whose gyroscope has already slowed . . . and who does not yet realize how exposed all those small compromises have left him.

What Foolishness Does to the House We Build

“Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands” (Proverbs 14:1). Now NOTICE that — she plucks it down with her OWN hands. She does not need any help from anybody, and it is not the work of some outside force. She does it herself.

The foolish man is his own demolition crew — and here is the thing about him, he is usually not swinging a sledgehammer at all . . . the damage works like a TERMITE.

Termites do not knock a house down in one visit — they move in quietly, they settle into the wood, and they eat a little here and a little there, every single day . . . you cannot hear them, you cannot see them from the outside, the paint is good and the gutters are clean and the lawn is fine . . . but inside the walls the wood that is supposed to hold everything together is being hollowed out, slowly and steadily and almost entirely invisibly. Then one day something shifts that is not supposed to shift — a door frame goes crooked, a floor sags, somebody leans on a wall and it gives more than it ought to — and the inspector finds that what looked like a solid house is being held together by almost nothing.

Foolishness is that termite. It does not destroy a believer’s life in one dramatic moment — it moves in through the neglected prayer and the skipped worship and the compromised conviction and the rationalized exception . . . and it hollows out the structure a little at a time . . . until the soul that looks perfectly fine on the outside is barely holding together on the inside.

Why the Storm Finds Them

Look again at how the psalm describes the storm-tossed. “They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end” (Psalm 107:27).

What does that sound like to you? It sounds like somebody who was ALREADY unsteady before the storm ever hit him . . . a man who is rooted and grounded and spiritually balanced does not reel like a drunken man at the first wave — the storm SHAKES him, and the storm is difficult, no question about it — but he does not immediately lose all control of himself.

Two trees stand in the same field — same wind, same rain. One of them has deep roots, and it leans way over and the branches go everywhere, but the root system HOLDS, and when the storm passes that tree is still standing . . . the other one is just as tall and looks every bit as impressive, but its roots never had to go deep.

And there is the KEY to the whole thing. It is human nature not to do one bit more than we have to do — if there is surface water available, the roots stay right up there on the surface, and we will not force them downward until the water on top dries up . . . I used to be proud of the calluses on my hands, but I had a good many blisters before those calluses ever showed up.

The same storm hits the shallow tree and over it goes — and not because the storm was any worse for one tree than for the other, but because the foundation was not THERE . . . the storm is not what determines the outcome. The ROOTS are.

And when a soul is already unsteady, EVERYTHING about that storm gets worse. Temptations grow stronger, because there is less left to hold on to . . . emotions grow louder, because there is no anchor down there . . . decisions grow riskier, because the edge of the knife is dull and we have unplugged our behavior from the consequence . . . relationships grow strained, because a reeling man cannot hold steady connections with anybody . . . and the consequences grow heavier, because every step now falls on a shifting foundation.

The Storm Is Mercy

Somebody may be sitting here tonight looking at his own life and thinking, if God loved me He would not let a storm come. If God really loved me, why did He let me get cancer? That is MY own storm and yours is a different one — but the question comes out the same way . . . if God loves me, why did this happen?

I am not speaking down to a soul in this house. I have been in this exact place myself.

The storm is not the evidence that God has abandoned the unsteady soul. The storm is the evidence that God has NOT given up on the unsteady soul.

Think about a doctor. A patient comes in for a routine exam, and the doctor runs the tests and looks at the results and finds a serious condition — one that has been developing quietly for a good while with very few symptoms on the outside . . . like the termites.

That doctor has two choices in front of him. He can say nothing and send the patient home and let him go on living the way he has been living — feeling fine on the outside while the thing goes right on developing on the inside — and that is the COMFORTABLE choice for both of them . . . or he can sit that man down and tell him the truth — I need to show you something. This is serious. We have to deal with it now, because if we wait, some bad things are going to happen.

The second conversation is hard, and it is uncomfortable, and in the moment it can even feel CRUEL . . . doctor, I feel fine . . . preacher, I am doing fine . . . but inside you are NOT fine. Now which one of those doctors loved that patient more?

The storm is God telling the TRUTH. It is God sitting the unsteady soul down and saying, look at this . . . it is serious . . . something has been weakening in here, and I love you too much to let it go one step further. “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth” (Hebrews 12:6).

The storm strips away the illusions and silences the excuses and removes the distractions . . . and it brings the soul to the one place God has been trying to get it to - all along — honest, humble DEPENDENCE on Him. We are NOTHING if we are not dependent on God. And one of the things a storm does is show us that we have tried everything under the sun and we are still on that boat, still going up and down, still going back and forth . . . you cannot fix your own problems. Have you not learned that yet? All right — now that you are depending on Me, we can do something.

Without humility we never get to the point of depending on God at all.

The Mercy of Being Warned Early

Storms are merciful, but they are not PAINLESS. And here is the mercy in tonight’s lesson, and the reason I wanted us to stop on the unsteady soul before we ever move on to the storm-tossed.

If you are in this room this evening and your soul feels unsteady — if some of what I have described sounds uncomfortably familiar — then you are NOT in the storm yet. You are still in the season before it. You can see the clouds out there on the horizon and the wind is barely beginning to gust and the water is still fairly calm . . . but you know what is coming.

That means you still have a CHOICE. The drifting heart can stop drifting . . . the fool can quit being careless . . . the unsteady soul can get its balance back before the storm ever hits.

Is the tornado warning that wakes you at two in the morning a bad thing? It is a GIFT . . . you either ignore it and suffer the consequences, or you pay attention and go do what you already know good and well you ought to do. And He does not set that alarm off one time and quit — He sets it off over and over and over before He ever allows the storm to rise. He whispers through conviction . . . He speaks through His Word, which we far too often ignore . . . He calls through the fellowship of other believers . . . He warns through the conscience . . . He PLEADS through the watchman.

How many times have the sirens gone off before we finally paid attention?

The Way Back

Five returns, and they match the five disciplines.

Return to prayer — not every once in a while when it occurs to us, but DAILY, honest conversation with God . . . that is not asking too much of any of us.

Return to Scripture. Forget the television — open the Book and let the Holy Spirit speak to you exactly where you are . . . because God KNOWS where you are, and He knows how to speak to you right there.

Return to fellowship. The people of God are part of how God STEADIES us — so do not pull away from them.

Return to obedience — not when it happens to be convenient, but because He is Lord and Master and we owe Him that.

Return to wisdom. Quit living by impulse — start living in ORDER. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not (without finding fault with us for asking); and it shall be given him” (James 1:5).

And do not try to fix all five at once — pick the ONE you are weakest in and start right there.

One Question

Sunday night I asked four questions. Tonight I only want to ask ONE, and I do not want it answered out loud — just between you and God — and I do not want it to slide right past unnoticed.

Is your soul steady right now?

Not your circumstances — your SOUL. Are you grounded and rooted . . . or have you been wobbling? And has that wobble been going on for a good while now?

If the honest answer is yes . . . you already know the path back.

The unsteady soul is not a HOPELESS soul — it is a soul God is still pursuing, still calling, still working to restore . . . so the question is not whether God is ready to steady you. The question is whether you are ready to let Him.

“He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven” (Psalm 107:29–30).

And NOTICE the last of it, which we will pick up in the next lesson. He does not merely make the storm go away . . . He does not only still the wind and calm the water and then leave us floating in a raft somewhere out in a quiet place — He bringeth them unto their DESIRED HAVEN, the place they were going to in the first place.

Think about that.

Scripture Used

Psalm 107:17 · Psalm 107:27 · Psalm 107:29–30 · Proverbs 14:1 · James 1:5 · James 1:8 · Hebrews 12:6 (all KJV)

A New Commandment — Why the Weightiest Words Jesus Ever Spoke Were About Love

A New Commandment — Why the Weightiest Words Jesus Ever Spoke Were About Love

Preached Sunday morning, July 19, 2026 • Dardanelle Missionary Baptist Church • Pastor Chuck Trusty

Key verses: John 13:34–35 • John 15:12 • John 15:17 (KJV)

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Where We Left Off

Last week, beloved, we measured love by the ruler — that little Greek word kathōs, "as I have loved you." And we said the ruler is not our mom's love — not the love we grew up with — not love on our best day . . . the ruler is Jesus' OWN love — proactive, inconvenient, stubborn, and sacrificial.

So LAST week we answered how — how are we supposed to love. After the pattern of Jesus . . . this morning I want to back up and look at the command itself . . . here it is — the very words Jesus gave us:

"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." — John 13:34–35 (KJV)

Now hold onto something. Jesus did not say that ONLY once that night. Before the evening was over He said it two more times — in John 15:12, "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you," and again in John 15:17, "These things I command you, that ye love one another." Three times, beloved — in one evening.

So I do not want us to rush past these words. I want us to feel the weight of them . . . because there are three things right here in this command that I think most of us have read right past our WHOLE lives. Where He gave it. Why He called it new . . . and why He said it three times. Let's take them one at a time.

The Room Where Love Was Commanded

Before we say one more word about this command, I want to take you into the room where Jesus first gave it. Because the room changes EVERYTHING.

Jesus did not give this command on a hillside with a crowd cheering . . . not in the temple with the scholars leaning in. Not right after a miracle, with the energy still buzzing in the air . . . not on a mountaintop with EVERYTHING going right.

He gave it in an upper room. At night. During the Passover . . . and the room was heavy.

Judas was in that room . . . the betrayal was already set . . . the cross was hours away — not weeks, not days — hours. Peter was about to deny Him three times before the rooster crowed . . . EVERY man in that room was going to run before morning.

And that is the moment Jesus chose to say, "Love ONE another."

He did NOT wait for a better night. He did not say, "Once things settle down, once everybody feels better, once the betrayal is behind us — then love each other." He gave the command in the valley.

And I think He did that on purpose . . . because valley love — love you give when it costs you something, love you choose when your heart is shaken and the room is heavy — that is the only love that ever really means ANYTHING . . . anybody can love on the mountaintop.

Why He Called It "New"

Now I want to put my finger on ONE word in this verse — a word most of us slide right past. Jesus called this a new commandment.

And you might think — new? What is new about loving people? The Old Testament already said, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." That is in Leviticus . . . that is a thousand years before that upper room . . . so what is new here?

That is a fair question . . . and to answer it, I want to introduce you to two men . . . in the generation just before Jesus, the two most famous rabbis in Jerusalem were named Hillel and Shammai . . . both of them died about the time Jesus was a boy. Each one had his own school — his own house of followers . . . and the two houses argued about near EVERYTHING. Hillel's school was the gentler, broader one. Shammai's was the stricter one.

There is an old story about Hillel. A Gentile came to him and said, "Teach me the WHOLE Law while I stand on one foot" — meaning, boil it down, make it short. Shammai had already run the man off with a builder's measuring rod. But Hillel said, "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor . . . that is the whole Law — the rest is commentary . . . go and learn it."

Now here is a detail I do not want you to miss. Hillel's OWN grandson was a man named Gamaliel. And Gamaliel was the very teacher the Apostle Paul was trained under — Paul says so himself in Acts 22:3. So this is not far-off history . . . this runs right up to the edge of the New Testament.

The point is this: for hundreds of years, the rabbis of Israel had been summing up the Law with love. Hillel said it. Shammai said it his own way . . . EVERY serious teacher in Israel had a way of putting love at the center of the Law. So when Jesus says "love your neighbor," the men in that room had heard something like it before.

Then what on earth was new?

Here it is. It was NOT the summary that was new . . . it was the Man saying it — and what He put in the middle of it. Every rabbi before Jesus pointed away from himself. He pointed to the Law. He said, in effect, "Love the way the Law says to love." Not one of them — not Hillel, not Shammai, not Gamaliel, not any rabbi who ever stood up in Israel — ever said what Jesus said next.

Jesus said, "Love one another as I have loved you." He did NOT point to the Law. He pointed to Himself.

No rabbi had ever done that. No teacher in the history of the world had ever set himself down as the measuring stick for love. Jesus did. He said, in effect, "Do NOT go measure your love against a rule anymore. Measure it against Me."

The word "new" — kainē (kai-NAY) means new in kind — fresh, unprecedented, a thing that has NEVER existed before . . . it does NOT mean merely new in time — the next one off the line, a newer copy of an old thing. The Greeks had two words they could have used here . . . one of them — neos — means new like this year's calf is newer than last year's. Same kind of thing, just more recent . . . but that is not the word Jesus used. He used kainē — new in kind. A brand-new category. A thing the world had never seen.

And that is exactly right. Jesus did not hand them an updated command — version two of "love your neighbor." He handed them a command that had NEVER existed, because for the first time there was a Man standing in front of them who could say, "Love like Me," and mean it all the way to a cross . . . that is what made it new.

And He Said It Three Times

Here is the third thing, and it is easy to miss unless somebody points it out to us. Jesus did NOT give this command one time that night. He gave it three times.

"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." — John 13:34 (KJV)

"This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you." — John 15:12 (KJV)

"These things I command you, that ye love one another." — John 15:17 (KJV)

Three times . . . in ONE evening . . . in one conversation.

Now you have to understand how Jewish teaching worked . . . they did not have bold print . . . they did not have ALL-capital letters or exclamation points . . . when a teacher wanted to nail something down — when he wanted you to know this is not optional — he said it more than once. Twice was strong . . . three times was permanent.

When a rabbi said a thing three times, he was telling you: this is settled . . . this is the foundation . . . this is NOT a mood, not a season, not a suggestion for the days you happen to feel like it. Jesus said it three times.

He did not say it three times about the Lord's Supper that night. He did not say it three times about the ordinances, or about the church offices, or about prophecy. He said love one another three times.

So let me put the three things together, because they land as one. Jesus gave this command in the valley — on the hardest night of His life. He called it new — a kind of love that had never existed until He stood there to define it. And He stamped it three times — permanent . . . this is the foundation.

Why This Command Stands Over Everything Else

Now, why does all of that matter for us? Let me try to show you.

Anybody who has ever built a fence knows you start with the corner post . . . you set that one post deep, and you set it true — because every line you string after it is measured off of that post. Notice: the corner post does not string a single foot of wire itself . . . but it decides whether every wire runs straight or runs crooked . . . set the corner post wrong, and it does not matter how careful you are with the rest — every line runs off.

That is what this command is. Love is the corner post.

You remember Deuteronomy says, "Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour's landmark." A landmark was a stone that marked where one man's inheritance ended and another began. Move that stone, and you have not just moved a rock — you have changed the inheritance. Well, in the things of God, love is the first landmark . . . it is the corner stone every other line is measured from.

That is why, when they asked Jesus for the greatest commandment, He did not hand them a list. He gave them love — love God, love your neighbor — "on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." He said everything hangs there . . . the whole thing swings on that hinge.

So think about what that means for a church. A church can get its doctrine exactly right, and set the corner post wrong, and every line runs crooked. A church can run every program on the calendar, and set the corner post wrong, and every line runs crooked. A church can fill the building, keep the schedule, sing the songs — and if the corner post is off, none of it runs true.

That is not me being hard on programs or buildings or good doctrine. I thank God for sound doctrine . . . but sound doctrine is a line strung off the post. Love is the post. Jesus said so — He said it in the valley, He called it new, and He said it three times.

And here is the part that ought to sober every one of us. If love is the corner post, then a lack of love is not a small thing . . . it is not a personality quirk . . . it is a moved landmark . . . it runs everything off.

In the Valley

Let me bring us back to that upper room to close.

Remember where He gave this command . . . not on the mountaintop . . . in the valley . . . on the hardest night, in the heaviest room, surrounded by the very men who were about to fail Him. And He did not give the command and walk away from it. He walked it out — all the way to the cross. He loved the men who ran. He loved the man who denied Him. He loved us while we were yet sinners.

And now He turns and looks at us and says: love one another as I have loved you.

He is not asking for mountaintop love — love when everybody is easy and everything is going right . . . anybody can do that. He is asking for valley love. Love when it costs you. Love when somebody has hurt you. Love when the trust is broken and the room feels heavy and every part of you wants to walk out.

That is where He gave it. That is where He wants us to keep it.

So here is what I want to leave you with this week . . . not a feeling. A choice. Somewhere this week you are going to walk into a valley — a hard conversation, a person who let you down, a moment where love is going to cost you something . . . when you get there, I want you to remember the upper room, and I want you to make the choice Jesus made. Love anyway.

Because a command is not something we admire. A command is something we obey.

"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." — John 13:34 (KJV)

He said it in the valley. He called it new. He said it three times. Now the only question left is ours to answer: are we going to do it?

Next Sunday — Part 2: What Christlike Love Produces — the three things that happen in a church when we keep this command.

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What Does the Bible Say About Salvation? (Chapter 2)

📚 New here? Start at the beginning.

This is Chapter 2 of a free seven-chapter booklet, What Does the Bible Say? — A Simple Foundation for New Believers. You can start at Chapter 1 or see all seven chapters on The Basics page.

📘 CHAPTER TWO — What Does the Bible Say About Salvation?

The most important question we will ever settle

⭐ Introduction

Chapter One settled why we trust the Bible . . . now we ask the Bible the biggest question there is: how is a person saved? Notice we are NOT asking what a church says, what a family tradition says, or what "most people think." We are asking: what does the Bible say?

Everything else in this booklet — prayer, worship, the church, Christian living — sits on top of this chapter. Get this ONE settled, and the rest have somewhere to stand.

I. Everyone Needs to Be Saved

(The problem)

Romans 3:23 — "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."

The verse says ALL have sinned — and "come short" is an archer's picture: the arrow falling short of the target. Sin simply means missing God's mark — and EVERY one of us has missed it.

A Word Worth Knowing — "Sin." The main New Testament word for sin is the Greek word hamartia (hah-mar-TEE-ah). It was an archer's term long before it was a church word — it means to miss the mark. Not necessarily to shoot in the opposite direction . . . just to miss.

That matters, because it means sin is not only the crimes that make the news. Sin is EVERY arrow that lands anywhere short of the glory of God — the unkind word, the proud thought, the good thing left undone . . . some arrows land closer than others. None of them land on the mark.

Illustration — The Canyon. Suppose the WHOLE county gathered at the rim of the Grand Canyon for a jumping contest — the object being to jump across . . . some would barely clear the rail. A young athlete might jump twenty feet out. The difference between the two jumps might impress the crowd — but it would not matter one bit to the outcome. The canyon is a mile wide . . . everybody comes short.

That is Romans 3:23. Compared with each other, some of us look pretty good. Compared with the glory of God, EVERY one of us is at the bottom of the canyon.

Romans 6:23 — "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Wages are what we earn. Sin pays a wage, and the wage is death — separation from God. Notice the same verse also names the alternative, and notice what it calls it: not a wage, but a gift. Hold onto that word . . . it is about to become the hinge of the WHOLE chapter.

Isaiah 53:6 — "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."

Let the Bible explain the Bible: Isaiah says the same thing Romans says — ALL of us, EVERY one — and then adds where the iniquity went: the LORD laid it on HIM. Keep that in mind for Section III.

• Sin is NOT just what "bad people" do — it is what ALL people have done.
• Nobody is so good he does not need saving, and NOBODY is so bad he cannot be saved.

Author's Note — "Notice I did not write 'everyone but the preacher.' When Romans says all, it includes the man writing this booklet. We are all in the same canyon, and we all needed the same rescue." — C.T.

Simple truth: Salvation is not for good people or bad people — it is for lost people, and that is all of us.

II. We Cannot Save Ourselves

(Why our best is not enough)

Ephesians 2:8–9 — "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

The verses say salvation is BY grace, THROUGH faith, NOT of yourselves, NOT of works — it is a GIFT.

A Word Worth Knowing — "Grace." The Greek word is charis (KHAR-ece). It means favor that is not earned, not deserved, and not owed . . . if you worked for it, it is a paycheck . . . if you deserved it, it is a prize. Grace is neither — grace is what God gives because of who HE is, not because of what we are.

Titus 3:5 — "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us…"

And in case we are tempted to think our better deeds might tip the scale, the Bible closes that door plainly:

Isaiah 64:6 — "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags…"

Read that carefully . . . it is not our sins that are called filthy rags — it is our righteousnesses. Our best days . . . our finest moments. Measured against the glory of God, even the good we do cannot pay for the wrong we have done.

Illustration — The Gift. A gift you pay for is not a gift — it is a purchase. A gift you earn is not a gift — it is a wage. The only thing anyone can do with a real gift is receive it or refuse it. The Bible calls salvation a gift… which tells you exactly what your part is.

Simple truth: If salvation could be earned, Jesus did not need to die . . . it cannot — and He did.

III. Jesus Did the Saving Work

(What God did about our problem)

1 Corinthians 15:3–4 — "…Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures."

That is the gospel in one sentence: He died FOR OUR SINS — in our place — was buried, and rose again.

1 Peter 3:18 — "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God…"

The just One suffered for the unjust ones . . . that exchange is the heart of salvation. Remember Isaiah 53:6 from Section I — "the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." The arrows we shot short — He took them.

Illustration — The Judge Who Paid the Fine. Picture a courtroom. The defendant is guilty and everyone knows it. The judge — because he is a just judge — pronounces the full fine. The law is satisfied – the debt is real . . . and then the judge stands up, takes off his robe, walks around the bench, and pays the fine out of his own pocket . . . that is Calvary. God did not wave our sin away as though it did not matter — the wage of sin really is death, and the sentence really was pronounced . . . and then the Judge Himself came down — God, in His own Son — and paid it.

A Word Worth Knowing — "It Is Finished." On the cross, Jesus said, "It is finished" (John 19:30). In the Greek this is one word — tetelestai (teh-TEL-es-tie) — and it was a word used in everyday business for a bill that had been PAID IN FULL. Merchants wrote it across a receipt. Jesus was not saying "I am finished." He was saying the DEBT is finished — paid, complete, nothing owing.

A Word Worth Knowing — "Propitiation."

1 John 2:2 — "And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."

Propitiation is a big word with a plain meaning: the payment that settles the account. Not a payment that reduces the debt. Not a payment plan. A settlement — the account closed, the demand satisfied . . . our sin was not excused – it was settled . . . there is a difference, and the difference is the cross.

Simple truth: Salvation is not spelled D-O. It is spelled D-O-N-E.

IV. Salvation Is Received by Repentance and Faith

(How the gift becomes yours)

Acts 20:21 — "…repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ."

Two words — one turning.

A Word Worth Knowing — "Repentance." The Greek word is metanoia (met-AH-noy-ah) — literally a change of mind. Not merely feeling sorry, and not cleaning yourself up first (you cannot). It is the change of mind that turns the whole man around — turning FROM sin and self, TOWARD God.

A man plowing a field looks back and sees his row running crooked. Repentance is not standing there feeling bad about the row. Repentance is turning the plow.

Faith is trust — leaning your whole weight on Jesus. John 3:16 says, "…that whosoever BELIEVETH in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Illustration — The Chair. You can believe a chair is sturdy, say fine things about the chair, even recommend the chair to friends — and still be standing. Faith is sitting down: putting your full weight on Christ alone to hold you . . . nothing in your hands — all your weight on Him.

Romans 10:13 — "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Whosoever. The invitation is as wide as the world, and it has your name in it.

⭐ Let the Bible Explain the Bible — "Faith Without Works"

James 2:20 says "faith without works is dead" — and some read that to mean works help save us. But we learned our rule in Chapter One: Scripture never contradicts Scripture. Ephesians 2:8–9 is crystal clear — NOT of works . . . so what is James saying? Read Ephesians 2:10: we are "created in Christ Jesus UNTO good works." Works are the FRUIT of salvation, never the ROOT of it. A fruit tree is not alive because it bears fruit — it bears fruit because it is alive. James is not telling you how to be saved – he is telling you how to recognize a living faith.

⭐ Let the Bible Explain the Bible — "What About Baptism?"

New believers often ask: do I have to be baptized to be saved? Let a clear passage answer. When Jesus hung on the cross, a dying thief beside Him believed and said, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." And Jesus answered, "Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:42–43).

That man was never baptized . . . he never joined a church, never took the Lord's Supper, never did one good work — he could not – his hands were nailed down. And Jesus Himself declared him saved that very day. Salvation came by repentance and faith alone.

Then what is baptism for? Hold that question — Chapter Five answers it from Scripture . . . for now, mark this: baptism is a PICTURE of the salvation you already have, not the power that gives it. First the believing, then the picture — always in that order in the Book.

Simple truth: Turn from sin, trust in Jesus — the gift becomes yours the moment you receive it.

V. The Saved Are Safe Forever

(Why we can know, and rest)

John 10:28–29 — "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand."

Read the promise slowly, and count the securities in it:

• The life He gives is ETERNAL — and eternal life that could be lost was never eternal.
• He says they shall NEVER perish . . . never is a long word, and Jesus chose it.
• No man can pluck them out of His hand — and verse 29 closes the Father's hand around His. The believer rests inside two hands, and the Bible says nothing about him wiggling out from the inside either.

John 3:36 — "He that believeth on the Son HATH everlasting life…"

Hath means possession — right now, not someday, not hopefully, not if we hold on well enough.

1 John 5:13 — "These things have I written unto you… that ye may KNOW that ye have eternal life."

Not hope so. Not think so on good days. Know so — because God put it in writing.

Now, someone will ask: then what happens when a believer sins? Does he lose it? Here the Bible makes a distinction worth learning early: the difference between SONSHIP and FELLOWSHIP. When you were saved you became God's child — and a birth cannot be un-happened . . . but a child who disobeys clouds the warmth of the household without ever changing his birth certificate. Sin in a believer's life breaks the closeness, not the relationship — and confession restores the closeness (1 John 1:9). Chapter Six walks through this fully.

Author's Note — "New believer, settle this early: your salvation rests on what Jesus did, not on how you perform. On your worst day you are just as saved as on your best day, because the paid-in-full receipt was signed at the cross, not at your good behavior. Assurance is not pride — it is taking God at His word." — C.T.

Simple truth: Salvation kept by us would be lost by Tuesday. Salvation kept by Him is safe forever.

⭐ Before You Leave This Chapter

May I ask you the chapter's question personally? Not "do you go to church" — not "were you raised right" — but this: have you ever, as one lost person, turned from your sin and put your whole weight on Jesus Christ alone?

If the answer is no, or if you are not sure — the invitation of Romans 10:13 is open this very minute: "whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Tell Him you have missed the mark. Tell Him you are done trusting yourself. Ask Him to save you — and He will, because He said He would.

And if the answer is yes — then read John 10:28 once more, slowly, and rest . . . you are in the two hands.

⭐ Chapter Summary

• Everyone has sinned and needs saving — every arrow lands short.
• Nobody can save himself — even our righteousnesses are filthy rags. Salvation is a gift.
• Jesus paid the full debt: died, buried, risen. Tetelestai — paid in full. Propitiation — the account settled.
• The gift is received by repentance (the turned plow) and faith (the full weight on the chair).
• Works are the fruit of salvation, never the root. Baptism is the picture, never the power.
• The saved are safe in two hands forever — and God wrote it down so we can know it.

Next — Chapter Three: What does the Bible say about prayer?

What Does the Bible Say About the Bible? (Chapter 1)

📚 Welcome — this is the beginning.

This is the first part of a free seven-chapter booklet, What Does the Bible Say? — A Simple Foundation for New Believers. Read straight on, or see all seven chapters on The Basics page.

📘 WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

A Simple Foundation for New Believers

Six Chapters • Straight from Scripture • King James Version

Written by CHUCK TRUSTY
Pastor | Dardanelle, Arkansas

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How to Use This Booklet

Welcome to the family of God! This booklet was written for you — the new believer — and for any believer who wants the foundations laid plainly . . . it asks one question six times, about six subjects, and answers each time the SAME way: not with opinions, but with Scripture.

• Chapter 1 — What does the Bible say about the Bible?
• Chapter 2 — What does the Bible say about salvation?
• Chapter 3 — What does the Bible say about prayer?
• Chapter 4 — What does the Bible say about worship?
• Chapter 5 — What does the Bible say about the church?
• Chapter 6 — What does the Bible say about Christian living?

Read one chapter a week with your Bible open, look up EVERY verse for yourself, and mark the "Simple truth" lines — they are the handles to carry each lesson by. All quotations are from the King James Bible, and every chapter uses the same rule you will learn in Chapter One: let the Bible explain the Bible.

Author's Note — "I have made every effort to avoid injecting my own brand of theology into these lessons. These pages are not intended to explain what I say, but what the Bible says. My goal is simple: to let God's Word speak in its own words, in its own context." — C.T.

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📘 CHAPTER ONE — What Does the Bible Say About the Bible?

⭐ Introduction

Every believer needs ONE unshakable foundation upon which to build their lives: What does the Bible say about the Bible?

Before we talk about salvation, prayer, worship, the church, or Christian living, we MUST settle this one truth:

Why do we trust the Bible? Why do we believe it? Why do we build our lives on it?

This chapter gives simple, bullet-proof answers — straight from Scripture, supported by original language, and grounded in REAL history.

I. The Bible Claims to Be God's Word

(What we believe)

2 Timothy 3:16 — "All scripture is given by inspiration of God… and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"

After the FIRST phrase telling us where the Bible comes from, the rest of the verse explains that Scripture teaches us, corrects us, and trains us.

The key word in this verse is inspiration — the Greek word theopneustos, meaning God-breathed: breathed out by God Himself.

The Bible is God's breath in written form . . . it is NOT possible to speak without breathing out (exhaling). This is the idea behind "God-breathed" — God actually spoke the words of Scripture, and holy men wrote down what God breathed out as He spoke.

This is exactly what the word theopneustos means: Theo = God – pneō = to breathe out.

This is not a theological argument — it is simply a factual explanation of the word itself . . . when a person speaks, they MUST breathe out. When God "breathed out" Scripture, He was speaking. The Bible is God's spoken words, written down by men He guided.

Simple truth: If God breathed it, we can trust it.

II. The Bible Was Written in Real History

(Why context matters)

The Bible was written by REAL men, in real places, facing real situations, during real historical events . . . it was written over 1,500 years, in three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek), across three continents.

This matters because the Bible is NOT myth . . . it is rooted in culture, customs, geography, and history — and understanding the culture helps us understand the meaning.

Illustration — The Owner's Manual. The Bible is like the owner's manual for life . . . when you buy a phone, the manual tells you how it works, how to set it up, and how to take care of it. If a store clerk gives you instructions that contradict the manual, then you have a foundation for your disagreement — the manual is the authority . . . in the SAME way, the Bible is our authority . . . it tells us who God is, who we are, how life works, and what God expects . . . when someone's opinion contradicts Scripture, we go with the Owner's Manual . . . that is why context matters — we want to know what the Author actually said, not what someone else thinks He said.

Simple truth: The Bible is anchored in REAL history, not imagination.

III. The Bible Interprets Itself

(Why we believe it)

Isaiah 28:10 — "For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:"

God teaches truth by comparing Scripture with Scripture . . . this means hard verses are explained by clear verses, the Bible is its own commentary, and the Bible NEVER contradicts itself.

Author's Note — "Commentaries can be helpful, but they are NOT Scripture. A commentary is simply a scholar's interpretation of what he thinks a passage means. Because of that, we must always remember that human explanations — no matter how educated — can still be influenced by opinion. Proverbs reminds us that 'there is a way that seemeth right unto a man.' What seems right to a person is not the same as what God has said. This is why we let the Bible explain the Bible. Scripture is the final authority — not commentaries, not opinions, and not personal interpretations."

Example — "Work Out Your Own Salvation"

Philippians 2:12 — "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."

Some misunderstand this to mean "earn your OWN salvation," "work for your salvation," or "save yourself." But is that what Paul really meant?

Author's Note — "I want to avoid inserting my own theology here, so let me simply point out the two opposing views people often bring to this verse: (1) that a person must work in order to earn salvation, and (2) that salvation is God's gift and cannot be earned by human effort. Instead of choosing a side based on opinion, we will apply our rule: use a clear verse to explain a complex verse. Let's see what God has said about these two ideas by comparing Scripture with Scripture."

So, we apply our rule: if you don't understand a verse, look for another verse that says the SAME thing more simply. And the Bible gives us the perfect simple verse:

Ephesians 2:8–9 — "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

The simple verse explains the harder verse. "Work out" means to live out the salvation you already have — it does not mean to earn it. At first glance, Philippians 2:12 seems to contradict Ephesians 2:8–9, but Scripture NEVER contradicts Scripture . . . since salvation is a gift and cannot be earned, Philippians 2:12 cannot mean "work for salvation." It means to live out the salvation God has already placed within you . . . we do not work to be saved – we work because we are saved.

⭐ What We Learn From Comparing Them

"Work out" = bring to the surface what God has already put inside you . . . just like you "work out" a math problem (you don't create the answer — you reveal it), or you "work out" a muscle (you don't create the muscle — you strengthen it).

This concept teaches us not to panic when a verse seems confusing, not to jump to conclusions, and not to build doctrine on ONLY one verse. Let the Bible explain the Bible. It reinforces our booklet's theme: "What does the Bible say?" — not "What do people say the Bible says?"

• It protects believers from doubt. When someone hits a confusing verse, the enemy whispers: "See? The Bible contradicts itself . . . maybe it's not TRUE." This simple truth shuts that down immediately.
• It teaches humility. Understanding Scripture is a growth process, not a one-time download. It's OK not to know EVERYTHING yet — keep reading, keep growing, keep comparing Scripture with Scripture.
• It reinforces the authority of Scripture. The Bible is right — even when I don't understand it yet. That's foundational.
• It gives a natural pattern: hard verse → simple verse → comparison → clarity → reassurance.

⭐ Second Example

John 1:18 — "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him."

But another verse says:

Exodus 33:11 — "And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend…"

The simple explanation comes from comparing Scripture: John is speaking of God in His full glory – Exodus is speaking of God revealing Himself in a veiled, human-friendly form. The simple verse clarifies the harder ONE.

And if there is something we don't yet understand, that does NOT mean there is something wrong with the Bible — it simply means our understanding is still growing. God's Word is perfect . . . our understanding is in progress.

Simple truth: The Bible explains the Bible.

IV. The Bible Is Preserved by God

(Why we trust the KJV)

Psalm 12:6–7 — "The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever."

Preservation means God didn't just give His Word — He kept His Word.

Simple truth: If God gave His Word, He also kept His Word.

⭐ A Quick Word About Bible Versions

New believers often ask, "Which Bible should I use?" This is an important question, and the answer does NOT need to be complicated.

The King James Bible is a translation — NOT an interpretation. The translators took each word from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek and gave its closest meaning in English . . . they translated words, not ideas. They were not giving commentary or opinion — they were defining in English what God originally said.

Transliteration. Sometimes the translators used transliteration, which means carrying the sound of a word into English when no single English word fully expressed its meaning. Examples include baptize, Christ, Satan, and amen.

The Greek word baptizō literally means "to dip" or "to immerse," but no English word carried the full meaning without adding or removing something from the definition. So, instead of choosing a word that might limit or distort the actual meaning, the translators preserved the original sound and allowed the Bible itself to define the word.

Why did English Bibles transliterate it? The word baptize was already used in English Bibles long before 1611 (Wycliffe, Tyndale, Geneva), so the KJV translators simply continued the established English usage . . . and because no single English word carried the full meaning of baptizō: "dip" is too narrow, "immerse" is correct but incomplete, "wash" is too broad, "cleanse" is NOT specific, and "submerge" is too mechanical.

Transliteration preserved the sound of the original word so that preachers could teach the meaning, the word carried its full theological weight, and no English word distorted or limited the meaning. Translation gives the meaning – transliteration gives the sound.

Modern Versions. Many modern versions use a "thought-for-thought" method . . . instead of translating the words, they translate what they believe the idea means . . . this can change doctrine. Examples: Mary called a "young woman" instead of a "virgin" – "hell" replaced with "the grave" – references to the blood of Christ softened or removed completely . . . these are NOT small differences.

The KJV preserves the exact words God gave — NOT someone's interpretation of those words. That is why the KJV is the safest and most trustworthy Bible for a new believer.

V. The Bible Is Understandable

(Why new believers can read it confidently)

Psalm 119:130 — "The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple."

This means you do NOT need a degree, a commentary, or a scholar — and you don't need to be a scholar . . . to understand the Bible, you need the Bible, the Holy Spirit, a humble heart, and a willingness to learn.

⭐ Koine Greek — The Language of the Common Man

The New Testament was written in Koine Greek, which means "common Greek." It was the everyday street language spoken by fishermen, farmers, soldiers, and ordinary people. God did NOT choose the scholarly Classical Greek . . . He chose the simplest, most universal form of Greek so everyone could understand His Word.

This shows us that God wanted the New Testament written for ordinary people, that the Bible is NOT an academic book — it is a people's book — and that God chose the simplest language available to communicate the greatest message ever given.

What other Greek forms existed?

• Classical Greek — formal, literary Greek used by philosophers (Plato, Aristotle) – complex grammar and vocabulary – NOT used by common people – not used in the New Testament.
• Koine Greek — simplified, everyday Greek spread by Alexander the Great – used from 300 BC to AD 300 – the language of the New Testament – easy to read and understand.
• Septuagint / Liturgical Greek — the Greek translation of the Old Testament – still Koine, but with Hebrew influence – used in synagogues – familiar to Greek-speaking Jews.

So the New Testament writers used the simplest, clearest, most universal form of Greek available . . . that was NOT an accident — that was God's design.

Simple truth: God wrote the Bible for people — NOT for professors.

VI. The Bible Is the Final Authority for the Believer

(Why we build our lives on it)

Matthew 4:4 — "But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."

This means our lives should NOT be built upon feelings, culture, tradition, opinions, or experiences — but upon EVERY word of Scripture, which is our authority.

Proverbs 16:25 — "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."

This principle was true long before the FIRST word of the Bible was written . . . without the guidance of God's Word, we would naturally choose a path that feels right — but ends in spiritual ruin.

⭐ Why This Explanation About the Authority of Scripture Is Strong

Author's Note — "We want to avoid inserting any brand of theology. As a new believer, I want you to consider the actual meaning of Matthew 4:4 and Proverbs 16:25. If left to our own logic, mankind could never determine truth. And even with the Bible — which is without question God's Word — without the Holy Spirit guiding a willing heart, all the education in the world would not be enough to lead us into God's truth."

• It connects the doctrine to a Scripture principle. Proverbs 16:25 warns that the end of the "seems right" path is destruction . . . we are using this truth to show: human instinct is NOT reliable — but God's Word is.
• It shows the timelessness of the principle. Even before the Bible existed: God's way was right in the Garden of Eden – man's way seemed right in the Garden of Eden – man's way led to death in the Garden of Eden. The Bible simply reveals what has ALWAYS been true.
• It reinforces the need for Scripture. Without the guidance of the Bible, we would live and die in a way that seemed right — but ended in spiritual death. It's simple. It's CLEAR. It's bullet-proof.

Simple truth: If the Bible says it — that settles it.

VII. The Bible Is Profitable for Daily Living

(Why we obey it)

2 Timothy 3:16 — "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"

Scripture teaches us what is right (doctrine), shows us what is wrong (reproof), shows us how to get right (correction), and shows us how to stay right (instruction).

Discernment — Learn Truth, Not Error. Many people make the mistake of trying to learn EVERYTHING they can about false religion . . . but the safest way to recognize what is wrong is to become firmly grounded in what is right . . . our journey through life is not to be viewed as a giant list of every possible belief where we cross out what is wrong and accept whatever is left. God never intended us to study error in order to avoid it — He intended us to know the truth so clearly that error becomes obvious.

John 8:32 — "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

Truth frees us. Error loses its power when truth is known. The Bible does not tell us to study every error — it tells us to know the truth so well that error CANNOT deceive us.

Simple truth: The Bible is not just TRUE — it is useful.

VIII. The Bible Reveals Jesus Christ

(Why the Bible matters most)

John 5:39 — "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."

Hebrews 11 is often called "the faith chapter," and for good reason . . . over and over it uses the phrase "by faith" or "through faith." This teaches us something essential: faith is how we see what God has said.

Hebrews 11:1 explains that faith is the "evidence" of things we CANNOT see with our eyes. Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith it is impossible to please God. This means: without faith, we cannot see God's hand in Scripture – without faith, we cannot understand spiritual truth – without faith, the Bible remains a closed book – without faith, we cannot recognize Jesus in the pages of Scripture.

But WITH faith — even a small amount — the entire Bible opens up. Faith is the key that unlocks EVERYTHING God has revealed. Faith is how we connect to God. Faith is how we recognize Jesus Christ in the Scriptures . . . this is exactly what Jesus meant in John 5:39 when He said the Scriptures "testify of Me."

From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible points to His coming, His sacrifice, His resurrection, His kingdom, and His return. Faith allows us to see Him there.

Author's Note — "Understanding the Bible ultimately requires faith. There is plenty of evidence that Scripture is trustworthy, but accepting it as God's Word is a spiritual matter. Faith is how mankind connects to God. Without faith, a person cannot fully receive the Bible as God's Word or as the final authority for life. As a new believer, I encourage you to prayerfully read Hebrews 11 — the 'faith chapter.' Notice how often the phrase 'by faith' or 'through faith' appears. Everything God's people understood, obeyed, and accomplished began with faith."

Simple truth: The Bible is NOT just a book — it is a revelation of a Person.

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⭐ Chapter Summary

• The Bible is God-breathed.
• The Bible was written in REAL history.
• The Bible interprets itself.
• The Bible is preserved.
• The Bible is trustworthy.
• The Bible is understandable.
• The Bible is our final authority.
• The Bible is profitable.
• The Bible reveals Jesus.

Next — Chapter Two: What does the Bible say about salvation?