Material for believers to become active leaders

 Lesson 1
 How can a person know God? (Psa 19) (Natural vs. Special Revelation)
 How we received the Bible:
 God's Spirit moved men (about forty of them) over the space of about
1500 years to write His words (2 Tim 3:16) in Hebrew, Aramaic and
Greek upon them receiving dreams and visions.
 How do we know that the Old Testament comprises 39 books? (Note: The
Hebrew Bible comprises only 24 books)
 How do we know that the New Testament comprises 27 books?
 How do we know that the Bible is word of God? (Inspiration of Scripture)
 How do we know that we have all the words of God today? (Preservation of
scripture)
 The importance of knowing the Bible
 We are called to obey all the commandments of God (Matt. 28:20)
 We love God by keeping His commandments (1 John 5:3)
 We must grow to know God (progress from milk to meat) and teach others
(Heb 5:12)
 Defending the faith against other religions
We must be "always... prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason
for the hope that is in (us)" (1 Pet 3:15). The worst answer you can respond with is
"Because my pastor/cell leader/another person in church told me so."
 Defending the faith against false doctrines in Christendom (Jude 3)
 Questions about the Bible:
 The Catholic Church recognizes that the Apocryphal books are also the
word of God. What are some proofs from the 66 books showing that the
Old Testament only comprises 39 books?
 Muslims say that the Bible was originally pure but had become corrupted
and the Quran restored the truth of God. Are there any proof-texts of God
promising to preserve His words perfectly?
 Someone says he/she received a dream/vision/voice from God giving
him/her specific commands. What proofs are there that the Bible is
complete with 66 books and a fixed number of words - no more, no less?
 Someone tells you that he/she does not need to read the Bible, or does not
depend on the Bible for principles of living, but only depends on the Holy
Spirit alone for guidance. Is this proper? Why or why not?
 Everything in the Bible is important. But some things are more important
than others. What are some teachings in the Bible that are more important
when ministering to believers new to the Christian faith?
  What are some advantages of knowing biblical Hebrew, Aramaic and
Greek?

 Lesson 2
 Bible resources (How well do you know your Bible?)
Biblical Theology (aka bottom up approach)
 Bible maps
E.g. Where is the location of Joppa? (Jonah 1:3)
 Bible encyclopedias
E.g. What were the uses of salt in the time of Christ (Matt 5:13)?
 Bible drawings
E.g. How did the tabernacle look like?
 Hebrew calendar
E.g. Which is the first month of the Hebrew religious calendar?
 Bible charts
E.g. What were the names of the kings of Judah and Israel?
 Study Bibles
E.g. What was the council who sought to put Jesus to death called? (Matt
26:59)
 Bible commentaries
E.g. Without the law, there can be no accusation of committing sin.
However, why did death occur from Adam to Moses? (Rom 5:13-14)
 Reference Bibles
E.g. Isaiah 53:5 tells us that Jesus suffered physically for our sins. Which
is the cross-reference in the New Testament?
 Lexicons (Hebrew-Greek dictionaries) and concordances
E.g. What does 'fellowship' mean in the original language? (Acts 2:42).
E.g. What is the meaning of 'Kibrothhattaavah'? (Num 11:34)
 Using different English translations for clarity
E.g. What does "Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Prov 29:18)
mean?

Systematic Theology (aka top-down approach)

 Systematic Theology textbooks
E.g. What is Christology, Pneumatology, Theism, Ecclesiology,
Eschatology, Hamartiology etc.?
 Topical Bible guides
E.g. What are the names of the church?
 Confessions of Faith and Catechisms
E.g. What is the difference between justification and sanctification?
  Questions relating to the use of Bible resources:
 Someone says he/she only reads the Bible and does not want to read any
commentaries or look at any helps to his/her Bible study. What are some
disadvantages/dangers of this approach?
 Someone says he/she is not confident to read and interpret the Bible
himself/herself, and requires a pastor/teacher/commentary to tell him/her
what the verse means. What are some disadvantages/dangers of this
approach?
 What are some disadvantages using only the bottom-up, or only the top-
down approach?
 Quite often, Bible Study/Sunday School is another sermon. What are some
advantages in separating Bible Study/Sunday School into focusing on
content, and sermons into focusing on application?

 Lesson 3
 Crash course to Hermeneutics (Interpreting the Bible)
 Difference between interpretation and application
E.g. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Php 4:13) -
often misunderstood and misused to teach that we are given a blank
cheque.
 Rules for correct interpretation
 Context (grammar and content) (one meaning principle)
o The literal method of interpretation
o The regulative principle of interpretation - when the Bible
is silent, we remain silent.
 Consistency
 Clearer parts
 Common sense
 Deriving principles from interpreting according to context
E.g. Revelation 22:18-19 - no addition or subtraction to all books of the
Bible.
 Different genres
Literal genres
 History/Narratives
 Laws (apodictic and casuistic) (to be continued)
 Miracles (to be continued)
 Prophecies (to be continued)
Figurative genres
 Parables
 Hebrew Poetry
  Anthropomorphisms
 Typologies

 Lesson 4
 Outlining a book/chapter of the Bible (Titles and subtitles)
 The usefulness of chapter and verse divisions
Inductive Study Method
 Observation
 Interpretation
 Application
 Creating book outlines by chapters (from a plain Bible)
 Creating chapter outlines by verses
 Presenting the outline and giving a short summary of the theme of that
specific book
 Expounding one principle and application from a portion of the book (10-
15mins)

 Lesson 5
 Interpretation of prophecies
 Single fulfillment
 Prophescope (Timothy Tow)
o One or more future events are stated in the specific time period of
the prophet's writing
 Prophecy about the Israel in the land of Egypt and Exodus 400 years later
 Prophecy about the return from Babylonian captivity
 Prophecy about the empires as per the statue in Nebuchadnezzar's dream
 Gold
 Silver
 Bronze
 Iron mixed with clay (discussed in Prophecy of the Second
Coming of Christ)
 Stone destroying the statue (discussed in Prophecy of the Second
Coming of Christ)
 Prophecy of the First Coming of Christ:
 Location where Christ would be born
 Virgin Birth of Christ
 Life of Christ (aka His active obedience)
 Death of Christ (aka His passive obedience)
 Resurrection of Christ
 Ascension of Christ
  Identifying Messianic Psalms
 Some present-day charismatics teach that Acts 2 was the first fulfillment of Joel
2:28-32, and the 20th century was the second fulfillment of Joel 2:28-32. In light
of the nature of prophecies, is this interpretation valid?
 The mainline denominations like the Methodists and Presbyterians teach that the
resurrection of the saved and unsaved occur at the same point in time, citing John
5:29. Comparing John 5:29 to Revelation 20:5, how would you explain to them
the correct way to interpret the prophecy of John 5:29?

 Lesson 6
 Prophecy of the Second Coming of Christ
 Which is the correct view of the Millennium (Rev 20:3)?
 Amillennialism
 Postmillennialism
 Historical Premillennialism
 Premillennialism
Key events taking place before the thousand-year visible reign
of Christ include:
o Re-formation of the nation of Israel since 1948
o Widespread natural disasters
o Increase in diseases
o Increase in wars and rumors of wars
o Visible increase in the amount and degree of wickedness
o False prophets and false Christs
o 7-year rule of the Antichrist
o Rapture of the true church and resurrection of the dead in Christ

Life during the millennium

o Most ceremonial laws reinstated - Jewish in nature
o Vegetarian diet to animals
o Animals docile
o Saints ruling with Christ in Jerusalem
o Binding of Satan in the bottomless pit

At the end of the millennium and after the millennium

o Satan let loose for a short time
o Rebellion of a large number against Christ and His saints
o Resurrection of the dead without Christ
o Heavenly Jerusalem comes down to the earth
 Millennial Psalms
  Principles and applications that can be drawn from the this future event
 What areas of yourself and areas around you are you able to take comfort
in, as per knowing the prophecies of the Second Coming of Christ?
 Some psychologists/activists/humanists say that people do wicked things
only because of the bad environment they have been brought up in. Is this
in accordance to the Bible's teaching on sin?
 Many churches in Singapore have become favorable to, or feel that
cremation is a suitable alternative to burial - of the dead. Are there proof-
texts for this position? Or are there proof-texts disproving this position?

 Lesson 7
 Study of miracles
 Meaning of a sign and wonder
 Types of miracles
 Periods of many miracles (Moses/Elijah/Apostolic era)
 Purpose of miracles
 Misconceptions on the purpose of miracles
 Why some can do miracles, others cannot?
 Discerning whether the miracle is from God or Satan, or trickery
 Spiritual gifts
 What a believer must know about spiritual gifts (taken from Theology for
Every Christian by Tow and Khoo, 2007)
 Every believer has at least a spiritual gift.
 The Holy Spirit alone decides which gift(s) an individual member
would have.
 Spiritual gifts are different from the gift a person is born with.
 Spiritual gifts are not for self-benefit or self-glory, but for the
building up fellow members of Christ's body.
 Some offices require specific gifts (e.g. pastor) but a member may
not be a specific office-holder to possess certain gifts.
 There are 21 gifts listed in the New Testament. Four lists of spiritual gifts
are given:
 Romans 12:4-8
o (1) prophecy,
o (2) ministry (a very general term for service),
o (3) teaching,
o (4) exhorting (or consoling),
o (5) giving,
o (6) leadership,
o (7) showing mercy
  1 Corinthians 12:4-11
o (1) wisdom,
o (2) knowledge,
o (3) faith,
o (4) healing,
o (5) powers (probably meaning miracles),
o (6) prophecy,
o (7) discerning spirits,
o (8) languages (“tongues”),
o (9) translation of languages (interpretation of languages)
 1 Corinthians 12:28-31
o (1) apostles,
o (2) prophets,
o (3) teachers,
o (4) powers (miracles),
o (5) healing,
o (6) helps,
o (7) governors,
o (8) languages (“tongues”)
 Ephesians 4:11
o (1) apostles,
o (2) prophets,
o (3) evangelists,
o (4) pastors and teachers
 Important observations:
 There are gifts that accompany each other, for example:
o Pastoring (shepherding) and teaching
o Tongues and the interpretation of tongues
o Prophecy (which can mean preaching) and the discerning
of spirits
 The sign gifts are divided into word signs and work signs. These
signs were to authenticate the preaching, teaching and writing
ministry of the apostles (Mark 16:20).
 The sign gifts have ceased upon the authentication of the apostles'
preaching, teaching and writing ministry (1 Cor 13:10).
 What remains are the gifts that are for God's people throughout all
generations.
 Ministry of the Holy Spirit for salvation and service
 Salvation
  Jesus baptizes a believer with the Holy Spirit upon the sinner
receiving new birth and exercising faith in Christ's work.
 (Note: Regeneration or new birth is the cause of faith but faith
occurs immediately after regeneration.)
 The single and only one-time act of the baptism of the Holy Spirit
is also known as the indwelling of the Spirit.
 The indwelling Spirit also continually works to sanctify the
believer for service.
 Service
 The Holy Spirit empowers the believer for the exercise of the
spiritual gifts for service.
 (Note: Sanctification cannot be set apart from service - as every
believer is saved to serve.)
 When the believer yields to the Holy Spirit by obeying the
commandments of God, the believer becomes filled with the Spirit.
This is also known as the infilling of the Spirit.
 (Note: Unregenerate persons may be used by the Spirit who 'comes
upon' them at certain times to accomplish God's purposes.)
 Questions relating to miracles, the gifts of the Spirit and the ministry of the Spirit:
 Must a person see miracles in order to believe? Are there any proof texts
that not all who see miracles have saving, permanent faith in Jesus Christ?
 How can we explain to someone that just because we see a person
performing miracles in the name of Jesus, it does not mean that the source
is of God?
 Lawrence Khong of FCBC claims that he is also one of the apostles (as
with the 12 apostles, including Paul, named). Are there any biblical proofs
that he cannot be the 13th apostle?
 Joseph Prince, in his book Destined to Reign, said that he started
preaching 'grace' and no longer 'law' and thus caused people to be not sin-
conscious from the time he claimed he heard a voice from God telling him
he should only preach 'grace'. What biblical proofs to tell us whether the
voice he heard was from God or not from God?
 Can we feel, hear, smell, taste or see the Holy Spirit? If not, I) How do we
know whether the Holy Spirit is working? II) How can we understand the
Person of the Holy Spirit?

 Lesson 8
 How the laws are divided in the Bible:
 Meaning of Old and New Testament
Types of covenants
  Key elements of a covenant (parties, promises, conditions, penalties)
 Suzerainty
 Parity
 Conditional and unconditional promises in the covenants God has made
with man in history:
 Adam
 Noah
 Abraham
 Jacob
 Israel as a nation
 David
 Solomon
Categories of Law
 Old Testament:
 Moral Law (apodictic)
o The 10 commandments
o Duty to God and duty to man
 Civil Law (casuistic)
 Ceremonial Law (apodictic + casuistic)
 New Testament:
 Moral Law (apodictic)
 Civil Law (casuistic)
 Ceremonial Law (apodictic + casuistic)
 Practical Questions relating to the Categories of Law:
 A Muslim asks: The Bible says you are not supposed to eat pork, why do
you eat pork? How would you respond?
 Someone from New Creation Church asks:
A) We are "not under the law, but under grace" (Rom 6:14), why do you
still check your life against the 10 commandments?
B) Why do you choose to obey the 10 commandments but do not obey the
other ceremonial laws?
 A Hindu priest once told me: "The Bible says 'Thou shall not kill'. You are
not being a Christian by not obeying the Bible because you eat meat".
Does the 6th commandment teach that Christians cannot kill (and eat)
animals? What proof texts do you have to support your answer?
 Someone on the street asks: If you say that Jesus has paid in full the
penalty for my sins, why do I still have to go to jail if I commit a crime?
 A Jehovah Witness adherent refuses to do national service in Singapore's
armed forces or police because he reasons that the we are supposed to
show love to others and being a soldier or policeman is against the 10
 commandments. How should I reason what the moral and civil law
actually teaches?
 The mainline denominations and many renowned
theologians/commentators of the past (John Calvin, Matthew Henry, John
Gill etc.) teach that the 'church' in the New Testament has replaced Israel,
and God has totally abandoned Israel because she crucified her Messiah
and the Jews are largely unbelieving currently. Does Romans 11 disprove
this teaching?

 Lesson 9
 Understanding sin
 What is sin? (Q & A 14 - Westminster Shorter Catechism)
 Consequence of Adam's sin and every individual person's sin:
 Physical and mental pains and decay to the body culminating in
death.
 Total Depravity
 Spiritual death (separation from God)
 Eternal death (the will becomes bound by sin)
 Doctrines of grace
 Covenant of works
 To be counted as righteous by the law requires perfect obedience
in the entire time under testing.
 Covenant of grace
Unconditional Election
 Election
 Predestination
Irresistible Grace
 Effectual Calling
 Regeneration
 Limited Atonement
 Conversion (Faith and Repentance)
 Justification
 Adoption
Perseverance of the Saints
 Sanctification (Positional, Progressive and Perfect in practice)
 Glorification
 Questions expressing concerns about the Reformed (Calvinistic) framework of
salvation:
 Since I am once saved, always saved. Wouldn't this mean I can sin all I
want and have a get out of jail card by just believing on Christ?
  Can I enjoy all I want now and only believe in Jesus before I breathe my
last breath?
 Wouldn't God be unfair to choose only some to salvation? How would I
know that I'm one of His elect?
 Can a person absolve oneself from any responsibility for any wrong
doings he/she has committed but instead blame his/her parents? Why or
why not?
 Someone on the street asks: There are many non-Christians who have
done many more good works than Christians, and some are even more
sincere than the Christians I have observed. Why should only Christians
deserve to go to heaven?
 Paul seems to teach salvation by faith alone and salvation by faith and
works. How should we explain the contradiction between Paul and James?
Paul: "For by grace are ye saved through faith..." (Eph 2:8)
James: "... by works a man is justified, and not by faith only" (Jas 2:24)
 In the Old Testament: Salvation was by faith plus works. In the New
Testament: Salvation is by faith alone. Is this true or false? Any proof
texts to prove/disprove this teaching?
 Can Jesus save me if (why/why not):
 He was 100% God but less than 100% man?
 He was 100% man but less than 100% God?
 He died by drowning/strangulation?
 He lived His entire life only solving social issues (poverty,
sickness, civil justice etc.)?

 Lesson 10
 Understanding how God works (will of God) (according to Timothy Tow)
General
 Preceptive
 Desiderative
Specific
 Directive
 Cooperative
 Punitive (unsaved)/Chastitive (saved)
Extraordinary
 Permissive
Predetermined
 Decretive
 Questions relating to the will of God
  Since God has already knows and has determined beforehand something
to happen, does not this make God the cause of all sins?
 God has already predetermined who will and will not be saved. Is there
any point in continuing to preach the gospel?
 When we ask someone to take time to study and prepare for his/her exams,
he/she simply says, God will provide and says that he/she has already
prayed to pass (even though he/she admitted that he/she did not study).
How would you counsel this believer from the Bible of cases of God's will
also involving the use of ordinary means?
 The reason why there is so much suffering in life, is it because there is a
God? Why or why not?
 In some cases of seemingly less sin committed, God dealt very harshly
quickly. In other cases of seemingly more serious sin committed, God did
not punish the sin quickly. For example, Herod killed James but was not
killed by God immediately. However, Ananias and Sapphira were killed
immediately when they simply told a lie. And there were others (e.g.
Abraham) who was not killed by God immediately when they lied. It
appears that God is unfair in meting out punishment. According to
knowing how God works, how would you explain that these cases in no
way shows that God is unfair in meting out punishment for sins
committed?
 There have been people who have shouted "If there's a God, I challenge
God to strike me dead now!" And nothing happens. Does this disprove
that God exists?

 Lesson 11
 Prayer
 What is prayer? (Q & A 98 - Westminster Shorter Catechism)
 Summary of the Lord's prayer
 The six petitions (what are the principle things to pray for)
 The conclusion
 What are the requisites to effective prayer?
 Righteous living
 Believing God answers
 Persevering in asking
 Full submission to the will of God for my life (not what I demand
to have)
 At what times of the day should we pray and what should be the frequency
of prayer?
 When should fasting go with prayer?
  Examples of great prayers in the Bible:
 Abraham's prayer for the sparing of the righteous in Sodom
 Hannah praying for a son
 Moses praying for God not abandoning Israel
 Nehemiah praying for permission to rebuild the temple of
Jerusalem
 Jesus' prayer for unity in the truth (John 17) (aka Jesus' High
Priestly prayer)
 Hindrances to effective prayer
 Harbouring sin in one's heart (Psa 66:18)
 Asking for things for the sake of fulfilling one's lusts (Jas 4:3)
 Putting one's will above God's will (Deut 3:23-27)
 Questions relating to prayer:
 God is love, and I should love my fellowmen. Therefore, I should pray for
the whole world to be saved. Yes or no? Why or why not?
 If I see a doctor and consume drugs or undergo surgery to remove
something malignant, it means that I do not have faith or have little faith. I
should only rely on prayer alone to prove that I have faith. Is this teaching
and practice according to what the Bible teaches about prayer? What texts
are there to prove/disprove this teaching about prayer?
 Churches propagating the prosperity gospel are part of the Word-of-Faith
movement (telling its followers to say-it claim-it). How does this
movement's teaching go against the Bible's teaching about prayer?
 Some of us have also encountered our non-Christian friends telling us that
they prayed and they received what they asked for. For ourselves, we have
sometimes received something other than what we asked for. Is this
phenomena sufficient to prove that there are other gods other than the God
of the Bible? If not, how should we respond to this phenomena?
 We should always love the sinner and hate the sin, and under no
circumstances we should hate both the sinner and the sin. Yes or no? Why
or why not?

 Lesson 12
 Importance of genealogical records:
 Genealogy of Christ in Matthew and Luke
 Implication of stating 'son of...'
 Memorizing contents in the Bible
Spaced Repetition
 Choose any four verses in your preferred translation.
 Start with one verse (or half a verse if need be).
  Memorize by repeating again and again the verse until you can say it
word-perfect.
 Add the next verse, then memorize by repeating again and again the verse
until you can say the verses word-perfect.
 Add the next verse and follow the steps above.

Mnemonics/Songs for easy memorization

 Books of the Old Testament
 Books of the New Testament
 Hebrew Calendar
 Mnemonic: No Idea Says Tammy's Aunt Ethel To Her Kind Thin
Son Alvin (Ang)