Principles for the Christian Life: Bible Study Edition

Why compile a book like this? Quite simple. To educate the Christian with a “bottom line” format. Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed by a lack of knowledge.” In Colossians 1:10, Paul prayed that the Colossians would «live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, growing in knowledge of the Lord, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that they would have great endurance and patience…" These two verses, as examples, tell it like it is! Knowledge is the key ingredient to wisdom. However, knowledge alone is almost a waste. But wisdom results from both knowledge AND experience. The Christian life must be lived and experienced. Then with proper knowledge, we can guide our hearts for transformation. This book covers the information that Christians need to know. After each section, it asks insightful questions that will stimulate much needed discussion on the topic. It encourages more in depth Bible Study.

The Bible contains the information that lead us to the life that God wants us to live by his Spirit. The sad thing is this. Many of our Bibles are gathering dust on a shelf somewhere in our homes! Little do we know the “pearls of truth” that lie at our fingertips. Sometimes we are too busy reading some Christian book about the Bible. One of our goals as Christians should be to “grow in the knowledge of the Lord,” using the Bible as our prime, light-giving source. We have no excuses. For any situation in life, we should be asking, “What does the Bible (and therefore, the Lord) say about it?”

The Bible itself contains the answers to all of life's tough questions. I see these sometimes difficult questions asked everyday by all of us. Unfortunately, if we are studying at all, the study tends to be focused on a well-intentioned book “about” the Bible and not the Bible itself!

I am not a pastor, nor a seminarian. I am not a full time church worker. However, I have been “schooled” by experience and sat at the feet of many of God's leaders over many years and have learned from them. I have explored the Bible for decades and taught scores of Bible studies from Genesis to Revelation. That doesn't make me an expert. Far from it. But I love the pursuit of excellence, as I am sure you do, in pursuing the Christian life.

Part 1 of this book is to simply implement the verses present in the Scripture to direct us on important Christian subjects. It is more than a concordance, which one can find at the end of most any Bible. What one will find in PART 1 are the steering points of the wisdom from the Bible. The topics in PART 1 are the “nuts and bolts” of Christianity. My goal was to keep this book to a “bottom line” level of understanding.

Part 2 looks at what is going on in the rest of the world of non-Christendom. In day to day living, I find that most Christians are at best vaguely familiar regarding where other people are coming from in their particular belief systems. When one really investigates the different gods and philosophies that are being practiced by much of the world's population (more than 85%), it's disappointing, is it not? This knowledge should be an impetus for us to not only take a stronger stance on our Christian roots but also be more active in our outreach to the lost. The lost are literally all over the place! They are in India, but also in your neighborhood.

May this Bible Study book serve as a practical reference for you in your lifetime of discipleship.

Robert M. Gullberg, MD

Racine, Wisconsin

All verses quoted from the NIV, Life Application Bible.