The Bible Knowledge Test
January 12, 2023 (first published December 2, 2015)
David Cloud, Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061
866-295-4143,
fbns@wayoflife.org
Stacks Image 325878
We want to remind our readers of The Bible Knowledge Test, which is available in print and as a free eBook.

The
Bible Knowledge Test is designed to challenge God’s people as individuals and as churches about their level of Bible knowledge.

After nearly 50 years of experience in the ministry, I have concluded that though Bible believers love the Bible as God’s Word, oftentimes they remain ignorant of it. They might read it from time to time. They might even read it regularly; they might even read it through from cover to cover annually, but they don’t understand it very well, because they aren’t effectual Bible students and they lack the necessary training and tools for this task.

Having preached in more than 550 churches in 49 states and more than two dozen countries, I have observed that a great many church members are not serious Bible students. Typically, they don’t write anything down during the sermons. They don’t try to capture anything. Many don’t even look up the passages that the preacher discusses. They don’t have a serious daily Bible study habit. They aren’t keen to obtain and use tools such as dictionaries, commentaries, and other study books.

There are exceptions, but most of the time when I have asked pastors, “How many of your people are serious Bible students,” they reply, “Not many.”

One independent Baptist pastor recently challenged his people to read the Bible one minute a day. One minute! And that is a church that considers itself a solid, Bible-believing church. What a dishonor to God to offer Him a mere 60 of the 86,400 seconds of my daily schedule for His holy Word. What an incredibly shallow age we live in! No wonder so many “conservative” churches are moving quickly toward a contemporary stance. The foundation is mere shifting sand.

One fundamental issue underlying this problem is that so few pastors are serious Bible students. As a result, the people aren’t accustomed to learning much from the preaching and teaching. It is the pastor who is passionate about Bible study who can impart such a passion to his people.

The Bible is God’s gracious, infallible revelation of Himself to mankind. It is the world’s most wonderful, thrilling Book. One chapter is worth more than all of this world’s gold and silver. It is in God’s Word that we find salvation, the knowledge of God, and the will of God. In the Bible we find the past and the future. We find light to understand every aspect of life. We get wisdom, spiritual strength, and victory over the devil.

God reproves the believer who is not skillful in the Bible as a baby Christian, so this is no light matter. God says that every believer should grow strong enough in Bible knowledge that he can teach others. This means that the believer doesn’t know Bible truth well enough until he knows it well enough to teach someone else.

“For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which
be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. FOR EVERY ONE THAT USETH MILK IS UNSKILFUL IN THE WORD OF RIGHTEOUSNESS: FOR HE IS A BABE. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:12-14).

This is why I often preface my messages by saying, “Folks, you don’t know the message of this sermon or lesson well enough unless you can teach it to others. Don’t sit there and casually listen and then forget what you have heard. Sit under preaching and teaching as a serious student of God’s Word, as a serious disciple of Jesus Christ. Beseech God to give you something. Try to capture what the preacher/teacher has to say. Look up every passage. Write things down. Jot down questions about things you don’t understand and try to find the answers. Try to capture the essence of the message well enough to teach your friends, spouse, children, and anyone else you might be able to help.”

This
Bible Knowledge Test proves that a standard Bible Institute level of education is the very beginning of being of full age by the definition of Hebrews 5:12-14. To understand the Bible, one must learn the principles of Bible interpretation, Bible geography, Bible culture, Old Testament history, the law of Moses, the priesthood, the sacrifices, the tabernacle, the covenants, the life of Christ, Acts and New Testament history, Bible theology, defense of the faith (apologetics, cults, false teachings), Bible prophecy, and other things.

Becoming skillful in the Bible involves owning and knowing how to use tools such as a study Bible with cross references, a Bible dictionary, a concordance, the
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, and some wisely chosen commentaries.

We are not saying that it is necessary to attend a formal Bible college. Many churches today operate part-time Bible institutes.

Further, with the tools available for self study, a Bible institute education is within the reach of most English-speaking Christians who are willing to do the necessary work.

We challenge every born again believer to take this matter seriously. Don’t be content to remain weak in Bible knowledge. By remaining in this condition, you are missing out on the richness of the Christian life as surely as a child who never matures misses out on the richness of adult life.

Carve out some serious time in your daily schedule to study the Bible and the things of God.

If your church has a Bible Institute, find a way to attend.

If not, a good start toward a solid Bible education would be the following courses from Way of Life Literature:
The Effectual Bible Student, Introduction to Bible Geography, The Bird’s-Eye View of the Bible, and the Way of Life Whole Bible Commentary and Pictorial Bible. We publish dozens of other Bible courses, including courses on Bible Prophecy, Theology, the Church, Church History, Prayer, History of Fundamentalism, Cults, and Apologetics.

Jesus has promised that if we put Him and His will first, everything else in our lives will fall into its proper place.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).

Stop putting your business before God’s Word and God’s will, and you will be amazed at how much more spiritually rich your life becomes.

When I was a young Christian, I determined that I would never take a job that hindered my Christian life. I would not take a job that would keep me out of church or make it too difficult for me to spend time in God’s Word. By God’s grace, I never have taken such a job, and the Lord has provided every need and much more! That’s not “legalism”; that’s obedience and true discipleship!

Thousands of believers have the same testimony. It is a matter of the priority of one’s heart.

At the end of the
Bible Knowledge Test we will give some suggestions for self study.

Take the time to examine yourself by the following test. Are you of “full age” or are you yet “a babe”?

Please understand that these are not advanced questions. They are very basic, in fact.

The Bible Knowledge Test is available in print and as a free eBook.



- Receive these reports by email
- www.wayoflife.org

______________________

Sharing Policy: Much of our material is available for free, such as the hundreds of articles at the Way of Life web site. Other items we sell to help fund our expensive literature and foreign church planting ministries. Way of Life's content falls into two categories: sharable and non-sharable. Things that we encourage you to share include the audio sermons, O Timothy magazine, FBIS articles, and the free eVideos and free eBooks. You are welcome to make copies of these at your own expense and share them with friends and family. You may also post parts of reports and/or entire reports to websites, blogs, etc as long as you give proper credit (citation). A link to the original report is very much appreciated as the reports are frequently updated and/or expanded. Things we do not want copied and distributed are "Store" items like the Fundamental Baptist Digital Library, print editions of our books, electronic editions of the books that we sell, the videos that we sell, etc. The items have taken years to produce at enormous expense in time and money, and we use the income from sales to help fund the ministry. We trust that your Christian honesty will preserve the integrity of this policy. "For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward" (1 Timothy 5:18). Questions? support@wayoflife.org

Goal:Distributed by Way of Life Literature Inc., the Fundamental Baptist Information Service is an e-mail posting for Bible-believing Christians. Established in 1974, Way of Life Literature is a fundamental Baptist preaching and publishing ministry based in Bethel Baptist Church, London, Ontario, of which Wilbert Unger is the founding Pastor. Brother Cloud lives in South Asia where he has been a church planting missionary since 1979. Our primary goal with the FBIS is to provide material to assist preachers in the edification and protection of the churches.

Offering: Offerings are welcome if you care to make one. If you have been helped and/or blessed by our material offerings can be mailed or made online with with Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or Paypal. For information see: www.wayoflife.org/about/makeanoffering.html.



Bible College
Information

Way of Life Literature

Publisher of Bible Study Materials

Way of Life Literature

Publisher of Bible Study Materials

Way of Life Bible College