Acts of the Assembly: Bible Study I. Introduction A. In the New Testament we see examples of brethren assembling and engaging in various activities 1. These activities include singing, praying, the Lord's Supper, hearing a lesson, giving, and studying the Bible 2. Such, then, are the things we do as we assemble together with one another B. It is good for us, then, to spend some time examining the nature of these activities so that we can engage in them more properly and more profitably C. We have already examined singing, having seen that we are to sing songs to encourage, teach and admonish one another, and therefore must give all diligence to what we sing D. We have looked into praying and how our prayers in the assembly are to function, giving thanks to God, making requests of Him, and in so doing encouraging one another E. We have considered the memorial of the Lord's Supper, how we are to remember the Lord's death and resurrection, and how the Lord's Supper represents the communion of believers F. We have also considered the lesson, and how the lesson is there to present material of exhortation, rebuke, or instruction to encourage the brethren G. We have examined giving, and how we give because the church has needs and we are to meet them with liberality H. Let us continue by looking into the Bible study I. Before we begin, let us keep two important truths in mind: 1. In the New Testament, "worship" is not limited to practices inside an assembly; the "assembly" and "worship" are never explicitly connected in the New Testament. Our lives of spiritual service, being a living and holy sacrifice, according to God's will represents our worship to God in spirit and in truth (Romans 12:1, John 4:20-24). Assembling with the saints is a part of that spiritual service, but not the sum of our worship to God 2. Likewise, we have seen from 1 Corinthians 14:12, 26 and Hebrews 10:24-25 that the purpose of what we do in the assembly is to edify and encourage one another: everything we say regarding the Bible study must be considered in that light J. Having established such things, let us examine the Bible study from the Scriptures II. Bible Study as Assembly A. Perhaps many will consider the subject of this lesson and wonder, "wait, Bible class is not the assembly!" B. Yet when we look at the definition of assembling, and see examples in the Scripture, there is an assembly whenever a group of people have come together for some purpose C. A major fallacy present today is the idea of the "divided assembly" 1. The idea is that since there are different classes in the building, a "divided assembly" is present 2. Such makes little common sense and less Biblical sense 3. How can you have a "divided group of people coming together"? It is a contradiction in terms 4. Likewise, do we speak of having a "divided assembly" if, when the church has its regular "worship service", and five members are out either vacationing or sick? By no means! D. It is better, then, to recognize that during a period of Bible study, there are multiple assemblies: multiple groups of people coming together for the purpose of studying E. Indeed, then, a Bible class is an assembly: whether it is "the" assembly is open for debate, but it is an assembly nonetheless III. Assembled Bible Studies in the Scriptures A. Let us now look to see the examples of Bible studies in the assembly B. It should first be noted how similar preaching and teaching happens to be 1. Both work toward the same end: instruction in Biblical matters 2. The main distinction would be the level of interactivity 3. Even so, sometimes classes are conducted more as lectures, and thus not too terribly different from a lesson C. Acts 2:42 1. While there is no explicit demonstration of interactive sessions, we do see that the early Christians "devoted themselves to the Apostles' teaching" 2. We can certainly do that today in our Bible studies D. 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 1. While not desiring at this time to get into the thorny issue of when this verse applies... 2. ...it does deserve mention to see how a woman would be in violation of this charge 3. To violate this command, the woman would be asking something in the assembly, and not learning from her husband at home (v. 35) 4. Likewise, it would indicate that a man could ask a question in the assembly 5. It is likely, then, that at least a part of the assembly in Corinth was more like our Bible studies than our lessons E. Acts 9:19 1. While one example of many, we see that the Christians were called "disciples" 2. "Disciple" denotes the idea of one who studies from another 3. Disciples, then, would be learning from the message of Jesus, and would have done so together as well as individually F. We can see, then, that there is some precedent for coming together to study from the Scriptures IV. Why Assembled Bible Studies? A. It is good for us to ask: why have Bible studies in the assembly? B. We are to be people of the Word 1. 2 Timothy 2:15 2. We must work to know God's will if we are going to be pleasing to Him 3. We can only rightly handle the truth if we know it 4. Hebrews 5:14 5. How can one discern what is good and evil by constant practice if not properly trained? C. We are to encourage one another in the assembly 1. We have seen as much from 1 Corinthians 14:26 and Hebrews 10:25-26 2. What better way to encourage one another than by opening the Scriptures with one another? 3. As Solomon says, "iron sharpens iron" (Proverbs 27:17) 4. You may have viewed some Scriptures in a certain way, but another person with another perspective may have seen things you have missed, and vice versa D. Therefore, we study with one another to encourage one another and be encouraged, to help us in our own understanding of the Scriptures V. The Value of the Bible Study A. One major difficulty with Bible studies in the assembly has nothing to do with the study itself but those who are in it B. As in all things, you only get out of something what you put into it 1. A teacher/leader of a Bible class, if he prepares well, will learn much and gain immensely from the process 2. His gain, however, can only be beneficial for those who likewise put effort into the Bible class 3. If you put no preparation into the Bible class, do not expect to get much out of it C. The Bible Study period is only as valuable as you make it 1. The period of Bible study is great for a congregation on all levels! 2. A teacher can direct a class and can get a better idea of what those in the class know and are learning based on the questions asked 3. Those in the role of students have the opportunity to interact with the teacher and be able to have things explained or dispute a matter and have the opportunity to learn more than just by having one person continually speak 4. All of these benefits, however, are conditioned on one critical matter: whether people in the Bible study are willing to spend time in the material beforehand and have questions to ask and to actually ask them! D. When the preparation is not where it ought to be, all kinds of problems can occur 1. The standard problem is a lack of questions, which more often than not represents a lack of preparation and comprehension, not complete understanding and agreement 2. If there is an attempt at participation without study, many times people will get up and make comments or ask questions that show that there has not been any previous study, and especially if the matter gets contentious, it is an insult to a teacher that has spent time trying to learn so as to teach 3. Finally, many begin having the attitude that the Bible study period is not valuable and they do not attend since they're "not getting anything out of it" E. If, however, preparations are made and participation exists, Bible studies can be one of the most enjoyable and greatly sought after parts of our assembling as saints! VI. Limitations to Assembly Bible Studies A. There are some limitations to the Bible studies in the assembly B. One limitation, of which we have just spoken, is that one can only get out of Bible study what one puts into it C. The assembly Bible study also is not to be the sum of one's Bible study 1. If the only times you spend studying your Bible is on Sunday morning and Wednesday evening, you certainly are depriving yourself of the spiritual nourishment you need! 2. Consider how often you partake of earthly food and drink, and then consider your spiritual nourishment 3. How well would you do physically if you only ate twice a week? 4. How, then, do you expect to be spiritually strong on a spiritually anorexic diet? 5. It is a tragedy how many souls are dying because of spiritual malnutrition: even with the food right in front of them! 6. We will only be as strong as we are in the Word D. The assembly Bible study may not be the venue for every form of study 1. There are many things that can be studied in the Scriptures that may not be profitable in the assembly 2. There may be matters of spiritual meat that may disturb those still on milk (cf. Hebrews 5:12-6:3) 3. There may be topics that have some spiritual edification but may not be what the congregation needs to study a. Matters like the story of the Biblical text, texts written after the New Testament, etc. b. Matters like gender issues, age issues, etc., that would not be profitable for the whole congregation 4. This is not to say that such things are not to be studied; not in the least 5. They are more profitable, however, for individual study or for a small group study E. A congregation cannot study all things in the assembly Bible class 1. Just as there may not be some topics that are profitable in an assembly Bible class, it is also true that there is not enough time to go over everything! 2. Even if you were able to teach the whole Bible over a period of time, when you would stop you would need to go right back and refresh it all! 3. Such does not even touch valuable topical studies and other sorts of assembly Bible studies 4. It is manifest, then, that not all things will be studied in an assembly Bible class setup F. Assembly Bible classes for children cannot be the sum of their Biblical instruction 1. In Ephesians 6:4, the father is given the charge of raising his children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord 2. It does not say that the Bible class teacher has this responsibility 3. While Bible classes can profit small children, such is not going to be enough to truly train them in righteousness! 4. Just like one cannot expect a school system to teach a child everything s/he will need to know, we cannot expect Bible class teachers to teach children everything they need to know spiritually 5. Assembly Bible classes need to complement home instruction, not supplant them nor be the only source of instruction! G. Such is true in general of assembly Bible classes: they ought to complement one's own studies, either personal, family, and/or small group, and not supplant them nor be the only source of Biblical instruction VII. Conclusion A. We have examined the nature of the assembly Bible study B. We have seen that they are indeed an assembly, and there is some precedent for the setup in the Scriptures C. The period of study is only as valuable as you make it D. The assembly Bible class is designed to complement one's study of the Scriptures, not supplant study or be the only source of study E. Let us give more diligence to our participation in our assembly Bible studies F. Invitation/songbook Scripture, Meditation, and Application 1: And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers (Acts 2:42). Early Christians devoted themselves to the doctrinal teachings of the Apostles together. They learned about Jesus, His Kingdom, and how they should live. We do well to do the same today in our assembly Bible studies! 2: Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). We do well to strive in many ways to present ourselves approved to God. One way which cannot be denied is by means of coming to a better understanding of what God has revealed. How can we handle the word of truth rightly if we do not know what the word of truth is? 3: But solid food is for fullgrown men, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil (Hebrews 5:14). Holiness is not maintained by knowledge alone; one must practice what one knows. But one can only practice what is known; if one does not know good and evil, how can they do good and reject evil? Thus we do well to apply ourselves to know what God has made known to us in His Word! 4: Iron sharpeneth iron; So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend (Proverbs 27:17). Much good can be done by learning more about the Word of God in personal study. Nevertheless personal study without any “check” by others can go in dangerous directions! We do well to make sure our views are explained to others in the faith, and challenged as necessary, so we can all grow together in God’s truth. An assembly Bible study is a great opportunity to do so!